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Getting Started
Guide
MWO/VSS Getting Started Guide
V5.5, May 2002
Voice 310.726.3000
Fax 310.726.3005
Technical Support support@mwoffice.com
Website www.mwoffice.com
© 2002 Applied Wave Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this
guide may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the express written permission of Applied Wave Research, Inc.
AWR™, Microwave Office™, Visual System Simulator™, and EMSight™ are trademarks of Applied Wave
Research, Inc. All other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners.
The information in this guide is believed to be accurate. However, no responsibility or liability is assumed by
Applied Wave Research, Inc. for its use.
CONTENTS
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1 INTRODUCING AWR DESIGN ENVIRONMENT ................... 1-1
About This Guide .........................................................................1-2
Getting Additional Information .................................................1-3
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e iii
CONTENTS
iv MWO/VSS 2002
CONTENTS
vi MWO/VSS 2002
INTRODUCING AWR DESIGN ENVIRONMENT
..............................
1
.....
Welcome to the AWR Design Environment!
The AWR Design Environment comprises two powerful tools that can be used
together to create an integrated system and RF design environment: Visual
System Simulator™ (VSS) and Microwave Office (MWO). These powerful tools
are fully integrated in the AWR Design Environment and allow you to
incorporate circuit designs into system designs without having to leave the AWR
Design Environment.
Microwave Office enables you to design circuits composed of schematics and
electromagnetic (EM) structures from an extensive electrical model database,
and then generate layout representations of these designs. You can perform
simulations using one of Microwave Office’s simulation engines -- a linear
simulator, an advanced harmonic balance or Volterra-series nonlinear simulator,
or a 3D-planar EM simulator (EMSight™) -- and display the output in a wide
variety of graphical forms based on your analysis needs. You can then tune or
optimize the designs and your changes are automatically and immediately
reflected in the layout.
VSS enables you to design and analyze end-to-end communication systems. You
can design systems composed of modulated signals, encoding schemes, channel
blocks and system level performance measurements. You can perform
simulations using VSS’s predefined transmitters and receivers, or you can build
customized transmitters and receivers from basic blocks. Based on your analysis
needs, you can display BER curves, ACPR measurements, constellations, and
power spectrums, to name a few. VSS provides a real-time tuner that allows you
to tune the designs and then see your changes immediately in the data display.
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 1-1
INTRODUCING AWR DESIGN ENVIRONMENT
1
About This Guide
ASSUMPTIONS
It is assumed that you are familiar with Microsoft® Windows® and have a
working knowledge of basic system design and analysis.
This document is available as a PDF file on your Program Disk (Getting
Started.pdf), or you can download it from the AWR website at:
www.mwoffice.com
If you are viewing this guide as online Help and intend to work through the
examples, you should obtain and print out the PDF version for your
convenience.
Item Convention
Anything that you select Shown in a bold type. Nested menu selections are shown
(or click on) in the AWR with a “>” to indicate that you select the first menu item
Design Environment, like and then select the second menu item:
menu items, button
Choose File > New Project
names, and dialog box
option names
Item Convention
Any text that you enter Shown in a bold type within quotation marks:
using the keyboard
Enter “my_project” in Project Name.
Keys or key combinations Shown in a bold type with initial capitals. Key
that you press combinations are shown with a “+” to indicate that you
press and hold the first key while pressing the second
key:
Press Alt+F1.
DOCUMENTATION
• Microwave Office User Guide describes how to use the Microwave Office
windows, menu choices, and dialog boxes to perform linear, nonlinear,
and EM design, layout, and simulation, and discusses related concepts.
• Microwave Office Element Catalog (Volumes 1 and 2) provides complete
reference information on all of the electrical elements that you use to
build schematics.
• Microwave Office Measurement Reference provides complete reference
information on the “measurements” (i.e., computed data such as gain,
noise, power, or voltage) that you can choose as output for your
simulations.
• MWO/VSS Installation Guide (available on your Program Disk (as
install.pdf) or downloadable from the Applied Wave Research website at
www.mwoffice.com under Support) describes how to install the AWR
Design Environment and configure it for locked or floating licensing
options. It also provides licensing configuration troubleshooting tips.
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 1-3
INTRODUCING AWR DESIGN ENVIRONMENT
1
Getting Additional Information
ON-LINE HELP
WEBSITE SUPPORT
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
.....
This chapter describes how to install Microwave Office (MWO) and Visual
System Simulator (VSS). You can install them as standalone applications or
together as integrated partners within the AWR Design Environment.
Procedures also include installing vendor libraries and obtaining a FLEXlm®
locked license with a software-based key.
The installation procedures are intended for evaluators and licensed users who
wish to install VSS and Microwave Office with a FLEXlm license dedicated to
their particular machine. FLEXlm is a robust, long-term licensing scheme that
you can configure for floating licensing, and for hardware-based keys. For
alternative licensing configurations, see the MWO/VSS Installation Guide on
your Program Disk (install.pdf). You can also download this guide from the
AWR website at www.mwoffice.com. The file is located under Support.
INSTALLATION OVERVIEW
The AWR Design Environment software is shipped on a program CD-ROM for
installation. The installation program installs Microwave Office, Visual System
Simulator, and optionally the vendor libraries.
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 2-1
INSTALLING MWO/VSS
2
Preparing for Installation
1. Depending on which vendor libraries are being installed, additional space may be required.
2. If you do not want the Microsoft Web Browser to be your default internet browser, you must choose to not
associate file types via the Advanced setup options when you install Internet Explorer. Note that you
must still have the Web Browser installed.
INSTALLATION PROCEDURE
You can specify an Express or a Custom installation from the installation
Welcome screen. The default Express installation excludes prompts for
specifying the information discussed in step 3.
To perform a Custom installation of the AWR Design Environment:
1 If you have the program CD-ROM, place it into the CD-ROM drive. When
the AWR Design Environment splash screen displays, follow the prompts
and instructions. If the Welcome dialog does not display, explore the
program CD-ROM and run the setup.exe program.
2 If you have downloaded MWO and VSS from www.mwoffice.com, browse to
the folder in which you downloaded the software, and run the setup
program to display the installation Welcome dialog.
3 As you proceed with a Custom installation, consider these points:
• When asked if you wish to back up replaced files, note that backups are
necessary only if you have modified files in your previous MWO/VSS
version or stored any design files in the installation directory tree.
• When asked to select the options shown in the following table, make
your selections based on the following information.
Option Description
Select Default Process Choose the default units to use in schematics and layouts
within Microwave Office (as well as affect the default sizes
for components such as transmission lines). By default,
this is set to microns. Note that you can alternatively set
this default within the Microwave Office program; see the
Microwave Office User Guide for details.
Register File Extensions Select this check box to specify that files with a .emp, .em,
.sch, or .net extension are opened in the AWR Design
Environment. If you use another schematic tool or program
that uses these extensions, you may want to disable this
option. This check box is selected by default.
• When prompted to enter the name of the program group in the Start
menu to which you want to add the AWR 2002 icons, note that “AWR
Suite 2002” is the default choice. If you accept the default choice, you
will start the program by clicking the Start button on your desktop and
then choosing Programs > AWR Suite 2002 > AWR Design
Environment .
Option Description
MWO-228;VSS-100 Visual System Simulator and full version of Microwave Office
• When asked if you want to install the vendor libraries (this option is not
available if you are installing a downloaded version of the software), go
on to Step 2 in “Installing the Vendor Libraries” if you choose Yes.
4 When installation is complete, return to the AWR Design Environment
splash screen and click Exit to close the screen.
1. Vendor libraries can only be installed from the Program Disk, and cannot be downloaded from the
AWR website. Many XML libraries, however, can be accessed from within the AWR Design Envi-
ronment (through the Element Browser via the AWR website) regardless of whether the application is
downloaded or installed from the Program Disk.
2. Floating licensing allows multiple users to share a license over a network via a client-server architecture,
whereas locked licensing dedicates a license to a particular machine.
3. Hardware-based keys are calculated from an AWR-supplied hardware dongle serial number. Such a
license can be transferred between machines simply by moving the dongle.
3 To obtain a valid license file from Applied Wave Research, click on the
appropriate button under Registration and follow the instructions.
4 You will receive your license within two business days. When you receive it,
rename it to awr.lic and place it into the program directory.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The next chapter describes the basic windows and menus you use to work with
MWO and VSS in the AWR Design environment. Following chapters provide
hands-on examples you can go through to learn the basics and quickly start
using Microwave Office and Visual System Simulator.
.....
This chapter describes the windows, menus and basic operations for working in
the AWR Design Environment to perform the following operations:
• Creating projects to organize and save your designs
• Creating system diagrams, circuit schematics and EM structures
• Placing circuit elements into schematics
• Placing system blocks into system diagrams
• Incorporating and tuning subcircuits into the system diagrams and
schematics
• Running simulations for schematics and system diagrams
• Displaying output graphs
• Creating layouts
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 3-1
AWR DESIGN ENVIRONMENT
3 AWR Environment Components
Title bar
Menus
Toolbar
System Diagrams
Project Browser
Circuit Schematics
Workspace
Tabs
Component Description
menu A set of menus located along the top of the window for
performing a variety of MWO and VSS tasks.
Component Description
toolbar A row of buttons located just below the menu that
provides shortcuts to frequently used commands such
as creating new schematics, performing simulations, or
tuning parameter values or variables.
The buttons available depend on the functions in use
and the active window within the design environment.
Position the cursor over a button for a description of
the button.
Project Browser Located in the left column of the window, this is the
complete collection of data and components that define
the currently active project. Items are organized into a
tree-like structure of nodes and include schematics,
system diagrams and EM structures, simulation
frequency settings, and output graphs.
The Project Browser is active when the AWR
Environment first opens. Right-click on a group in the
Project Browser to access menus of relevant
commands.
tabs A set of tabs located at the lower left of the window that
allow you to switch the contents of the left column of
the window from Project Browser (i.e., Proj) to
Element Browser, Variable Browser, or Layout
Manager.
Click the Elem tab to display the Element Browser and
to access a comprehensive inventory of circuit
elements and system blocks for simulation.
Click the Var tab to tune or optimize parameter values
or variables for schematic elements in the active
project.
Click the Layout tab to specify options for viewing and
drawing layout representations and to create new
layout cells.
Many of the functions and commands can be invoked from the menus and the
on the toolbar, and in some cases by right-clicking on a node in the Project
Browser. This guide may not describe all of the ways to invoke a specific task.
BASIC OPERATIONS
This section highlights the windows, menu choices, and commands for creating
simulation designs and projects in the AWR Design Environment.
