Patent ID: 7295961

Claim:
A method for operating a computer to generate a simulator component that models a first circuit having an input port and an output port in a circuit simulator, said circuit simulator providing a simulated signal comprising a modulated carrier to said simulator component and generating an output indicative of the behavior of a second circuit that contains said first circuit when such a modulated carrier is input to said input port, said method comprising: determining an amplitude for a current leaving said output port of said first circuit at a frequency ω k when a signal comprising a carrier at ω j modulated by a signal V j (t) is input to said input port, wherein ω k is a harmonic of ω j ; and using said determined amplitude to determine values for a set of constants, a k , such that a function f k (V,a k ) provides an estimate of the current, I k (t), leaving said output port at a frequency ω k when a signal having the form V ⁡ ( t ) = Re ⁢ ∑ k = 1 , H ⁢ V k ⁡ ( t ) ⁢ exp ⁡ ( jω k ⁢ t ) is input to said input port of said first circuit by said circuit simulator, where V k (t) is a component of a set of values V, wherein H is an integer greater than 0; and wherein said simulator component has a first simulator input port and a simulator output port, said simulator component returning a signal value determined by said f k (V,a k ), via said simulator output port to said circuit simulator when said circuit simulator provides values for V at said first simulator input port for at least one value of k.