7. 0 Release
Ansys Designer RF Solutions for RF/Microwave Component and System Design
Ansys “Designer RF” Training Lecture 2: Introduction to the Designer GUI
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© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. March 6, 20122.0-2 Release 7.0
Ansoft Designer Desktop
Menu bar
Progress Window
Property Window
Message Manager
ProjectManager
with projecttree
Status bar
DesignWindow
Toolbars
Schematic Editor Layout Editor
3D Layout viewer Result Window
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February 23, 2009Inventory #002593
© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. March 6, 20122.0-3 Release 7.0
Project Manager
The Project Manager window provides a hierarchical display of the projects loaded in to Designer. Each project may consist of one or more Nexxim circuit, system, or planar EM designs.
Information contained in the design is organized into folders:
Data – substrate data, library references, netlist fragments, etc.Excitations – sources in the circuitPorts – ports in the circuitAnalysis – setup information to perform various analysesOptimetrics – setup to perform optimization, tuning, etcResults – collection of graphs and tables for the designDefinitions – the collection of components, symbols, footprints, scripts.
Click on the +/- toExpand or collapse
the tree
Double-click on the design icon to open the schematic editor
Double-click on the substrate or analysis icon to open the definition
dialog for this object
Double-click on the graph icon to display results
Double-click on the trace icon to display trace properties window
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• Project Manager (Circuit/System)
Ansoft Desktop Terms
Project Manager Window(Circuit/System)
Project Manager Tabs
Design Automation•Parametric
•Optimization•Sensitivity•Statistical
Design Results
Design Setup
ProjectDesign
Sub-Circuit
Component Library(Circuit/System)
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• Project Manager (EM)
Ansoft Desktop Terms
ProjectDesign
Design Results
Design Setup
Design Automation•Parametric
•Optimization•Sensitivity•Statistical
Project Manager Window(Planar EM)
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© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. March 6, 20122.0-6 Release 7.0
Ansoft Desktop Terms
• Property Window
Property Window
Property tabs
Property buttonsProperty
table
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Ansoft Desktop Terms
• Schematic
Component
Wire
Port
Net/Node
ComponentProperties
Circuit
Schematic Window
Schematic area
Circuit
Page Tabs
Context menu
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Schematic Editor
The Schematic Editor window allows you to place components and wire them together. You can move components by simply selecting and dragging them. Copy and paste can be used on components and their wires
within the schematic editor and to copy to another schematic.
As you place the cursor near a pin of a component, it changes from an arrow to an ‘X’. This indicates that you are in wiring mode and clicking on the mouse button will start a wire. Clicking again will end the wire:
Start Finish
Another way to connect pins on different components is to move one component in a way so that its pin to be connected touches the pin of the other component. The connection is automatically
made. Moving the component will stretch the connecting wire.
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Ansoft Desktop Terms
• Layout Editor
PrimitiveEdge Port
Layout
Layout Window Draw area
Layout
Context menu
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• Solver On Demand – EM Design– Layout driven EM simulations– EM Field Solvers
• HFSS – Full-Wave 3D Field Solver – Based on the Finite Element Method (FEM)
• Planar EM – Full-Wave 2.5D Planar Solver – Based on Method of Moments (MoM)
• Layout for EM Solver On Demand– Stackup based– Layout Primitives: Traces, padstacks, nets– 3D Layout Primitives:
• Wirebonds, Solderballs/bumps, Finite Substrates
Electromagnetics - Solver On Demand
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Schematic/Layout
• Synchronized Schematic/Layout– Ansoft Designer provides One to One Component Correspondence between Schematic and Layout. Users can
work/edit components in Layout or schematic to suit preference. Components placed in the schematic automatically appear in Layout and vice-versa.
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Design Windows
• Design Windows– In the Ansoft Designer Desktop, each project can have multiple designs and each design is displayed in a separate
window.– You can have multiple projects and design windows open at the same time. Also, you can have multiple views of the
same design visible at the same time.– To arrange the windows, you can drag them by the title bar, and resize them by dragging a corner or border. Also, you
can select one of the following menu options: Window >Cascade, Window >Tile Vertically, or Window > Tile Horizontally.
– To organize your Ansoft Designer window, you can iconize open designs. Click the Iconize symbol in the upper right corner of the document border. An icon appears in the lower part of the Ansoft Designer window. If the icon is not visible, it may be behind another open document. Resize any open documents as necessary. Select the menu item Window > Arrange Icons to arrange them at the bottom of the Ansoft Designer window.
– Select the menu item Window > Close All to close all open design. You are prompted to Save unsaved designs.
Design icons
IconizeSymbol
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Toolbars
• Toolbars– The toolbar buttons are shortcuts for frequently used commands. Most of the available toolbars are displayed in this
illustration of the Ansoft Designer initial screen, but your Ansoft Designer window probably will not be arranged this way. You can customize your toolbar display in a way that is convenient for you.
– Some toolbars are always displayed; other toolbars display automatically when you select a document of the related type. For example, when you select a 2D report from the project tree, the 2D report toolbar displays.
• To display or hide individual toolbars:– Right-click the Ansoft Designer window frame.
• A list of all the toolbars is displayed. The toolbars with a check mark beside them are visible; the toolbars without a check mark are hidden. Click the toolbar name to turn its display on or off
– To make changes to the toolbars, select the menu item Tools > Customize. See Customize and Arrange Toolbarson the next page.
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Toolbars
• Customize and Arrange Toolbars– To customize toolbars:
• Select the menu item Tools > Customize, or right-click the Ansoft Designer window frame and click Customizeat the bottom of the toolbar list.
• In the Customize dialog, you can do the following:– View a Description of the toolbar commands
1.Select an item from the Component pull-down list2.Select an item from the Category list3.Using the mouse click on the Buttons to display the Description4.Click the Close button when you are finished
– Toggle the visibility of toolbars1.From the Toolbar list, toggle the check boxes to control the visibility of the toolbars2.Click the Close button when you are finished
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• Hierarchy• Top Down – System – Circuit – PlanarEM
• Analysis:– System>Ckt>PlanarEM
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Designer Hierarchy•Right Click: Add Subcircuit to create a sub-System, sub-Circuit or Sub-PlanarEM
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Designer Hierarchy•Copy/Paste to create sub-circuits •Right click; Copy then Right Click Paste
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Using Designer
• BASIC 4 Step Process– Build a Design;
• Circuit Schematic• System Schematic• PlanarEM Layout
– Set up an Analysis; • Freq Sweep • Power Sweep• Parameter Sweep
– Run the Analysis– Plot Results
• Rectangular Plots• Smith Charts• Data Tables etc.
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Ansoft Designer File Names
Every Project created is saved on disk as a .adsn file (AnsoftDesign file). Ansoft Designer automatically creates a File Folder named “ProjectName.results” to hold the results files, netlist etc., for the project. To exchange design
files (without simulated results), users need only copy/send the .adsn file.
Important File Extensions for Ansoft Designer: .adsn Project File .amat Material Lib .scrlb Script Lib .aclb Component Lib .pslb Padstacks Lib .aslb Symbol Lib .aflb Footprint Lib .amlb Model Lib .asty Technology File .sdf Nexxim Solution File .asol Solution Data File