CREATING PROJECTS
Because MWO and VSS are fully integrated in the AWR Environment, you can
start a project based on a system design using VSS, or on a circuit design using
MWO. The project may ultimately combine both VSS and MWO elements. All
of the components and elements in the project can be viewed in the Project
Browser. Modifications are automatically reflected in the relevant elements.
PROJECT CONTENTS
A project can include any set of designs and one or more linear schematics,
nonlinear schematics, EM structures or system level blocks. A project can
include anything associated with the designs, such as global parameter values,
imported files, layout views, and output graphs. When you save a project,
everything associated with it is automatically saved. AWR projects are saved as
*.emp files.
When you first start the AWR Design Environment, a default empty project
called “Untitled Project” is loaded. Only one project can be active at a time. The
name of the active project displays in the main window title bar.
After you create (name) a project, you can create your designs. You can perform
simulations to analyze the designs and see the results on a variety of graphical
forms that you specify. Then, you can tune or optimize parameter values and
variables as needed to achieve the response you want. You can generate layout
representations of the designs, and output the layout to a DXF, GDSII, or
Gerber file.
To create a new project choose File > New Project. Name the new project by
choosing File > Save Project As. The name is reflected in the title bar.
To open an existing project, choose File > Open Project . To save the current
project, choose File > Save Project .
Right-click to create
new system diagram
System diagram opens in
the workspace
Right-click then
choose New Schematic window
Schematic (or netlist window)
opens in the
workspace
Buttons for
adding ports
Expand and contract, and ground
then click desired
subcategory
edited in the same way that you would edit the individual circuit block
types.
To connect element or system block nodes with a wire, position the cursor over
a node. The cursor displays as a wire coil symbol. Click at this position to mark
the beginning of the wire and slide the mouse to a location where a bend is
needed. Click again to mark the bend point. You can make multiple bends.
Terminate the wire by clicking on another element node or on top of another
wire. To cancel the wire, press the Esc key.
When you create a new netlist, an empty netlist window opens into which you
type a text-based description of a schematic. Netlist data is arranged in blocks in
a particular order, where each block defines a different attribute of an element,
such as units, equations, or element connections. For more information on
creating netlists, see the Microwave Office User Guide.
CREATING EM STRUCTURES
EM structure window
opens in the workspace
Create new
EM structure
Before you draw an EM structure, you must define an enclosure. The enclosure
specifies things such as boundary conditions and dielectric materials for each
layer of the structure.
To define an enclosure, double-click Enclosure under your new EM structure in
the Project Browser to display a dialog box in which you can specify the
required information.
After you specify the enclosure, you can create drawings by accessing options
from the Draw menu to draw components such as rectangular conductors, vias,
and edge ports.
Draw conductors,
vias, and ports
Display 2D and 3D
views of the structure
Shortcuts for drawing
conductors, vias, and
Double-click to define ports
an enclosure
You can view EM structures in 2D and 3D by using the View menu, and you
can view currents and electrical fields using the Animate menu.
When you choose Schematic > View Layout , default layout cells are
automatically assigned for common electrical components such as microstrip,
coplanar waveguide, and stripline elements. Components of the schematic that
do not map to default layout cells display in blue in the schematic window after
the layout has been generated; components that do have default layout cells
display in magenta. For components without default layout cells defined, you
must create them or import them via the Layout Manager. For more
information see Using the Layout Manager on page 3-13.
You can draw in the layout window using the draw tools to build substrate
outlines, draw DC pads for biasing, or to add other elements.
To modify layout attributes and drawing properties, as well as create new layout
cells for elements that do not have default cells, click the Layout tab in the lower
left window. The Layout Manager replaces the Project Browser window.
Right-click to modify
layout attributes or
import an LPF
Right-click to import
a cell library or create
your own using a Cell
Editor
The Layer Setup group in the Layout Manager defines layout attributes such as
drawing properties (line color, layer pattern, etc.), 3D properties (thickness, etc.),
and layer mappings. To modify layer attributes, right-click Layer Setup and
choose Edit Drawing Layers. You can also import a layer process file (LPF) to
define these attributes by right-clicking Layer Setup and choosing Import
Process Definition .
The Cell Libraries group in the Layout Manager allows you to create artwork
cells for elements that do not have default layout cells. The powerful Cell Editor
includes such features as coordinate entry, boolean operations for subtracting
and uniting shapes, array copy, arbitrary rotation, grouping, and alignment tools.
You can also import artwork cell libraries such as GDSII or DXF into the AWR
Design Environment.
Once you have created or imported cell libraries, you can browse through the
libraries and select the desired layout cells to include in your layout. Click the +
and - symbols to expand and contract the cell libraries, and click the desired
library. The available layout cells display in the lower window pane. To place a
cell into the layout window, simply click and drag it, release the mouse button,
position it, and click to place it.
.
You can import layouts as GDSII, DXF, Gerber, or PADS files. To export a
layout, click the layout window to make it active, and choose Layout > Export
Layout .
Antenna Plot Displays the sweep dimension of the measurement as the angle
and the data dimension of the measurement as the magnitude.
To specify the data that you wish to plot, right-click the new graph name in the
Project Browser, and choose Add Measurement . A dialog box allows you to
choose from a comprehensive list of measurements.
Performing Simulations
To run a simulation on the active project, choose Simulate > Analyze. The
simulation is run automatically on the entire project, using the appropriate
simulator (for example, linear simulator, harmonic balance or Volterra-series
nonlinear simulator, or 3D-planar EM simulator) for the different pieces of the
project.
To set the simulation frequency, double-click the Project Options node in the
Project Browser, or choose Options > Project Options and then specify
frequency values in the dialog box.
Equation describing
parameter
relationships
When the simulation is complete, you can view its output on the graphs and
then easily tune and/or optimize as needed.
TUNING SIMULATIONS
The real-time tuner lets you see the effect on the simulation as you tune. The
optimizer lets you see circuit parameter values and variables change in real-time
as it works to meet the optimization goals that you have specified.
As a shortcut, click the Tune Tool button on the toolbar and select the
parameters you wish to tune, then click the Tuner button to tune the values. As
you tune or optimize, the schematics and associated layouts are automatically
updated. When you re-run the simulation, only the modified portions of the
project are recalculated.
.
s21and s11
0
DB(|S[1,1]|)
-10
lpf
DB(|S[2,1]|)
-20
lpf
-30
-40
-50
-60
100 300 500 700 900 1000
Frequency (MHz)
To place ports, click the Port button on the toolbar, position the port and click
to place it, or click on Ports under System Blocks in the Element Browser and
connect an input port (PORTDIN) and an output port (PORTDOUT) in the
appropriate system.
To connect two block nodes with a wire, position the cursor over a node in the
system diagram window. The cursor displays as a wire coil symbol. Click at this
position to mark the beginning of the wire and slide the mouse to where you
want a point. Click again to mark the bend point. You can make multiple bends.
Terminate the wire by clicking on another element node or on another wire. To
cancel the wire, press the Esc key.
Scripts are Basic programs that you can write to do things such as automate
schematic-building tasks within Microwave Office.
Wizards are Dynamic Link Library (DLL) files which you can author to create
add-on tools for Microwave Office, for example, a filter synthesis tool.
Scripts and wizards display as Scripting and Wizards in the Project Browser.
.....
Linear simulators use nodal analysis to simulate the characteristics of a circuit.
Linear simulations are used for circuits such as low noise amplifiers, filters, and
couplers whose elements can be characterized by an admittance matrix. Linear
simulators typically generate measurements such as gain, stability, noise figure,
reflection coefficient, noise circles, and gain circles.
CREATE A SCHEMATIC
To create a schematic:
1 Choose Project > Add Schematic > New Schematic. The Create New
Schematic dialog box displays.
2 Type “lpf ”, and click OK . A schematic window displays in the workspace
and the schematic displays under Circuit Schematics in the Project
Browser.
Use the scroll arrows along the right and bottom of the schematic window to
view different portions of the schematic as you work.
To place elements in a schematic:
1 Click the Elem tab in the lower left window to display the Element Browser.
2 Expand Lumped Element in the Element Browser by clicking the + symbol
to the left of the icon.
3 Click Inductor under Lumped Element to display a set of inductor models
in the lower pane.
4 Click the IND model, and holding the mouse button down, drag it into the
schematic, then release the mouse button.
5 Position the element as shown in the figure below, and then click to place it.
Element Browser
Element models
2 Click, then drag the wire past the bottom node of CAP C2, then onto the
bottom node of CAP C3, and click to place the wire.
PORT
P=2
CAP CAP CAP Z=50 Ohm
ID=C1 ID=C2 ID=C3
C=1 pF C=1 pF C=1 pF
3 Repeat Step 1 to add a port to the right-most inductor, but click the right
mouse button two times to rotate the port 180-degrees before you place it.
As a shortcut, you can also click the Port button on the toolbar, slide the
cursor into the schematic, position the port, and click again to place the
port on a node.
PORT
P=2
CAP CAP CAP Z=50 Ohm
ID=C1 ID=C2 ID=C3
C=1 pF C=1 pF C=1 pF
PORT
P=2
CAP CAP CAP Z=50 Ohm
ID=C1 ID=C2 ID=C3
C=8 pF C=10 pF C=8 pF
CREATE A GRAPH
To create a graph:
1 Right-click on Graphs in the Project Browser, and choose Add Graph . The
Create Graph dialog box displays.
2 Type “s21 and s11 ” in Graph Name. Select Rectangular for Graph Type,
and click OK . The graph displays in a window in the workspace and displays
under Graphs in the Project Browser.
Individual
graphs display
under
Graphs
ADD A MEASUREMENT
To add measurements:
1 Right-click “s21 and s11” in the Project Browser, and choose Add
Measurement . The Add Measurement dialog box displays.
2 Select Port Parameters as the Meas. Type and S as the Measurement . Click
on the arrow to the right of Data Source Name and select lpf. Click on the
arrows to the right of To Port Index and From Port Index and select “1 ” for
each. Select Mag. as the Complex Modifier, select the DB check box under
Result Type, and then click Add to add the measurement.
3 Change the value in To Port Index to “2 ”, and click Add to add a second
measurement.
4 Click Close. The measurements lpf:DB(|S[1,1]|) and lpf:DB(|S[2,1]|)
display under s21 and s11 in the Project Browser.
s21and s11
0
DB(|S[1,1]|)
-10 lpf
DB(|S[2,1]|)
-20 lpf
-30
-40
-50
100 300 500 700 900 1000
Frequency (MHz)
When you place the tune tool over a schematic element, the cursor displays as a
cross icon to indicate that the parameter may be tuned.
