Agilent RF Design Environment (RFDE) is a software design platform for large-scale RF/mixed-signal IC designs in the Cadence environment. It integrates Agilent’s leading RF simulation technologies into the Cadence industry-standard analog/mixed signal design flow framework.
All embedded in Cadence Affirma Analog Design Environment, RFDE consists of five combined parts:
- ADSsim, which includes the following analysis and simulation tools from Agilent’s ADS: DC, AC/S-parameter, harmonic balance, circuit envelope, transient / convolution, parameter sweep, parameter optimization, and Monte Carlo yield analysis.
- Data Display, which includes Measurements expressions, probe circuit, auto display, and snapshot mode.
- adsLib, which includes RF sources, Circuit components, System components, Microstrip and Multilayer components.
- Wireless Test Benches offering system-level wireless signal sources and standards measurements.
- Momentum, a fully integrated planar electromagnetic simulator for passive circuit analysis.
RF Design Environment makes available important frequency-domain and mixed-domain simulation technologies; optimization and statistical design tools; additional device, system, and behavioral models; and powerful data display and post-processing.
All of these features provide valuable benefits to the large-scale RF and mixed signal IC designers. These benefits are provided within the Cadence design flow and Cadence simulation user interface – and side by side with established Cadence tools such as Spectre and Spectre RF.
RFDE is embedded in the Cadence Affirma Analog Design Environment and is accessible to designers the same way as Cadence Composer schematic editor, Assura/Diva layout verification, and Spectre/SpectreRF. Simulations are set up using Affirma, in the same way that simulations are set up for Spectre RF and other simulators. Simulation states can be saved and other features in the Cadence design environment are also available.
RF Design Environment: Simulation Technologies
The simulator technologies in RF Design Environment use a mature and robust frequency domain simulator and mixed-domain solutions that take advantage of the strengths of both time-domain and frequency-domain simulation.
Harmonic Balance Simulator provides frequency-domain, steady-state, large signal analysis of non-linear circuits excited with multi-tone sources. Harmonic Balance (HB) is used to simulate noise, gain compression, harmonic distortion, oscillator spurs, phase noise, and intermodulation products in non-linear circuits much faster than SPICE-based simulators.
Harmonic Balance is best applied to circuits with two or more large signal tones (multiple tones, frequency translation, mixers, detectors, and multipliers) with frequencies that do not need to be co-periodic. It can handle frequency domain models including transmission lines, microstrip lines and N-ports. It is very useful on oscillator and VCO design and analysis.
Amplifier compression, harmonic distortion, oscillator spurious, phase noise, and mixer inter-modulation products are other types of analysis that HB performs extremely well.
Circuit Envelope simulation uses an advanced time-swept harmonic balance simulation technique. It enables analysis of time-varying carriers such as PLL, AGC, VCO, VCA, modulators, and the like.
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