3.6.5 Stepping Functions

Stepping of keywords is also handled in a very flexible way. Nearly every keyword in the Input Deck database can be stepped. Stepping functions available are:

Table 3.1: Stepping functions available in Minimos-NT.

Stepping function	Description
step(b,e,s)	Steps from b to e using a step size of s.
stepN(b,e,n)	Steps from b to e using n equidistant values.
stepTbl(l)	Steps all values given in the list l.
stepCrv(f,c1,c2)	Steps all values of column c1 and c2 of the curve file f

For step and stepN the optional parameter log can be set to switch on logarithmic stepping. Curve-file stepping is very useful when measured data has to be resimulated because the bias conditions can be directly fetched from the data file.

Several optional parameters can be given to change the stepping behavior. Using the optional parameter slot time slots can be specified which have to be used for certain stepping functions to allow for sequential stepping of curves. Another important optional parameter is pri which is used to define priorities for those stepping functions which use the same time slot. This enables nested stepping where the function with the highest priority runs fastest.

Stepping can be used to validate models as Minimos-NT allows physical models to be tested for a given set of parameters. Stepping these parameters enables to analyze models very effectively.

The stepped values are updated after each successful simulation of a given point. The stepping functions are implemented in Minimos-NT and made available in the Input Deck database as application specific functions. Thus, when the stepped values are changed some kinds of user-defined feed back loops emerge since the Input Deck database has to call the application specific functions which are defined in the simulator.