Introduction to
Multisim 13
Based on a tutorial prepared by:
Ali AlMatrouk
Updated to MultiSim 13 by: DK
1
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this tutorial, you should be able to
• Create simple circuits in National Instruments’ multisim 13
• Perform DC Analysis on circuits (in 3 different ways) and interpret
the results.
• Perform Transient Analysis on circuits (in 2 different ways) and
interpret the results.
• Perform AC Analysis on circuits (in 2 different ways) and interpret
the results.
2
Simulation
• Simulation is a powerful tool that can be used to aid in
analysis and design (check or predict circuit behavior)
• SPICE (System Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis)
– Developed at UC Berkeley in 1970s
– Analog electronic circuit simulator
– Basis of all modern circuit simulators
– PSpice: SPICE for the PC (1984)
• We will use Multisim made by National Instruments
– Graphical interface
– Runs standard SPICE Analyses (DC, AC, Transient)
– Allows user to incorporate Instruments for measurements just like
in lab
3
Starting Up
Programs/National
Instruments/Circuit NI
Select Multisim 13 to
begin schematic entry
4
File Save
Select File/Save to display a
standard Windows Save dialog
5
File Save
Navigate the location where
you want to store the file and
give the file a name.
6
Schematic
Project Hierarchy is displayed
Select Circuit1 to view schematic
7
Circuit Construction
Select Place/Component to
add a circuit device
8
Circuit Construction
Select a Group from
the dropdown list
9
Circuit Construction
Select Group/Basic
to get Resistors
10
Circuit Construction
Symbol (ANSI)
displays the
device symbol
RESISTOR family is
used for resistors The Component list
(Note resistors provides all the
available in the lab components in the
have 5% tolerance.) selected Group
11
Circuit Construction
Once the device is
selected click on OK
and place the resistor
in the schematic using
the left click
12
Circuit Construction
To Duplicate
resistors. Left click on
the device, once the
blue borders appear,
right click and select
Copy
13
Circuit Construction
Right click again and
select paste as shown.
Place the resistor
anywhere you want.
14
Circuit Construction
To Rotate resistors.
Left click on the
device, once the blue
borders appear, right
click and select 90
Clockwise or 90
Counter CW.
15
Circuit Construction
To add a Ground select Place/Component/Sources (in
the Group dropdown list)/POWER_SOURCE (Under
Family).
Select GROUND in the component list and click OK
16
Circuit Construction
GROUND is placed
same as any other
component
17
Circuit Construction
To add a DC Voltage Source select
Place/Component/Sources (in the Group
dropdown list)/POWER_SOURCE (Under
Family).
Select DC_POWER in the component list and
click OK
18
Circuit Construction
For future reference, to add a DC Current
Source select Place/Component/Sources (in
the Group dropdown list)/SIGNAL_CURRENT
(Under Family).
Select DC_CURRENT in the component list
and click OK
19
Circuit Construction
To wire the circuit:
1.Left click on a pin on a component to start the
connection and move the mouse. A wire appears,
attached to your curser.
2. Left click on the destination pin to finish the
connection. Multisim automatically and intelligently
places the wire
20
Circuit Construction
For future reference, to delete a device right click on it
and press delete
21
Circuit Construction
To change the value of the Voltage
Source. Double click on it, a window will
appear as shown. Change the numerical
magnitude of the Voltage and you can
also change the prefix using arrow
up/down
22
Circuit Construction
The same procedure can be followed for
the resistors. Set R1 to 510 ohm and R2
to 2.2 kohm.
One can change the tolerance if desired
23
DC Analysis (I)
Run
OR Select Simulate/Run
Measurement Probe
General Procedure for DC Analysis
1.Select Measurement Probe
2.Place the Probe in all different nodes
3.Click on “Run”
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Whenever you want to make some
changes to the circuit Stop simulation using one of the Run
simulation commands
24
DC Analysis (I)
Select Simulate/Run
25
DC Analysis (I)
Alternative way “Run” OR Run Switch
26
DC Analysis (I)
DC values for
voltages and current
appear on the probe
list.
Ignore the zero
values for now (they
are AC values).
27
DC Analysis (II)
Click to place a Multimeter
Another way to do DC Analysis is
using a Multimeter. A Multimeter is
provided in the lab and using it
here gives the user an idea about
how to measure voltages and
currents experimentally.
28
DC Analysis (II)
Placing a Multimeter is just like placing
any other component, you can rotate it
around by right clicking on it and
choose any of the commands (90
Clockwise, 90 Counter CW, Flip
Horizontal, Flip Vertical)
29
DC Analysis (II)
AC
DC
Measurements
To measure the voltage, connect the
Multimeter in parallel with the device. Run
the simulation and double click on the
Multimeter to show the measurement.
One can choose to alternating current (AC)
or direct current (DC) as well as Voltage
(V), Current (A), and Resistance (Ohm).
30
Agilent
Multimeter
31
DC Volts
Turn Power Voltage DC Amps Current
On Measurement (shift DC V) Measurement
Connections Connections
32
DC Analysis (II)
Series Connection
Note that you will need to remove
some wires and add new ones to
connect the Multimeter in series.
