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PCB

This page contains improvements to the AWR Design Environment for PCB designers. Note that this example may be shown but not provided to customers.

License requirements: Layout and EM Sight, or AXIEM, or Analyst


Use best-in-class EM simulators to verify your PCB designs by importing them with ease for all PCB design tools

Quickly and easily prepare designs for EM analysis with new layout tools and selection capabilities


Importing PCB Data

The project will open and show the imported PA board layout, an EM structure created from the imported layout, and a schematic test bench for the EM Structure.

The optional steps below provide more detail on PCB import and setting up the EM structure from the imported data by walk through re-creating the data in this project. Alternatively, you may want to just look around the project as it stands and not worry about the detailed steps.


PCB Import Wizard

Closes all the open windows so that there is no clutter during the import process.

  1. Open the confidential_pcb_import instance of the PCB Import Wizard.
  2. Click on Import Format and point out that the wizard supports both ODB++ and IPC-2581 files.
  3. Click through the tabs to show the control of which layers import, which nets import, and how the STACKUP imports.
    • STACKUP verification is important as often PCB export data doesn't contain the proper electrical properties.
  4. Press OK and the entire PCB will import and create a new Circuit Schematic called Cadence_demo_but_do_not_distribute_rfpa

Configuring EM Clip Region

Zooms to the matching network net to faciliate selection.

  1. Select the PA output matching network trace under the Select Me label.
  2. Choose Draw > Create EM Clip Region.
    • Choose a Clip Region Style of Bounding Box.
    • Choose a Resize Offset of 2 mm.
    • Push OK.
  3. Note that a square clip region (dotted line box) is created around the output matching network.

Creating EM Document

  1. If it is not already selected then select the clip region created in the previous step.
  2. Choose Layout > Copy to EM Structure.
    • Use the default name.
    • Select AXIEM as the Available Simulator.
    • Push Create.
  3. The next dialog shows the automatically generated ports (at the component pin locations).
    • As you step through the ports it will zoom the layout to each to illustrate the port location.
    • Uncheck the box to disable undesired or incorrect ports.
    • Note that this algorithm will be improved in future releases.
    • Push OK
  4. Note that an EM Structure is created with just the shapes inside the selected bounding box and with the enabled ports from the previous dialog.
  5. It only took a few clicks and a short amount of time to get to this point!
  6. The EM Structure is now ready for manual refinement and simulation.