Keysight's Advanced Design System (ADS) 2012.08 delivers new capabilities that improve productivity and efficiency for all applications it supports, as well as breakthrough technologies applicable to GaAs, GaN and silicon RF power-amplifier multichip module design.

New Technologies and Breakthroughs

Keysight's new technologies and breakthroughs for RF power amplifier design include:

• Multi-chip module finite element method (FEM) electromagnetic simulation to analyze electromagnetic interactions between ICs and interconnects, wire bond and flip-chip solder bumps in typical multichip RF power amplifier modules.
• Model support for the new artificial neural network-based Keysight NeuroFET model, extracted by Keysight EEsof's IC-CAP device modeling software, which enables more accurate FET modeling and simulation results (e.g., for high-power GaN FET amplifiers).
• Improved integration with Electromagnetic Professional (EMPro) software. Three-dimensional EM components from EMPro can now be saved as database cells for use directly in ADS.
• New ADS electro-thermal simulator. Based on a full 3-D thermal solver natively integrated into ADS, this new capability incorporates dynamic temperature effects to improve accuracy in "thermally aware" circuit simulation results.
• Enhancements to the ADS Load Pull DesignGuide, such as adding mismatch simulation to indicate device or amplifier sensitivity to load VSWR or phase angle.
• Enhancements to the Amplifier DesignGuide, including extensive updates that make it easy to see amplifier performance at a specific output power or a specific amount of gain compression.

More New Capability

User Interface & Design Management

• Docking & Tabbed Windows & Dialog Boxes
• Component Search - find objects in the design hierarchy quickly
• Net Navigator - confirm nodal connectivity
• Flexible Archive & Unarchive - share parts of your workspace
• Dozens of additional Schematic & Layout UI refinements
• Support for 3rd party Design Management/Version Control Tools - ClioSoft

Layout

• Multi-layer Interconnect creation - copy and oversize simple & complex structures
• Lock components to fixed position
• Improvements to Rulers and Dimension Lines
• ADS Desktop LVS Improvements
• Layout Command Line Editor - enables cookie cutter and ability to remove all wires in layout

Simulation

• Faster Linear Speed - automation of Linear Network Collapser in Linear Controller
• Improved Convergence/Sweep behavior - ignore and Continue if encounters a convergence issue
• Parallel Computing - faster Transient GPU, Simulation Manager to setup and control parallel sims with Transient/Convolution 8-pack license

Increased Integration with EMPro

• New level of integration with ADS - A common database allows 3D components built in EMPro to be placed on ADS schematics and layout directly. EMPro's increased level of integration with ADS is based on a shared database approach. Three-dimensional objects in EMPro can now be saved as ADS design database "cells" for use directly in ADS. As an example, a 3-D SMA connector cell created in EMPro now has "cell views" that can be placed either directly in an ADS schematic for circuit/electromagnetic cosimulation, or in an ADS layout (for an RF printed circuit board, for example) for full 3-D EM simulations in ADS. Direct integration streamlines the design process and will give circuit designers easier access to full 3-D EM modeling capabilities. No other product has this level of interoperability between 3-D EM analysis and RF/high-speed product design.
• New low-frequency analysis algorithm - Improves accuracy <100 MHz to DC. Also provides accurate, stable results at DC & low-frequencies required for higher-frequency circuit simulations. EMPro 2012.09 also introduces several advances in EM simulation technology. A new low-frequency analysis algorithm improves accuracy below 100 MHz, including at DC, in finite element method simulations. Previous FEM solvers have had difficulty producing accurate, stable results at DC and low frequencies, which is required in subsequent circuit simulations, even for higher frequency applications.
• 50% faster FEM meshing technology - Keysight has enhanced EMPro's FEM meshing technology for increased speed (typically 50 percent faster) and robustness.

High-Speed Digital

• New re-driver component in Channel Simulator flow based on a pre-standard extension to IBIS AMI
  • Electrical re-drivers
  • Opto link models
  • Crosstalk is modeled in channel simulations include re-drivers
• Ultra low BER measurements
• Multiple Eye Probes in Channel Simulator with AMI Tx/Rx
• Support for IBIS 5.1 including BIRDs 120 and 130
• Pre-standard support for advanced jitter and jitter stress test (BIRD 123), and on-die S-Parameters (part of BIRDs 116-118)
• S-parameter circuit creation through Schematic Wizard
  • Imports port and net names
  • Enhanced symbol generation including odd-ports-left, even-ports-right, dual in-line symbol

More on ADS 2012.08

ADS 2012.08 became availalbe for download in November of 2012. Click the Download Latest Version button above to Download Software and/or Apply for a Free Trial. For a summary of the features and capabilities that have been added or improved upon in this release, refer to Advanced Design System 2012 Updates.

Solaris Discontinuance

As previously announced, the Solaris (SUN OS) platform support has been discontinued and ADS 2012.08 is only supported on the LINUX Red Hat and Windows® operating systems.

View other ADS Product Versions.

Learn more about Keysight Advanced Design System (ADS)