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Comparison of RFIC PA Die and Laminate Co-Simulation Methods

Received: 18 September 2018    Accepted: 30 September 2018    Published: 29 October 2018
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Abstract

Package (such as LGA, MCM etc.) with main circuits on Die(s) situated on a substrate and with OMN in the substrate laminate is one of the most popular design styles for RFIC PAs in recent times. In practical design, the overall circuit of the RFIC PA is often designed using ADS Schematic simulation tool. The main circuit is then layout for Die design, and the OMN circuit is layout for laminate design. As the actual parasitics associated with the real RF circuits with high packing dense have significant effects on the RFIC performance, the traditional closed-form circuit models may be no longer valid, and co-simulations of the Die circuit or Die layout EM model and the laminate layout EM model are often considered in order to improve simulation accuracy. There are some generally considered co-simulation methods in practical design, such as Die circuit + Laminate Momentum, Die circuit +Laminate HFSS, Die layout Momentum +Laminate Momentum, Die layout Momentum +Laminate HFSS, Die layout +Laminate ADS Nested Technology, etc. Design engineers might be confused about which co-simulation methods should take for RFIC PA design and development. This paper reviews, compares and discusses the above co-simulation methods in the aspects of algorithms of the simulators, co-simulation modeling method, complexity to build model, run time, and the difference between simulation and measurement results by giving an example of a self-developed RFIC PA operating at 2GHz. It endeavors to draw helpful conclusions for simulation experiences in practical RFIC PA design, and a co-simulation method with Die layout Momentum EM model +Laminate HFSS EM model is recommended based on the software versions used in this work.

Published in Journal of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Volume 6, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.jeee.20180604.12
Page(s) 111-119
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Microelectronics Technology, RFIC PA, Die and Laminate Co-simulation Method, Comparison of Momentum, HFSS and ADS Nested technology

References
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[8] M Thompson, J Moore. Challenges and methodologies in EM simulation with circuit models. Bipolar/bicmos Circuits & Technology Meeting-bctm, 2015:20-26.
[9] F Passos, E Roca, R Castro-López, et al. A strategy to efficiently include electromagnetic simulations in optimization-based RF circuit design methodologies. IEEE MTT-S International Conference on Numerical Electromagnetic and Multiphysics Modeling and Optimization for RF, Microwave, and Terahertz Applications (NEMO) 2017:64-66.
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[16] Xingfu Xu. HFSS Radio Frequency Simulation Design Case Studies. China, Publishing House of Electronics Industry, May 2015: 1-583.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Liu Xilei, Dai Dajie, Chen Sidi, Yang Hanbing, Li Xuejian, et al. (2018). Comparison of RFIC PA Die and Laminate Co-Simulation Methods. Journal of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 6(4), 111-119. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jeee.20180604.12

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    ACS Style

    Liu Xilei; Dai Dajie; Chen Sidi; Yang Hanbing; Li Xuejian, et al. Comparison of RFIC PA Die and Laminate Co-Simulation Methods. J. Electr. Electron. Eng. 2018, 6(4), 111-119. doi: 10.11648/j.jeee.20180604.12

