VIR T U O S O S P E C T R E R F

DATASHEET
SIM U L AT I O N O P T I O N

The Cadence® Virtuoso® Spectre® RF Simulation Option is a

comprehensive solution for fast and accurate simulation and
analysis of RF and high-speed integrated circuits, such as RF
transceivers, frequency synthesizers, and power amplifiers,
and of heavily non-linear time-variant analog circuits such as
switched-capacitor circuits, data converters, and switching
power supplies. With Virtuoso Spectre RF, designers of simple
blocks to complete systems benefit from faster, high-performance,
silicon-accurate simulation and analysis.

The viruoso custom

design platform
When design objectives dictate manipulat-
ing precise analog quantities—voltages,
currents, charges, and continuous ratios
of parameter values such as resistance and
capacitance—companies turn to custom
POWER PERFORMAN
design. Full-custom design maximizes CE PARA
A SI
performance while minimizing area and ARE TICS

power. However, it requires significant

Design Specification
handcrafting by a select set of engineers
with very high skill levels. In addition,
Multi-Mode Simulation
custom analog circuits are more sensitive
to physical effects, which are exacerbated
Accelerated Layout
at new, nanometer process nodes.

The Virtuoso custom design platform Silicon Analysis

accelerates the design of custom ICs
across various process nodes. By selec- Chip Finishing
Open Database
tively automating aspects of custom
PDKs
analog design and providing advanced Mfg Constraint
technologies integrated on a common Customer IP Management
database, it allows engineers to focus
G0007A

on precision crafting their designs—

without sacrificing creativity to repetitive Figure 1: All components of the Virtuoso platform work together to support fast, silicon-accurate
manual tasks. differentiated custom silicon
Virtuoso SPECTRE RF
Tightly integrated with the Virtuoso
platform, Virtuoso Spectre RF comple-
ments the SPICE-level analog simulation
capabilities of the Virtuoso Spectre Circuit
Simulator with world-class RF simula-
tion and analysis technologies. Virtuoso
Spectre RF is the only RF simulator on the
market that addresses the needs of the
entire RF design spectrum—it offers a
frequency-domain harmonic balance
engine for faster and accurate simulation
of high dynamic-range weakly non-linear
RF circuits, and it uses a patented time-
domain shooting algorithm optimized for
highly non-linear circuits.
Benefits
• Provides high-performance silicon-
accurate simulation of RF and high-
frequency circuits, from simple blocks
(mixers, oscillators) to complete systems
(RF transceivers, frequency synthesizers)
• Offers a faster alternative to transient
analysis for heavily non-linear time-
variant analog circuits (frequency multi-
pliers and dividers, switched-capacitor
circuits, switching power supplies)
• Enables accurate and efficient post-
layout simulation with RLCK parasitics,
S-Parameter models (n-port) and lossy,
coupled transmission lines (mtline)
• Performs application-specific analysis
of RF performance parameters (spectral
response, gain compression, inter-mod-
ulation distortion, impedance matching,
stability, isolation)
• Detailed analysis of time-variant noise
enables accurate calculation of noise
figure, phase noise, and jitter
• Offers designer-friendly visualization
of simulation results using time and
frequency plots, Smith charts, eye dia-
grams, and constellation diagrams with
a rich set of post-processing functions
dedicated to communicating product-
specific performance metrics such as
ACPR and EVM
• Ensures higher design quality using
silicon-accurate foundry-certified device
models shared within Virtuoso Multi-
Mode Simulation
 V I R T U O S O S P ECTRE RF SIMULATION OPTION
• Offers built-in synthesis, verification,
and modeling of RF passive components
(spiral inductors, transformers)
Features
Advanced RF simulation
techniques
• Periodic and quasi-periodic steady-state
analysis based on harmonic balance
technology, optimized for high dynamic
range, high-capacity RF circuits with
distributed components
• Periodic and quasi-periodic steady-state
analysis based on the Cadence patented
time-domain shooting Newton algorithm,
optimized for strongly non-linear circuits
• Envelope following analysis supporting
all analog and digital modulation
techniques
• Rapid IP2 and IP3 calculation based on
perturbation technology
• Periodic noise analysis for the accurate
calculation of noise in non-linear time-
variant circuits with detailed analysis
options (modulated noise, sampled
noise, jitter)
• Noise and distortion summary to iden-
tify the contribution of each device to
the total output noise, harmonic, or
inter-modulation distortion
• Small signal analysis: ac, transfer function,
S-Parameters, and stability based on a
periodic or quasi-periodic operating point
Figure 2: Voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) spectral content and phase noise
• Monte Carlo, corner-case, and parametric
sweep analysis
RESULT VISUALIZATION AND
POST‑PROCESSING CAPABILITIES
• The Direct Plot Form in the Virtuoso
Analog Design Environment supports
a rich set of RF performance metrics
(phase noise, conversion gain, stability
circles, gain compression, IP3)
• Tight integration with WaveScan,
the powerful waveform viewer from
Cadence, allows visualization of results
in different forms such as time and
frequency plots, Smith charts, eye
­diagrams, and constellation diagrams
• The Waveform Calculator is a handy
post-processing tool with built-in RF
functions; algebraic expressions can
be composed of any combination of
design data including voltages, currents,
parameters, and operating points
• Waveforms can be saved in portable
graphics formats, such as PNG, TIFF, and
BMP, allowing the creation of profes-
sional plots for design reports
• The MATLAB Toolbox exports Virtuoso
Spectre RF results to MATLAB for
detailed post processing and provides a
MATLAB function library for RF-specific
measurements, such as IP3 and com-
pression point
w w w. c a d e n ce.com

