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AWR Introduces AXIEM - Innovative New EM Technology That Transforms Microwave/RF Electronic
Product Design AXIEM’s proprietary algorithms deliver speed, capacity, and accuracy to
designers of today’s electronic products, migrating EM analysis from pure back-end post verification
to upfront diagnostic design
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Sept. 10, 2007 — Applied Wave Research, Inc. (AWR®), the innovation leader
in RF EDA, today announces AXIEM™ electromagnetic (EM) design software, an innovative and
unprecedented design tool that, for the first time, delivers EM analysis as a true upfront design
technology, where it benefits designers most by helping to diagnose issues early, thereby
significantly shortening the design process. The AXIEM product was developed specifically for
three-dimensional (3D) planar applications such as RF printed circuit boards (PCBs) and modules, low
temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC), monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC), and RFIC
designs, which are the heart of today’s electronic designs.
“Presently, every modern electronic product, wired and wireless, requires some level of EM
analysis,” said Joe Pekarek, AWR’s chief technology officer and visionary of the new product. “Yet
current EM solutions have failed to provide for the demands of product designers who require EM
analysis as an efficient and accurate design diagnostic utility and not just a pure back-end
verification tool. This design need is exactly why we pioneered AXIEM.”
The AXIEM technology is an open boundary, non-gridded, method-of-moments (MoM) solver that
supports true thick metal in layered dielectric media. Furthermore, AXIEM leverages the most recent
advancements in EM solver and meshing algorithms, as well as computer architecture, to deliver
unprecedented speed and accuracy of results that become even more pronounced as the design
complexity grows and the number of unknowns increases.
Solver Technology The solver algorithm within the AXIEM technology was expressly pioneered to
overcome limitations of existing 3D planar formulations that rely on the Sommerfeld (or similar)
integral for delivering speed of simulation yet at the cost of accuracy and dynamic range. AXIEM’s
solution methodology is unique to AWR and a proprietary technique that is best-described as similar
to the fast multipole method, yet adapted for full-wave analysis. As such, the AXIEM solver
algorithm scales on the order of N log(N) as opposed to N3 (the case for most existing MoM
products).
The AXIEM product’s solver technology also enables the user to accurately and robustly simulate
to DC, which is essential for obtaining the right bias conditions and setting the DC operating
points for active structures. The integrity of these broadband results mitigate any design hiccups
that may be associated with using the “DC to daylight” results in a subsequent harmonic balance or
transient simulation such as those integrated within AWR’s design environment.
Additionally the AXIEM product boasts the inclusion of auto-calibrated internal ports, which
maintain their own current return path with relatively low error. These innovative AXIEM ports
eliminate the usual tricks associated with other EM products that require manual de-embedding or an
explicit path to a sidewall (i.e., edge ports), and are the ideal excitation for complex structures
such as PCBs with many surface-mount pads.
Meshing Technology The AXIEM product features an advanced hybrid meshing technology that
automatically fractures structures with triangular and rectangular elements and is optimized to
maximize accuracy with minimal unknowns. This heuristic approach extends the capacity reach of AXIEM
above and beyond traditional single element approaches and likewise makes it an excellent EM tool
for signal integrity analysis of large RF PCB designs.
The AXIEM technology’s meshing algorithm additionally supports “thick metal,” in that it creates
3D meshes of extruded planar geometries, correctly accounting for all x, y, and z directed currents
on all surfaces. This unique thick metal capability is a prerequisite for successful design of 90nm
and 65nm RF complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) problems, where line thickness is often
in parity (1:1 ratio) with line widths. Similarly, thick metal support is further required to
correctly characterize silicon spiral inductors as well as very large designs like complete gallium
arsenide (GaAs) MMICs.
Design Flow The AXIEM product as a stand-alone EM solver is a powerful addition to any designer’s
set of tools. A key value of AXIEM, however, lies in its integration into the overall AWR design
flow, where it contributes significantly to AWR’s commitment to accelerating GHz design. AXIEM is
seamlessly tied to circuit and system simulation, layout, and verification through the proprietary
AWR unified data model (UDM). The UDM provides features such as extraction directly from simulation
without having to perform explicit layout and EM setup steps, thereby incorporating EM directly into
circuit simulation.
Furthermore, when the AXIEM design tool is used in conjunction with AWR’s ACE™ technology, which
provides fast, automatic interconnect model extraction, the same EM structures can be modified and
designed in seconds accordingly with ACE and then more accurately modeled or analyzed within the
mainstream design flow with the AXIEM tool. AWR’s UDM and ACE innovations, now combined with AXIEM
as an integral part of the overall flow, compliment each other to further cut engineering design
time and design iterations from the overall project.
Pricing and Availability AXIEM (www.axiem3d.com)
is presently in beta test with select existing customers. The commercial release is scheduled for Q1
2008. The product is priced at U.S. $30,000 for locked licenses and supports Windows 2000, XP, and
Vista. For international pricing or general availability information, contact your local sales
representative or AWR directly at
info@appwave.com
or 310-726-3000.
Be one of the first to see AXIEM in action—visit AWR’s Booth 912 at the European Microwave
Conference, October 9-12 in Munich, Germany, to register for a demonstration.
About Applied Wave Research, Inc. Applied Wave Research is a leading supplier of high-frequency
electronic design automation (EDA) products for the design of wireless telecommunications equipment,
semiconductors, high-speed computers, networking systems, automotive mobility systems, and a variety
of other electronics-based products. AWR is a privately-held company with global development
offices, sales offices, training centers, and distribution channels. In 2005, AWR acquired APLAC
Solutions, an emerging leader in simulation and analysis software for analog and radio-frequency
(RF) design, and its RF design technology that has been used in designing more than 30 percent of
all mobile phone RF integrated circuits (ICs) worldwide. AWR today has over 700 companies deploying
its software worldwide, including virtually every major high-frequency electronic component and
system supplier. The company is headquartered at 1960 East Grand Avenue, Suite 430, El Segundo,
California 90245. For more information about AWR and the company's products, please visit
www.appwave.com or call 310-726-3000.
AWR, the AWR logo, AXIEM, and ACE are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Applied Wave
Research, Inc. All other registered marks are the property of their respective holders.
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