Radio Frequency (RF) & Wireless Design

I recently posted a response in the EE group in regard to what is the best ECAD PCB tool that interfaces to SolidWorks. In that response I called out that the CircuitWorks module that comes with the Professional version can be used to import and export CAD files to help accomplish design tasks. And since Altium has been growing very strongly and allowing real-time interactive coordination between users that this is a very powerful working system for many designs.

However I wanted to point out in this group that since RF tools are also emerging and that the typical digital tools that everyone is so familiar with are likely to run short very quickly, especially with the emergence of 5G (up to 40 GHz) technologies.

I have reviewed many tools and the software AWR is one of the premier tools for dealing with the high-speed mixed-signal rf-analog-digital type of technologies. No longer is the designer confronted with high speed digital (which BTW is analog !) but rather now the complexities take on a third dimension - that of RF at the microstrip and strip-line layers.

In these designed the PCB circuits are the components !! 

Therefore the tools to design the 'circuit' elements need the ECAD tools to be able to simulate the analog RF waveforms as well as all the other linking parasitic effects across the PCB to make sure that the signal coherency in all directions and at times is maintained at the EMC compliance level. This is not an easy task and different design concepts and methods (shielding) are required to achieve this.

Moreover there may be circuit elements that are intentional radiators (antennas) that need to be isolated and tuned to maximize RF performance. Here's where the 2D type of simulations flat and fail miserably. A 2D microstrip simulation of a high speed memory bus or serial link at a digital level is NOT the same as a 3D simulation especially where high inductance and higher currents are used !

Therefore the examination of the tools required to perform such designs may need a hierarchy of ECAD tools to perform individual place-route-simulate-redesign-resimulate regions of the PCB to meet such requirements. AWR is one of these tools and it's worth taking a look into the capability since we are now into an era of high integration of many technologies.

Be sure to see my other thread on the many other RF design software tools relating to RF design for PCBs, for antennas, and for systems.

AWR wiki link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AWR_Corporation

AWR website : https://www.awr.com/