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    AMA Style

    Liu Xilei, Dai Dajie, Chen Sidi, Yang Hanbing, Li Xuejian, et al. Comparison of RFIC PA Die and Laminate Co-Simulation Methods. J Electr Electron Eng. 2018;6(4):111-119. doi: 10.11648/j.jeee.20180604.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jeee.20180604.12,
      author = {Liu Xilei and Dai Dajie and Chen Sidi and Yang Hanbing and Li Xuejian and Zhou Xianhua and Yue Bingdi},
      title = {Comparison of RFIC PA Die and Laminate Co-Simulation Methods},
      journal = {Journal of Electrical and Electronic Engineering},
      volume = {6},
      number = {4},
      pages = {111-119},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jeee.20180604.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jeee.20180604.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jeee.20180604.12},
      abstract = {Package (such as LGA, MCM etc.) with main circuits on Die(s) situated on a substrate and with OMN in the substrate laminate is one of the most popular design styles for RFIC PAs in recent times. In practical design, the overall circuit of the RFIC PA is often designed using ADS Schematic simulation tool. The main circuit is then layout for Die design, and the OMN circuit is layout for laminate design. As the actual parasitics associated with the real RF circuits with high packing dense have significant effects on the RFIC performance, the traditional closed-form circuit models may be no longer valid, and co-simulations of the Die circuit or Die layout EM model and the laminate layout EM model are often considered in order to improve simulation accuracy. There are some generally considered co-simulation methods in practical design, such as Die circuit + Laminate Momentum, Die circuit +Laminate HFSS, Die layout Momentum +Laminate Momentum, Die layout Momentum +Laminate HFSS, Die layout +Laminate ADS Nested Technology, etc. Design engineers might be confused about which co-simulation methods should take for RFIC PA design and development. This paper reviews, compares and discusses the above co-simulation methods in the aspects of algorithms of the simulators, co-simulation modeling method, complexity to build model, run time, and the difference between simulation and measurement results by giving an example of a self-developed RFIC PA operating at 2GHz. It endeavors to draw helpful conclusions for simulation experiences in practical RFIC PA design, and a co-simulation method with Die layout Momentum EM model +Laminate HFSS EM model is recommended based on the software versions used in this work.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Comparison of RFIC PA Die and Laminate Co-Simulation Methods
    AU  - Liu Xilei
    AU  - Dai Dajie
    AU  - Chen Sidi
    AU  - Yang Hanbing
    AU  - Li Xuejian
    AU  - Zhou Xianhua
    AU  - Yue Bingdi
    Y1  - 2018/10/29
    PY  - 2018
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jeee.20180604.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.jeee.20180604.12
    T2  - Journal of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
    JF  - Journal of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
    JO  - Journal of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
    SP  - 111
    EP  - 119
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2329-1605
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jeee.20180604.12
    AB  - Package (such as LGA, MCM etc.) with main circuits on Die(s) situated on a substrate and with OMN in the substrate laminate is one of the most popular design styles for RFIC PAs in recent times. In practical design, the overall circuit of the RFIC PA is often designed using ADS Schematic simulation tool. The main circuit is then layout for Die design, and the OMN circuit is layout for laminate design. As the actual parasitics associated with the real RF circuits with high packing dense have significant effects on the RFIC performance, the traditional closed-form circuit models may be no longer valid, and co-simulations of the Die circuit or Die layout EM model and the laminate layout EM model are often considered in order to improve simulation accuracy. There are some generally considered co-simulation methods in practical design, such as Die circuit + Laminate Momentum, Die circuit +Laminate HFSS, Die layout Momentum +Laminate Momentum, Die layout Momentum +Laminate HFSS, Die layout +Laminate ADS Nested Technology, etc. Design engineers might be confused about which co-simulation methods should take for RFIC PA design and development. This paper reviews, compares and discusses the above co-simulation methods in the aspects of algorithms of the simulators, co-simulation modeling method, complexity to build model, run time, and the difference between simulation and measurement results by giving an example of a self-developed RFIC PA operating at 2GHz. It endeavors to draw helpful conclusions for simulation experiences in practical RFIC PA design, and a co-simulation method with Die layout Momentum EM model +Laminate HFSS EM model is recommended based on the software versions used in this work.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • School of Cultural Creativity and Tourism, Guangdong University of Finance & Economics, Guangzhou, China; Guangzhou Runxin Information Technology Co. Ltd, Guangzhou, China

  • Guangzhou Runxin Information Technology Co. Ltd, Guangzhou, China

  • Guangzhou Runxin Information Technology Co. Ltd, Guangzhou, China

  • Guangzhou Runxin Information Technology Co. Ltd, Guangzhou, China

  • Guangzhou Runxin Information Technology Co. Ltd, Guangzhou, China

  • Guangzhou Runxin Information Technology Co. Ltd, Guangzhou, China

  • Guangzhou Runxin Information Technology Co. Ltd, Guangzhou, China

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