Software "ADS" new features
-- EDN, January 4, 2001
Agilent Technologies has enhanced its ADS (Advanced Design System) for communication-system development. Improvements targeting RF and microwave design include an RF Mode for Agilent's Momentum EM simulator, which in-cludes a full-wave solver. The RF mode incorporates a quasistatic solver, an arbitrary polygonal mesh, and a star-loop basis function, which reduces simulation time and increases capacity without loss of accuracy for structures measuring less than one-half a wavelength. The RF mode is suitable for wireless applications, such as BGA packages, interconnect, and complex RF pc boards. New file translators allow you to import Series IV and MDS designs into ADS. Design guides for Bluetooth, cdma2000, Mixer, and RF System provide assistance and intellectual property to help novice and expert designers to perform complex design and verification tasks. The release also includes improvements in the ease of design and ease of use, such as automatic launching of Data Display and display of simulation results.
The RF-IC-design module now includes model binning and provides improved integration with Cadence-based RF-IC design flow. The version also offers design kits from several IC foundries. The wireless-system-design and -verification portion offers new Edge and 3GPP wireless- design libraries that help system and RF engineers verify their designs according to current wireless standards. Agilent also integrated ADS with the company's test equipment, such as the 89600 vector-signal analyzer, providing access to the 89600's measurement algorithms and a familiar measurement user interface to display Ptolemy simulation results.
Prices for ADS start at $8080, and it runs on the Unix and Microsoft operating systems.
Agilent, www.agilent.com/eesof-eda.
-by Gabe Moretti