To measure current, one should
connect the Multimeter in series.
33
DC Analysis (II)
To measure voltage at a certain point, connect the
positive terminal of the Multimeter to that point and the
negative terminal to Ground.
34
DC Analysis (III)
A 3rd way to perform DC Analysis
1. Name every node
2. Select Simulate/ Analyses/DC Operating Point
3. Simulate
To name the node, right click on the node and select
properties
35
DC Analysis (III)
If you select “Show,” the name
you choose will appear on the
circuit schematic.
Change the Net name of the node to something you
are familiar with (like V1 or VA) and click OK
Follow the same procedure for every node.
Note that you can not rename Ground. It is always
“0”.
36
DC Analysis (III)
Select Simulate/Analyses/DC Operating Point…
37
DC Analysis (III)
Select all named variables in the circuit and click add
38
DC Analysis (III)
After you choose Add, choose Simulate and the
program will perform DC Analysis
39
DC Analysis (III)
After clicking Simulate, the voltages of the named
nodes will appear as shown.
40
Transient Analysis
• Consider voltage and/or current as a function of time
– Output must be a graph with time on horizontal axis
– Requires an AC source! Function Generator
• In Multisim
– Method I: use Instruments: Oscilloscope
– Method II: use Transient Analysis
41
Transient Analysis (I)
Place a Function Generator
to provide the AC input
voltage and connect the
positive terminal to where
you want the input to be and
the negative terminal to
ground.
Place an Oscilloscope and
connect the positive terminals
of the channels to where you
want to measure the AC voltage
and the negative terminals to
ground.
42
Transient Analysis (I)
Double click on the Function
Generator and Oscilloscope
to get the windows shown
Change the Frequency to 1 Change the scale if needed to show the signal
kHz (= 1000 Hz), Amplitude DC button shows the DC and AC parts of the signal
to 1 Vp (1V peak). Note you
can set the prefix using the AC button shows the AC part of the signal
arrows. 0 button sets the signal to zero
- button Inverts the signal
43
Agilent Agilent
Function Oscilloscope
Generator
44
Transient Analysis (I)
“Run” the circuit to show the
input and output on the
oscilloscope
45
Transient Analysis (I)
After adjusting the scales on
the oscilloscope, you will get
the signal shown on the
Oscilloscope XSC1 window.
Stop the simulation (or
choose “Sing. Under Type”
to freeze the signal.
46
Optional Circuit Configurations
One cannot tell which signal
is which in the previous
slide, so we can change the
color of the signal by right
clicking on a wire and
choosing Wire Color…
47
Optional Circuit Configurations
Choose the color that you prefer.
48
Optional Circuit Configurations
Run the simulation again
and you can distinguish
between the input and
output signal
49
Transient Analysis (II)
Select Simulate/Analyses/Transient Analysis
50
Transient Analysis (II)
Choose the Start Time and End Time
51
Transient Analysis (II)
Click on Output and add the voltages
after naming them
52
Transient Analysis (II)
Exporting data to Excel
Exporting data
to MathCAD
Exporting data
to LabVIEW
Click on Simulate and you will get the
Transient Analysis Result
53
AC Analysis
• Consider voltage and/or current as a function of
frequency
– Output must be a graph with frequency on horizontal axis
• Given large range of frequencies considered, often use log scale
• Magnitude and Phase included
• Particularly useful when designing items such as frequency-selective filters or
amplifiers
– Requires an AC source! AC_Power
• In Multisim
– Method I: use Instruments: Bode Plotter
– Method II: use AC Analysis
54
Additional Circuit Construction
Place an AC power source
Group: Sources
Family: POWER_SOURCE
Component: AC_POWER
55
Remove Function Generator and
Oscilloscope Additional Circuit Construction
Place a Capacitor
Group: Basic
Family: CAPACITOR
Component: 10 uF
56
AC Analysis (I)
Place a Bode Plotter and connect the
input and output terminals
Here, change the
parameters of the AC
power source to 1Vrms
and 60Hz
57
AC Analysis (I)
Double click on the Bode Plotter to get
the window shown below.
To change Mode from Magnitude to
Phase and vice versa
To change scale from linear to
logarithmic and vice versa for
the vertical or horizontal axis
To change Final and Initial scale
values for either vertical or horizontal
58
AC Analysis (I)
Choose Simulate. Here are example AC Analysis
Results using logarithmic vertical and horizontal
scales
59
AC Analysis (II)
Select Simulate/Analyses/AC Analysis
60
AC Analysis (II)
Set all the parameters.
Here change FSTART to 100 Hz, FSTOP to 1 MHz,
and 25 points per decade
61
AC Analysis (II)
Add the output voltage after naming it
62
AC Analysis (II)
Choose Simulate to get the AC Analysis result. Note
that this shows magnitude (top) and phase (bottom).
63
AC Analysis (II)
See what happens when you do AC
Analysis using a vertical scale in Decibel
64
AC Analysis (II)
AC Analysis result using a vertical scale in Decibel.
Now the top graph should look like the graph you got
using AC Analysis (I) on slide 53.
65
