IC Design & Verification
Ansoft's IC extraction and simulation software helps engineers create the next generation of DigitalRF CMOS ICs, GaAs/SiGe RFICs, and SIP/SOC designs. Modern high-performance IC design is made possible by innovative circuit topologies which enable the integration of digital, analog and RF functionality as well as new device and process technologies that drive optimization of size, power, cost and yield. At GHz operating frequencies, critical on-chip embedded passives including spiral inductors and MOM capacitors must be carefully designed to account for 3D and full-wave effects. All on-chip parasitics must be accurately accounted for and extracted to model the key loss components and corresponding signal degradation. Furthermore, as transistor counts increase dramatically to provide large-scale functional integration and compensate for lossier silicon, new circuit simulation strategies and tools must be adopted to fulfill concurrent demands for accuracy, capacity, speed, and robust convergence.Ansoft's technology can meet the challenges of modern high-performance IC design and is easy to adopt because of its complete integration within established customer IC design flows. AnsoftLinks allows HFSS, Q3D Extractor, and SIwave to be used with a few button clicks to extract GHz accurate S-Parameter models, W-elements and Full-Wave SPICE models for on-chip interconnects, and complete IC packages. Nexxim natively supports Spectre and HSPICE netlist formats and device models and integrates directly within industry-standard IC design flows for transient and harmonic-balance circuit simulation. In addition, these tools are dynamically linked by Ansoft Designer for final verification of the IC with package and board parasitics included. All Ansoft products can be used as point tools to enhance existing design flows or as tool suites to maximize performance and yield. Featured Products Nexxim®
Nexxim® is an advanced, frequency- and time-domain circuit simulator for engineers designing the next generation of high- performance DigitalRF CMOS ICs, GaAs/SiGe RFICs, SIP/SOC packages, power delivery systems and gigabit computer and communication backplanes. Dynamic, parameterized co-simulation with HFSS™ and Ansoft Designer® enables Nexxim to combine transistor-level detail for complex and highly nonlinear circuits with full-wave S-parameter models of the interconnect to provide the most accurate simulation capability for signal-integrity analysis and RF design. Ansoft Designer®
Ansoft Designer® provides an integrated schematic and design management front-end for complex analog, RF and mixed-signal applications. By leveraging advanced electromagnetic field simulators dynamically linked to powerful circuit and system simulation, Ansoft Designer enables engineers to design, optimize, and validate component, circuit, and system performance long before building a prototype in hardware. HFSS™
HFSS™ is the industry-standard software for S-parameter, Full-Wave SPICE™ extraction, and 3D electromagnetic field simulation of high-frequency and high-speed components. Engineers rely on the accuracy, capacity, and performance of HFSS to design on-chip embedded passives, IC packages, PCB interconnects, antennas, RF/microwave components, and biomedical devices. SIwave™
SIwave™ analyzes complex printed circuit boards (PCBs) and IC packages prevalent in modern electronic products. The tool allows engineers to extract frequency-dependent circuit models of power distribution and signal nets directly from device layout (physical CAD) databases. Such circuit models aid in the identification of signal integrity and power-distribution network problems and are critical to designers seeking first-pass system success. An integrated DC IR drop computation module allows engineers to perform pre/post layout IR-drop verification to ensure that power distribution networks have the proper bump, ball, and pin sizes, as well as proper copper weighting. SIwave also helps mitigate electromigration concerns by flagging regions of high current density. |