Figure 3: Inductor synthesis, verification, and modeling with the built-in Virtuoso Passive Component Modeler
Passive Component Design and
Analysis
The Virtuoso Passive Component Modeler
is a built-in feature in Virtuoso Spectre RF
for the synthesis, electromagnetic analysis,
and modeling of spiral inductors and
transformers.
• Synthesis of spiral inductors, transformers,
and BALUNs, producing a complete PDK
component with symbol, schematic,
layout, and simulation model
• Accurate passive component verification
and coupling analysis based on full-
wave and quasi-static electromagnetic
solvers
• Generation of inductor and transformer
equivalent circuits from simulated and
measured S-Parameter data
Multi-Mode Simulation
Shared Technology
• Superior design use model via tight inte-
gration with the Virtuoso Analog Design
Environment
• Shared syntax, device models, and equa-
tions with other multi-mode simulators
(Virtuoso Spectre Circuit Simulator,
Virtuoso UltraSim Full-chip Simulator
(FastSPICE), and Virtuoso AMS Designer
Simulator (mixed-signal)
www.cadence.com
• Compiled-model interface (CMI) allows
for rapid inclusion of user-defined mod-
els for a “model once, use everywhere”
capability
• Behavioral modeling capabilities in full
compliance with Verilog®-A 2.0
APPLICATIONS
Virtuoso Spectre RF provides fast and
accurate RF analysis that covers the full line
of RF applications, from RF to microwave
and from blocks to complete systems.
Amplifier
• Small signal measurements (gain,
S-Parameter, stability factor)
• Inter-modulation and total harmonic
­distortion
• Compression point, intercept point, and
distortion summary
• Noise figure and noise summary
• Power dissipation and efficiency
­measurements
• Large-signal S-Parameter supported
by the LSSP wizard
• Load-pull measurements
• Envelope following analysis for digital
modulation
• Adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR)
measurement supported by the ACPR
wizard
VIR TUOSO SPECTRE RF SIMULATION OPTION
MIXer
• Conversion gain, compression point,
and intercept point
• Noise, SSB and DSB noise figures, and
noise summary
• Impedance matching
• Port-to-port isolation for RF, IF, and LO
ports
• Mixer performance in the presence of
a blocking signal
Oscillator
• Support for all oscillator types (LC, ring,
high Q crystal)
• Output frequency, output power,
phase noise, and jitter measurement
• Frequency pushing and frequency
­pulling effect
• Tuning sensitivity and linearity
• Sensitivity of the output frequency and
phase noise to the noise from the power
supply and ground rails
Receiver and Transmitter
Chains
• I/Q amplitude and phase imbalance
• Leakage and feedthrough
• Constellation diagrams
• Error vector magnitude (EVM)
• Bit error rate (BER) and eye diagrams
Phased-Locked Loops
• Jitter analysis and modeling of critical
PLL blocks used in frequency synthesiz-
ers/clocks and data recovery circuits
such as voltage-controlled oscillators,
high-Q reference oscillators, phase
detectors, charge pumps, filters, and
dividers
• Jitter analysis of the complete PLL in
closed loop using transistor-calibrated
behavioral models


