Wizards of Electromagnetism

My Interview on EE Web

colin underscore warwick at agilent daht calm (Colin Warwick) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:50:52 +0000

EE Web interviewed me for their “Featured Engineer” series. The interview is posted here:

Let me know what you think!

200x Productivity Boost with FDTD on a GPU

colin underscore warwick at agilent daht calm (Colin Warwick) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:00:40 +0000

One of the beauties of finite difference time domain (FDTD) EM solvers is that it’s relativity ease to code the equations up for massively parallel computing. And thanks to the huge number of video gamers who have bought parallel computing GPUs like those from NVIDIA, these chips have worked their way down the price curve. Thanks to gamers, you can get a phenomenal value in compute power.

In his paper Accelerating the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) Method with CUDA James Stack Jr. show how you can get a 175 to 225x speed up by running FDTD on a GPU.

Figure 1: The NVIDIA Quadro Pro 5800 can be used as both a massively parallel compute engine and a 3D Vision graphics card

Our W2405 Agilent FDTD Simulator Element for EMPro now has GPU support built-in for both acceleration and stereoscopic viewing of the 3D geometry and fields. See this posting for more info the required GPU hardware configuration for FDTD acceleration and 3D Vision. It’s time to step up to GPU computing!

Accurate Modeling of Packages and Interconnects

colin underscore warwick at agilent daht calm (Colin Warwick) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:46:30 +0000

Here’s some info about our next webcast. Hope to see you (virtually) there!

Series:	Innovations in EDA Webcast Series
Title:	Accurate Modeling of Packages and Interconnects (click link to register)
Date:	Thursday, December 2, 2010
Time:	1:00 pm EST (10:00 am PST)
Duration:	1 hour
Description:	Why this Webcast is important: An important step in high frequency / high speed IC design is the characterization of IC performance within a realistic environment including packaging, interconnects, connectors, etc. There are several approaches to creating accurate models of these elements, such as creating equivalent circuit models, EM simulations, and measurements. This Webcast will compare these different methods and examine the trade-offs of each. Several case studies are presented which compare measured and simulated results. Presenter: Hee-Soo Lee, 3D EM Applications Specialist, Agilent EEsof EDA. HeeSoo Lee holds a BSEE degree from the Hankuk Aviation University, Korea. He has more than 20 years of design and simulation experience in the area of RF and MW designs, and is currently the Applications Marketing Specialist for 3D EM solutions at Agilent EEsof EDA.

Webcast Includes Easy Refresher on James Clerk Maxwell’s Very Useful Equations

colin underscore warwick at agilent daht calm (Colin Warwick) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:54:38 +0000

The free on-demand webcast posted here (no registration requried) Measuring Without Placing a Probe and Measuring Things That Haven’t Been Built Yet includes a refresher on Maxwell’s equations and field solvers that I’m hoping will give you an ‘A ha!’ moment or two. There’s also a PDF version of the slides with a transcript in the notes section here: PDF of Measuring Without Placing a Probe and Measuring Things That Haven’t Been Built Yet.

Integrate Signal and Power Integrity EM Simulations by Using ADS Momentum

colin underscore warwick at agilent daht calm (Colin Warwick) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:09:59 +0000

Our next webcast is on power integrity. Here are the details:

The full-wave method of moment EM simulation technique is very powerful for solving certain signal and power integrity problems. Two areas in particular are those where:

Trace inductances are small and the frequency ripple extends into the gigahertz regime (e.g. packages and small PCBs)
Cost-reduced boards that use the split power ground topology that breaks the solid power/ground assumption of traditional power integrity tools.

In this webcast we’ll illustrate these problems and solve them with the leading method of moments EM tool namely ADS Momentum. After the presentation we’ll have a live Q&A with Agilent experts.

Enroll for the live broadcast on Nov 18, 2010 at 15:00 CET/9:00 am EST (6:00 am PST) First session: Integrate Signal and Power Integrity EM Simulations by Using ADS Momentum

Enroll for the live broadcast on Nov 18, 2010 at 1:00 pm EST/10:00 am PST Second session: Integrate Signal and Power Integrity EM Simulations by Using ADS Momentum

Hope to see you (virtually) there!

Advanced Layout Solutions Solves High Speed Digital Challenges Using ADS

colin underscore warwick at agilent daht calm (Colin Warwick) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:55:31 +0000

Advanced Layout Solutions, the largest Allegro design bureau in the UK, uses the Allegro DFI integration in ADS in conjunction with Allegro enterprise board tool to add the multi gigabit analysis that ALS needed and that Allegro by itself lacks.

