Isolating and Characterizing Critical Traces Using EM Analysis
3 www.cadence.com/go/awr
Using the AWR AXIEM Simulator with Virtuoso RF Solution
The AWR AXIEM EM simulator within the AWR Microwave Office
®
circuit design software is a best-in-class planar,
open-boundary 3D planar engine that solves for currents on horizontal metal traces and vertical vias. The metal is drawn on
planar dielectric layers, as is commonly used in silicon chips, boards, and packages. The AWR AXIEM simulator generates
S-parameter and offers flexible port options, thick or thin metal mesh, shape simplification rules, and a high-capacity, fast-
computational engine.
Prior to the Virtuoso RF Solution integration of the AWR AXIEM EM solver, users of both tools relied upon manual integration,
namely exporting and importing the layout between environments. Additional manual steps were necessary, including setting
up ports, simulation settings, generating S-parameters, and then exporting the results into a circuit simulator, either by
exporting back to Virtuoso RF Solution or importing the Spectre
®
Simulation Platform netlist and running the AWR APLAC
®
circuit simulator within the AWR Microwave Office software. This manual flow is illustrated in simplistic fashion in Figure 1.
Step 1 shows a spiral inductor being imported from the Virtuoso RF Solution into the AWR AXIEM simulator. Step 2 shows
ports and simulation settings being added. Step 3 shows the S-parameters being generated. Step 4 shows the final resulting
S-parameters that are used in a circuit simulator
This flow involved a great deal of manual manipulation of layouts, EM simulator setup, and manual export of data to circuit
simulators that is both time-consuming and error prone. This manual flow becomes more difficult when one considers the
designer is normally interested in several elements and nets, for example coupling between inductors.
Figure 2: The traditional AWR AXIEM flow in AWR Microwave Office software for use with Virtuoso RF Solution
Step 1. Import layout from Virtuoso RF Solution into the
AWR Design Environment
Step 2. Set up ports and simulation settings for the
AWR AXIEM simulator
Step 3. Generate S-parameters Step 4. Run circuit simulator