Figure 4: WLAN 802.11 eye diagram and constellation measured with Virtuoso Spectre RF
Heavily Nonlinear Time-
Variant Analog Circuits
• Sample and hold circuits, switched-
capacitor filters, and chopper-stabilized
amplifiers
• Frequency multipliers and dividers
• Phase detectors
• Parametric amplifiers, switching-mode
power supplies, and low drop-out
regulators
SPECIFICATIONS
Comprehensive device
model support
• MOSFET models, including BSIM1,
2, and 3, with approved versions of
BSIM3v3 (up to v3.30 ) and BSIM4 (up
to v4.50) from the Compact Modeling
Council; high-voltage MOS (HVMOS),
MOS9, and EKV; mature models for
MOS level 1, 2, and 3; and specialized
switch-level MOS0
• Silicon-on-insulation (SOI) models,
including BTASOI, SSIMSOI (v1.4.0.2
and 2000), with approved versions of
BSIMSOI (up to v4.0) and BSIMSOI PD
(v2.2.3) from the Compact Modeling
Council
 V I R T U O S O S P ECTRE RF SIMULATION OPTION
• Bipolar junction transistor (BJT) mod-
els, including VBIC (v1.2), HICUM (up
to v2.21), HICUM Level0 (v1.11), HBT,
Gummel-Poon, and Ebers-Moll models
• Diode models used for either junction
or Shottky barrier diodes with reverse
breakdown
• GaAs metal semiconductor field-effect
transistor (MESFET), a completely sym-
metrical model (developed by Statz,
Newmann, Smith, Pucel, and Haus)
Comprehensive circuit
analyses
• Periodic and quasi-periodic steady state
analysis (PSS and QPSS) based on har-
monic balance and shooting Newton
• Periodic and quasi-periodic noise
­analysis (PNoise, QPNoise)
• Periodic and quasi-periodic small signal
analysis (PAC, PXF, PSP, QPAC, QPSF,
QPSP)
• Periodic stability analysis (PSTB)
• Time-domain and frequency-domain
envelope analysis
• Perturbation-based rapid IP2 and IP3
• Noise and distortion summaries
Design Inputs/outputs
• Virtuoso Spectre netlist format
• HSPICE
• SPICE 2/3
• S-Parameter data files
• PSF Waveform format
Platform/OS
• Sun/Solaris (32-bit, 64-bit)
• HP-UX (32-bit, 64-bit)
• IBM (32-bit, 64-bit)
• Linux (32-bit, 64-bit)
Cadence services and
support
• Customer-focused solutions that
increase ROI, reduce risk, and achieve
your design goals faster
– Collaborative approach and design
infrastructure—virtual teaming
– Proven methodology and flow tuned
to your design environment
– Design and EDA implementation
expertise
• Product and flow training to fit your
needs and preferred learning style
– More than 80 instructor-led courses—
certified instructors, real-world
experience
– More than 25 Internet Learning Series
(iLS) online courses
• Cadence customer support that keeps
your design team productive
– Cadence applications engineers pro-
vide technical assistance
– SourceLink® online support gives you
access to software updates, technical
documentation, and more—24 hours
a day, seven days a week
w w w. c a d e n ce.com
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. For more information
2655 Seely Avenue Email us at info@cadence.com
San Jose, CA 95134
or log on to www.cadence.com
P:+1.800.746.6223 (within US)
+1.408.943.1234 (outside US)
www.cadence.com

© 2007 Cadence Design Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cadence, SourceLink, Spectre, Verilog, and Virtuoso are registered
trademarks and the Cadence logo is a registered trademark of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. All others are properties of
their respective holders.

7102B 0207 MK/NM/JA/PDF