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Silicon RFIC Design Solutions

The increasing complexity and performance demands on analog/mixed-signal RFICs challenge the RFIC designer as well as EDA vendors to adopt tools with ever increasing levels of performance, sophistication and flexibility. Physical effects in the design, whether layout parasitic, pattern dependent effects, inductive on-chip coupling, high frequency effects, process variability, thermal self and adjacent neighbor heating, or ground plane effects across chip and module boundaries, enormously complicate the design and require an EDA solution that brings together best of breed EDA tools into a seamless design flow. Clearly, isolated point tools will fail in providing the designer an environment to achieve a silicon accurate design. Keysight’s Advanced Design System (ADS) platform with its design solution that is interoperable with other EDA and 3rd party tools provides a seamless integration of best of breed ADS tools. Through interoperability, entire rf-blocks and modules can be designed and co-simulated within ADS using the electromagnetic and electro-thermal field solvers, harmonic balance, and fast envelop circuit simulators, while offering a choice of 3rd party tools for silicon verification and manufacturing signoff.

What’s new for SiRF in ADS2016.01 - Learn about ADS Interoperability for RFIC Design with ADS 2016.01


ADS/Virtuoso Interoperability Design Flow
 

ADS IPL Alliance iPDK Design Flow

ADS-Virtuoso Interoperability Design Flow
  • Solving complex SiRF IC design challenges while working seamlessly of a single ADS / Virtuoso OA library
  • Schematic and layout design optimization in ADS on OA library (EM & ETH-cosim, module and system level)
  • Improved design efficiency and faster time to market while using RF-centric design tools at a competitive cost
 

ADS IPL Alliance iPDK Design FlowNew iPDK Support with ADS 2016.01

  • iPDKs are compatible with any OpenAccess-compliant EDA tool
  • TCL callbacks
  • PyCells for device layout Pcells
  • Foundry iPDKs available from AMS, Xfab, Lfoundry, ST Microelectronics and TSMC

Advantages of iPDK in ADS

  • Leveraging the interoperability concept beyond Virtuoso SKILL code PDKs
  • Bringing ADS faster to processes supported with a foundry iPDK
  • New processes, advanced TSMC tech nodes, power-management etc available now in ADS
  • Full suite of ADS tools available for designs using an iPDK

 At the product level, Keysight's silicon RFIC design solutions span across various tools depending on in which platform you work in, or what part of your design flow is done in which platform. Also, Keysight EEsof EDA works closely with a number of RFIC foundry partners to offer you Process Design Kits (PDKs) in Si and SiGe technologies.

Advanced Design System (ADS)

Complete Front-to-back Platform for Small-scale Silicon RFIC Design

Advanced Design System (ADS) provides a complete front-to-back platform for Silicon RFIC design. Beyond its popular RF design and analysis support, it includes schematic-driven layout creation, layout-versus-schematic (LVS) check, design rule check (DRC) and integrated 3D planar electromagnetic and 3D-FEM simulators.

Within ADS you can directly go beyond the IC design domain and implement RF modules or RF System-in-Package (SiP) design, where the RFIC is part of.

GoldenGate

Best-in-class RF circuit simulation within the Virtuoso platform

GoldenGate RFIC Simulation Software is the most trusted simulation, verification and analysis solution available for integrated RF circuit design within the Cadence Virtuoso design flow. Its unique simulation algorithms are optimized for the demands of today's complex RF circuit designs, enabling full characterization of complete transceivers prior to tape-out.

Momentum

Integrated EM analysis across design platforms

Momentum is the leading 3D planar electromagnetic (EM) simulator used for passive circuit modeling and analysis. It’s part of the ADS design platform, but also integrated in Virtuoso. Momentum is qualified for most silicon foundries and provides dedicated RFIC functionalities like automated via simplification or process scaling. With direct support for bond wire and Through Silicon Via (TSV) modeling it also goes beyond traditional 3D planer solvers.

Electromagnetic Professional (EMPro)

Go full 3D for EM simulation and component design

EMPro 3D EM Simulation Software complements Momentums 3D planar solver to go full 3D when needed with access to both frequency-domain (FEM) and time-domain (FDTD) 3D EM simulation technologies. Create 3D components that can be simulated together with 2D circuit layouts and schematics within ADS.

SystemVue

Designing with 4G modulated signals for optimized multi-standard RFICs

SystemVue ESL Software is a focused electronic design automation (EDA) environment for electronic system-level (ESL) design. SystemVue "speaks RF", cuts PHY development and verification time in half, and connects to ADS and GoldenGate in Virtuoso. It offers a broad set of wireless libraries including LTE-Advanced (4G) and 802.11ac (WLAN).
 

This suite links the RF system, subsystem, and component-level design and analysis as part of a unique and comprehensive RFIC design flow.

Learn more about Silicon RFIC Design.

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