Design testing

Agilent has announced the 2009 release of Advanced Design System for high-frequency/high-speed co-design of integrated circuits, packages and boards that helps designers work with a single EDA platform to share simulation models and minimise design rework.

The ADS EDA co-design platform enables verification of high-frequency or high-speed system performance as soon as IC, package and PC board designs become available, either in real parts or in simulated models.

With the common system-verification test benches in ADS 2009, designers can identify and correct component interactions that can negatively affect the ability to meet system performance specifications.

Applications include: designing the latest 4G LTE phones, where multimode/multiband compatibility with 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth must be maintained; signal integrity analysis and fast eye-diagram optimisation of multigigabit, high-speed serial links, where layout geometry, pre-emphasis and equalisation are optimised for the lowest bit error rate; aerospace-defence communication and radar system integration with costly military-specification components procured through long purchase cycles, where failure leads to project delay, cost overrun and eventual cancellation.

The package offers capabilities for co-design with the widest variety of models including: X-parameters: can be used directly in ADS simulation to accurately represent off-the-shelf components such as amplifiers and transistors; 3D electromagnetic parameterised components representing metal shields, antenna radomes, absorbers, packages, interconnects, finite dielectric substrates and wire bonds; transistor-level circuits on RFIC, MMIC, LTCC or laminate RF modules and PC boards; behavioural models of all types, including Verilog-A/AMS, HDL, MATLAB, IBIS, C++ and neural networks; netlists from HSPICE and Spectre; measured signal stimulus and data from the company’s signal, network and logic analysers; pre-built simulation libraries and sources compliant with the latest wireless standards such as LTE, WiMedia and VWAN wireless HD with MIMO antenna characteristics.

It also interoperates with Cadence and Mentor back-end design platforms, allowing designers to import: Cadence Allegro PCB, advanced package designer and system-in-package physical design data for co-designing with active components; design rule results from Cadence Assura, Mentor Calibre or Triquint MailDRC for viewing and correcting within ADS layout environment.