The Advanced Design System (ADS) Electro-Thermal Simulator solution, according to developer Keysight Technologies, delivers accurate, temperature-aware IC simulation results. It accomplishes that feat by exploiting device temperatures, including thermal coupling and thermal characteristics of RFIC/MMIC packaging. Analysis support includes steady state (harmonic balance, dc, ac, S-parameter) plus transient and envelope. Among the technologies that the Simulator works with are gallium arsenide, silicon, and silicon germanium.
The solution’s efficiency is a result of direct integration with the ADS layout environment and circuit simulators—data needn’t be transferred to standalone thermal solvers. Speed is another key attribute, thanks to its high-capacity thermal solver technology. It supports 64-bit Linux, with Microsoft Windows support in the works. Keysight (booth 739) will demo the Electro-Thermal Simulator at this week’s IMS2015.