To tune the circuit:
1 Click on the schematic window to make it active.
2 Click the Tune Tool button on the toolbar.
3 Move the cursor over the L parameter of IND L1. The cursor displays as a
cross.
s21and s11
0
DB(|S[1,1]|)
-10 lpf
DB(|S[2,1]|)
-20
lpf
-30
-40
-50
-60
100 300 500 700 900 1000
Frequency (MHz)
10 Click the X at the top right of the Variable Tuner dialog box to close it.
CREATE VARIABLES
Filters are typically symmetric circuits. To optimize the circuit, you must change
some of the parameter values to variables.
To create variables:
1 Click on the schematic window to make it active.
2 Choose Schematic > Add Equation .
3 Move the cursor into the schematic. An edit box displays.
4 Position the edit window in the top area of the schematic window, and click
to place it.
5 Type “Lin=15 ” in the edit box, and click the mouse outside of the edit box.
6 Repeat Steps 2 through 5 to create a second edit box, but type “Cin=8 ”, and
click the mouse outside of the edit box.
7 Double-click the L parameter value of IND L1. An edit box displays. Type
the value “Lin ”.
8 Repeat Step 7 to change the L parameter of IND L4 to “Lin ”, and the C
parameters of CAP C1 and CAP C3 to “Cin ”, as shown in the following
figure.
Lin=15 Cin=8
PORT
P=2
CAP CAP CAP Z=50 Ohm
ID=C1 ID=C2 ID=C3
C=Cin pF C=10 pF C=Cin pF
When you set an optimization goal, it is specified in the same units set when the
goal was first added.
To add optimization goals:
1 Click the Proj tab.
2 Right-click Optimizer Goals, and choose Add Opt Goal. The New
Optimization Goal dialog box displays.
3 Select lpf:DB(|S[1,1]) as the Measurement . Select Meas < Goal as the Goal
Type , deselect Max under Range, type “500 ” as the Stop value, type “-17” as
the Goal , and then click OK .
4 Repeat Step 2, but select lpf:DB(|S[2,1]) as the Measurement , select Meas >
Goal as the Goal Type, deselect Max under Range, type “500 ” as the Stop
value, type “-1 ” as the Goal , and then click OK .
5 Repeat Step 2 again, but select lpf:DB(|S[2,1]) as the Measurement , select
Meas < Goal as the Goal Type, deselect Min under Range, type “700 ” as the
Start value, type “-30 ” as the Goal , and then click OK .
3 When the optimization is complete, click Close to exit the Optimize dialog
box. View the final optimized response in the schematic and on the graph,
as follows.
Lin=16.71 Cin=9.64
PORT
P=2
CAP CAP CAP Z=50 Ohm
ID=C1 ID=C2 ID=C3
C=Cin pF C=11.06 pF C=Cin pF
s21and s11
0
DB(|S[1,1]|)
-10
lpf
DB(|S[2,1]|)
-20
lpf
-30
-40
-50
-60
100 300 500 700 900 1000
Frequency (MHz)
To modify element parameters in the lpf2 and lpf3 schematics (so that each
schematic is different):
3 Open the lpf2 schematic. Edit the variables Lin and Cin to the following
values.
Lin=9 C in =8
PO RT IN D IN D IND IN D
P =1 ID = L1 ID = L2 ID = L 3 ID = L 4
Z = 5 0 O hm L= Lin n H L= 30 n H L=30 nH L = L in nH
P ORT
P= 2
CA P CA P C AP Z =5 0 O h m
ID = C1 I D= C 2 I D= C 3
C= Cin pF C = 1 1.06 pF C = C in pF
4 Open the lpf3 schematic. Edit the C parameter for CAP ID=C2 to the
following value.
Lin=16.71 Cin=9.64
PORT
P=2
CAP CAP CAP Z=50 Ohm
ID=C1 ID=C2 ID=C3
C=Cin pF C=13 pF C=Cin pF
To create a new schematic which contains a subcircuit that references the three
schematics:
5 Click the Proj tab to display the Project Browser. Right-click Circuit
Schematics, and choose New Schematic. Type “Opt_w_subckt” in the
Enter Schematic Name dialog box.
6 Click the Elem tab in the lower left window to display the Element Browser.
7 Click Subcircuits. Click on the lpf subcircuit, and holding the mouse
button down, drag it into the schematic, release the mouse button, and click
to place it.
8 Place ports on the subcircuit as follows. For details, see “Place ports on a
Node” on page 4-5.
SUBCKT
PORT ID= S1
P= 1 NET= "lpf"
Z= 50 Ohm
1 2
PORT
P= 2
Z= 50 Ohm
X vector={"lpf3","lpf2","lpf"}
SUBCKT
POR T ID = S1
P= 1 NET= "lpf"
Z= 50 Ohm
1 2
PORT
P= 2
Z= 50 O hm
10 Create the index variable X=Xvector[1] in the schematic, and change the
NET parameter to X as follows. For details, see “Edit element parameters”
on page 4-6.
Xvector={"lpf3","lpf2","lpf"}
X=Xvector[1]
SUBCKT
PORT ID=S1 PORT
P=1 NET=X P=2
Z=50 Ohm Z=50 Ohm
1 2
The variable X=Xvector[1] references the lpf3 subcircuit. This subcircuit can be
tuned or optimized over the vector of subcircuit elements by varying the index
in the variable. It is important to note that the index (and not the actual element
in the vector) is optimized and tuned.
1 Click s21 and s11 in the Project Browser, and holding the mouse button
down, drag it onto Graphs and release the mouse button. A duplicate graph
named Copy of s21 and s11 is created.
2 Right-click Copy of s21 and s11 , and choose Rename Graph . Type “subckt
opt” in the Rename Output Document dialog box.
subckt opt
0
D B (|S [1 ,1 ]|)
-10 O pt_ w _su bc kt
D B (|S [2 ,1 ]|)
-20 O pt_ w _su bc kt
-30
-40
-50
-60
100 300 500 700 900 1000
Frequency (MH z)
8 Select the Optimize and Constrained check boxes under Mode. Type “1” as
the Upper bound value and “3” as the Lower bound value. Click OK .
9 Add the optimization goal for the Opt_w_subckt:DB(|S[1,1]) measurement
as follows. For more details, see “Add Optimization Goals” on page 4-13.
subckt opt
0
D B (|S [1 ,1 ]|)
-10 O pt_ w _su bc kt
D B (|S [2 ,1 ]|)
-20 O pt_ w _su bc kt
-30
-40
-50
-60
100 300 500 700 900 1000
Frequency (MH z)
Xvector={"lpf3","lpf2","lpf"}
X=X vector[3]
SUBCKT
PO RT ID= S1 POR T
P= 1 NET= X P= 2
Z= 50 Ohm Z= 50 O hm
1 2
This concludes the linear simulation example. You can save your work if you
wish by choosing File > Save Project .
.....
Layouts are views of the physical representations of a schematic. Layout is a critical
part of high-frequency circuit design and simulation, since the response of a circuit
is dependent on the geometric shapes with which it is composed.
Press the Ctrl key, select a shape, move Snap to corners, edges, and centers of
the mouse circles
Select a shape, hold down the mouse Move shape with coordinate entry
button, press the Tab key
A Layer Process File (LPF) defines the default settings for the layout view,
including drawing layers, layer mappings, 3D views, and EMsight mappings.
To import an LPF:
1 Click the Layout tab at the lower left of the window to display the Layout
Manager.
2 Right-click Layer Setup in the Layout Manager, and choose Import Process
Definition .The Open dialog box displays.
3 Locate the C:\Program Files\AWR\AWR2002 directory and double-click on
it to open it. (This is the default directory in which Microwave Office is
installed. If you changed the default install directory, then locate that
directory instead.)
4 Click on the MIC_English.lpf file and click Open . The lower pane of the
Layout Manager looks like the following figure.
Layout Manager
A database unit is defined as the smallest unit of precision for a layout. It is very
important that this parameter is not changed once it has been set. Changing
database units can cause rounding errors that may lead to problems in the layout
file. The grid size is important because many IC designs must reside on a grid.
The grid must be greater than or equal to the database unit. Because the grid
multipliers smallest unit is .1x, it is recommended that the grid be set to 10 times
the database unit. This prevents having a smaller grid than database unit.
To edit the database unit and grid size:
1 Choose Options > Layout Options.
2 Type “.1” in Grid Spacing and “.01” in Database unit size, and then click
OK .
Cell libraries are used within Microwave Office to provide both the physical
packages and footprints for printed circuit board or hybrid design processes, as
well as the standard artwork cells used in MMIC and RFIC design processes.
Microwave Office supports the GDSII file format as the native format for the
drawing tool.
To import a GDSII cell library:
1 Right-click Cell Libraries in the Layout Manager, and choose Read GDSII
Library.
4 Click the packages.gds file and click Open . The imported cell library
displays in the Layout Manager. If a warning message displays, click OK .
You may occasionally need to change the ground node because you can only
associate artwork cells with an element that has the same number of nodes.
To expose the ground node of a transistor data file:
1 Double-click the subcircuit element in the schematic window. The Element
Options dialog box displays.
2 Click the Ground tab.
3 Select Explicit ground node, and click OK .
The subcircuit symbol can be changed to represent a FET so that you can see
which nodes correspond to the gate, drain, and source.
To change the symbol:
1 Double-click the subcircuit element in the schematic window. The Element
Options dialog box displays.
2 Click the Symbol tab.
3 Select FET@system.syf in the list box, and then click OK .
Microstrip elements have default layout cells that are associated with each
element. The layout cells are parameterized and dynamically sized to the values
specified for each parameter.
Microwave Office has specialized microstrip elements called Icells™ (for
intelligent cells) that do not require any parameter values for the dimensions of
the element. Icells automatically inherit the necessary parameters from the
connecting element.
To place microstrip elements:
1 Click the Elem tab at the lower left of the window to display the Element
Browser.
2 Double-click on Microstrip in the Element Browser.
3 Click on Lines to display the line models in the lower pane.
4 Click the MLIN model, and holding the mouse button down, drag the
element into the schematic window, release the mouse button, position the
element onto node 1 of the N7068a subcircuit, and click to place it.
MLIN
ID=TL1
2
W=50 mil
L=400 mil
1 SUBCKT
ID=S1
NET=N76038a
MLIN
ID=TL1
2
MTEE$ W=50 mil
ID=TL2 L=400 mil
1 SUBCKT
1 2 ID=S1
NET=N76038a
3
3
7 Click on Lines under Microstrip. Click the MTRACE model in the lower
window, and holding the mouse button down, drag the element into the
schematic window, release the mouse button, position the element onto
node 1 of the MTEE$ element, and click to place it.
