STMicroelectronics Select Agilent 3-D EM Simulation Software To Develop Integrated Passive Devices

Compared to traditional surface mount device technology, IPD technology results in a dramatic size reduction and enables more consistent, reliable performance. Inductors, capacitors, resistors, baluns, couplers, stubs and other devices available in IPD technologies are the elemental components used to design complex analog filters, combiners, di/triplexers and power adaptation stages.



Despite its benefits, IPD technology is not without its design challenges, said Jan Van Hese, R&D project manager at Agilent. One such challenge is to reduce the number of costly prototype iterations. To do so, designers require powerful full-wave 3-D electromagnetic solvers to accurately predict the frequency response of IPD designs in various environments, optimize those designs and ensure first-run silicon success.



Agilent EMPro couples accuracy and speed that underlie best-in-class commercial solutions, with design-flow integration and a powerful Python-based programming environment to automate the design process, said Philippe Leduc, mathematical engineering expert at STMicroelectronics. In collaboration with Agilent, we incorporated EMPro into our internal design flow called VLE2EMS [Virtuoso Layout Editor to Electromagnetic Solvers], which generates ready-to-solve EM projects directly from Cadence Virtuoso.