ANSYS Releases SIwave 4.0

By DE Editors

SIwave 4.0 includes new features for signal-integrity, power-integrity, and electromagnetic compatibility testing. The image shows a plot of the magnetic field magnitude above a PCB when a signal line is driven by a sinusoidal source at 1GHz. Image courtesy of ANSYS, Inc.

ANSYS, Inc. (Canonsburg, PA)  has released the version 4.0 of its SIwave software for analyzing the signal-  and power-integrity of high-performance PCBs and ICs. Part of the Ansoft  family of products, version 4.0 includes new features for signal-integrity,  power-integrity, and electromagnetic compatibility testing. It includes numerous enhancements, such as an improved desktop graphical user interface with new post-processing of results, solver enhancements that provide accurate solutions beyond 10 Gb/s, and automation that links SIwave electromagnetics with circuit simulation using Ansoft Designer signal integrity analysis software as well as Ansoft’s Nexxim circuit simulation and analysis software. Additionally, a new link between electromagnetics and thermal analysis has been created for board and package thermal effects via ANSYS Icepak CFD software. The latter, says ANSYS, enables accurate characterization of additional heating due to copper-resistive losses that engineers have previously estimated or ignored completely.

SIwave technology is an electromagnetic field solver that performs broadband signal- and power-integrity analyses along with DC voltage and current analysis for complete boards and packages. SIwave software offers electromagnetic interference and compatibility analyses, and it has the ability to couple board and package electromagnetic fields with HFSS technology for system-level simulation. Capabilities include full-wave finite-element engines to compute resonances, reflections, inter-trace coupling, simultaneous switching noise, power/ground bounce, DC voltage/current distributions, near- and far-field radiation patterns. SIwave also has an integrated I2R computation module that enables engineers to perform pre-, and post-layout DC voltage drop, DC current density, and DC power density analyses. With this module, engineers can be certain that power distribution networks (PDN)  will source the proper power to ICs by ensuring the PDN has the proper bump,  ball, and pin sizes as well as proper copper weighting to minimize losses.

SIwave excited with a 1.2V voltage source and predicting the near-field magnitude of magnetic field at 778 MHz. Red indicates hot spots in A/m. Image courtesy of ANSYS, Inc.

SIwave automated board and package merge utility showing a top layer ASIC pinout with the adjoining package. Image courtesy of ANSYS, Inc.

“SIwave 4.0 will allow designers to continually push the envelope of high-speed design, deliver first-in-class performance, and go beyond the 10 Gb/s design barrier that exists in high-performance computing,”  said Dr. Zol Cendes, chief technology officer and general manager at Ansoft in a press statement. “These advancements in electrical simulation plus the coupling between SIwave and ANSYS Icepak provide a comprehensive solution for our customers.”

SIwave cavity resonant plot detailing the potential difference (voltage) between the 1.8V DC plane and ground including all parasitics. Red indicates a large resonance that is yielding the largest potential difference between Vdd and ground where the FEM mesh is shown by the white triangles. Image courtesy of ANSYS, Inc.

SIwave I2R solver showing the potential difference between the 2.5V DC plane and the chassis ground. Red shows a small voltage drop where blue yields a large voltage drop as defined by the user. Image courtesy of ANSYS, Inc.

The latest release includes multiple automation enhancements said to ease design flows by removing tedious manipulations that, according to ANSYS, are most often done manually. Automated error checking and geometry correction have been implemented within SIwave software. Schematic creation, transient and QuickEye fast convolution analyses setups have been automated for circuit simulation driven by electromagnetics when using SIwave with Ansoft Designer. The technology now also allows native merging of packages to boards. SIwave also allows automated port creation for Apache Design Solutions’ RedHawk chip power modules based on the provided header information. Miscellaneous new features include the ability to calculate trace characteristics on the fly and a new co-planar algorithm that solver extends accuracy for difficult package designs.

For more information, visit SIwave web page.

See the SIwave features list.

Download the SIwave datasheet.

Read how people are using SIwave.

See why DE’s editors selected SIwave 4.0 as their Pick of the Week.