ADS Fundamentals 2009

LAB 1: Circuit Simulation Fundamentals

OverviewThislabcoversuserinterfacebasics,ADSfiles,schematiccapture, simulation,anddatadisplay.Inaddition,tuningandADSexamplefilesarealso covered.

OBJECTIVES
Createanewprojectandschematicdesigns SetupandperformSparametersimulation Displaysimulationdataandsavefiles Tunecircuitparametersduringsimulation UsetheExamplesfilesandnodenames PerformaHarmonicBalancesimulation Writeanequationinthedatadisplay

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Lab 1: Circuit Simulation Fundamentals

1. Start ADS on the computer. ................................................................................. 3 2. Examine the Main Window preferences............................................................... 4 3. Create a new Project............................................................................................ 5 4. Examine the files in your new project directory. ................................................... 6 5. Create a low-pass filter design. ............................................................................ 6 6. Setup the S-Parameter Simulation..................................................................... 11 7. Launch the simulation and display the data. ...................................................... 11 8. Save the Data Display Window. ......................................................................... 13 9. Tune the filter circuit. .......................................................................................... 14 10. Copy an RFIC Harmonic Balance example. ...................................................... 17 11. Add a wire label (node name) and simulate. ..................................................... 19 12. Plot the spectrum of Vout in dBm. .................................................................... 20 13. Examine the Main Window again ..................................................................... 22

Table of Contents

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PROCEDURE
1. StartADSonthecomputer. a. ForPCs:ClicktheshortcuticonforADSifitappearsonyour screen,orusetheStart>Programscommandtofindandstart AdvancedDesignsSystemasshownhere.ForUNIX:typethe script/commandattheterminalprompt(forexample: hpads).

b. WhentheMainWindowappears,youshouldalsoseetheGettingStarted dialog.Ifitappears,closeityouwilllearnhowtodoallofthethingsit asksandmuchmoreifitdoesnotappear,ithasalreadybeenturnedoff. Also,donotbeconcernedabouttheFileViewitwilldependuponwhich directorystartupdirectoryADSisusing.

NOTE:your FileView maybe different, depending uponwhere ADSis started

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2. ExaminetheMainWindowpreferences. a. IntheMainWindow,clickTools>Preferences. b. WhentheMainPreferencedialogappears,besurethat therearenocheckedboxesforthedisplaygreetingorthe schematicwizard.Youwillnotneedtheminthiscourse. c. BesuretheLargeToolbarBitmapischecked(turnedon) andleavetheothersettingsasshownintheirdefault condition. MostADSwindowshaveapreferencedialogsothatyoucansetorcustomizethe windowasdesired.Youcantryalloftheseafterthiscourse.

Besuretheseareturned OFFasshownhere.

d. ClickOKtodismissthedialog.

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3. CreateanewProject. ForthisstepyouwillusetheiconsontheMainwindow.Usingiconsto executecommandsusuallyrequiresfewermouseclicks.Youcanidentify whatanicondoesbyplacingthecursorontheicontodisplayatextbox:this iscalledballoonhelp. a. IntheMainwindow,selecttheFileViewtabandthenclicktheicon:View StartupDirectory.Thiswillshowthatyouareinthedefaultstarting directoryforADSprojects.

CreateaNew Project

ViewStartup Directory

b. Click:File>NewProjectorusethe theicon.Whenthedialogboxappears, appears,youwillseethedefaultworking workingdirectory.Onyourown computeritwillbeC:\users\defaultbut C:\users\defaultbutinanADS classroomitmaybedifferent (C:\users\ads)socheckwiththe instructor.Insertthecursorattheendof endofthelineandtypethename:lab1. lab1. NoteonProjectTechnologyFilesTheADSStandardLengthunitisusedin layout.IfyouhadaDesignKit(foundrykitorPDK)installed,youcould selectitherefromthedropdownlist(arrowbutton).Forthislabusethe defaultvalue(mil)asshown. c. ClickOKandtheprojectiscreatedandaschematicwindowopens,ready foryoutocreateadesign.

