Presentation

Advanced Meshing Techniques

Ansoft High Frequency Structure Simulator v10 – Training Seminar P4-1

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Overview 4

Initial Mesh
True Surface Approximation
Surface Approximation Operations
Lambda Refinement
Seeding
Virtual Objects
Choice of adaptive refinement frequency
Port Accuracy
Using Advanced Meshing Techniques

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Initial Mesh 4

In HFSS the initial mesh is generated by default using only the

geometry.

HFSS then uses autoadaptive meshing to generate the final mesh.

Adaptive Refinement

Initial Mesh

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Initial Mesh 4

In most cases this will be sufficient to provide a good solution, but

occasionally it is necessary to assist the mesher when autodaptive
meshing alone is not sufficient.

HFSS has the possibility to influence the initial mesh by applying user
defined mesh operations on an object by object basis:
Approximation of true Select objects
curved surfaces via or surfaces and
surface approximation (not define operations
needed for facetted
objects).
Aspect ratio of mesh
elements on surfaces via
surface approximation.
Length or volume based
seeding.

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True Surface Approximation 4

Meshing True Surface Structures

Tetrahedral mesh elements used in HFSS cannot full represent the volume
of a true surface structure.
From v9 onwards, HFSS uses a volume perturbation technique to
automatically correct for the reduced volume represented by the mesh.
The initial mesh for a true curved surface defines the outline for further mesh
refinement.

Example:
Cylindrical Resonator
R=0.03065 m;
L = 0.05 m.

Vtrue > Vapproximate

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True Surface Approximation 4

Volume Correction for Cylindrical Resonator

no volume correction V8.5

30° faceting

15° faceting

volume correction V9

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Surface Approximation Operations 4

Three possible operations are available via surface approximation:

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Normal Deviation Example: Pill Box Resonator 4

HFSS HFSS HFSS Avg.

Normal Delta vs. Final Final Delta-f
TM010 TE111 TE111 Delta vs.
Deviation Theory Tetrahedra Convergence
Result Result 1 Result 2 Theory
(deg) (%) Count (%)
(GHz) (GHz) (GHz) (%)
5 1.147406 0.001482 1.7361 1.736118 0.0756005 3347 0.0067755
10 1.147345 0.006798 1.73307 1.733154 0.2480399 2670 0.0077428
15 1.147124 0.026058 1.72758 1.727638 0.5647448 1882 0.022301
20 1.146748 0.058827 1.7192 1.719607 1.0370537 1060 0.042848
25 1.146623 0.069721 1.71165 1.712348 1.4632887 1087 0.040982
30 1.146196 0.106935 1.69707 1.697355 2.3142622 1008 0.052023
35 1.145602 0.158703 1.68868 1.688798 2.8019963 890 0.12154
40 1.144962 0.214481 1.67654 1.677916 3.4645009 887 0.033112
45 1.144962 0.214481 1.67654 1.677916 3.4645009 887 0.033112
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Normal Deviation 4

Structures where Normal Deviation may help:

Conductors with inductive character ( e.g.

bondwires, vias, .. diameter << lambda ) :
Suggested Normal Deviation 45 ...90 °

Coaxial structures (signal transmission):

Suggested Normal Deviation 22.5°….30 °

Irises & circular transitions in waveguides:

Suggested Normal Deviation 10… 15 °

Resonators (depending on accuracy of f_res):

Suggested Normal Deviation 5° … 15°

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Aspect Ratio 4

Aspect ratio = tetrahedra height / tetrahedra width (h/w)

Aspect ratio can be used to help control the mesh quality:

Large Aspect Ratio:

Poor mesh quality
Tends to produce lots of long thin tetrahedras
Smaller number of tetrhedras
Tendence towards less accuracy
h

Small Aspect Ratio:

Better mesh quality
Tends to produce shorter fatter tetrahedras
Larger number of tetrahedras w
Tendency towards better accuracy

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Lambda Refinement 4

Lambda Refinement
Lambda refinement is the process of refining the inital mesh such that all
tetrahedra are smaller than a certain fraction of the wavelength. It provides a
minimum mesh density over all objects.
The reference wavelength is related to the solution frequency (i.e. frequency
of adaptive refinement).
The reference wavelength can be defined in terms of wavelength in dielectric
media or free space.

The default value: 0.33 is applicable for most situations.

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Lambda Refinement 4

Changes of lambda refinement may make sense in some

applications:
Disabling lambda refinement (advantages: shorter mesh time,
disadvantages mesh in some regions coarse):
if the overall project size is very small compared to
wavelength
„open“ structures where weak coupling in remote regions is
not important( e.g transmission lines; single antennas, … )

Increasing lambda refinement to a smaller value than 0.33 (the

same effect could be accomplished by seeding – which is not
related to wavelength):
structures of coupled resonators in cavities

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Seeding 4

Seeding
The basic idea of seeding is to reduce the number of adaptive passes by
applying from the start a denser mesh in regions of high field gradients or
regions of importance.
Seeding can be applied inside solids (mesh operations > assign > inside
selection) or on object surfaces ( mesh operations > assign > on selection ).
Seeding can be also be applied to sheet objects or arbitrary surfaces.
Length restrictions for seeding operations are recommended to avoid
overseeding and hence huge mesh sizes.

