Advanced Design System 2012The table below displays a list of features/capabilities that have been added or improved in Advanced Design System 2012. The table includes information for the main ADS 2012.08.

For more information on ADS 2012, refer to:

For information on the latest available software downloads, refer to ADS Latest Software Downloads.

Use the table below to find the ADS release used to deliver the product features/capabilities that have been added/improved. 

Last Updated: 27 November 2012

Advanced Design System 2012 Updates Table  
Product feature/capability added or improved ADS
2012.08
Circuit Simulation Enhancements  

New Electrothermal Circuit Simulation

  • Provides higher accuracy 'thermally aware' circuit simulation results
  • Includes effects of on-chip temperature rise
  • Avoid thermal runaway, current crowding, memory effects
  • 3-D temperature map of the full chip and package
  • Pinpoint where to change the layout
  • Easy to set up and use from within the ADS environment
  • Works with all simulation types: DC, AC, SP, HB, Transient, Envelope
  • Applications: high power RFIC / MMIC design
Check

NEW NeuroFET Model

  • Artificial Neural Network Measurement-based FET Model
  • Complete Solution: data acquisition, extraction and simulation in ADS
  • More accurate than other data-based models compact models
  • Accurate 2nd, 3rd, Nth order effects
  • Robust RF & DC convergence and improved small-signal distortion
  • More accurate PAE and S-parameters vs. bias
  • Applications: GaN, InP, GaAs
Check

Updated Nonlinear Models

  • BSIM 4.7.0
  • BSIM-CMG 106.0.0
  • HICUM 2.3.1
  • HiSIM 2.5.1, 2.6.0, 2.6.1
  • HiSIM_HV 1.1.2, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 2.0.0, 2.0.1
  • SiMKit 3.8
Check

Harmonic Balance

  • Automatically moves past stuck points to improve convergence
  • Better convergence and faster performing oscillator analysis
Check

Transient GPU analysis

  • 8X faster than a standard CPU and about 2X faster than first generation GPU support
  • Newly supported – R, C, L, and K models.
  • Supported on Windows (32 & 64 bit) and Linux 32 & 64 bit platforms
Check

Dynamic Link

  • Fully automated Dynamic Link encryption simplifies sharing of IP
Check

Linear Collapser

  • The Linear Collapser is fully automated
  • Does not require a controller to be placed on the schematic
  • Improves simulation performance
Check

X-Parameters

  • More accurate when simulating at different load points
 Check
Multi-technology Simulation Improvements  

Multi-Chip Module FEM Simulation

  • Supports 3D FEM simulations on side by side ICs on a module
  • Analyze coupling effects between system components
  • Easy technology setup
 Check

Improved Multi-technology Circuit Simulation

  • New Multi-Technology mode
    • Supports different ambient temperatures for each IC/Module/subcircuit
    • Supports different instance scale for each IC/ Module/subcircuit.
    • Can override for all instances of a specific subcircuit
    • Can set different temperatures on an instance basis
 Check

New Layout Features and Improvements

 

New Navigator Window

  • Displays all the objects in a design
  • Shows the entire design hierarchy
  • Can cross-probe between the Navigator and the design window
  • Window can be docked
Check

New Search Utility

  • Easy to search for any object in the design hierarchy
  • Wizard to quickly set up search criteria
  • Selecting the objects in the Search window will automatically zoom to the object
  • Automatically opens the containing design if in the hierarchy
  • Window can be docked
Check

New Docking Windows

  • The Search, Navigator, Info, Layers and the Properties dialogs can be docked
  • Drag the windows to dock on any side of the window
  • Can stack windows or create tabbed windows or a combination
Check

New Flight Wires

  • Improve the display of connectivity
  • Cleaner point to point display, makes design editing easier
  • Can optionally be turned or retain previous physical wires
Check

Multiple Connectivity Modes

  • Provides flexibility in how the underlying connectivity is created
  • Helps fit ADS to the user’s design style
  • Provides 3 modes – 2011 mode, standard, and manual
Check