In their recent white paper, Chris Halford of ALS showcases their expertise in use of ADS to solve pre- and post-layout multi gigabit board design challenges. He highlights the time-to-market benefits that come from the integration of EM solvers and circuit simulators in ADS.

Please use this link to download the white paper from their web site.

Thanks, Chris!

Webcast: Building IBIS AMI Models for Use as ‘Executable Datasheets’

colin underscore warwick at agilent daht calm (Colin Warwick) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:01:46 +0000

On September 9th, 2010, my colleague Sanjeev Gupta will present two webcast sessions with live Q&A entitled:

Using IBIS AMI Models as ‘Executable Datasheets’ in High Speed Digital Interconnect Simulations

The presentation is based on based our IBIS Summit paper at the DAC Conference this summer.

Abstract

The Algorithmic Modeling application programming Interface (AMI) extension to the Input/Output Buffer Information Specification (IBIS) standard allows IC vendors can share ‘executable datasheets’ of the high speed digital SERDES without proprietary encryption. One model can run in any EDA tool that supports the standard. SystemVue 2010.07 and ADS 2011.01 will generate and simulate this type of model, respectively. The webcast will show you the workflow this new capability enables.

As always, please remember you can incorporate EM simulations into the time domain channel simulations via convolution of s-parameters if the EDA tool you use ensures causality via the Kramers-Kronig relation.

Please register today for the live presentation that best suits your schedule on September 9th, 2010:

Using IBIS AMI Models as Executable Datasheets, Europe/American East Coast Session 15:00 Central Europe Summer Time (9AM US Eastern Daylight Time)
Using IBIS AMI Models as Executable Datasheets, Pan-American Session
10AM US Pacific Daylight Time (1PM US Eastern Daylight Time)

Registrants will also receive a link to the on-demand version shortly after the live sessions.

Dielectric Bricks, Laminates, LTCC 3DEM Simulations

colin underscore warwick at agilent daht calm (Colin Warwick) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:55:41 +0000

Laminate/LTCC/module products are small, typically less than 5mm × 5mm in size and their dielectric constant is relatively high, ranging from 4~9. These modules (shown in gray on the picture here) are generally assembled and measured on PCBs (green and red in the picture). For multilayer structures where the dielectric can be treated as infinite (e.g. large PCBs), MoM works well. But when the component such as this small module has to be treated as a dielectric brick, it is best to use EM solver that can handle arbitrary 3D structures. However, it is always a tedious and error prone process to export/import the geometry into a non-integrated 3DEM point tool from your circuit/layout design tools for a complete 3DEM simulation.

Problem:How to avoid the time-consuming and error-prone process of performing 3DEM simulation in a separate point tool outside of the design flow?

Action: Use a dynamic, simple, integrated EM design flow to run comprehensive parameterized 3D components library directly from the circuit and layout design tool.

Result: Design cycle time and cost reduction by less design re-spins via an integrated 3DEM design flow using a comprehensive parameterized 3D component design kit inside your EDA design tool.

Read the full details in our presentation EM Insights Series – Episode 9 – Dielectric Bricks, Laminates, LTCC 3DEM Simulations

See the full series at EM Insights Series

Webcast: Which EM Solver Should I Use?

colin underscore warwick at agilent daht calm (Colin Warwick) — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:53:26 +0000

Are you confused about the difference between full wave and quasi-static EM solvers? (Hint: check out the posting Meaning of Quasi-static) When should you use 3D planar versus full 3D solvers? What the heck is a Green function anyway?

To answer these questions and more, we’re offering a free webcast entitled Which EM Solver Should I Use?

Why this presentation is important:

Different applications require different EM simulation technologies, but it is not always easy to determine which technology is best for a particular application. In this webcast we will review the most common EM simulations technologies in use today for RF, microwave and high-speed design projects: Method of Moments (MoM), Finite Element Method (FEM) and Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD). We will start with some background theory, and then show several application examples that highlight the strength of each technology.

Who should attend:

ADS users, EMPro users, RF & microwave designers, high speed digital and signal integrity engineers, RFIC/MMIC designers, RF SiP / module designers

Where & When

June 15th, 2010 10:00AM – 11:00AM Pacific (1:00PM – 2:00PM Eastern)

New 3DEM sim video on YouTube

colin underscore warwick at agilent daht calm (Colin Warwick) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:32:00 +0000

This video provides an overview of the EMPro modeling environment, creation of parameterized 3D EM components for ADS, one-click ADS layout import capability, and how the FEM and FDTD simulators cover a broad range of applications.

What do you think?