HFSS 14 Update for

SI and RF Applications

Markus Kopp
Product Manager, Electronics
ANSYS, Inc.
1 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,
2011
 Advanced Solvers:
Finite Arrays with DDM

2 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Finite Arrays with Domain Decomposition
Efficient solution for repeating
geometries (array) with domain
decomposition technique (DDM)

3 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Finite Arrays
Solve large finite array designs
Efficient setup and solution
Define unit cell and array dimensions
Efficient geometry creation and
representation
Efficient Domain Decomposition
solution
Leverages repeating nature of array
geometries
Only mesh unit cell
Virtually repeat mesh throughout Memory efficient
array Enabled with the HFSS HPC product
Post-process full S-parameter
Couplings included
Edge effects included
3D field visualization
Far field patterns for full array

4 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Finite Arrays by Domain Decomposition
Each element in array treated as solution
domain
One compute engine can solve multiple
element/domain in series
Distributes element sub-domains
to networked processors and memory

5 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Example: Skewed Waveguide Array
16X16 (256 elements Unit cell shown with wireframe view
and excitations) of virtual array
Skewed Rectangular
Waveguide (WR90)
Array
1.3M Matrix Size
Using 8 cores
3 hrs. solution time
0.4GB Memory total
Using 16 cores
2 hrs. solution time
0.8GB Memory total
Additional Cores
Faster solution time
More memory.

6 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Skewed Waveguide Array

Patterns from
8X8 Array
Dashed is
idealized
infinite array
analysis
Solid from
finite array
analysis
Two simulations
use identical
mesh
Note edge
effects due to
finite array size

7 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 HPC: Faster with additional cores
Linux cluster
16X Dell PowerEdge R610
Dual six-core Xeon X5760, 8GB per core
Same 8X8 array of probe feed patch antennas
3M+ Matrix size, 64 excitations
Study performed using 101, 51 ,26, 11, 6 and 3 engines.*
101 simulation time = 17 min., 20X faster than direct solver
*Three engines used as baseline

speed factor
7
6
5
4
speed factor
3
2
1
0 50 100 150

Number of cores
8 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,
2011
 Hybrid Solving:
Finite Element-
Boundary Integral

9 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Finite Element-Boundary Integral
Solving Larger Problems with Rigor
Antenna Placement Study: UHF Antenna on Apache UH64 airframe
Finite Elements with DDM
Boundary Integral (3D Method of Moments)
Hybrid Finite Element-Boundary Integral (FE-BI)

10 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Hybrid Solving: Finite Element- Boundary
Integral Finite Elements with DDM
Apache helicopter
UHF antenna placement
study @ 900 MHz
Solution volume
1,250 m3
33,750 3
Solution Specs
72 engines
Matrix size = 47M
6 adaptive passes
300 GB RAM
5 hr 30 min

11 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Hybrid Solving: Finite Element- Boundary
Integral
Apache helicopter Boundary Integral, 3D MoM with HFSS-IE
UHF antenna placement
study @ 900 MHz
Solution surface
173 m2
1557 2
Solution Specs
12 core MP
680k unknowns
9 adaptive passes
83 GB RAM
5 hr 28 min

12 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Hybrid Solving: Finite Element- Boundary
Integral
Apache helicopter Hybrid Finite Element Boundary Integral
UHF antenna placement study @
900 MHz
FEM solution volume
69 m3
1863 3
IE solution surface
236 m2
2124 2
Solution Specs
12 cores total using DDM with
MP
Matrix Size = 2.9M
Compared to 72 core FEM solution
6 adaptive passes
14X less memory
21 GB RAM
5.5 times faster
1 hr 3 min
13 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,
2011
 Hybrid Solving:
IE Regions

14 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 FEBI and Physically Separate Domains
Reflector with multiple FE-BI domains
Conducting reflector and feed horn each surrounded
by air with FEBI applied to surface of air volumes
Provides integral equation link between FEM
domains
But 3D MoM solution from integral equations could
be applied directly to conducting surface only

1meter 1meter 1meter

10 20 30

Frequency Memory Required Frequency Memory Required Frequency Memory Required

3 GHz 2GB 6 GHz 10GB 9GHz 30GB

15 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 HFSS Hybrid Solving IE Regions

Parallelized
IE regions
solved in
parallel.
Analogous
to FEM
domains
Rigorous
Multiple
reflection
Automated

16 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 IE Dielectric Regions
Solve large homogeneous blocks of dielectric with a boundary
condition
Replace enclosed arbitrary dielectrics
Solve with multiple open or enclosed IE regions
Conducting IE regions may be inside dielectric IE regions
Ground Penetrating Radar
Antenna

Air

Surface FEM Different

solution
Soil Enclosed IE domains may
be solved in
Mine Conducting IE parallel with
DDM

17 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Physical Optics

18 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 HFSS-IE PO
Asymptotic solver for extremely large problems
In HFSS-IE
Solves electrically huge problems
And provides first pass quick solution for IE
Currents are approximated in illuminated regions
Set to zero in shadow regions
No ray tracing or multiple bounces

Target applications:
Large reflector antennas
RCS of large objects such as a windmill

Option in solution setup for HFSS-IE.

