News

8 June 2009

 

Agilent PDK provides MMIC design flow for TriQuint’s TQPED E/D pHEMT process 

Agilent Technologies Inc of Santa Clara, CA, USA has made available a foundry-certified process design kit (PDK) to support the TQPED GaAs E/D (enhancement/depletion-mode) pHEMT process of TriQuint Semiconductor Inc of Hillsboro, OR.

Providing what is claimed to be the most complete MMIC design flow available using Agilent’s Advanced Design System (ADS) platform, the new TQPED PDK completely renovates layout functions, adds many design automation and routing capabilities, and provides a MMIC toolbar personality to help streamline the MMIC design process. The PDK is available now from TriQuint.

One of the PDK’s new capabilities is a TriQuint mailDRC function that can be launched automatically with the design embedded in an e-mail message. This allows users to easily and quickly obtain DRC results from TriQuint, through their Microsoft Outlook client, directly from Agilent’s Advanced Design System (ADS) environment without having to bother with translation steps. In addition, the PDK includes substrate definitions for Momentum (Agilent’s integrated 3D planar EM simulator) to help decrease design cycle time.

“This PDK will make it easier than ever before to design low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers and other integrated MMICs using the industry-leading TQPED E/D pHEMT process technology,” says Glen Riley, VP & general manager of TriQuint’s Commercial Foundry business unit.

“Given the popularity of the TriQuint TQPED process technology with our installed customer base, our continued collaboration with TriQuint is critical to providing future upgraded PDKs for TriQuint processes,” says Jim McGillivary, VP & general manager of Agilent EEsof EDA. “Such upgrades will ensure that ADS users of TriQuint kits have a complete streamlined flow that supports the multiple EM technologies integrated within ADS, like the Momentum tool,” he adds. “Users will also be able to extract X-parameter models of their TriQuint designs either directly from ADS or through Agilent instrumentation, providing an accurate and complete unified behavioral modeling capability and further simplifying the design process.”

ADS is an electronic design automation (EDA) software system that offers complete design integration for products such as cellular phones, wireless networking and GPS, radar and satellite communications systems, and high-speed digital serial links. ADS supports system and RF design engineers developing all types of RF designs, from simple to the most complex, from RF/microwave modules to integrated MMICs for communications and aerospace/defense applications.

See related items:

Agilent offers PDKs for Jazz’s 0.18-micron SiGe BiCMOS process

Agilent launches complete, front-to-back solution for MMIC and RF module design

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