Virtuoso Meets Maxwell: How Come There is No Mention of Wirebonded ICs?

2 Aug 2020 • 3 minute read

'Virtuoso Meets Maxwell' is a blog series aimed at exploring the capabilities and potential of Virtuoso RF Solution and Virtuoso MultiTech. So, how does Virtuoso meets Maxwell? Now, the Virtuoso platform 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. Watch out for our posts on Mondays.

Hello and welcome to Virtuoso Meets Maxwell. If you are a regular reader you might be thinking to yourself, “There’s not a lot about wirebonds in the Virtuoso RF Solution and I’m interested in wirebond support.” That’s a great observation and it’s time for bringing wirebonds into the spotlight.

Before moving forward, let’s step back to an earlier blog Virtuoso Meets Maxwell: Common Goal for One Flow, Acquisitions Strengthen RF Flow. There’s a sentence that stands out and captures one of the key strengths for designers, “The Virtuoso RF Solution allows for seamless use of the Allegro based designs with the Virtuoso RF Flow.” The challenge is how to support Allegro-based designs with the right amount of feature overlap. At this point there are abundant capabilities for bumps/balls and now to complete the picture, bond wires can be defined, created and edited.

Wire Profiles

The wire profiles available are imported from the package database and are stored in the Virtuoso technology file. Below is an example of a profile in a technology file:

Finger Guides

Although finger guides are not required, guides can be created, stretched and moved. Here’s an example of creating a guide south of the die (preview in green):

Bond Wires and Finger Definitions

This is the exciting part where the bond wires with fingers are created, using the selected wire and finger profiles. New bond finger definitions can also be added at this time.

More to Come

The ability to define wire profiles and to create wire bonds and bond fingers inside Virtuoso RF Solution is a major step forward in IC package co-design and co-verification. With the integration of a 3D Viewer, users will further benefit from the convenience of wire bonding inside the Virtuoso RF Solution. While a significant step forward, expect more to come for Virtuoso RF Solution to provide a more comprehensive solution for RF module design and verification.

The Virtuoso Meets Maxwell blog will continue to share this exciting journey with you.

Steve Lee

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!

Click Subscribe to submit your email address for receiving notifications about our latest Virtuoso Meets Maxwell posts.

Related Resources

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