AWR Corp., a leader in high-frequency EDA, continues to grow its AWR.TV franchise. Most recently IMS 2011 MTT-S select MicroApps talks are now on-line and include:
Q of Spiral Inductor: Spiral inductors are one of the most common passive components used in MMIC, RFIC and module technologies. The figure of merit called “Q” is commonly used by designers to describe an inductor’s effectiveness over the frequency range of interest. EM planar simulators traditionally have problems when they are used to calculate Q. Typical issues encountered are improper loss calculations with impedance boundary conditions and excessive calculation times resulting from over fine meshing. In this video, AWR presents an approximate method that results in a good value for Q without the drawbacks of excessive computation time and numerical error due to meshing inaccuracies.
Online Design Centers: An “online design center” is more than simply an interactive data sheet. These sites allow subscribers to place a device from a sponsoring manufacturer into a specific circuit topology using the manufacturer’s device parameters (or varying them) and run a simulation using AWR’s Microwave Office™ high-frequency design software. The video illustrates how such a technology site can act as an intermediary between designer and device manufacturer, with no commitment on the part of the user.
Nonlinear Modeling: Most compact model parameters are extracted from linear, 50-ohm S-parameters and DC IV data. However, their ability to predict behavior under extreme nonlinear conditions or with non-50-ohm terminations is unreliable. This issue is being addressed by measurement-based, black box nonlinear models that are technology-independent. They include Agilent’s X-parameters, NMDG’s S-functions and Mesuro’s Cardiff Model. This video highlights each one and the overall benefit of nonlinear device models in microwave design.
System Simulation with Wireless 3G/4G Standards: To satisfy the rigorous requirements of today’s wireless standards, microwave subsystems must be simulated at the system level and evaluated using test stimuli that most effectively represent the actual operating environment. This video shows how AWR’s Visual System SimulatorT™ end-to-end system design software along with Rohde & Schwarz R&S WinIQSim2 standards-compliant signal generation software allows system designers to achieve optimum results for HSPA+, LTE and WiMAX standards.
Yield Analysis in EM Simulation: The ultimate determinant of design “correctness” is the performance of a MMIC or other device after fabrication and how well it agrees with its simulation, i.e. the yield of the design. The ability to predict yield with a high degree of accuracy is highly beneficial during both the design process itself and later during EM analysis. This video shows the process of determining yield using AWR’s Microwave Office high-frequency software and AXIEM® 3D planar EM simulator.
MMIC Thermal Simulation: Identifying thermal “hot spots” is an important task in the design of devices and MMICs. It should be performed early and at several stages of the process in order to ensure that once fabricated, the device or devices will operate under optimum thermal conditions. This video shows how CapeSym’s SYMMIC thermal analysis software coupled with AWR’s Microwave Office high-frequency design software provide a fully-integrated approach to creating thermal profiles of FETs and MMICs.
Additional content-rich videos have been consistently added to AWR.TV so as to aid new, future and existing customer with learning at their own pace and time about AWR’s high-frequency EDA tools including Microwave Office, Analog Office®, Visual System Simulator (VSS) and AXIEM software.