Improved netname management

  • Can now create custom names for nets
  • Makes the design easier to understand
  • Can force nets so they have a persistent connectivity
Check

Net Overlap Zones

  • Highlights when objects that have different netnames overlap
  • Helps identify potential errors
  • Gives an easy way to fix or ignore the error
Check

Copy & Oversize

  • Single click to create multi-layer structures from selected shapes
  • Can both oversize and undersize
  • Can merge multiple shapes into polygons
  • Can include multiple steps into a single operation
  • Can save and restore multiple operations
Check

Lock Components

  • Prevents designers from accidentally moving components while editing designs
  • Prevents components from moving when doing a design synch
  • Can optionally display a rectangle to indicate a locked component
Check

Improved Rotate functionality

  • The rotate functionality has been integrated with other commands, such as copy, paste, and move 
  • Reduces multi-step operation to a single operation 
Check

Display of Origin

  • Layout origin (0,0) is now full screen and easy to see
  • Color is user configurable 
Check

Improvements to Rulers and Dimension Lines

  • Rulers can now be placed at 45 and 90 degree locks 
  • Insures more accurate measurements 
  • Rulers are now placed on reserved system layers 
Check
ADS PDE Platform Improvements  

New flexible Archive and Unarchive features

  • Gives more control over what is archived
  • Helps insure that all the required data is included in the archive
  • Can archive multiple workspaces, libraries, and PDKs referenced by current workspace
  • Can archive a subset of the workspace to archive, down to an individual single cell
  • Can easily include the sub-cell design hierarchy, even across multiple libraries
  • Can choose not to archive data sets or EM simulation results
  • On unarchive, you can choose all or a subset of the archive
  • Can unarchive workspaces, libraries, PDKs to different directories
Check

Data Management

  • New version control for ADS
  • Uses ClioSoft SOS Data Management product
  • Create and manage new design versions
  • Rollback design to a previous version
  • Seamless integration inside ADS Flow
  • Right-click popup menu for version control
  • SOS menu in ADS library browser window
  • Check-out lock & check-in to prevent concurrent changes
  • Auto-checkout when changes made
  • Support for delete & rename
Check
64 bit support for Schematic and Layout  Check

Data Display

  • Data Display Dynamic Readout
    • Hover over a plot to see the plot value
    • An alternative to using markers
  • Improved performance for Momentum results
    • Can be up to a 10X improvement
Check

Improved graphics for external output

  • Now support Vector Graphics (SVG) Format for Print to File
  • Vector graphics maintains its accuracy when it is scaled
  • Works with Schematic, Layout, Data Display, and the Notebook
Check

Support Enhanced MetaFile (EMF) format for Clipboard 

  • Maintains its accuracy when scaled
  • Works with Schematic, Layout, Data Display, and the Notebook 
Check

New file formats supported for Print to File

  • BMP, JPG, PNG, PPM, TIFF, XBM, XPM, and SVG
  • Works with Schematic, Layout, Data Display, and the Notebook
Check

Improved conversion of pre-2011 DSN Projects

  • Can select a technology definition from an existing library
  • Prevents the creation of multiple libraries 
Check

DRC and LVS Enhancements

  • New function to check metal area coverage ratio
  • New function to determine inverse of a shape on a layer
  • Can define object as Layout only to reduce false LVS errors
Check

Design Translation

  • ADS Design Flow Integration (ADFI)
  • Faster transfer of Allegro designs with positive layers
  • Easier to install as an AEL Add-On
  • Schematic and symbol views are created for all designs in the design hierarchy
  • New option in Allegro to expand hatch patterns
Check
New PDK Builder Check
Electro Magnetic Simulation - FEM  
New highly accurate DC/low frequency simulation algorithm Check

New ADS-EMPro integration in combination with EMPro 2012

  • Operates through a common database
  • Support for co-simulation between circuit simulation and parameterized 3D components simulated with FEM
  • Support for adding ports on 3D components added to ADS layout
Check
FEM performance improvements – typically 1.4x faster than in ADS 2011 Check
Remote simulation support using LSF Check
Interrupt simulation phase option for FEM simulations Check
Capability to visualize fields based on circuit simulation excitations Check

