Highlights

The PathWave Advanced Design System (ADS) 2023 Update 1.0 product release includes new capabilities and enhancements for:

PathWave ADS 2023 Update 1.0 is available now!

PathWave Design Software

PathWave ADS 2023 Update 1.0 continues to offer the industry’s most complete RF and Microwave, High-Speed Digital, and Power Electronics design capabilities simulation software that you’ve come to depend on. This release delivers new and enhanced capabilities to improve productivity and usability for high frequency circuit and system designers.

File and Workspace Management Tools

  • Archive/Unarchive Workspace enhanced to handle DDS AEL files and dataset files as below:
    • Added support for handling DDS AEL files either located within or outside of the workspace
    • Improved support for dataset files in $DATA_HOME
    • Added Select All button archiving external workspace files
  • Improved alphanumeric sorting of cell names shown in Library View and other Dialog boxes
  • Technology Layer Improvements:
    • Filtering capability has been added to all layer selection combo boxes to allow narrowing down the layers of interest
    • Improved usability for adding new layers and long layer names with tooltips and expanded widgets
  • Used default browser for opening Help webpages on Windows
  • Improved version control performance when retrieving the status for many files
  • Added option to check-in/out dialogs to allow automatically or manually selecting related items
PathWave ADS 2022 Update 2.0
PathWave ADS for Layout

Design Editing and Layout

GDSII translators:

  • GDSII importer improves its handling of design elements that are on unmapped layers

General Editing Improvements

  • The shape and size configuration for solder mask and solder paste has been enhanced to support use cases of key customers
  • In 3D layout view, 3D bounding cuboid, instead of edges, of an instance can be drawn via a preference setting
  • Filtering capability has been added to all layer selection combo boxes to allow narrowing down the layers of interest
  • Plane tool has been enhanced to support global net-based clearance constraint hierarchically
  • When routing traces, unconstrained vias are now selectable in the via selection box when constrained vias are also available. The selection combo box presents the sets in logical grouping
  • (Beta feature) the new Simple Evaluator, set as the default evaluator since ADS 2023, has further enhanced to handle bondwire variables and several other use cases the existing Full Evaluator could handle. This evaluator processes component parameter expressions significantly faster than the existing Full Evaluator

Data Display

Data Viewing, Analysis and Manipulation

  • Improved the management and transparency of DDS AEL files being loaded:
    • The new AEL File Manager enables the following:
      • Allows specifying a list of AEL files to be loaded from SITE, INSTALL and workspace locations
      • Added option to reload AEL files without having to restart ADS
    • Added new pre-defined equations for displaying list of DDS AEL files loaded at various locations
    • The Archive/Unarchive Workspace commands have been enhanced to handle DDS AEL files, located either in the workspace or outside, with intuitive user interface to support all likely use cases
  • Enhancements in Expression Manager:
    • New context menu to automatically augment the selection by adding all equations that use the selected equation
    • The Equation Hierarchy dialog, invoked from the Show Hierarchy context menu, has been re-structured into a tree format to also presents all the references to the selected equation
ADS Data Display Data Analysis Software Screenshot
Circuit Design Software for Amplifer Stability Analysis

Circuit Simulation

  • MVSG GaN model version 3.1.0 is available
  • SiMKit models are now aligned with version 5.6
  • The automatic computation of the stability probes (WSP) can now be turned off in the S-Parameter controller
  • BSIMBULK model version 107.1.0 is available
  • Added support for BSIM-CMG model version 111.2.1
  • Major improvements in Envelope and Envelope Convolution when using S-Parameters
  • Enhancement for statistical flow:
    • Statistical controller is for different statistical analyses: Monte Carlo, Yield, Yield Optimization
    • Advanced sampling methods, Latin Hypercube Sampling(LHS), Hammersley Sequence Sampling(HSS), and Boundary Sampling, are available for statistical analyses
    • The rerun mechanism is updated for users to rerun one or more special trials
    • New measurement equations are added to measure the third moment and the fourth moment of a statistical distribution: skewness and kurtosis
    • The non-effective statistical variables are now eliminated from the simulation

