A Spice Model For The Ideal Transformer

Electronic Design
Contributing Author
Contributing Author
Mon, 1999-06-28 (All day)
The ideal transformer may be described as a two-port device that provides a constant voltage gain and
a current gain inversely proportional to the same constant. Such a device is required in certain types
of system or analog simulation work. For example, in acoustics modeling, electric analogies are used
to simulate acoustic circuits, while ideal transformers model the transformation of air pressure and
velocity with changes in tube apertures sizes.
Spice doesnt provide a specific statement to model an ideal transformer. Instead, Spice provides a
coupled-inductor model in the K statement that includes self and mutual inductances. A two-port
transformer modeled in this way would have the configuration shown in Figure 1.

The problem with this transformer model is that the inductances add secondary loading to the circuit
and therefore produce irrelevant effects in some simulation work. Larger inductance values may be
chosen to overcome this loading effect. However, the diminishing impedance value of these inductors
as the frequency is lowered implies that theres a lower frequency bound to which this will work. As a
consequence, the coupled-inductor model doesnt simulate an ideal transformer at zero hertz (dc). At
dc, any source connected to the input of the transformer will see a resistance of zero due to the
inductors L1 and M. Also, the transformers output voltage will be 0 V.
An alternative approach models the transformer as a two-port linear network (Fig. 2).

A current-controlled current source and a voltage-controlled voltage source are connected back to
back to form the ideal transformer. The resulting output equations are of the correct form and the
model works properly in Spice.
In the Spice listing, the Spice model for a current-controlled currentsource, the F statement, requires
the use of a 0-V dc source to sense the current in the second port (see the listing).

The turns ratio a has been set to 10 in this instance, but must be changed in both the E and F
statements for other applications. A load RL, equal to 1000 O, has been added to provide a current
path at the transformers output.
The output file of a Spice run should produce a current from the source VIN equal to 100 mA. The
voltage across and the current through RL are equal to 10 V and 10 mA, respectively, at all
frequencies, including 0 Hz.
For multiple-secondary transformers, a number of ideal transformers can be connected in parallel
with their primaries connected either in parallel or series as required.