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μWaveRiders: Cadence AWR Design Environment Graph Display Tips and Tricks

• 7 minute read

Team RF logoThe Team RF "μWaveRiders" blog series is a showcase for Cadence AWR RF products. Monthly topics will vary between Cadence AWR Design Environment release highlights, feature videos, Cadence Academic Network news (including the former AWR University Program), as well as software tips, tricks, customization, and feature spotlights. 

AWR Software Tips and Tricks: Graphs in the AWR Design Environment

The AWR Design Environment platform provides RF/microwave engineers with integrated high-frequency circuit (Microwave Office), system (Visual System Simulator), and EM (AXIEM 3D planar/Analyst 3D FEM) simulation technologies and design automation to develop physically realizable electronics ready for manufacturing.

Did you know you can try AWR software products today for free at Try AWR? See for yourself how easy and effective it is to streamline your design process, improve end-product performance, and accelerate time to market for MMICs, RFICs, RF PCBs, microwave modules, antennas, communications systems, radar systems, and more.

The seventh in the series of AWR Design Environment Tips and Tricks, this blog highlights both common and customized display options for simulation results on a variety of graphs in the AWR Design Environment.

The AWR Design Environment platform features extensive post-processing capabilities, allowing the display of measurements on rectangular graphs, polar grids, Smith Charts, histograms, constellation graphs, tabular graphs, antenna plots, and 3D graphs. An upcoming blog in this series will cover tips and tricks specific to working with measurements on graphs.

Common Keyboard Shortcuts

These keystrokes are common to graphing operations in the AWR Design Environment software.

Method Action Method Action
Ctrl + F Freeze traces Ctrl + U Clear frozen traces
Ctrl + M Add marker Ctrl + mouse wheel

Zoom in and out (center on cursor)
Mouse wheel Pan up and down Shift + mouse wheel

Pan left and right

Modifying Basic Graph Properties

The Graphs node in the Project Browser includes a subnode for each graph within a project. Right-clicking a graph displays a menu with options to rename a graph node, duplicate a graph as the same or another graph type, change the current graph type, and set many default options for the graph.

By default, the title on a graph is the same as the graph subnode name in the Project Browser. You can override the default graph title by double-clicking and changing the title on the graph itself. 

To modify the display size of a rectangular graph, polar grid, or Smith Chart, click the border of the graph to display drag handles. Click a drag handle and drag it to a new position/size. An outline showing the new size of the graph displays as the mouse moves.

The Graph Options dialog box (right-click a graph and choose Options) has intuitive tabs for customizing graph options, or accepting the defaults. You can set a multitude of graph properties specific to the graph type, such as the colors used to display the graph border and divisions, the grid values, the fonts used for labels, sweep and data value formats, and unit values, in addition to the specific customization described here. 

Adding/Modifying Traces

For every measurement added to a graph, there is one set of trace properties. The Graph Options dialog box Traces tab includes options for specifying trace color; trace symbol type, interval, and size; trace line type and weight; and other options, depending on the graph and measurement type. You can also Ctrl- or Shift-click to select multiple traces in the dialog box to apply attributes to more than one trace.

Graph Traces

Adding/Modifying Markers

You can add graph markers to traces on most graphs by choosing Graph > Marker > Add Marker, and then clicking and dragging on the trace to position the marker before releasing the mouse button. To change the marker position just click and drag on the point where the marker connects to the trace. You can also delete a selected marker by pressing the Delete key. The marker display box has resize handles for changing its size, and the fonts within it are sized accordingly. The Graph Options dialog box Markers tab includes options for specifying legend content, display options, marker color and style, and other options, depending on the graph and measurement type.

Graph Markers

Marker options are dependent on the graph type. To set graph data marker search mechanisms, right-click and choose the appropriate option:

  • Marker→Max and Marker→Min: Searches for minimum and maximum values of the trace and add horizontal and vertical line markers on a rectangular graph.
  • Marker Search: Searches for values of the trace using the specified mode.
  • Reference Marker: Makes the selected marker the reference from which other markers are valued.
  • Add Note: Attaches a rich-text note that provides a customized description of the marker.
  • Add Auto Search Marker: Automatically searches for a specified feature on the trace and remains on the feature throughout curve updates during changes such as tuning and optimization.
  • Add Offset Marker: Automatically maintains a specified offset from another marker on the trace.

Adding/Modifying Axes

The Graph Options dialog box Axes tab (for rectangular, constellation, and histogram type graphs) includes options for specifying the limits on each axis of a graph, and for adding axes (for example, to enable multiple graphs in one graph view to share the same x-axis).

Graph right axis

The Graph Options dialog box Labels tab (for rectangular, constellation, antenna, polar grid and Smith Chart type graphs) includes options for specifying graph titles and axis labels.

On all graph types except for 3D plots and tabular graphs you can edit property values by double-clicking directly on the number. On rectangular graphs you can edit the minimum and maximum values on the horizontal and vertical axes. You can also edit the second value on the axes to adjust the step size (for an axis with a linear scale) or Log Divs setting (for an axis with a logarithmic scale). On a Smith Chart or polar grid you can edit the sweep min and sweep max values. Values for the maximum magnitude value and step size per division are also editable on a polar grid, and on antenna plots you can edit the minimum and maximum magnitude values.

Limit the axes of a rectangular graph after a simulation by right-clicking, choosing Zoom Data, and then clicking and dragging to define an area for magnification. Click and drag over the x-axis of the graph to zoom only in the x-direction. You can reset the axis limits by right-clicking and choosing Restore Axis Setting.

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For questions, general feedback, or suggestions for future blog topics, write to team_rf_blogs@cadence.com.