A NEW TOOL CALLED iFILTER was developed specifically for the synthesis of lumped-element and distributed filters. It operates within the Microwave Office high-frequency design software, thereby allowing filter designs and their evolution to be part of the entire circuit design project. With iFilter's intuitive user interface, designers should be able to quickly and easily design filters, connect them to other circuitry, and make optimization tradeoffs. iFilter's physical layouts are automatically generated for distributed filters. In contrast, lumped-element filters can be realized using an extensive library of manufacturers' components (inductors, capacitors, etc). Designers can view representations of the filter before it is exported to Microwave Office. Switching from an annotated schematic view to a physical view or netlists with parametric information provides insight into the filter's impedances and resonances. The iFilter software provides feedback on higher-order modes and line widths for common characteristic impedances. In addition, it warns the user if the desired filter characteristics are beyond the capabilities of a specific topology. The software even vows to perform accurate synthesis through electromagnetic (EM) verification with AWR's AXIEM threedimensional (3D) planar EM simulator. iFilter is an optional module for Microwave Office software. It is available for either lumped-element filters only or for distributed and lumped-element filter synthesis with the 2010 release of AWR Design Environment.
AWR Corp.
1960 E. Grand Ave., Suite 430
El Segundo, CA 90245
(310) 726-3000, FAX: (310) 726-3005
Internet: www.awrcorp.com.