AWR DESIGN FORUM
Bangalore | August 23
TIME
TOPIC
09:00 – 09:30
Welcome, Registration and Coffee
09:30 – 10:15
Introduction to AWR Design Environment,
AWR Innovations in 2013 and Beyond
10:15 – 11:00
Design and Optimization of 3D Connectors
11:00 – 11:15
Coffee Break
11:15 – 12:00
Dynamic and Efficient Frequency Planning for
Radio Communications
12:00 – 13:00
Guest Paper by WIN Semiconductors:
GaN & GaAs Design Success with WIN
Semiconductors and AWR Software
13:00 - 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 14:45
Planar and Low Profile Antenna Design with EM
Tools and Practical Design Examples
14:45 – 15:30
Multi-Element Phased-Array Design/Optimization
and Advanced Radar Modeling
15:30 – 15:45
Break
15:45 – 16:30
A Novel Approach for System Designers and
Integrators Using Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS)
Components
16:30 – 17:00
Q&A, Conclusion, and Lucky Draw
Partners
ICON Design Automation and WIN Semiconductors
www.awrcorp.com
Paper Abstracts
Introduction to AWR Design Environment, AWR Innovations in 2013 and Beyond
Tabish Khan, Regional Sales Manager, AWR
This presentation begins with a brief introduction to the AWR Design Environment™ and an
overview of the powerful, innovative technologies contained within the latest release of AWR’s
RF/microwave design software. AWR software is an advanced suite of tools developed especially for designers of MMICs, RF PCBs, RFICs, microwave modules, communication systems,
radar systems, antennas, and more. The capabilities offered include full 3D EM simulation,
3D PCells, circuit envelope simulation, co-simulation with National Instruments’ LabVIEW,
FPGA hardware-in-the-loop simulation, antenna synthesis, RF frequency planning, and direct
links to PCB design tools, to name just a few.
Design and Optimization of 3D Connectors
Graeme Ritchie, RFIC and MMIC Specialist, AWR
The most recent addition to AWR’s EM simulation tool portfolio is Analyst™, a full 3D FEMbased EM solver. It has been integrated into Microwave Office® much like AWR’s 3D planar
analysis tool AXIEM®, so the user need not be an EM tool expert to make use of this novel
technology. In this presentation a task of optimization of coax-to-microstrip transition at a specified design frequency will also be discussed in detail. The goal is to maximize transmission of
energy from coax TEM mode into microstrip quasi-TEM mode, and some common tricks to
achieve that goal will be demonstrated. The optimized, parameterized transition model can be
conveniently used as part of any Microwave Office design.
Dynamic and Efficient Frequency Planning for Radio Communications
Joel Kirshman, System Specialist, AWR
This presentation showcases the features and capabilities of AWR’s RFP™ frequency planning
synthesis tool for communications system design. RFP enables efficient radio communications
system design by allowing designers to effortlessly and efficiently determine spurious free bandwidths in their designs and provides insight into the heritage of unwanted signals (spurs). In
addition to analyzing spurs, RFP RF links can consist of components such as amplifiers, mixers,
and filters chosen from a selection of commercially available parts (COTS) or behavioral models.
RFP also gives engineers the first cut of cascaded measurements such as NF, P1dB, SNR and
IM3, as well as spurious free dynamic range. RFP is seamlessly integrated with AWR’s Visual
System Simulator™ (VSS), so designers have access to VSS capabilities, including a choice of
modulated signals and can perform EVM, ACPR, and BER measurements.
Paper Abstracts
GaN & GaAs Design Success with WIN Semiconductors and AWR Software
Wei Der Chang, Director of Customer Engineering department, WIN
Chi-Sheng Kao, Sales Section Manager of Asia Pacific department, WIN
This presentation examines the AWR MMIC design flow utilizing WIN’s GaAs pHEMT
processes. Ongoing collaboration between AWR and WIN has resulted in advanced PDKs
equipped with EM extraction and DRC/LVS, as well as thermal simulation capabilities that enable engineers to achieve first pass design success in complex and functionally dense MMICs.
Examples with real-world circuit designs utilizing WIN’s MMIC PDKs will be shown. Engineers
will also get a preview of WIN’s latest GAN technology.
Planar and Low Profile Antenna Design with EM Tools and Practical Design Examples
Graeme Ritchie, RFIC and MMIC Specialist, AWR
Planar antennas are very popular in all kinds of wireless devices for frequencies up to several GHz.
Their popularity is mainly due to their low cost and low profile, as they can often be integrated into
PCBs. AWR’s AXIEM EM simulator is well suited for planar antenna design, thanks to its a high
capacity 3D planar EM design capabilities. In this presentation a number of antennas simulated
with AXIEM are considered, and a case study of an LTE small cell base station antenna designed
and optimized with AWR’s Analyst 3D FEM EM solver is discussed in depth.
Multi-Element Phased-Array Design/Optimization and Advanced Radar Modeling
Joel Kirshman, System Specialist, AWR
While phased arrays with up to few hundred elements can be modeled and simulated with current
EDA tools, larger arrays require custom tools that are not easily integrated in the overall system
design flow. This presentation describes key features within VSS that provide designers with much
faster configuration and greatly reduced simulation times by allowing them to model thousands of
array elements without the overhead encountered when the array is modeled using discrete components. This capability offers the ability to configure the array using custom or standard element
arrangements and tapers as well as modeling the non-linear characteristics of its elements.
A Novel Approach for System Designers and Integrators Using Commercial
Off The Shelf (COTS) Components
Tabish Khan, Regional Sales Manager, AWR
Designers face daunting challenges when designing complex communication systems that require integration of several components to realize the system as a whole and meet performance
goals. This presentation describes how VSS provides engineers with the ability to choose the
optimum system architecture as well as formulate suitable specifications for each of the underlying components in communications designs. Whether the ultimate application is a wireless
base station or mobile device, radar system, or surveillance receiver, an efficient design flow
can identify and resolve potential difficulties—before they become showstoppers.