μWaveRiders: Cadence AWR Design Environment V16 Software Release Highlights

The 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 (now includes the former AWR University Program), as well as software tips, tricks, customization, and feature spotlights. 

AWR Design Environment V16 Software Highlights

The AWR Design Environment V16 production release is now available for download at Cadence Downloads with these and other enhancements:

AWR Design Environment Platform

• Interoperability with Allegro and Virtuoso Platforms: Create and analyze RF/microwave IP in Microwave Office and share schematic and layout with Virtuoso and Allegro platforms.
• Clarity 3D Solver Integration: Integration of the Cadence Clarity 3D Solver enables direct simulation of 3D EM structures from within the AWR Design Environment platform.
• Celsius Thermal Solver Integration: Run thermal analysis directly on structures created in the AWR Design Environment platform.
• Version Control Integration: Enables large group design projects by managing AWR Design Environment documents with version control software.
• Improved Python Interface: Includes AWR Design Environment API intelligent code completion. A new "pyawr" library enables faster and less error-prone scripting in Python.

Microwave Office Software

• Dynamic Voiding, Smoothing, and Automatic Net Connectivity Extraction: New layout modes and tools that facilitate net management on large designs.
• Parallel and Remote Circuit Simulation: Run long circuit simulation or optimization jobs in parallel, either locally or remotely.
• Robust Simplex Optimizers: Enhanced Simplex optimizers with variable step size.
• Multi-Version Process Library (PDK) Support: Use multiple versions of a PDK in the same project.
• Job Scheduler Enhancements: Support for multiple remote queues and per EM document remote queues.
• Remote Linux EM Simulations: Run a remote Cadence AXIEM 3D planar EM or Cadence Analyst 3D FEM EM software simulation on a Linux LSF cluster.
• AXIEM Data Set Size Reduction: Exclude de-embedding network data from data sets.
• Analyst Simulator Improvements: Implement various solver improvements.

Visual System Simulator Software

• Layout Trace Interconnect Modeling: Model linear interconnects.
• RF Amplifier Power Saturation Improvements: Improved modeling of RF amplifiers operating in saturation.
• Frequency Multiplier Amplitude and Spur Level Improvements: Improved modeling of RF multipliers operating in saturation.
• APSK Modulation: Support for generic and DVB-S2 and CCSDS communication standards.
• LDPC Encoding Schemes: Support for new LDPC codes used in 5G NR (NSA and SA), DVB-S2, Wireless LAN, and other standards .

Analyst Software

• Data Files: Support for Navigator actions on both used and unused data files.
• Context Menu Option Changes: Renamed many context menu options in the Navigator and Browsers.
• Tree Node Selection: Displays above a tree the number of nodes selected.
• Active Simulation Type: The active simulation type can now be controlled on the Home ribbon in the Simulation group via the Active Type button.
• Structure View Mode Available on Context Menu: The ability to switch between shaded, wireframe, and other options is now available on the Structure view context menu.
• Copying User Folders: User folders (which contain solids or elements) can now be duplicated via a Copy/Paste operation.
• User Folder Properties: The merged properties of solids in a user or material folder can now be accessed using Properties of Children from the
  Structure browser context menu.
• Additional Include/Exclude Commands: Context menus for solids and user folders now contain commands for including and excluding from simulations.
• Analyst-MP multi-physics simulator: See the "What's New in AWR Analyst V16" document for details on improvements and changes in this software.

AWR Software Licensing Update

• Starting with AWR Design Environment V16, floating licenses now use the Cadence license daemon, CDSLMD. New license requests are still requested at awr.licenses@cadence.com. Your floating license now includes two sets of features, one set using the AWRD daemon for use with version 15.0 and earlier, and one set of features using the CDSLMD license daemon.
• For Analyst V16 software, ANA-300 and ANA-100 are now start-up features and must be selected in order to run simulations.

Customers or evaluators with an evaluation license can download the AWR Design Environment V16 software on the Cadence Downloads page.

For release details see What's New in AWR Design Environment v16? and What's New in AWR Analyst v16?

         For Technical Briefs see What's New in AWR and RF to mmWave Design for Systems