Sourced by incident wave excitations
Plane waves or linked HFSS designs as a source

19 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Solver on Demand

20 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Solver on Demand: An ECAD Interface for HFSS

Problem Description:
1. Converting package and printed circuit board layout data to 3D mechanical CAD
models creates a large amount of unnecessary overhead in the geometry database
2. A key capability needed for wide-spread use of HFSS as an extraction tool is to make it
accessible to non experts
Solution:
1. When HFSS is used for package and PCB extraction a 2D Electrical CAD layout editor is
better suited for model creation and setup
2. The Designer Layout editor with Solver on Demand improves HFSS accessibility for
non-expert engineers who need to use HFSS for package and PCB extraction
It provides an EMI solution for 2 layer pkg and board design with HFSS and PlanarEM
3. The Designer Layout editor with Solver on Demand significantly reduces the
engineering time required to set up package and pcb models for extraction with HFSS
4. Cadence design flows allows a user to solve with HFSS from within the Cadence
environment using Cadence Extracta and an IPC link

21 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Designer RF with HFSS - Solver on Demand

HFSS - Solver on Demand

Intuitive PCB design entry for HFSS
Chips, packages, channels, modules,
Designer layouts simulated with HFSS
Automated boundary and port setups
Finite dielectrics and ground supported
Wave and Lumped Gap Port
Single ended and Differential
Vertical and Horizontal
Coaxial, CPW and Grounded CPW

22 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 HFSS for ECAD

Two Design Flows for Electrical Design

Mechanical CAD
Connectors, Waveguides
HFSS
Electric CAD (layout)
PCBs, Packages, On-chip Passives
HFSS - Solver on Demand

23 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 HFSS for ECAD
Highly automated for in layout design environment
Primitives = traces, pads, bondwires, vias
Net name definition
Significantly reduce engineering time interacting with software
Lightweight interface for geometrically complex structures
Direct import of Cadence products using Cadence Extracta
Allegro, APD, and SiP
Direct HFSS solve from within the Cadence environment
Virtuoso, Allegro, APD, and SiP

24 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Cadence SPB Integration
Cadence integration enables engineers to create an HFSS model that is ready
to simulate directly from the Cadence user interface.
Advanced settings can be pre-defined in an XML-based control file to simplify
setup for non-expert users.
Other features:
Critical net selection for extraction.
Cut out and select critical geometry
Manual or automatic extent definition.
Port definition based on component pins or cutout edges. Definine wave ports at
cutout extends
Uses 3D information such as bondwire, ball and bump information from SiP to HFSS.
Support for package, PCB and SiP flows.
IPC interface enables real time feedback from HFSS to Cadence

25 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 HFSS within Cadence SPB & Virtuoso

Dynamic ECAD Flow

Create and Solve models with HFSS from within Cadence SPB & Virtuoso

HFSS Solution
Progress

26 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 HFSS ECAD Layout Editor
HFSS Solver Technology is embedded in Designer as Solver on Demand

Export 3D HFSS Model

Solve in Designer using HFSS

27 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 HFSS Solve for PKG merged to PCB

Lumped ports on
package bumps

28 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 HFSS ECAD Layout Editor

Adapt HFSS mesh at multiple frequencies:

29 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 HFSS ECAD Layout Editor

Surface roughness and etch factor can be defined in the stackup editor:

30 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Parameterized Padstacks

Enables parametric investigation of via geometry, or optimization.

Applied to global padstack definition. Therefore, project variables are used:

31 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Parameterized Differential Vias

32 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 HFSS ECAD Layout Editor
Parameterizable
Etch Factor
Automatic Causal Djordjevic
Sarkar Dielectric Models

Parameterizable
Surface Roughness

33 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Show Nets in HFSS for MCAD

Show Nets identifies 3D conducting paths between terminals

34 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Usability
Enhancements

35 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 General Enhancements
Save Radiated field data only ~10X
Reduced the amount of stored data
Reduction
Import list for Edit Sources
Can include parametric variables

Network Installation for clusters

Improved reliability on Linux
Non-graphical solves without product-links
Solves are independent of Mainwin registry
Installations on Windows
Non-graphical solves without product-links

New Registry Configurations

Installation: Lowest precedence
Defaults applicable to all users
Machine:
Defaults applicable to all users on a machine.
User :
Machine independent user specific default
User and machine: Highest precedence
Defaults specific to user + machine
36 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,
2011
 3D Modeler Enhancements
View customization.

64-bit user interface

Post process larger simulations
Z-stretch
Speed Improvements
Faster geometry loading
Improved solid modeler speed.
Improvements for selecting complex
objects.

37 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 CAD Integration on WB Improvements
CAD integration in ANSYS Workbench provides direct link to
3rd party CAD tools
Such as ProEngineer, Catia, SpaceClaim
Added support for parametric analysis and distributed solving
of CAD parameter

38 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011
 Ansoft to ANSYS Geometry Transfer
Geometry and material assignment transfer from Ansoft to ANSYS
Consume geometry from multiple upstream CAD sources
Source can be any of CAD, DesignModeler or Ansoft products
Further geometry edits are possible in ANSYS Design Modeler
Creates User Defined Model (UDM) for each geometry input.

39 2011 ANSYS, Inc. September 21,

2011