Having designed RFMW circuits, ASICs, RFICs and modules for a long time and used most simulators to do the analysis ( the latest in line being ADS and Microwave Office) we added the ANSYS tool HFSS to the repertoire. Although it does not seem to be used as widely as the SPICE based simulators we found it to be of great value in our analysis and a great help in deriving parameters not produced by either of the two aforementioned CAD tools. It provides EM analysis, power analysis, fields and radiation analysis which is a real help in our RFMW design efforts. The philosophy of the tool is slightly different from the usual tools. However, if you want to reduce the risk on your design to a irreducible minimum then HFSS and some of the other ANSYS tools can come in real handy. More on the HFSS tool analysis in this blog to follow. Please visit our website for more analog, RFMW ASIC and module information.