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Seeding 4

Whilst seeding the mesh is not generally required, it is useful in the

following conditions:

Seeding the mesh inside a volume in the model geometry where regions of
strong electric or magnetic fields (with strong capacitive or inductive loading)
are expected:
Capacitively loaded gaps in a resonant structure,
Sharp waveguide edged or corners,
Gaps between multi-coupled lines in filter structures.

Seeding the mesh surfaces of higher aspect ratio boundaries:

PCB traces ,
Surfaces of long wires.

Radiating problems:
Seeding the surface of a radiation boundary between using a length
based seeding of between λ/8 to λ/10 helps to significantly improve far
field solution

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Virtual Objects 4

Virtual Objects:
Like seeding the basic idea of virtual objects is to reduce the number of
adaptive passes by applying from start a denser mesh in regions of high field
gradients or regions of importance.
Virtual objects confine an area which is estimated to be relevant for the
solution and consist of the identical material as the region. They enclose
mostly objects with sharp edges, thin sheets, wires etc.
This enables a very precise seeding options and improves mesh quality due
to a smaller aspect ratio for tetrahedra inside these objects.
Conformal virtual objects can easy be generated by applying to a duplicated
solid edit / arrange / offset operations.

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Choice of adaptive refinement frequency 4

Choice of adaptive refinement frequency:

The refinement frequency (i.e. the frequency at which th mesh is generated -
f_refinement) is by default at a single frequency.
f_refinement should not be less than 0.5 * f_max (where f_max = upper
frequency in a frequency sweep).
For bandpass structures, f_refinement should be in the pass band for
good meshing.
E.g. Waveguide Filter - example HFSS project:
Meshed at 28GHz Meshed at 26GHz

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Port Accuracy 4

Port Accuracy
Refining the mesh at the ports
causes HFSS to refine the
mesh for the entire structure
as well. This occurs because it
uses the port field solutions as
boundary conditions when
computing the full 3D solution.
Significant increases in port
accuracy are only
recommended for accurate
ports only solution or if the
numertical noise floor has to
be -60 dB or better.
An overspecification will
increase solution time.

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Using Advanced Meshing Techniques 4

The autoadaptive mesh refinement is a reliable procedure for generating a stable

mesh
Most applications can be solved using only adaptive mesh refinement.
At least several additional adaptive passes should be used to have control over
the mesh stability.
Manual mesh operations are only required in a few cases.
In some cases it can be more efficient to apply additional user defined mesh
operations like:
Surface approximations.
Seeding.
Use of virtual objects.
It is often possible to achieve the same mesh control via a number of mesh
operations:
E.g. applying an apsect ratio restriction or volume based seeding can both reduce the
aspect ratio of tetrahedra.
The choice of operation to use should be chosen such that the mesh operation is
achieved on the desired objects, without causing unnecessary overmeshing
elsewhere.

Do not overspecify! Your problem size can grow very quickly!

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Using Advanced Meshing Techniques 4

Potential applications where the autoadaptive

meshing alone might not be sufficient for accurate
solution:

Highly resonant structures with stopband

characteristics.

Broadband structures where field pattern changes

strongly over frequency.

Solving fields inside conductors.

Very weak coupling effects.

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Highly Resonant Structures with Stopband Characteristics 4

High-Q resonators and filters reject over large frequency ranges almost
completely the driven power input.
Refinement in the stopband causes autoadaptive meshing (estimated error
almost zero in regions with low E-fields) to refine only in regions of standing
waves but not inside resonators.

E-field intensity ( log. scale ) at 600 MHz, passband from 400 MHz +/- 7.5 MHz

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Highly Resonant Structures with Stopband Characteristics 4

Meshing resonant structure outside the pass band:

Mesh refinement focuses in areas of feeders

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Highly Resonant Structures with Stopband Characteristics 4

Eigenmode Approach:
If the resonance frequencies are not known
exactly (narrowband) one approach is to run an
eigenmode-solution first
Select HFSS > Solution > Eigenmode Solution

Ports may be replaced by:

Lumped Element Boundary / Resistor (TEM-line
only).
PML/guided waves (TEM and non-TEM lines).
This will give the Eigenmodes for loaded
conditions.

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Highly Resonant Structures with Stopband Characteristics 4

Eigenmode Approach
The number of modes should be set
according to what can be expected
The estimation of suggested
minmum frequency is only based on
geometry and does not take into
account capacitive effects (i.e. for
capacitive loading f_min should be
reduced )
A frequency close to the relevant
eigenmodes should be used for
further adaptive refinement
Note: The mesh of the converged
eigenmode solution can directly be
re-used in a driven solution by
changing the solution type and
adding ports.
Select advanced tab during solution
setup and tick Use Current Mesh
from....

