PRODUCT BROCHURE

PathWave EM Design (EMPro)

3D electromagnetic modeling and simulation environment
integrated with your ADS design flow
Introduction
PathWave EM Design (EMPro) is a 3D modeling and simulation
environment for analyzing the 3D electromagnetic (EM) effects of high-
speed and RF/microwave components. EMPro features a modern design,
simulation and analysis environment, high-capacity time- and frequency-
domain simulation technologies and integration with ADS, the industry’s
leading RF/microwave and high-speed design environment.

PathWave EM Design (EMPro) Overview

EMPro delivers the following key capabilities:
Modern, efficient 3D solid modeling environment

EMPro provides the flexibility of drawing arbitrary 3D structures and the convenience of importing existing
CAD files. You can create 3D shapes, add material properties, set up simulations, and view results—all
within the EMPro environment.

Time- and frequency-domain simulation technology

3D structures can be analyzed in EMPro using the same FEM simulator available in ADS. FEM is a frequency-
domain technology widely used for RF/microwave applications. For electrically large problems, such as
antennas and some signal integrity analysis, the finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulator can be used.

Integration with ADS

Parameterized 3D components can be created in EMPro and placed in a layout design in ADS. The 3D FEM
simulator in ADS can then be used to simulate the combination of the 2D layout and the 3D EM component.

Figure 1. Keysight provides multiple EM simulation technologies integrated with the ADS design flow.

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PathWave EM Design (EMPro) Simulation
Capabilities
There are several different technical approaches to EM simulation, each with their own advantages in
certain application areas. The most established 3D EM simulation technologies are FEM and FDTD. Both
of these technologies are available in EMPro.

Finite Element Method (FEM)

FEM is a frequency-domain technique that can handle arbitrary shaped structures such as bondwires,
conical shape vias and solder balls/bumps where z-dimensional changes appear in the structure. FEM
solvers can also simulate dielectric bricks or finite-size substrates.

FEM is based on volumetric meshing where the full problem space is divided into thousands of smaller
regions and represents the field in each sub-region (element) with a local function. The geometric model
is automatically divided into a large number of tetrahedra, where a single tetrahedron is formed by four
equilateral triangles.

This collection of tetrahedra is referred to as the finite element mesh. The Keysight Technologies, Inc.
FEM simulator includes both direct and iterative solvers, and both linear and quadratic basis functions, to
solve a broad range of problems. The same FEM simulator is available in both EMPro and ADS. EMPro
supports remote simulation and distributed frequency sweeps for FEM.

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Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD)
As with FEM, the FDTD method is based on volumetric sampling of the electric and magnetic fields
throughout the complete space. Whereas FEM meshes consist of tetrahedral cells, FDTD meshes are
typically built from rectangular (Yee) cells. The FDTD method updates the field values while stepping
through time, following the electromagnetic waves as they propagate through the structure. As a result, a
single FDTD simulation can provide data over an ultra-wide frequency range.

Because of its simple, robust nature and its ability to incorporate a broad range of linear and nonlinear
materials and devices, FDTD is used to study a wide range of applications, including antenna design,
microwave circuits, bio/EM effects, EMC/EMI problems, and photonics. FDTD is an inherently parallel
method and therefore lends itself very well

to the processing capabilities of the most recent advances in CPU (general-purpose processors) and
GPU (graphics processors) hardware. EMPro also supports remote simulation and distributed port
simulations for FDTD.

Table 1. Summary comparison of FEM versus FDTD.

FEM FDTD
Frequency domain method Time domain method
Tetrahedral mesh cells Rectangular mesh cells
Good for high-Q structures Good for broadband applications, physical transitions
Fast for multi-port simulations Each port requires additional simulation
Based on solving matrix equations; best for Based on iterative time stepping; less memory intensive for
electrically small problems electrically large problems
Multi-threaded; problems can be divided and run in Highly multi-threaded; problems can be divided and run in
parallel on multi-core CPUs parallel on multi-core CPUs and on large GPU cards

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Typical PathWave EM Design (EMPro) Applications
IC packages
The performance of an RFIC, monolithic microwave
integrated circuits (MMIC), high- speed IC, or system-in-
package (SIP) is directly impacted by the effects of
packaging, including wire bonds and solder
balls/bumps. Traditionally, designers had to draw and
analyze packages in a separate, 3D EM tool and then
laboriously import the results back to the IC or SIP
circuit-design environment for a combined analysis.
With EMPro, you can efficiently create 3D package
structures that can be combined with 2D circuit layouts
in ADS. This allows co-design of the IC, package,
laminate, and module with circuit simulation and 3D EM
simulation in a streamlined design flow.

Multi-layer RF modules
RF modules typically are constructed from multi-layer
ceramic or laminate dielectric material with embedded
RF passive components between the layers. Such
dielectric brick structures cannot be accurately solved
by planar EM simulators, which assume infinite
dielectric layers and do not account for edge proximity
fringing. The embedded RF components are drawn by
RF circuit layout macros which would be very time
consuming to reproduce in a standalone 3D EM tool.
Full 3D EM simulation integrated within the circuit
design flow is the ideal solution for these applications.

RF components
RF board designs include 3D components and
connectors that need to be characterized to high
frequencies. Components such as resonators are
sensitive to interactions with the surrounding PC board
traces and vias. Such 3D components can be created
and simulated in EMPro and then combined with a
board layout in ADS for complete 3D EM simulation.