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4. Examinethefilesinyournewprojectdirectory. a. LookattheMainwindowFileViewtab.Itshouldnowshow nowshowallthefilesthatareautomaticallybuiltinthe thelab1projectdirectory.Noticethatthesubdirectories directories(data,networks,etc.)werealsocreated automatically,readyforyoutocreatedesigns,simulateand simulateandplotdata. b. LookintheProjectViewtabandnoticethattheprojectis projectisemptyatthistimenoschematicsordata

displaysyet. c. Also,noticethattheschematic,layout,anddatadisplayiconsarenow activated(notgray).Thismeansyoucannowopenthosewindowswhich youwilldointhenextsteps. 5. Createalowpassfilterdesign. a. IntheMainwindow,clicktheNewSchematicWindowicon(shown here).Thisisthesameasselectingthemenucommand:Window> NewSchematicWindow.Immediately,theSchematicwindowwillappear.If yourpreferencesaresettocreateaninitialschematic,youwillhavetwo schematicsnowopenedcloseeitheroneofthem.

ComponentPaletteand scrollbar

Messages,XY locationorcursor, andother information.

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Lab 1: Circuit Simulation Fundamentals

b. Savetheschematic.Noticethetopwindowborderoftheschematicshowsthe schematicnameasuntitled.Clicktheicon(shownhere)andtheSaveDesignAs dialogwillappear.TypeinthenamelpfandclickSave.Thiswillsaveitinthe networksdirectoryoflab1project.

NOTEonsavingdesignsAfternamingtheschematic,theSaveiconwillnotbringup thissamedialogbox.Instead,itwillsavethenameddesign.Tosavethedesignwitha differentname,usethecommand:File>SaveDesignAs. c. Examinetheschematic windowcommandsandicons. andicons.Clickthesmall smallarrowontheComponent ComponentPalettelisttosee toseethepalettechoices.Also, choices.Also,movetheScroll ScrollBardownanduptosee toseehowitworks. d. IntheLumpedComponentspalette,select(click)thecapacitorC shownhere(nottheCmodel).ThenclicktheRotateByIncrementicon asneededforthecorrectorientationandthenclicktoinsertthecapacitor asshownontheschematic.Next,insertanothercapacitor. NOTEonschematics:youcanchangethecoloroftheschematicbackground,griddots, andmoreusingOptions>Preferences.Thiswillbecoveredlaterinthecourse.

Component HistoryList ComponentPaletteList determinestheitems availableonthepalette.

Cursorwith crosshairs= commandis active.

Rotate

NOTE:someboxedicons(R,LandC)aremodelsnotcomponents. 18
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Lab 1: Circuit Simulation Fundamentals

e. Continuecreatingthelowpassfilterasshownbyinsertingthe inductorandgrounds(iconsareshownhere).Thenwirethe componentstogether.Thiswillgiveyoupracticewithschematic capture.Youcantryusingthecopy,moveandothericonsor commands. f. Afterthefilterisbuilt,editthevalueofC2tobe3picofarads.Todothis, doubleclickthecapacitorsymbolorselectthecapacitorandusetheicon (R=17shownhere).Whenthedialogboxappearschangethevalue: C=3.0pF,clickApplyandOK. g. Next,selecttheSimulationS_ParampaletteandinserttheS parametersimulationcontroller(gearicon).UsetheESCkeytoend thecommand.

h. Inserttheportterminations:TermNum=1andTermnum=2. i. UseComponentHistory:Afterthecircuitisbuilt,deletecapacitorC2 andthenreinsertitbytypingorselecting(history)thecapitalletterCin theComponentHistoryfieldandpressEnter.Next,editthevaluedirectly ontheschematicbyhighlightingthevalueandtypingoveritwiththe value(3.0pF).Verifythatithaschangedbylookingatthevalueinthe editdialogbox.