8 Click the MLEF model in the lower window, and holding the mouse button
down, drag the element into the schematic window, release the mouse
button, right-click three times to rotate the element, position it onto node 3
of the MTEE$ element, and click to place it.
9 Double-click the MTRACE element in the schematic window to display the
Element Options dialog box.
10 Edit the MTRACE parameters to match what is shown in the following
figure, then click OK .
MTRACE
ID= X1
W= 10 mil MLIN
L= 200 mil ID= TL1
2
BType= 2 MTEE$ W= 10 mil
M= 0.6 ID=TL2 L= 100 mil
1 SUBCKT
1 2 ID= S1
NET= N76038a
3
3
MLEF
ID= TL3
W= 20 mil
L= 150 mil
11 Repeat step 9 for the MLIN and MLEF elements to edit their parameters to
match what is shown in the figure.
12 Click on Substrates in the Element Browser. The substrate models display
in the lower pane.
13 Click on the MSUB model, and holding the mouse button down, drag the
element into the schematic window, release the mouse button, position the
element as shown in the figure below, and click to place it.
14 Double-click the MSUB element in the schematic window to display the
Edit Element dialog box. Edit the MSUB parameters to match what is
shown in the following figure. Click OK .
MTRACE
ID= X1
W= 10 mil MLIN
L= 200 mil ID= TL1
2
BType= 2 MTEE$ W= 10 mil
M= 0.6 ID=TL2 L= 100 mil
1 SUBCKT
1 2 ID= S1
NET= N76038a
3
MSUB
Er=9.8 3
H= 10 mil
T= .1 mil
MLEF Rho=1
ID= TL3 Tand= 0
W= 20 mil ErNom= 9.8
L= 150 mil Name= SUB1
15 Click the Port button on the toolbar, slide the cursor into the schematic,
position the port on the left node of the MTRACE element as shown in the
following figure, and click again to place it.
16 Click the Port button on the toolbar again, slide the cursor into the
schematic, right-click three times to rotate the port, position the port on
node 2 of the SUBCKT element, and click again to place it.
17 To complete the schematic, click and release the Ground button on the
toolbar, slide the cursor into the schematic, position the ground on node 3
of the SUBCKT element, and click again to place it.
MTRACE
ID=X1 PORT
W=10 mil MLIN P=2
PORT L=200 mil ID=TL1 Z=50 Ohm
2
P=1 BType=2 MTEE$ W=10 mil
Z=50 Ohm M=0.6 ID=TL2 L=100 mil
1 SUBCKT
1 2 ID=S1
NET=N76038a
3
MSUB
Er=9.8 3
H=10 mil
T=.1 mil
MLEF Rho=1
ID=TL3 Tand=0
W=20 mil ErNom=9.8
L=150 mil Name=SUB1
VIEW A LAYOUT
The schematic and layout are different views of the same database. Any edits to
the parameters in the schematic are instantly updated in the layout, and vice
versa
To view a layout:
1 Click on the schematic window to make it active.
2 Choose Schematic > View Layout . The layout displays in a layout window.
3 Choose Edit > Select All to select all of the layout cells.
4 Choose Edit > Snap Together to snap all of the faces of the artwork cells
together.
HINT: Click the View Layout button on the toolbar to view a layout
representation.
Layout cells have various properties that determine the connectivity of each cell
in the layout view. One of the important properties is anchoring. Anchoring a
layout cell holds the cell in place so that it cannot be moved by snapping
functions. An anchored layout cell is typically used to define a reference point
for the layout.
To anchor a layout cell:
1 Select the assigned artwork cell Alpha_212_3. Right-click, and choose
Shape Properties to display the Cell Options dialog box.
2 Click the Layout tab, select the Use for anchor check box, and click OK .
The artwork cell now has an anchor symbol as follows.
7 Slide the cursor into the drawing window, then press the Tab key. The Enter
Coordinates dialog box displays.
8 Type the values “0 ” and “10 ” in x and y, respectively, and click OK .
9 Press the Tab key again to display the Enter Coordinates dialog box.
10 Type the values “10 ” and “-10 ” in dx and dy, respectively, and click OK . The
resulting drawing is shown in the following figure.
11 Click the Footprint box in the left column of the lower pane of the Layout
Manager to enable footprint as the active layer.
12 Click on the drawing window to make it active.
13 Choose Layout > Rectangle.
14 Slide the cursor into the drawing window, then press the Tab key. The Enter
Coordinates dialog box displays.
15 Type the values “10 ” and “10 ” in x and y, respectively, and click OK .
16 Press the Tab key again to display the Enter Coordinates dialog box.
17 Type the values “20 ” and “-10 ” in dx and dy, respectively, and click OK . The
resulting drawing is shown in the following figure.
18 Click on the copper square in the drawing window, and press Ctrl+C then
Ctrl+V to copy and paste it. Slide the mouse to position the copied square
along the right edge of the rectangle, and click to place it.
Ports in the artwork cell editor define the faces to which other layout cells
connect. The orientation of the port arrow determines the direction of
connection to the adjacent layout cell.
To add ports to an artwork cell:
1 Choose Layout > Cell Port .
2 Slide the cursor into the drawing window, and press and hold the Ctrl key
while you move the cursor over the bottom left vertex of the square until a
square symbol displays on the vertex. Do not release the Ctrl key.
3 With the Ctrl key still pressed, click and hold the mouse button down while
you slide the cursor to the top vertex until another square displays on that
vertex. Release the mouse button, and lift the Ctrl key.
5 Click on the X at the top right of the chip cap window. A dialog box asks if
you want to save the cell edits. Click Yes to save.
MTRACE
ID=X1 PORT
W=10 mil MLIN P=2
PORT L=200 mil ID=TL1 Z=50 Ohm
2
P=1 BType=2 MTEE$ W=10 mil
Z=50 Ohm M=0.6 ID=TL2 L=100 mil
1 SUBCKT
1 2 ID=S1
NET=N76038a
3
MSUB
Er=9.8 3
H=10 mil
T=.1 mil
MLEF Rho=1
ID=TL3 Tand=0
W=20 mil ErNom=9.8
L=150 mil Name=SUB1
3 Click the Elem tab in the lower left window to display the Element Browser.
4 Double-click on Lumped Element , then click on Capacitor to display
capacitor models in the lower pane.
5 Click the CAP model, and holding the mouse button down, drag the
element into the schematic window, release the mouse button, position the
element between PORT 1 and the MTRACE element, and click to place it.
6 Double-click the CAP C1 element in the schematic window. The Element
Options dialog box displays.
7 Click the Layout tab.
MTRACE
ID=X1 PORT
W=10 mil MLIN P=2
PORT CAP L=200 mil ID=TL1 Z=50 Ohm
ID=C1 2
P=1 BType=2 MTEE$ W=10 mil
Z=50 Ohm C=1 pF M=0.6 ID=TL2 L=100 mil
1 SUBCKT
1 2 ID=S1
NET=N76038a
3
MSUB
Er=9.8 3
H=10 mil
T=.1 mil
MLEF Rho=1
ID=TL3 Tand=0
W=20 mil ErNom=9.8
L=150 mil Name=SUB1
The MTRACE element is a special element that can be edited in the layout view
to route a microstrip line.
To route the MTRACE element:
1 Double-click the MTRACE element in the Layout View to activate the blue
grab diamonds, as shown in the following figure.
2 Slide the mouse cursor over the right-most diamond until a double arrow
symbol displays. Double-click to activate the routing tool.
3 Move the routing tool to the desired point and click to place. (Right-click
the mouse to delete the last point; press the Esc key to cancel the activity.)
4 Continue to route points by sliding the routing tool and clicking to place,
then double-click to complete the routing.
HINT: The MLIN element is a straight element and you can change its width in the
layout. You can edit the MTRACE elements in the layout to create jogs and
bends and chamfered corners. You can edit the MCTRACE element to
create jogs and bends with rounded corners.
To move the layout cells away from each other so that the change in snapping
options can be viewed,
3 Click the MLEF layout cell, and holding the mouse button down, drag it to a
new position as follows. Click to place it.
4 Repeat step 3 with the MTRACE element and the chip cap cell. Position the
layout cells as follows.
The red lines indicate that the faces of the layout cells are not snapped together.
To snap a selected set of layout cells together,
5 Hold down the Shift key, and select the MLEF, MTRACE , and MTEE$ layout
cells in the layout window.
6 Click the Snap Together button on the toolbar. Observe that the chip cap
layout cell and MLIN layout cell are not snapped together.
The “snap to fit” function finishes the routing of an MTRACE layout cell to a
specified adjacent layout cell. In this example, the chip cap layout cell will be
moved and the MTRACE will re-route to snap to the chip cap face.
To snap to fit the MTRACE to the chip cap:
9 Position the chip cap artwork cell as follows.
10 Select the MTRACE layout cell, hold down the Shift key and select the chip
cap artwork cell.
11 Click the Snap to Fit button on the toolbar. The MTRACE will route to
snap to the chip cap artwork cell as follows.
To export a layout:
1 Choose Options > Drawing Layers to specify the file layers to be exported.
The Layer Setup dialog box displays.
2 Click the Export Mapping tab.
3 Click the DXF tab at the bottom of the dialog box, deselect all of the
drawing layers except the copper layer in Write Layers, and click OK .
4 Choose Layout > Export Layout . The Save As dialog box displays.
5 Select DXF(Flat*.dxf) in Save As Type.
6 Type “myfile ” as the Filename, and click Save to export the copper file
layer to a DXF file.
This concludes the layout simulation example. You can save your work by
choosing File > Save Project .
.....
Nonlinear simulations use harmonic balance or Volterra series sources to excite
a circuit. Harmonic balance and Volterra series analysis are not interchangeable
solutions to a nonlinear circuit. Harmonic balance analysis is best used for
nonlinear circuits such as power amplifiers, mixers, and multipliers. Volterra
series analysis, which is a linear pertubation method, is best used for weakly
nonlinear circuits like amplifiers operating below the 1db compression point.
This chapter introduces harmonic balance simulations only; for more
information on Volterra series analysis, see the Microwave Office User Guide.
Single-Tone Analysis
A single-tone harmonic balance analysis involves simulating the circuit at a
fundamental frequency, at integer multiples of the fundamental frequency and at
DC. Single-tone harmonic balance requires that you specify the fundamental
frequency and the total number of harmonics.
