Boston, MA– February, 2006 - Ansoft Corporation (NASDAQ: ANST) announced today the release of NexximTM v3.0, the latest version of Ansoft's circuit simulator for high-performance IC design and signal integrity analysis. Faster and more robust than previous releases, Nexxim v3.0 adds phase and time-variant noise, autonomous source harmonic balance, and seamless integration with Cadence ADE/SpectreRF.
“Adding accurate phase and time-varying noise analyses to Nexxim is critical to the full characterization of communication ICs,” said Dr. Mark Reichelt, Director of Nexxim R&D. “Nexxim’s native SpectreRF model syntax and parsing compatibility along with seamless Cadence ADE integration delivers greater simulation power, in both frequency and time domains, directly to IC designers within their current IC design flows” he added.
The ability to include both driven and autonomous sources with a single harmonic balance simulation dramatically expands the accuracy and detail with which complex transceiver circuits can be analyzed. Concurrently, Nexxim allows engineers developing large and complex analog/RF designs to simulate accurate transistor level time & frequency domain performance directly from within the Cadence ADE design framework, leveraging existing design flow infrastructure, foundry models, and circuit-related intellectual property.
To date Nexxim has been instrumental in bridging the gap between traditional analog SPICE simulation and RF circuit simulation by providing both time and frequency domain solutions from the same circuit (schematic and netlist) using the same device models. Recent Nexxim-enabled high-performance designs include receivers incorporating VCOs as full autonomous sources, mixers where the large harmonic content dramatically scales simulation complexity, and PLLs where accurate accounting of passive parasitics become critical for successful tape-outs.
Nexxim v3 is highlighted by the addition of the following new features:
• Advanced Analyses for analog/RF, Mixed Signal and Signal Integrity
• Time-varying Noise Analysis (mixer noise)
• Phase Noise Analysis
• Oscillator Analysis for autonomous circuits (i.e. VCOs and PLLs)
• Multiple methods for low Q and high Q circuits
• Simulate driven and autonomous source circuit in same analysis (e.g. receiver front-end with embedded VCO)
• DC Analysis: additional continuation method
• Harmonic Balance Analysis: Pseudo-transient continuation
• Transient Analysis: Speedup for linear elements
• IC design flow integration
• Runs seamlessly within Cadence ADE
• Simulates schematics and netlist entered in ADE
• Utilizes same analysis states and simulation controls as SpectreRF
• Performs post-processing directly within Cadence ADE
• Supports most SpectreRF models and netlists syntax
• Supports existing Cadence-based foundry PDKs
• Model and simulation enhancements
• High frequency models including
• S-parameters with noise data, optional passivity enforcement, convolution option for transient analyses
• Microstrip, Stripline and Offset Stripline models
• Native IBIS v4.1 support (HSPICE buffers)
• Circuit/System/EM co-simulation for IC design & verification
• Nexxim is fully integrated into the Ansoft Designer platform to support system-level test bench implementation and full-wave 3D parametric EM co-simulation via Designer’s unique Solver on Demand technology.