COMPONENTHISTORY: Youcaninsertcomponents iftheyhavebeeninserted previously,orbytypingin thecomponentname(C,L, Retc)insteadofusingthe palette. 110

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6. SetuptheSParameterSimulation. a. Tosetupthesimulation,doubleclickontheS Sparametersimulationcontrollerontheschematic. schematic.Whenthedialogboxappears,changethe changetheStepsizeto0.5GHzandclickApply. Apply.Noticehowitupdatesthevalueonthe thescreen.TheOKbuttondoesthesamethingas thingasApplyandalsodismissesthedialogbox boxdonotclickOKyet. b. ClicktheDisplaytabandyouwillseethattheStart, theStart,StopandStepvalueshavebeenchecked checked(bydefault)tobedisplayedonthe schematic.Laterinthiscourse,youwillusethe thedisplaytabtocheckotherparametersyouwant youwantdisplayedontheschematic. c. ClicktheOKbuttontodismissthedialogbox.You box.Youarenowreadytosimulate. 7. Launchthesimulationanddisplaythedata. a. Atthetopoftheschematicwindow,clicktheSimulateicongear(shown here)tostartthesimulationprocess. b. Next,lookfortheStatuswindowtoappearandyoushould seemessagessimilartotheoneshere,describingtheresults ofthesimulation,thewritingofthedatasetfile,andthe creationofadisplaywindow.Ifnot,asktheinstructorforhelp.

NOTE:Ifyou scrollup,you willseemore simulation information.

Ifnosimulationerrorsoccurred,closetheStatuswindow.Youcanalwaysrecallthe statuswindowusingtheschematicwindowcommand:Window>SimulationStatus (tryit).

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c. TheDataDisplaywindowwillappearwiththenamelpfinthetopleft cornerthisisthesamenameasyourschematic.Also,youarelookingat page1whichisblankatthistime.Examinethepicturebelowthenext stepswillshowhowtodisplaythesimulationdata.

NOTE:Anasterisknexttoawindowname(lpf*)meansitisnotsaved.

ThedefaultDATASETname (lpf)appearshere. Rectangularplot Thispaletteiswhereyou chooseaplottype,list,table, orequationtoinsert.

Scrollbuttonsfor listsofdata.

Markericon buttons.

d. Tocreatetheplot,clickontheRectangularPloticonandmovethe cursor(outlinedbox)intothewindowandclick.Whenthenextdialog boxappears,selecttheS(2,1)dataandclicktheAddbutton.Thenselect dBastheformatforthedata.ClickOKinbothboxes.

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Theplotshouldshowareasonablelowpassfilterresponse.Also,ifyouhaveamouse wheeltryusingittozoominandout. e. Putamarkeronthetrace:Clicknewmarkericonon icononthetoolbar(shownhere).Youwillbe promptedtoselectatracetoinsertthemarker.Next, Next,tryusingtheothermarkericons.Youcanalso alsomoveitusingthecursororthekeyboardarrow arrowkeys.Trydeletingthemarkerorputtinganothermarkeronthe

trace. 8. SavetheDataDisplayWindow. a. Savethisdatadisplaywindow:UsetheFile>SaveAscommandanduse thenextdialogboxtosaveitwiththedefaultnamelpf.Thismeansthatit willbesavedasa.ddsfile(datadisplayserver)intheprojectdirectory anditwillhaveaccesstoalldata(.dsfilesordatasets)inthedata directory.Thisstepshowsyouthatdatadisplaywindowsaresavedin theprojectdirectoryandnotinthedatadirectory.Onlydata(datasets) arestoredinthedatadirectory.

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b. Closethedatadisplaywindowusing:File>Close. c. ReopenthesaveddatadisplaybyclickingtheDataDisplayicon(shown here)fromtheSchematicorMainwindow.Afterthewindowopens,click theOpeniconfolder(shownhere).Selectlpf.ddsinthedialogandclick Open.ItwillreappearwithyourS21plot.Also,noticethatthedefault datasetname(lpf)remainsfromyourprevioussimulation.KEEPTHIS WINDOWOPENforthenextsteps.