Multi-Tone Analysis
Two-tone and three-tone harmonic balance simulation is used to determine the
output of a circuit with excitations at different fundamental frequencies. Two-
tone harmonic balance analysis is fitting for circuits such as mixers, where one
tone is used to model the local oscillator and the second tone is used for an RF
input. Three-tone harmonic balance analysis can be used to measure mixer
intermodulation distortion, whereby two tones are used for the RF signals and
the third tone is used as a local oscillator to drive the mixer. Three-tone analysis
is not covered in this chapter; refer to the Microwave Office User Guide for more
information.
Nonlinear Measurements
Microwave Office allows you to create nonlinear measurements in both the
frequency and time domain. It offers a complete set of nonlinear measurements
that include, large signal S-parameters, power, voltage, and current. Because
harmonic balance simulation is capable of solving for both swept power and
frequency at every harmonic, indexes are used to hold swept parameters
constant. The Add Measurement dialog box shows the specific value of each
index.
The following example illustrates some of the key features of the Microwave
Office nonlinear simulator.
CREATE A SCHEMATIC
To create a schematic:
1 Choose Project > Add Schematic > New Schematic. The Create New
Schematic dialog box displays.
2 Type “IV Curve ”, and click OK . A schematic window displays in the
workspace.
3 Place the cursor over the Step node of IVCURVEI. The cursor displays as a
wire coil symbol. Click, then drag the cursor to node 1 of the GBJT
transistor, and click to place the wire.
4 Repeat step 3 to connect the Swp node of IVCURVEI to node 2 of the
GBJT transistor.
5 Click the Ground button on the toolbar. Move the cursor into the schematic
window, position the ground on node 3 of the GBJT transistor, and click to
place it.
IV BJT
1200
400
-400
0 5 10 15
Voltage (V)
DCVS
ID=V2
V=6 V
I_METER
GBJT ID=AMP1
ID=GP_BLT11_chip_1
2 C
1 4
B S
3 E
V_METER
ID=VM1
RES
ID=R1
R=.5 Ohm
9 Click the Ground button on the toolbar. Move the cursor into the schematic
window, position the ground on the bottom of RES R1 as shown in the
previous figure, and click to place it.
10 In the Element Browser, double-click on Sources to expand it, then click
on DC. A set of source models display in the lower pane. Click on the DCVS
model and drag it into the schematic window, release the mouse button,
position the element onto the open node of IND L1 as shown in the
previous figure, and click to place it.
11 Click the Ground button on the toolbar. Move the cursor into the schematic
window, position the ground on the open end of DCVS V1 as shown in the
previous figure, and click to place it.
12 Double-click the DCVS element graphic in the schematic window. The
Element Options dialog box displays. Enter “1 ” as the Value for DC
Voltage (V), and click OK .
13 In the Element Browser, click on MeasDevice. A set of meter models
displays in the lower pane. Click on the I_METER model, and holding the
mouse button down, drag it into the schematic window, release the mouse
button, right-click three times to rotate it, position the element onto node 2
of the GBJT transistor as shown in the previous figure, and click to place it.
14 Next click the V_METER model, and place it to the right of the GBJT
transistor as shown in the previous figure.
15 Place the cursor on the negative terminal of the VMETER element. The
cursor displays as a wire coil symbol. Click, then drag the cursor to the
ground, and click to place the wire. Follow these same steps to connect a
wire between the positive terminal of VMETER and node 2 of the GBJT
transistor.
16 Click on IND L1 in the schematic window. Press Ctrl+C, then Ctrl+V to
copy and paste it. Slide the cursor to position the new IND element on the
open node of I_METER as shown in the previous figure, and click to place
it.
17 Click on DCVS in the schematic window. Press Ctrl+C, then Ctrl+V to copy
and paste it. Slide the cursor to position the new DCVS element on the
open node of IND L2 as shown in the previous figure, and click to place it.
18 Double-click on DCVS in the schematic window. The Element Options
dialog box displays. Enter “6 ” as the Value for DC Voltage (V), and click
OK .
19 Click the Ground button on the toolbar. Move the cursor into the schematic
window, position the ground on the negative node of DCVS V2 as shown
in the previous figure, and click to place it.
9 Choose Simulate > Analyze. The tabulated DC data shown in the following
figure displays on the graph.
Before adding the harmonic balance port, you must add DC blocking capacitors
to the input and output of the transistor. To add DC blocking capacitors:
1 Click the Proj tab in the lower left window to display the Project Browser.
2 Click the + symbol to the left of Circuit Schematics to expand it.
3 Double-click on DC Bias under Circuit Schematics. The DC Bias
schematic window displays in the workspace.
4 Click the Elem tab in the lower left window to display the Element Browser.
5 Double-click Lumped Element in the Element Browser to expand it, then
click on Capacitor. A set of capacitor models display in the lower pane.
Click on the CAP model, and holding the mouse button down, drag it into
the schematic window, release the mouse button, position the element onto
node 1 of the GBJT transistor as shown in the following figure, and click to
place it.
IND
ID=L2
L=1 uH
IND
DCVS ID=L1
ID=V1 L=1 uH
V=1 V
DCVS
ID=V2
V=6 V
I_METER
GBJT ID=AMP1
ID=GP_BLT11_chip_1
CAP
ID=C2
CAP C=100 pF
ID=C1 2 C
C=100 pF
1 4
B S
3 E
V_METER
ID=VM1
CAP RES
ID=C3 ID=R1
C=100 pF R=.5 Ohm
DCVS
ID= V2
V=6 V
I_METER
GBJT ID=AMP1
ID=GP_BLT11_chip_1
CAP
PORT1 ID=C2
P= 1 CAP C= 100 pF
Z= 50 Ohm ID=C1 2 C
Pwr= 23 dBm C= 100 pF
1 4
S PORT
B P=2
Z=50 Ohm
3 E
V_METER
ID=VM1
CAP RES
ID= C3 ID= R1
C=100 pF R=.5 Ohm
7 Click OK .
Large signal gamma can be defined as the large signal s11. Large signal S-
parameters are a general form of large signal gamma. For example, a large signal
S-parameter can be defined for s21 for harmonic 1 at port 2, and harmonic 2 at
port 1.
To create a Smith Chart:
1 Click the Proj tab in the lower left window to display the Project Browser.
2 Right-click on Graphs, and choose Add Graph . The Create Graph dialog
box displays.
3 Type “Input reflection” in Graph Name, select Smith Chart as the Graph
Type ,and click OK . The graph displays in the workspace.
To add a Large Signal GAMMA measurement:
4 Right-click Input reflection under Graphs in the Project Browser and
choose Add Measurement . The Add Measurement dialog box displays.
5 Select Nonlinear Parameters as the Meas. Type and select Gcomp as the
Measurement . Select DC Bias as the Data Source Name, select PORT_1 as
the Measurement Component , click on the arrows to the right to select 1 in
both Harmonic Index and Power Swp Index , and then click Add and Close.
Input Reflection
Swp Max
1.0
0 .8
2.5GHz
Gcomp[PORT_1,1,1]
6
0.
0
2.
4 DC bias
0.
0
3.
0
4.
5. 0
0. 2
10.0
10.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
1.0
0
-10. 0
2
-0 . 0
-5 .
.0
-4
.0
-3
.4
-0
.0
-2
.6
-0
-0.8
Swp Min
-1.0
1.5GHz
IMPORT SCHEMATICS
The input and output matching for the amplifier are imported from schematics
that have already been created. To import the input match schematic:
1 Click the Proj tab in the lower left window to display the Project Browser.
2 Right-click on Circuit Schematics in the Project Browser, and choose
Import Schematic. The Open dialog box displays.
3 Locate the C:\Program Files\AWR\AWR2002 directory and double-click on
it to open it.
4 Double-click the Examples subdirectory, and then double-click the Quick
subdirectory.
Start
5 Select the input match.sch file and click Open to open the schematic as
follows.
TLIN
ID=TL1
PORT Z0=10 Ohm
P=1 EL=83 Deg
Z=50 Ohm F0=1.9 GHz
TLIN PORT
ID= ind1 TLOC P=2
ID=TL2 Z=50 Ohm
Z0= 78 Ohm
Z0=21 Ohm
EL= 25 Deg
EL=90 Deg
F0= 1.9 GHz
F0=1.9 GHz
T LI N
I D= q ua r
PORT Z 0= 3 0 O h m
P =2 E L= 8 8 D e g
Z =5 0 O h m F 0= 1 .9 G Hz
P O RT
TL I N P =1
I D= i nd Z = 5 0 O hm
Z 0= 8 0 O h m
E L= 2 2 D e g
F 0= 1 .9 G Hz
CA P
I D= C 1
C = 1 00 p F
4 Press the Ctrl key, click on the selected elements, and holding the mouse
button down, drag them to the left of the circuit to break the connection
between the CAP C1 and the transistor, as shown in the following figure.
IND
ID=L2
L= 1 uH
IND
DCVS ID=L1
ID= V1 L= 1 uH
V= 1 V
DCVS
ID=V2
V= 6 V
I_METER
GBJT ID=AMP1
ID=GP_BLT11_chip_1
CAP
PORT1 ID= C2
P=1 CAP C=100 pF
Z=50 Ohm ID=C1 2 C
Pwr=23 dBm C= 100 pF
1 4
S PORT
B P=2
Z=50 Ohm
3 E
V_METER
ID=VM1
CAP RES
ID= C3 ID=R1
C= 100 pF R= .5 Ohm
5 Click the Elem tab in the lower left window to display the Element Browser.
6 Click on Subcircuits in the Element Browser. A set of subcircuit models
displays in the lower pane.
7 Click the input match subcircuit, and holding the mouse button down, drag
it into the schematic window, release the mouse button, position the
subcircuit between CAP C1 and node 1 of the transistor, and click to place
it.
IND
ID= L2
L=1 uH
IND
DCVS ID=L1
ID=V1 L=1 uH
V= 1 V
DCVS
ID=V2
V=6 V
I_METER
GBJT ID=AMP1
ID=GP_BLT11_chip_1
CAP
PORT1 SUBCKT ID=C2
P=1 CAP ID=S1 C= 100 pF
ID= C1 2 C
Z=50 Ohm NET=input match
Pwr=23 dBm C=100 pF
1 2 1 4
S PORT
B P=2
Z=50 Ohm
3 E
V_METER
ID=VM1
CAP RES
ID=C3 ID= R1
C=100 pF R=.5 Ohm
8 If the subcircuit nodes do not properly connect with the capacitor and
transistor, you may need to click the appropriate element, and holding the
mouse button down, drag the element until the proper connections are
made.