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Aerospace/defense
FDTD simulation has extremely high capacity and can
handle large problems found in aerospace/defense
applications. For example, FDTD can be used to
optimize antenna placement in aircraft and perform
Radar Cross Section analysis.

PCB design
With data rates increasing, PCB traces must now be
analyzed as RF transmission lines. 3D EM
technologies complement 3D planar simulators such
as Keysight Momentum for high-speed signal integrity
analysis, EMI/EMC, and PCB interfaces to connectors
and packages.

RF and high-speed connectors

Today, in addition to simulating RF connectors,
Gbits/s data rates are driving the need to simulate
high-speed connectors such as SATA and HDMI.
High frequency S-parameter models of connectors
can be generated in EMPro and cross-verified with
both the FEM and FDTD simulators to give designers
twice the confidence in 3D EM simulation accuracy.
The models can then be included in an ADS design kit
that can be distributed and installed into ADS as a
connector library for use in signal-integrity analysis
and design of high-speed serial channels.

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Antennas
Antenna design requires accurate simulation of
critical design parameters such as gain, radiation
patterns, and impedance. Phased array antennas
may also introduce additional simulation challenges
with many elements, a large physical size, as well as
an increased need for broadband simulations.
EMPro provides both FDTD and FEM simulation
technology which can be optimized for simulating
your antenna designs.

EMI/EMC analysis
With more electronics being integrated into smaller
packages, EMI problems are quickly becoming a
leading cause of new product delays. EMPro allows
engineers to simulate the radiated emissions of
electronic circuits and components and then
determine whether these emissions are within levels
specified by common electromagnetic compatibility
(EMC) standards, such as FCC Part 15, CISPR 22
and MIL-STD-461F and ensure that their designs
are compliant.

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PathWave EM Design (EMPro) Environment
Overview
Geometry modeling
• Arbitrary 3D structures can be created using the powerful EMPro drawing environment.
• Alternatively, structures can be imported from other CAD environments. Supported file formats
include: ACIS, IGES, DXF, STEP, ProE, SolidWorks, ODB++ and others.
• Material properties are assigned to imported or drawn 3D objects using a simple drag-and-drop from
an extensive material database onto the 3D objects. Once assigned, the material properties are
memorized for subsequent CAD imports, enabling even faster simulation setup.

Port/sensor setup
• General voltage and current sources can be placed on the object and the source impedance defined.
• Additionally, for FDTD simulations, external plane wave and Gaussian beam sources can be set up.
Sensors are also set up to detect near-field and far-field voltages, currents and field quantities.
Special SAR and HAC sensors can be added for compliance testing.
• For FEM simulations, waveguide ports can be set up.

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Mesh setup
• For FDTD simulations, a rectangular mesh is generated based on the shapes of the objects. Initial
mesh is automatically generated to optimize accuracy and simulation time. Fixed point meshing
automatically aligns the mesh with object boundaries. Users can tune the mesh to make further
trade-offs between accuracy and speed.
• In a similar fashion, a tetrahedral mesh is generated for FEM simulations. The mesh is optimized for
speed/accuracy through a process of automatic adaptive refinement.

Simulation setup
• Either FEM or FDTD simulation can be selected.
• For FEM, a frequency plan is created. Direct and iterative solvers are available and multi-threading
capability on a multi-core CPU can be selected.
• For FDTD, multi-threading capability on a multi-core CPU or GPU card(s) can be selected.

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Results post-processing and viewing
• S-parameter data can be plotted and compared with data from other projects.
• Advanced visualization of fields is available, including cut-plane views.
• Connectivity View can be used to find design errors, where small gaps between conductors might not
be visible otherwise.
• Python scripting can be used for advanced post processing, and for automating simulations.

Export 3D EM component to ADS library

• 3D structures such as packages, shields, connectors, and surface- mount components can be saved
to an ADS library for use in both layouts and schematics, so that these structures can be simulated
together with 2D layouts and circuit components.
• Components can be parameterized in EMPro to enable sweeps and optimization in ADS.
• The same FEM simulator is used in both EMPro and ADS to simulate the standalone component and
the combination of the component and ADS layout.

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PathWave EM Design (EMPro) Product
Configuration
EMPro can be purchased as individual UI and simulator elements, or pre-configured bundles. EMPro
bundles are comprised of:

• W2401 EMPro core environment, which enables you to create and import arbitrary 3D structures
• Simulator elements, each of which provides specific capabilities.

PathWave EM design (EMPro) bundles

PathWave EM design core (excl. EM simulator) W4300B
PathWave EM design core (EMPro) + FEM + ADS RFPro UI W4301B
PathWave EM design core (EMPro) + FDTD + Compliance module W4302B
PathWave EM design core (EMPro) + FEM + FDTD + Compliance module + ADS RFPro UI W4303B

PathWave EM design (EMPro) bundles

PathWave EM design core (excl. EM simulator) W4300B
PathWave FEM (incl. RFPro UI) W3032E
PathWave FDTD W4003E
EM design compliance module W4004E
PathWave EM HPC 1-pack W3039E

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design, emulation, and test challenges to create the best product experiences. Start your
innovation journey at www.keysight.com.

This information is subject to change without notice. © Keysight Technologies, 2010 – 2023,
Published in USA, July 5, 2023, 5990-4819EN