Data Display icon:

Openanexisting DataDisplay 9. Tunethefiltercircuit. ThisstepintroducestheADStuningfeaturethatallowsyoutotuneparametervaluesof componentsandseethesimulationresultsinthedatadisplay.Inthisstep,youfirst selectthecomponentsandthenselectthetuningfeature.Ifyouselectthetuning featurefirst,youmustselectthecomponentparametersandnotthecomponents. a. PositiontheDataDisplayandtheSchematicwindowssoyou canseethembothonthescreen.Ifnecessary,resizethe windowsanduseViewAll. b. Now,startthetunerbyclickingthecommand:Simulate >TuningorclicktheTuneParametersicon(shown here).

ViewAll

Tune Parameters

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c. Immediately,thestatus(simulation)windowwillappearalongwiththeTune Controldialogbox(shownhere).GoaheadandclickontheCparameterforthe C1capacitorasshownhere.Whenyoudo,thetunableparameterwillappearin theTunecontrollerandtheparameterwillappearwith{t}toshowthatitis enabledfortuning.Anotherwaytoselecttheparameterisnext.

d. Clickontheinductorsymbolandwhenthesmalldialogappears,clickontheL andOK.Thiswilladdtheinductorinthetunecontroller.

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e. ArrangeyouDataDisplaywindowwiththeS21plotsothatyoucanseeitalong withtheTuner.Placeamarkeronthe5GHzdatapointasshownhere.Thentry movingthetunerslidersandseehowthetraceisautomaticallyupdatedasifyou weretuningwithaninstrument.Youcanalsotrytypinginthevalueorchange thewaythesliderisused.

f. IncreasetheMaxvaluesto6forbothparametersandcontinuetuningtogeta typicallowpassfilterresponse:about3dBnear2GHz,asshownheremove themarkerto2GHztoseethis.

g. StorethetracebyclickingontheStorebuttonandOKasshownhere.Then movethetuningslidersagainthestoredtraceremains(dashedline)whilethe newtracerespondstothetuning.Tracescanbestored/recalledandmade visibleasneeded.Goaheadandtrytheseandotherstobetterunderstandhow thetunerworks.

h. UsetheClosebuttononthetunertocloseit.ThenSavethedata displayandtheschematicusingtheSaveicon(inbothwindows) shownhere.Finally,closeallthewindows,excepttheADSMain window.Next,youwilluseHarmonicBalancewithanADSexample.

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IMPORTANTNOTE:UsingADSExamples AlloftheexamplesshippedwithADScanbeexaminedinthe theExamplesdirectory.However,tousethemforyourdesign designwork,youmustcopythefilesintoanotherdirectory.In Ingeneral,theexamplesdirectoryisreadonlyandthefilesmust mustremainunchanged.Thefollowingstepswillgiveyousome someexperienceleveragingexamplesforyourownuse. 10. CopyanRFICHarmonicBalanceexample. a. GototheADSMainwindow,FileViewtab,andclickonthe ViewExampleDirectoryicontoseethelistofexample topicsbutdonotgoanyfurther,simplylookatthechoices. Afterward,clickontheViewCurrentWorkingDirectoryicon toseethatyouarestillinthelab1project.

b. Youaregoingtocopyaschematicdesignfromoneofthe exampledirectoriesintothelab1project(networks).Inthe ADSMainwindow,clickFile>CopyDesignandtheCopy Designdialogwillappear. c. Select:FromDesign:Thisiswhereyougettheexample design.Whenthedialogappears,selectExampleDirectory andBrowse.Thenusethedialogboxes,doubleclickingon RFIC>amplifier_prj>networks>HBtest.dsnandOpen.

d. SpecifytheToPath:SelectWorkingDirectory,whichshouldbethenetworks directoryofthelab_1project(shownhere).Alsocheckthebox:CopyDesign Hierarchy.ClickOKandacopyoftheHBtestanditshierarchy(subcircuits) willbecopiedintoyourlab1_project.

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e. Afterthecopyiscomplete,openaschematicwindowandusetheiconorFile >OpenDesigntoopentheHBtest.dsn.Asshownhere,thisisthetoplevel hierarchyoftheHBtest.dsn.ThisiswheretheHarmonicBalancesimulationis setup.Toseetheamplifiersubcircuitclickontheamplifiersymbolandthen clicktheicon:PushintoHierarchy.

f. Noticethatthesubcircuithasseveral biaseddeviceswiththemodel description(modelcard)shown.Click thePopOutofHierarchytogoback tothetoplevelwherethesimulationis setup.