9 Click on PORT2. Press and hold the Shift key while you click on CAP C2
(the capacitor connected to PORT2). Both PORT2 and CAP C2 should be
selected.
10 Press the Shift key, click on the selected elements, and holding the mouse
button down, drag them to the right of the circuit to break the connection
between the CAP C2 and the wire, as shown in the following figure.
IND
ID= L2
L=1 uH
DCVS
ID=V2
V=6 V
IND
DCVS ID= L1
ID= V1 L= 1 uH
V= 1 V
CAP
I_METER ID= C2
ID=AMP1 C=100 pF
PORT1 PORT
P=1 CAP 2 C P=2
Z= 50 Ohm ID= C1 Z= 50 Ohm
Pwr=23 dBm C=100 pF
1 4
B S
V_METER
3 E ID=VM1
CAP RES
ID= C3 ID= R1
C=100 pF R=0.5 Ohm
11 Click the Elem tab in the lower left window to display the Element Browser.
12 Click Subcircuits in the Element Browser to display a set of subcircuit
models in the lower pane.
13 Click the output match subcircuit, and holding the mouse button down,
drag it into the schematic window, release the mouse button, right-click
twice to rotate the subcircuit 180 degrees, position the subcircuit to connect
to the open node of CAP C2, and click to place it.
14 Place the cursor on node 2 of the output match subcircuit. The cursor
displays as a wire coil symbol. Click, then drag the cursor to node 1 of
I_METER, and click to place the wire.
15 Double-click the Pwr parameter value of the PORT1 element. An edit box
displays over the value. Type “18 ” to change the value from 23 to 18 dBm,
then click outside the edit box to save the change.
IND
ID=L2
L=1 uH
IND
DCVS ID=L1
ID=V1 L=1 uH
V=1 V
DCVS
ID=V2
V=6 V
I_METER
GBJT ID=AMP1
ID=GP_BLT11_chip_1
CAP
PORT1 SUBCKT ID=C2
P=1 CAP ID=S1 C=100 pF
ID=C1 2 C
Z=50 Ohm NET=input match
Pwr=18 dBm C=100 pF
2 1
1 2 1 4
S PORT
B SUBCKT P=2
ID=S2 Z=50 Ohm
3 E NET=output match
V_METER
ID=VM1
CAP RES
ID=C3 ID=R1
C=100 pF R=.5 Ohm
6 Choose Simulate > Analyze. The simulation response shown in the figure
below displays on the graph.
Pout
29
28
DB(|Pcomp[PORT_2,1,1]|) (dBm)
DC bias
27
26
1.5 2 2.5
Frequency (GHz)
A dynamic load line measurement plots the large signal performance of the
circuit superimposed on the IV curve of the device. To create a dynamic load
line measurement:
1 Click the Proj tab in the lower left window to display the Project Browser.
2 Click the + symbol to expand Graphs in the Project Browser.
IVC u rve (m A )
IV cu rv e
IVD L L[V _M E T ER .V M 1 ,I_ M E TE R .A M P1 ,1 ,1 ] (m A )
D C b ia s
IV BJT
1 200
8 00
4 00
-400
0 5 10 15
Voltage (V)
The next step involves a two-tone simulation that is swept over power at one
frequency point. It requires a new schematic of the same circuit with a different
port configuration. To create the new schematic, you must make a duplicate and
edit the port configurations. To duplicate the schematic:
1 In the Project Browser, click DC bias under Circuit Schematics, and
holding the mouse button down, drag it to the main Circuit Schematics
entry, and release the mouse button. A duplicate schematic named Copy of
DC bias is created.
5 Click the Parameters tab and change the Values to the following, then click
OK .
5 Select Nonlinear Power as the Meas. Type, and select IM1_SP as the
Measurement . Select Two Tone Amp as the Data Source Name, select
PORT_2 as the Measurement Component , click on the arrows to the right
to select 1 for Frequency Swp Index , and then click Add .
6 Change the Measurement to IM3_SP, click Add , and then click Close.
7 Choose Simulate > Analyze. View the final simulation response on the
graph, as follows.
IM3
30
IM1_SP[PORT_2,1] (dBm)
Two Tone Amp
0
IM3_SP[PORT_2,1] (dBm)
Two Tone Amp
-30
-60
-90
-10 0 10 20 30
Power (dBm)
An IP3 measurement does not require a swept power on the input. To speed up
the swept variable simulation, a new schematic without swept power is desired.
To create a new schematic for the IP3 measurement:
1 Click Two Tone Amp under Circuit Schematics in the Project Browser, and
holding the mouse button down, drag it to the main Circuit Schematics
entry and release the mouse button. A duplicate schematic named Copy of
Two Tone Amp is created.
6 Right-click on Graphs, and choose Add Graph . The Create Graph dialog
box displays.
7 Type “IP3” as the Graph Name, select Rectangular as the Graph Type, and
click OK . The graph displays in the workspace.
8 Right-click on IP3 under Graphs, and choose Add Measurement . The Add
Measurement dialog box displays.
9 Select Nonlinear Power as the Meas. Type and select IP_2 as the
Measurement . Select IP3 as the Data Source Name, select PORT_2 as the
Output Power Meas. Component , click on the arrows to the right to select 2
in IM Product (h1) and -1 for the IM Product (h2), and then click Add and
Close.
The swept variable for the new measurement must be enabled for tuning.
This very important step must be done before the Swept Variable wizard is
activated. To enable the collector voltage for tuning:
14 Click the Proj tab in the lower left window to display the Project Browser.
17 Click the Proj tab in the lower left window to display the Project Browser.
18 Expand Wizards and double-click on Swept Variable Wizard . The Swept
Variable Wizard dialog box displays.
21 Select Swept Variable under X-Values. Type “4 ” for Start , “8” for Stop, and
“.5” for Step under Sweep Values.
22 Select Save Wizard State and type “IP3 vs VC” in the text box below it.
Type “VC” as the Dest. Meas. Name.
23 Select 2.1 under Y-Values(GHZ) .
24 Click Apply. The simulator will run at each voltage point. The final graph
displays similar to the following.
IP3 vs VC
42
API
Vc
40
38
36
34
4 5 6 7 8
Voltage (V)
This concludes the nonlinear simulation example. You can save your work if you
wish by choosing File > Save Project .
.....
Electromagnetic (EM) simulators use Maxwell’s equations to compute the
response of a structure from its physical geometry. EM simulations are ideal
because they can simulate highly arbitrary structures and still provide very
accurate results. In addition, EM simulators are not subject to many of the
constraints of circuit models because they use fundamental equations to
compute the response. One limitation of EM simulators is that simulation time
grows exponentially with the size of the problem, thus it is important to
minimize problem complexity to get timely results.
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 7-1
USING THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SIMULATOR
7 Creating a Distributed Interdigital Filter
CREATE AN EM STRUCTURE
To create an EM structure:
1 Choose Project > Add EM Structure > New EM Structure.
2 Type “Interdigital Filter ”, and click OK . An EM structure window displays
in the workspace.
HINT: EMSight uses a rectilinear grid for defining structures. When you set up
designs, use the coarsest grid possible when defining structures, as this
provides faster simulation time (usually without any compromise in
simulation accuracy!)
The enclosure defines all the dielectric materials for each of the layers in an EM
structure, sets the boundary conditions, and defines the overall physical size of
the structure and minimum grid units that will be used to specify conductor
materials in the structure.
To set up the enclosure:
1 Double-click on Enclosure under Interdigital Filter (under EM Structures )
in the Project Browser. The Substrate Information dialog box displays.
2 Select the Metric check box, and then click the arrow keys to specify units as
mm .
The boundary conditions for the sidewalls of the enclosure are always perfect
conductors and cannot be modified. The boundary conditions for the top and
bottom of the enclosure have default perfect conductors, but they can be
modified if desired. You will not modify the default boundary conditions in this
example.
To view the boundary conditions:
1 Click the Boundaries tab in the Substrate Information dialog box. Then
click OK to complete the enclosure set up procedure.
You can use Microwave Office’s EM simulator to draw physical structures for
simulation. You can also import structures directly from Applied Wave
Research’s layout tool, or import structures from AutoCAD DXF, GDSII or
Sonnet GEO formatted files. In this example you will draw the physical layout
of a microstrip interdigital filter using the EM simulator.
To draw the physical layout:
1 Choose Draw > Add Rect Conductor to add a rectangular conductor.
2 Move the cursor into the Interdigital Filter window, and press the Tab key.
The Enter Coordinates dialog box displays.
3 Type “0 ” as the value of x and “2.2 ” as the value of y, and then click OK .
4 Press the Tab key again to display the Enter Coordinates dialog box. Ensure
that the Re check box is selected, type “2.2 ” as the value of dx, and “0.6 ” as
the value of dy, and then click OK . A rectangular conductor displays in the
EM structure window.
9 Slide the cursor over the selected conductor until the cursor displays as a
cross.
10 Click and hold the mouse button down. A dx, dy readout displays in the
window, as shown in the following figure.
HINT: Click the Ruler button on the toolbar to measure the dimension of
conductors, offsets, or spaces in an EM structure layout.
11 Holding the mouse button down, drag the cursor until the dx, dy readout
displays dx:-2 and dy:-1. Then release the mouse button to place the
rectangle.
ADDING VIAS
Vias are interconnects between substrate layers. You must add a via to ground
one side of the larger conductor to the bottom of the enclosure. To add a via:
1 Choose Draw > Add Via .
2 Move the cursor into the Interdigital Filter window, and press the Tab key.
The Enter Coordinates dialog box displays. Type “2.4 ” as the value of x and
“1.2 ” as the value of y, and then click OK .
3 Press the Tab key again to display the Enter Coordinates dialog box. Type
“0.4 ” as the value of dx and “0.8 ” as the value of dy, and then click OK . A
via displays in the Interdigital Filter window, with blue squares in its corners
to show that it is selected.
The EM simulator can have electrical ports defined at the edge of the defining
box (edge ports) or as a via probe coming in from the top or bottom surfaces
(via ports).
To define an edge port:
1 Click on the smaller conductor in the EM structure window. Note that this
conductor must be positioned exactly on the left edge of the substrate (X:0;
Y:2.2) before you can add an edge port to it.
HINT: Choose View > Zoom In once or twice to magnify the view for the
following steps.
2 Choose Draw > Add Edge Port .
3 Position the cursor to the left edge of the small conductor until the outline
of a square displays, and click to place the port. A small box with the
number 1 (indicating port 1) displays at the left edge of the conductor.