Setup Enhancements

  • Specify Data Display to open
  • Limit post-processing data storage to user-defined frequencies
Check

Technology Definition

  • For the situation where there are multiple substrate definitions, it is possible to define one of them as the default
  • The Substrate Editor now graphically shows which layers are controlled by a boundary layer when defining finite dielectrics for FEM simulation
Check

Electro Magnetic Simulation - Momentum

  • Supports conductor permeability (ferrite conductors)
  • Improved overlap extraction and mesh reduction around vias
  • Far fields for multiple frequencies
Check
DesignGuides  

Improved Amplifier DesignGuide

  • Many setups for analyzing the performance of BJTs, FETs, and amplifiers
  • Simulation setups (with data displays) for power sweeps, to show performance at specific output power
  • Gain compression setups to handle the maximum gain point as the 0-dB reference
  • Specify gain or noise values for plotting gain and noise circles
  • Easily plot circles at different frequencies across a band
  • Circulation of input and output reflection coefficients and impedance
Check

Improved Load Pull DesignGuide

  • Easier to find suitable simulation setups
  • New optimization to find best load impedance while sweeping output power for measured load pull data
  • Three new load mismatch setups to investigate amplifier performance degradation due to load VSWR variation
Check
High Speed Digital Design  

New product W2324 High Capacity Layout Pre-processor supports selection of critical nets for EM modeling

  • Imports ODB++ data generated by other PCB tools
Check

New re-driver component in Channel Simulator based on a pre-standard extension to IBIS AMI

  • Electrical re-drivers
  • Opto link models
  • Crosstalk is modeled in channel simulations include re-drivers
Check
Ultra low BER measurements Check
Multiple Eye Probes in Channel Simulator with AMI Tx/Rx Check
Support for IBIS 5.1 including BIRDs 120 and 130 Check
Pre-standard support for advanced jitter and jitter stress test (BIRD 123), and on-die S-Parameters (part of BIRDs 116-118) Check

S-parameter circuit creation through Schematic Wizard

  • Imports port and net names
  • Enhanced symbol generation including odd-ports-left, even-ports-right, dual in-line symbol
Check
New Navigator for net exploration in complicated layouts Check
New DesignGuides for PCIe, USB3, HDMI, SAS2, UHS2 Check
Simulation Manager supports the new W2312 Transient Convolution Distributed Computing 8-pack Check
Fine-grain parallelism for RLC components using GPUs in Transient in W2500 Transient Convolution GT Check
Support added for HSPICE S-Element and S-Model Check
Improved power integrity example for heavily perforated power/ground PDN analysis using JEDEC DDR3 artwork Check

Measurement Expressions

  • Interpolate_swept_data() now handles data with up to 10 independent variables

  • New Interpolate_y_vs_x() function gives improved results over Interpolate_swept_data() for certain situations

  • New Max_within_x_domain() function to find the maximum value of a response while another response is within a range of values
  • New Min_within_x_domain() function to find the minimum value of a response while another response is within a range of values
Check

Instrument Link

  • Support for more instruments including new PNA series, oscilloscopes, N5172B (EXG X-Series) and N5182B (MXG X-Series)
  • ADS Support for PNA-X N524x series and the new PNA N522X
  • VSA 89600B Source and VSA 89600B Sink now support 64 bit Windows and support Keysight 89600 VSA version 15 and later
Check

ADS Ptolemy

  • Built-in ADS-SystemVue co-simulation components
  • Improved automation of the SystemVue-ADS co-simulation flow in SystemVue 2012.06
  • Support MATLAB 2012a co-simulation
Check

Documentation

  • Four new Application Based Flows
  • Seven new short How Do I Videos
  • New Licensing Administrator's Guide
  • New Feedback collection mechanism introduced in Local Help
Check
Ship Date (month/year)

Nov
2012

* "X-parameters" is a trademark of Keysight Technologies, Inc. The X-parameters format and underlying equations are open and documented. For more information, refer to X-parameters Open Documentation, Trademark Usage & Partnerships.