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g. Afteryoureturntotheupperlevel, examinetheHarmonicBalance controllerbydoubleclickingonitorby selectingitandclickingtheediticon (shownhere).

EditComponent

h. TheHarmonicBalancecontrollerhas manytabsforsettingupsimulation parameters.Thepurposeofthisstepisto getyouacquaintedwiththesimulation controllerandnottouseallthesettings. Lookthroughthetabs,donotmakeany changes,andCancelwhenyouaredone. 11. Addawirelabel(nodename)andsimulate. a. ClickontheNameicon(shownhere).When thedialogappears,typeinthenameVinand clickonthewireornodeattheinputtothe amplifier.ClickClosewhenfinished.The schematicnowhasaVinandaVoutwire label. b. ClicktheSimulatebutton.Whenthe simulationfinishes,thenodevoltagesatVin andVoutwillbeavailableintheData Display.
Thesimulatorissettocalculate960MHzwith5harmonics(order). NoticethattheV_1Tonesource(schematic)frequencyisalso960MHz.

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12. PlotthespectrumofVoutindBm. a. Whenthedatadisplaywindowopens,selecttheRectangularPlotand insertit.Immediately,anotherdialogwillappearwhereyouselectVout andclickAdd.Next,thedialogwillaskyoufortheformat:Spectrumin dBm.ClickOKandOKagain,andtheplotwillappear. b. Putamarkeronthefirsttonetoverifythatitis960MHz.

c. InsertanequationbyselectingtheEqniconand insertingitonthedatadisplay.Immediately, anotherdialogwillappear.

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d. Writetheequationinthefieldwithamistakeinspellingthenodename. Forexample,writeavoltagegainequationas:Gain=Vout/Vn.Click Applyandyouwillseehowtheerrorisrecognized.

Type:Vntoseeamistake.

e. CorrectthespellingtoVin,clickApplyagainand OK.Thecorrectequationwillappear. NOTEondatadisplayequations:Iftheequationisredincolor,thenitisinvalid. f. TolisttheequationvalueofGain,insertalistbyselectingtheList theListicon.Whenthedialogappears,clickthearrowandscroll scrolldowntotheEquationslist.WhenitappearsselecttheGain theGainequationandAdditandclickOK.

YoushouldseealistofGain:thecomplexvoltagefor eachfrequencycalculatedbyyourequationandthe HarmonicBalancedata.Actually,thiscircuitreallyhas morecurrentgainthanvoltagegain. g. Closeallthewindowsdonotsavethefilesin filesinthislab.Youwillnotneedthislaborany oranyofitsfilestocontinue.

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13. ExaminetheMainWindowagain a. NoticethattheProjectViewtabinthemain mainwindownowshowsyoursaveddesignsand designsanddatadisplays. b. Anydesignordatadisplaycanbeopenedby bydoubleclickingonanyofthemtryitand andthenclosethemusingtheMainWindow Windowcommand:File>CloseAll. ENDOFLABEXERCISEifyouhavetime,trytheExtraExercises. EXTRAEXERCISES:dotheseonlyifyouhaveadditionaltime.Otherwise,youcando themforpracticeaftercompletingthecourse. 1. Trysearchingforanexampleofacprusingtheexample searchicon. 2. GobacktotheHBtestsimulationandincreasetheOrder intheHarmonicBalancesimulatorto7.Simulateagainandnotewhat happens.Also,changethevalueofFreqto940andnotewhathappens youcanlearnaboutsimulationerrorsfromthistypeofexercise. 3. WriteanotherequationfortheHBtestresults: Gain_fund=Vout[1]/Vin[1]

Determinewhatthebracketedvalueof[1]isdoingintheequation. 4. GobacktotheLPFdesignandopenthedatadisplaypage.Trywritingan equationforthephaseofS21andthenplotit:

5. Examineanyotherexamplesthatareinterestingtoyou.

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