The EM simulator is very fast for electrically small structures. To find the
resonant frequency of the first resonator of the filter, you can run an EM
simulation on the initial layout of the Interdigital Filter EM structure.
To simulate the structure:
1 Double-click on Information under Interdigital Filter (under EM
Structures ).The EM Solver Information dialog box displays the estimated
simulation time for the EM structure.
To determine the resonant frequency, you must plot the return loss of the EM
structure. To display this measurement on a graph:
1 Choose Project > Add Graph . The Create Graph dialog box displays.
2 Select Rectangular as the Graph Type and click OK . The graph displays in
the workspace.
Graph 1
0
DB(|S[1,1]|)
-0.01 Interdigital Filter
-0.02
-0.03
-0.04
-0.05
-0.06
1 2 3 4 5
Frequency (GHz)
Graph 1
0
DB(|S[1,1]|)
Interdigital Filter
-0.1
-0.2
-0.3
-0.4
3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Frequency (GHz)
Viewing the currents and electric fields of an EM structure can be useful when
studying its physical characteristics. To animate the currents on the conductors:
1 Click on the 3D window of the Interdigital Filter EM structure to make it
active.
2 Choose Animate > Animate Play. The animated currents in the 3D view
display in the workspace.
To complete the following filter you use some advanced editing features in the
drawing window.
1 2
7 Choose Edit > Copy, and then choose Edit > Paste. An outline of the input
resonator displays.
8 Move the cursor to place the outline of the copied instance on top of the
input resonator, and click. The newly created instance is still selected, as
follows.
You must move the flipped instance to align the output line with the edge of the
structure. To move the flipped instance:
11 Move the cursor over the selected instance until the cursor displays as a
cross.
12 Click, and drag the outline of the instance until the output line aligns with
the edge of the structure as follows, then release the mouse button.
1 output line
edge of structure
14 Choose Edit > Copy, then choose Edit > Paste. An outline of the copied
instance displays.
15 Move the cursor to the middle of the EM structure window to move the
copied instance to the middle of the window, then right-click twice to rotate
the instance 180-degrees.
16 Press the Tab key to display the Enter Coordinates dialog box.
17 Deselect Re to change the relative coordinates. Type “5.6 ” as the x value
and “9.2 ” as the y value, and then click OK . The new drawing is as follows.
ADDING A PORT
To complete the EM structure, you must add a port to the output line. To add a
port to the output line and de-embed 1mm of electrical length:
1 Click on the rightmost conductor in the EM structure window.
HINT: Choose View > Zoom In once or twice to magnify the view for the
following steps.
2 Choose Draw > Add Edge Port .
3 Move the cursor to the right edge of the conductor until the outline of a
square displays, and click to place the port. A small box with the number 2
(indicating port 2) displays at the right edge of the conductor.
4 Right-click in the EM structure window and choose View Area .
5 Click and hold the mouse button down to display a magnifier cursor, then
drag the cursor around port 2 and the small conductor. The window zooms
in on the selected area.
6 Click on port 2. Four squares display at its corners.
7 Move the cursor over the edge of the port until it displays as a double arrow.
8 Click and hold the mouse button down to display a dx or dy readout.
9 Holding the mouse button down, drag the cursor to the left until the dx, dy
readout displays dx:-1. Release the mouse button to place the de-embedding
line. The final layout displays as follows.
1 2
Graph 2
0
DB(|S[1,1]|)
Interdigital Filter
-20
DB(|S[2,1]|)
Interdigital Filter
-40
-60
-80
3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Frequency (GHz)
This concludes the EM simulation example. To save your work, choose File >
Save Project .
.....
In this chapter you use VSS to create a simulation of a basic quadrature phase
shift keying (QPSK) system. You will learn how to use several key features of
VSS. The main procedures include the following:
• Creating a new project
• Setting default system settings
• Creating a system diagram
• Placing blocks in the system diagram
• Adding graphs and measurements
• Running a simulation and analyzing the results
• Tuning the system.
CREATING A PROJECT
The first step in building and simulating your designs is to create a project. You
use a project to organize and manage related designs, and everything associated
with them, in a tree-like directory structure.
The example you create in this chapter is available in its complete form as
qpsk.emp. This file is included in your ProgramFiles\AWR\AWR2002\
Examples\VSS\QPSK directory. You can use this example file as a reference.
To create a new project:
1 Start VSS if not already started. To start VSS, click Start on your desktop,
choose Programs >AWR Suite 2002 >AWR Design Environment , or click
the shortcut on your desktop. For information on installing, setting up
shortcuts and starting VSS, see “Installing MWO/VSS” on page 2-1.
The AWR Design Environment window displays.
HINT: You can also rotate a block before positioning it by right-clicking on it.
System
blocks
Subgroup
5 From the system block list expand the Modulation category and QPSK
subgroup, then select the QPSK_TX block and place it on the System
Diagram.
6 From the system block list select the Channels category and then select the
White Gaussian Noise Channel model (AWGN) and place it after the
QPSK_TX block. Size the diagram window larger as needed.
7 From the system block list select the Modulation category, expand the
General Receivers subgroup and then select the General I/Q Modulation
Receiver (RCVR) and place it after the AWGN block.
8 From the system block list expand the Meters category and select two test
points (TP), place one near the QPSK_TX block (above) and the other near
the RCVR block. You can also click the Test Point button on the toolbar
and place a test point in the diagram.
HINT: Choose Zoom > View to view different parts of the System diagram and the
blocks.
9 To save the file choose File > Save Project.
Change to
Bit Energy
Change to
Rectangular
In this dialog box you can control several parameters as well as the pulse
shaping filter used on the in-phase and quadrature-phase signals.
5 On the OLVLTYP parameter row, click in the Value column to display the
available options. Select Bit Energy.
6 For the PLSTYP parameter, select Rectangular and click OK.
7 Double-click the RCVR block. You do not have to set any parameters
because the RCVR automatically adjusts its parameters to agree with the
parameters of the transmitter. Click OK .
8 You don’t need to double-click the AWGN block. You are going to use it to
control the power spectral density of the noise.
HINT: You can double-click the parameter value on the diagram to modify the
value.
2 Click the Simulator tab, and under Spec. Method select Symbol time. Note
that there are four options under Spec. Method to define the System
Sampling Rate. The parameters are interdependent and the equations that
link the parameters are given above each parameter window.
The duration of the QPSK_TX transmitted complex envelope baseband
symbol is set by default to 1ns and each symbol is made up of 8 samples.
3 Click OK to save the setting.
Adding a Measurement
To add a measurement:
1 Right-click on the Complexbaseband graph in the Project Browser, and
choose Add Measurement. The Add Measurement dialog box displays.
.
2 For measurement type, select System under Meas. Type and select WVFM
under Measurement .
3 Make sure that the test point window shows TP.TP1, click Add, and then
click Close.
HINT: You can custom name a test point by double-clicking its ID number.
The qpsk:Re(WVFM[TP.TP1,10,1,1]) measurement displays under the
Complexbaseband graph in the Project Browser.
The received constellation does not appear as expected because the power
spectral density of the noise source is set to 0dB. Note that the time
waveform of the complex baseband signal does not show 8 samples per
symbol as you specified in the System Simulator Options dialog box.
2 Change the PWR parameter of the AWGN block to -30dB. You can
double-click the parameter value on the System Diagram and change it.
3 Select the Complexbaseband graph window and click the Properties button
on the toolbar.
4 In the Graph Properties dialog box, click the Traces tab. The following
window displays.
Auto Interval
Interval
Line
Symbol
5 Using the drop-down symbol and line selectors, set the symbol to be a
triangle and the line to be a solid line under Style. (The lines will now
display on the Complexbaseband waveform).
6 Under Symbol , deselect Auto interval , change the Interval value to 1 and
click OK .
7 Start the simulation, let it run for about 10 seconds and then stop the
simulation. The graphs should look as follows.
Note that your graphs may not look exactly the same as the examples due to
window sizing and placement for convenience.
HINT: Click the Properties button on the toolbar to edit the appearance of any graph,
or right-click in the graph to zoom in and zoom out.
8 Choose File > Save Project to save your project.
9 There are now eight samples per symbol. You can return to the System
Simulator Options dialog box and change the number of Samples per
symbol and Symbol time values.
7 Set the values as shown above by typing in Max and Min . To observe the
impact of the noise level, you should set values of Max and Min respectively
to 0 and -50.
You can click on the tuning bar and slide it to adjust the values. Observe the
results on the constellation graph.
8 Close the Variable Tuner dialog box.
9 Stop the simulation by clicking the Run System Simulators button on the
toolbar.
10 To de-tune the PWR parameter, click the Tune Tool button, position the
cursor over the PWR parameter and when the cursor becomes a cross on a
black background, click on the PWR parameter value of the AWGN block.
The parameter value changes to black. Double-click on the PWR parameter
and change the value to 0.
5 Type “Eb_N0 = sweep (stepped(0, 8, 1)) ” in the edit box, and then click
outside of the box.
This equation sweeps the variable Eb_N0 (the energy per bit to noise
density ratio) from 0dB to 8dB in increments of 1dB. Note that the PWR of
the AWGN channel is set to 0dB and the simulation is being set up to
increase the transmitter power.
6 Double-click on the QPSK_TX block and verify that OUTLVL parameter
is Eb_N0, and the value for the OLVLTYP parameter value is set to Bit
Energy. Click OK.
7 From the System Block list, expand the Meters category and the BER
subgroup then select the BER block (internal reference source) and place it
on the system diagram.
8 Connect the BER block to the “D” node of the RCVR block.
9 Edit the parameters of the BER block to the values shown in the following
Element Options dialog box, then click OK
The BER block is now set to test 1e7 (MXTRL * TBLKSZ) bits. It registers 25
errors before a BER computation is generated for each value of Eb_N0. The
BER block internally generates the original data source and compares the
received bits to the transmitted bits. The last point on the BER curve at the
value Eb_N0 of 8 will take the longest to plot. Note that the X-axis type
parameter is a menu. Make sure you select Eb/N0 as the X-axis type.
10 To add a BER plot to the project, right-click on Graphs in the Project
Browser, choose Add Graph , select a rectangular type of graph and name it
“BER” .
11 In the Project Browser, right-click on the new BER graph and choose Add
Measurement.
12 For Meas. Type select System BER , for Measurement select BER and for
Error Meter select BER.BER1, then click Add to save the measurement.
13 To verify the obtained results with the theoretical results, you add another
measurement to the BER graph with the following settings.
.
