Virtuoso Meets Maxwell: Learn Your Moves – We’re Doing an Edit-in-Concert

'Virtuoso Meets Maxwell' is a blog series aimed at exploring the capabilities and potential of Virtuoso RF and Virtuoso MultiTech. So, how does Virtuoso meet Maxwell? Now, Virtuoso supports RF designs, and the RF designers measure the physical and radiation effects by using the Maxwell's equations. In addition to providing insights into the useful software enhancements, this series broadcasts the voices of different bloggers and experts about their knowledge and experience of various tools in the Virtuoso IC-Packaging world along with the nuances of RF, microwave, and high frequency designs. We will be posting every alternate Monday.

It’s about time that layout design goes from evolutionary to revolutionary. I’m talking about the new Edit-in-Concert^TM technology available in the Cadence^® Virtuoso^® RF Solution that lets designers work across dies, packages, and boards concurrently. Now designers can make and view the changes in any fabric immediately, all within the Cadence Virtuoso environment.

Edit-in-Concert is a design editing mode, where the fabrics in a system are superimposed. The current fabric is displayed in the foreground and is available for edit. The fabrics in the background serve as a guide for the design. To understand this better, let’s consider a multi-fabric test board design with a single packaged die. The design spans across three fabrics, the board, package, and die, where each fabric has its own independent technology file. Let’s visualize the design from the following perspectives:

• Editing the Board
• Editing the Package
• Editing the Die

Editing the Board

The following images show a test board in standard editing mode and Edit-in-Concert mode. 

You can see that standard editing (left) treats the packaged die as a black box, whereas Edit-in-Concert (right) gives more insight into the contents of the packaged die. This insight is valuable in both, placement and routing, and it provides the information that a board designer needs when finalizing the design. If there are any changes in the package, they are displayed immediately to the board designer.

Isn’t it amazing technology? But we’re not done yet. Let’s switch tabs to the package and look at the package designer’s perspective.

Editing the Package 

The following images show the test board in the package view.

The standard editing mode shows only the package, as expected, but Edit-in-Concert truly shines when working with multiple fabrics. The package designer can see both the board and the IC at the same time, in the same session.

Will a larger package fit on the board? Is there room for another die? These questions are easily answered with Edit-in-Concert.

Note that the placed package is rotated by 90⁰ with respect to the board, which is clearly visible in the background. Edit-in-Concert maintains the relative scale and orientation when switching between fabrics, eliminating the chance of “getting lost” in the design and removing the burden of manually tracking the transformations when edits are required.

Let’s now switch to the die tab.

Editing the Die 

Here's how the test board looks in the die view.

Again, standard editing mode shows only the die, but Edit-in-Concert shows the die with respect to the entire design.

Note that the die is rotated by 90⁰ with respect to the package (180⁰ with respect to the board). Also, the die is flipped.

The giveaway is that the board and package are mirrored in the background.

Last But Not Least...

I almost forgot the most important part: The “Edit” of Edit-in-Concert. When there is a change in one fabric that affects the other fabrics, Edit-in-Concert synchronizes the edits in all the related fabrics.

Here’s an example of what happens when a bump is moved downward in the package. You can see that the corresponding bump in the die is moved as well, accounting for a change in orientation and a flip-chip die.

Sounds too good to be true? This is the reason Edit-in-Concert technology is both revolutionary and amazing.

If you want to try Edit-in-Concert and other Virtuoso RF technologies, the Rapid Adoption Kits (links are given below) have the material and database to start your exploration of the Virtuoso RF Solution. Prepare to be amazed!

Related Resources

• Virtuoso RF RAK - Co-Design Component
• Virtuoso RF RAK - Electromagnetic Simulation Component
• Virtuoso RF Solution
• What’s New in Virtuoso (ICADVM18.1 Only)

For more information on Cadence circuit design products and services, visit www.cadence.com.

About Virtuoso Meets Maxwell

Virtuoso Meets Maxwell series includes posts about the next-generation die, package, and board design flow with a focus on reinventing and optimizing the design process to ensure that the designer remains a designer! Keep watching!

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 - Steve Lee