Cadence Adds Tools to Spectre RF

N/A> (San Jose, CA) has enhanced its Spectre RF simulator by adding two new analysis tools—envelope following analysis and time domain noise analysis—that makes Spectre RF the fastest and most accurate product available for RF circuit simulation. Spectre RF is a circuit simulator for RF designs such as full-chip receivers, transmitters, oscillators, PLLs (phase-locked loops), mixers and other types of wireless circuits used in cell phones and other wireless applications.

The Envelope Following Analysis tool provides efficient simulation of today's advanced modulation schemes. This feature makes simulation runs 10 to 50 times faster without sacrificing accuracy, by only simulating important parts of the carrier or clock cycles. Traditional transient analysis of full-chip designs is prohibitive, consuming entire days of a design cycle since clocking frequencies are thousands of times higher than the modulation of interest to the designer. Envelope following analysis is particularly well suited for critical 3G wireless design applications and analyses such as the ACPR (adjacent channel power ratios) calculation, AGC (automatic gain control) and PLL simulation.

The Time Domain Noise Analysis capability gives the IC designer detailed insights into the noise behavior of time varying and switching circuits that exhibit noise such as PLL dividers, VCOs (voltage controller oscillators), and phase detectors. While periodic noise analysis gives the total time-averaged noise at an output over a given frequency range, time domain noise analysis gives the time-varying instantaneous noise power of a periodically driven, clocked circuit that is very important for these types of circuits. Noise by its very nature is an unwanted signal, and the ability to not only accurately predict, but also identify its source, greatly aids designers in producing high-quality silicon.

Spectre RF with envelope following analysis and time domain noise analysis is currently available. U.S list price for the complete design and analysis solution that includes schematic capture, simulation environment, and simulator is $55,000. It is available on UNIX-based workstations from Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard. For more information, contact the local Cadence sales office.