14 Click Add and Close to close the dialog box and save your measurement.
1 Verify that the PWR parameter value of the AWGN block is 0dB.
2 Select the BER graph, then click the Properties button on the toolbar.
3 Click the Limits tab, and set the Y-axis to Log scale by selecting the Log
Scale check box. Click OK .
4 Click the Run System Simulators button to start the simulation. As the
simulation runs, the BER curve is generated. Note that the size of the
received constellation becomes clearer as the power is increased or, as
Eb_N0 is swept from 0dB to 8dB.
The simulation stops as soon as 25 errors are counted at Eb_N0 = 8dB.
Your BER graph should look like the following.
.
Your diagram and graphs should now look like the following diagram. Note that
exact positioning and size of your windows may vary from the following
diagram.
WHAT’S NEXT?
In the next chapter you add a filter to the QPSK system and then observe the
impact of filter characteristics on BER performance. In the process you will also
learn about linking Microwave Office circuits to the System Diagram.
.....
The circuit simulation capabilities of Microwave Office and VSS provide a
unique environment to measure the impact of RF components on system
performance. Measurements you can make include, for example, the impact of
phase noise on BER, spectral regrowth due to the non-linearities of an amplifier
and the impact of filter characteristics on BER.
In this chapter you work with features of the VSS environment and its
integration with the Microwave Office circuit simulation environment. You add
a filter to the QPSK system that you built in the previous chapter, and then you
measure the impact of the filter on BER performance as you change filter
parameters.
The basic procedures in this example include:
• Creating a schematic in the project
• Incorporating a filter design from a schematic into the system diagram
• Changing filter parameters and monitoring the impact on BER
performance
• Creating a power spectral density plot project.
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 9-1
ADDING AN MWO SUBCIRCUIT TO A SYSTEM
9
Creating a Schematic and Adding an Ideal MWO Filter
6 In the Element Browser expand the Circuit Elements node, then General,
then Filters, then select the Bandpass subgroup and place a Butterworth
Bandpass Filter (BPFB) into the schematic window.
HINT: You can view the full name of an element before dragging it to the schematic by
right-clicking on it and then selecting Show Details.
7 Place and connect two ports to the BPFB element. You can select ports by
clicking the Ports button on the toolbar.
HINT: You can rotate a port or model by right-clicking it before placing it. You can
right-click more than once to rotate the desired amount.
8 Double-click the BPFB element. In the Element Options dialog box,
change the value of the following options:
• number of resonators (N ) to 2
• lower frequency edge of the passband (FP1 ) parameter to 4 GHz
• upper frequency edge of passband (FP2 ) to 6 GHz
• maximum passband attenuation (AP ) to 1db. The AP parameter is a
secondary parameter.
9 Click OK . Your schematic should look like the following figure.
10 To set the project frequency choose Options > Project Options and then
click the Frequency Values tab.
11 Set the frequency values, Start, Stop and Step as shown in the following
figure.
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 9-3
ADDING AN MWO SUBCIRCUIT TO A SYSTEM
9
Creating a Schematic and Adding an Ideal MWO Filter
15 Add a test point at the output of the LIN_S block as shown in the following
figure.
You can click the Test Point button on the toolbar to obtain a test point.
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 9-5
ADDING AN MWO SUBCIRCUIT TO A SYSTEM
9
Experimenting with Filters
Spectrum after
adding noise and
filtering
Spectrum before
adding noise and
filtering
WHAT’S NEXT?
In the next chapter you add an amplifier to this design and measure its impact
on the overall system.
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 9-7
ADDING AN MWO SUBCIRCUIT TO A SYSTEM
9
Experimenting with Filters
.....
This chapter demonstrates how to use the Microwave Office harmonic balance
nonlinear simulator in conjunction with a VSS simulation. In the example you
simulate an amplifier model and then measure the impact of the amplifier on the
overall system. You will also observe the resulting power spectrum and the
constellation graph.
The procedures you use in this chapter include:
• Importing a Microwave Office amplifier schematic into a system
project
• Compensating for phase shift
• Tuning the simulation
• Working with the VSS Vector Signal Analyzer block.
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 10-1
USING AN MWO NONLINEAR ELEMENT IN VSS
10
Importing an Amplifier Model into VSS
3 Verify the amplifier (NL_AMP) parameters are set to the following values.
4 Click OK .
5 Make some additional room between the QPSK_TX and the test point TP1
on the system diagram and disconnect the wire between them.
6 From the System Blocks list expand the RF Blocks category and then the
Simulation Based sub-category. Select the Non-linear Behavior Model
(NL_S) and place it between the QPSK_TX and AWGN blocks.
7 Connect the NL_S model to QPSK_TX and AWGN.
8 Double-click the NL_S block and set its NET parameter to reference the
amplifier schematic (include the quotes).
Amplifier
schematic
9 After you set the NET parameter, click OK . Your system design should look
like the following:
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 10-3
USING AN MWO NONLINEAR ELEMENT IN VSS
10
Importing an Amplifier Model into VSS
Set to 5GHz
Select Single Point
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 10-5
USING AN MWO NONLINEAR ELEMENT IN VSS
10
Importing an Amplifier Model into VSS
1 From the System Block list expand the Meters category and Network
Analyzers subgroup then select the Vector Signal Analyzer (VSA) block
and place it above the NL_S block.
2 Connect the two ports of the VSA block to either side of the NL_S block.
as shown in the following figure.
7 For Power Output Component select Port_2 and select 1 for Frequency
Swp Index.Click Add.
The dialog box remains open to let you add another measurement.
8 Set the measurement and parameters as follows then click Add, then Close.
9 Start the simulation. This starts the harmonic balance simulation and
updates the AMtoAM graph with harmonic balance results.
10 For best graph appearance, select the AMtoAM graph, click Properties on
the toolbar, click the Traces tab, and change the symbol from a triangle to
none .
11 Start the system simulation. As the simulation runs, a marker moves along
the plot that resulted from the harmonic balance simulation. The marker
moves because you are sweeping the variable Eb_N0. The marker indicates
the operating point of the system relative to the 1dB compression point of
the amplifier. As you decrease the value of the 1dB compression point, note
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d G u i d e 10-7
USING AN MWO NONLINEAR ELEMENT IN VSS
10
Importing an Amplifier Model into VSS
that the operating point of this system moves into the nonlinear region of
the amplifier.
For information on the LIN_S, NL_S and VSA blocks, refer to the
corresponding Visual System Simulator System Block Catalog documentation.
Note that the examples shown here use ideal behavioral models for the filter
and amplifier. You can also use actual circuit models for the filter and amplifier.
WHAT’S NEXT?
For further exploration and amplifier designs you can incorporate in a system,
see the example projects and design notes in the ProgramFiles\AWR2002\
Examples\VSS\Amplifier directory.
....
A D
Adding Data file
amplifier 10-1 changing the ground node 5-6
measurements 8-10 placing in a schematic 5-5
ports 3-17 Data, adding to netlists 3-9
subcircuits to diagrams 3-17 Database units 5-3
Adding a chip cap cell 5-18 DC voltage and current measurement 6-10
Artwork cell Default grid size, editing 5-3
adding ports to 5-16 Default project units 4-2
adding to a schematic element 5-11 Design environment 3-2
assigning 5-11 Diagram
creating 5-13 creating 8-3
AWR design environment 3-1 Distributed interdigital filter 7-2
Documentation 1-3
B
Dynamic load line measurement 6-22
Basic quadriphase shift keying (QPSK) system 8-1
BER simulation 8-15 E
Bias circuit 6-7 E-fields, viewing 7-18
Blocks 8-2 Electromagnetic simulator 7-1
connecting 8-4, 8-6 Element catalog 8-4
editing parameters 8-6, 8-7 Element symbol, changing 5-7
placing in a diagram 8-3, 8-4 Elements
adding to schematics 3-7
C placing in schematics 4-3
Cell libraries 3-13 EM simulation in Microwave Office 7-1
Circuit EM structure drawings 3-9
analyzing 4-9
EM structures, creating 3-9
optimizing 4-13, 4-18
tuning 4-9 F
Conductors, adding to the layout 7-6 Filter layout 7-20
Creating a new project 8-1 FLEXlm license, obtaining 2-5
Creating graphs 8-9 Frequency simulation 4-6
Creating variables 8-15
G
Currents, animating 7-18
GDSII cell library 5-4
Curve meter 6-5
Graph
adding measurements 3-14
creating 4-7 N
Graphs Netlists, creating 3-4, 3-5
creating 8-9 Nodes 4-5
Ground node, changing 5-6 Nonlinear element 10-1
Nonlinear measurements 6-2
H
Nonlinear model 6-4
Harmonic balance 6-1
Nonlinear simulation frequencies 6-13
Harmonic balance port 6-11
Nonlinear simulator 6-1
I
O
Import process, defined 3-13
Online help 1-3
Importing
a cell library 5-4 Optimizing ciruits 4-13
data file 5-5 Optimizing with subcircuits 4-18
GDSII cell library 5-4 P
layer process file 5-2 Parameter
Importing a data file 5-5 tuning 8-14
Installing MWO/VSS 2-1 Ports
adding 3-17, 7-11
L adding to an artwork cell 5-16
Layer process file, importing 5-2 Ports and wires 3-8
Layout
Pout vs. frequency measurement 6-21
creating 3-9, 3-11
Power amplifier circuit 6-2
creating from schematic 5-1 Project
exporting 5-26 create new 5-2
viewing 5-11 creating 3-4, 4-1, 4-2
Layout cell
creating new 8-1
anchoring 5-12
opening 3-4
Linear simulators 4-1
saving 3-4
Lines
de-embedding 7-11 setting default units 4-2
Load line measurement 6-22 Project browser 3-2
Lumped element filter, creating 4-1 R
M Results, displaying on graphs 7-16
Measurements 3-15 S
adding 8-10 Schematic
Measurements, adding 4-7 copying in the project browser 6-24
Measuring Ip3 vs voltage 6-27 creating 3-5, 4-2
Microstrip elements, placing 5-7 editing 5-18
MTRACE element 5-20 placing elements in 4-3
Signal gamma measurement 6-14
T
Technical support 1-4
Third order intermodulation measurement 6-26
Tuning a circuit 4-9
Tuning a system parameter 8-14
Two-tone analysis 6-2
Two-tone harmonic balance port 6-24
V
Variables
creating 8-15
Vector complex analyzer block 10-5
Vector variables 4-14
Vendor libraries 2-1
VIAS, adding 7-9
Viewing a layout 5-11
Viewing structures in 3D 7-10
W
Website support 1-4
Wires
adding 3-17
Wires, connecting 4-4