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Highly Resonant Structures with Stopband Characteristics 4

Aggressive Lambda Refinement

Alternative approach for when frequency is unknown.
If the default mesh defined by lambda refinement is fine enough an
estimation can be made about the filter behaviour.

Lambda refinement is suggested to be set around:

0.02 for coaxial resonators with capacitive loading
0.05 for waveguide filters

With such fine mesh the filter

characteristic should be
visible even without further
refinement (here: lambda ref
set to 0.02).
For further refinement use a
frequency in the passband
area.

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Highly Resonant Structures with Stopband Characteristics 4

Meshing resonant structures with Aggressive Lambda Refinement (here:

lambda refinement = 0.02)

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Broadband Structures with Rapidly Changing Field 4

Broadband structures where field pattern changes strongly over

frequency:
Examples:
Ultra-Wideband Antennas.
Material analysis in strongly lossy media.
Diplexer filters.
Depending on how the field pattern alters over frequency, the converged
mesh at one frequency may not be accurate enough for field distributions at
other frequencies.

Recommendation:
First setup a solution whose refinement frequency is close to the highest
frequency (thus leading to a fine mesh defined by the lambda refine target).
Then refine at one or more lower frequencies where field patterns may be
different.
Re-use the mesh from the high frequency solution when refining at the lower
frequency by selecting advanced tab during solution setup and tick Use
Current Mesh from....

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Solving Fields Inside Conductors 4

Solving electromagnetic fields using „solve inside“ means that the E-field
intensity in the metals is orders of magnitudes smaller than in the surrounding
media.
This implies that there will only be a minor mesh refinement inside the
conductors.

To take into account current distribution over frequency a very agessive seeding
(like 50 000 tetrahedra / wdg) is required to get the correct Q.
Skin-depth seeding can also be used which produces, thin, flat tetetrahedra in
the metals.

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Very Weak Coupling Effects 4

Very Weak Coupling Effects

In some cases it can be observed that very weak coupling effects (like at
requested isolation of -50..-70 dB) will not be simulated correctly by just
applying autoadaptive mesh.
Example applications include:
Packaging (LTCC, IC-Packages, …)
Interconnects
These effects may be due to weak ground currents, stray capacitances,
substrate modes etc.
Owing to weak field intensity the mesh might not be refined enough in these
regions

Recommendations:
Mesh seeding in areas that could be relevant for coupling and where field
intensity is low e.g.:
Ground surfaces.
Substrate surfaces.
Regions outside a package etc.

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Convergence Issues 4

Convergence is not steady

A strongly changing convergence performance may indicate some of the
following situations:
Degenerate modes at the ports or in a resonator.
Phase ambiguity due to missing calibration lines.
Poor mesh quality.

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Convergence Issues 4

Avoiding degenerate modes

Degenerate modes have identical impedance and propagation constants
Port solver will arbitrarily pick one of them to be ‘mode(n)’ and the other to be
‘mode(n+1)’.
Thus, mode-to-mode S-parameters may be referenced incorrectly.
To enforce numbering, use a calibration line and polarize the first mode to
the line
In circular or square
waveguide, use the
calibration line to force
(polarize) the mode
numbering of the two
degenerate TE11 modes.
This is also useful because
without a polarization
orientation, the two modes
may be rotated to an
arbitrary angle inside
circular WG.

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Convergence Issues 4

Avoiding Degenerate Modes

An alternative approach is to perturb slightly
the mode solution and separate the
degenerate modes (applies also to
eigenmode solutions).
a

Example1( square waveguide): change the a>b

b
size of the port in one dimension by a few
micrometer to prevent that the mode
impedances are completely identical

Example2 (parallel lines): A dielectric bar

only slightly higher in permittivity than the
surrounding medium will concentrate the E-
fields between parallel wires, forcing the
differential mode to be dominant.
If dielectric change is very small (approx. For parallel lines, a virtual object
0.001 or less), impedance impact of between them aids mode ordering.
perturbation is negligible Note virtual object need not extend
entire length of line to help at port.

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Convergence Issues 4

Avoiding phase ambiguity: Phase

Calibration
A purpose of the calibration line is to control
the port phase references
The 2D port eigensolver finds propagating
modes on each port independently.
The zero degree phase reference is chosen at
Which of the above field a point of maximum E-field intensity on the port
orientations is the zero degree
phase reference? Calibration
face:
Line defines... This occurs twice, with 180 degrees separation,
for each 360 degree cycle.
Therefore the possibility exists for the software
to select inconsistent phase references from
port to port, resulting in S-parameter errors:
All port-to-port S-parameter phases, e.g. S21,
will be off by 180 degrees.
Solution:
The calibration line defines the preferred
direction for the zero degree reference on
each port.

Ansoft High Frequency Structure Simulator v10 – Training Seminar P4-32