Electrothermal (ETH) Simulation

  • Dynamic reuse + GUI: generation and use of a reduced-order thermal model 
  • GUI added in ADS 2023 Update 1
  • Enables significant speedups in transient or circuit-envelope electrothermal sims
  • Improve efficiency and accuracy of thermal modeling of complex polygons common in PCBs or modules
  • Parallelized ETH model generation - no new settings are required
ADS Electro Thermal Model Generation software screenshot

High Speed Digital (HSD) Design

DDR/Memory

  • Added a new memory interface, Pathfinding Interface, which unlocks multi-level modulations, PAM3, PAM4, PAM6, PAM8, and PAM16
  • Memory Interface AMI Model Builder supports additional PAM3 modulation
  • Support units in Memory Interface AMI Model Builder
  • Support BIRDs 209 Clock Forwarding (Rx_Use_Clock_Input)
  • Support BIRDs 207
  • Unlocked DDR Bus Sim for compliance apps (eye and jitter measurements)
  • Enhanced DDR5 compliance with more test IDs
  • New Compliance Probe component - Memory Probe for ADS measurements and Compliance Probe for Compliance Tests
  • Transparent data cycle and simulator selections for controller and memory components
  • Support s-parameter sweep for PCB, package, and DIMM, via (CA/Data Bus PreLayout Builder) components with Batch Sim
  • Support the custom bit sequence file (xml format), with load/save features
  • Improved CTLE usability to support variable, etc.
  • CA/DataBus PreLayout Builder usability enhancement - Graphical aid and other usability enhancements
  • Improved saving characterization data per pin
  • Supports reference Impedance entry for S-Parameter Toolkit
  • Supports tDIVW1, tDIVW2, vDIVW for LPDDR5

SerDes

  • Tx_AMI, Rx_AMI components can start with an AMI Modeler
  • New CTLE preset for 802.3ck
  • Support CTLE preset sweep with Batch Sim
  • IBIS model input for C-PHY TX component
  • SerDes AMI Modeler support unit
  • Improved SSC behavior for USB NRZ AMI model
  • Supports reference Impedance entry for S-Parameter Toolkit

SIPro

  • In Via Designer, it is now possible to rename the ports in the design. The port name will be visible in the S-parameter and TDR plot. If a cell is exported, the symbol pins will have the corresponding port name
 

EM Simulation RFPro

  • The oaTermType in the layout view is now preserved when creating the schematic view
Products Design Software EM Design Empro Composite
ADS HSD products design software

Verification

Design Rule Check

  • The DRC Create Rules dialog supports a technology layer with the name 'default'

Electrical Rule Check

  • Electrical Rule Check (ERC) Current Density shows the current density at each component pin with highlighting in schematic and layout. To get started using ERC, from the ADS Main window select Open an Example > Training Examples > Layout Verification > Layout Verification Tools Tutorial

Layout Versus Schematic

  • The LVS dialog Auto View supports the checked state (Zoom or Center) and the unchecked state (no update to the window view)
  • The LVS dialog can be configured as a generic LVS viewer. Use the command interface to define mapped/unmapped components, mapped/unmapped nets and parameter mismatches. The viewer supports highlighting in schematic and layout
  • The LVS dialog report provides additional information on mapped and unmapped pins for each net. Under the Net Mappings header, expand each net to see the component pins on the net
  • Cells with an emview are now recognized as a device
  • LVS now uses the connectivity setting 'Calculate all flight wires between grounds'. When the setting is checked, missing physical connections to gnd! in layout are reported as errors. When not checked, LVS reports a warning

Design Kits

Process Design Kit (PDK) Validator

  • The PDK Validator configuration supports specifying default design cell names and a model include path in a different library than the component library
PathWave ADS for Power Electronics

Power Electronics

SMPS Performance Testbench

  • Added Efficiency test to the SMPS Performance Testbench

Power Electronics Library

  • Added a 4 pin SiC Model with parasitics to the Power Electronics library

Examples

  • New example to demonstrate the SMPS Performance Testbench feature
  • New  example to show layout modification effects on a boost converter

Netlist Import

  • Enhanced the netlist import tool to support additional syntaxes for .PARAM statement

Learn More