Today's microwave designers are increasingly dependent on electromagnetic (EM) solvers and circuit extractors. More synergy is now needed between circuit simulation and layout analysis, thanks to frequency requirements, circuit complexity, and size constraints. Yet such synergy is challenged by the fact that simulation is driven by the schematic while EM is represented by the layout. In a six-page white paper, AWR Corp. asserts that its EXTRACT Flow eliminates this roadblock while improving user productivity.
According to the "AWR EXTRACT Flow White Paper," this flow automatically creates EM documents from the schematic's layout. It then seamlessly reintegrates the results back into the schematic as part of any circuit simulation, optimization, and/or tuning step. When a simulation is requested, the flow finds the elements in the schematic and on the layout that have been assigned to a particular EXTRACT block. It then copies the layout representation of those elements to the EM document specified on that block.
After the EM solver runs, the circuit simulator is notified. It automatically uses the solver results in place of the models associated with the schematic elements tied to the EXTRACT block. This approach eliminates the manual process of updating EM structures or reintegrating multiport S-parameter files back into the schematic from the EM analysis.
AWR corp., 1960 e. grand ave., suite 430, el segundo, ca 90245; (310) 726-3000, FaX: (310) 726- 3005, internet: www.awrcorp.com.