PRODUCT BROCHURE
RFPro Circuit Simulation
The next generation in circuit simulation
for RFIC design and verification
Overview
RFPro Circuit is a next generation simulation suite of circuit simulation and verification tools for robust
RFIC circuit design within Cadence Virtuoso and Synopsys Custom Compiler. RFPro Circuit provides a
thorough circuit and statistical verification toolkit to eliminate the costly risk of re-spins and low yields.
For wireless front-end RFIC and SoC designers working on 5G, automotive radars, WiFi and mmWave
applications, it is an integral part of Keysight Silicon RFIC design suite that also includes:
• This module, the RFPro Circuit simulation suite.
• RFPro EM for on- and off-chip 3D Planar and 3D FEM electromagnetic analysis.
• Electro-Thermal simulation for increased reliability, as well as electrical performance that depends on
dynamic operating conditions.
• System-Circuit Virtual Test Benches (VTB) for system-level co-design and validation
• Advanced Design System (ADS) for small-scale RFIC front-to-back implementation
This suite of products links the RF system, subsystem, and component-level design and analysis as part
of a unique and comprehensive RFIC design offering.
Figure 1. RFPro Circuit provides the best-in-class RF to mmWave circuit and statistical simulators along with
wireless standards verification for RFIC and RF SoC designers. It eliminates the risk of costly re-spins and low yields.
RFPro Circuit
RFPro Circuit is a comprehensive RFIC Design and Verification solution that is seamlessly integrated in
the Cadence Virtuoso and Synopsys Custom Compiler design environments. It offers unique simulation
algorithms that enable full characterization of transceivers prior to tape-out. It includes the industry’s most
advanced set of steady-state and envelope circuit simulators allow design teams to confidently tackle
even the most challenging RF integrated circuit designs.
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Keysight RFIC Design Solutions
Beyond providing the best-in-class RFIC circuit simulators, Keysight RFPro Circuit also supports other
powerful capabilities.
• State-of-the-Art RF circuit simulator provides the most advanced steady-state and envelope solvers
for design and verification of RFICs within the Cadence Virtuoso and Synopsys Custom Compiler
environments.
• Advanced analysis support offers a wide variety of capabilities to fully explore, analyze and optimize
designs, before tape-out, minimizing the time and expense of re-spins.
• Automation and usability features accelerate design and verification by providing tools embedded
inside ADE-Explorer and ADE-Assembler.
• RF to mm-Wave design support provides the best performance, capacity, and accuracy for RF to
millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) applications.
• Wireless standard-compliant design capability couples the power of system- and circuit-level
simulators with a comprehensive library of standard-based wireless leveraged from Keysight
instruments to accelerate the design of complex RFICs under real-life conditions.
• Broad foundry PDK support for RF processes
Figure 2. Keysight’s W5600E RFPro Circuit provides advanced, multi-physics simulation support for today’s RFIC
designers working in Cadence Virtuoso and Synopsys Custom Compiler.
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Leading the Way in RF Circuit Simulation
Keysight EDA is widely known for its advanced steady-state and envelope solvers. RFPro Circuit offers
these in leading RFIC design environments, and provides a comprehensive set of analog and
application-specific analyses.
Keysight EDA works closely with RFIC Foundries to ensure RFPro Circuit covers all relevant models and is
continually qualified against new and updated process nodes to ensure silicon-accurate results.
Figure 3. W5600E RFPro Circuit is directly integrated within the Cadence Virtuoso and Synopsys Custom Compiler
environments to provide many unique and powerful RF simulation capabilities to optimize RFIC performance and yield.
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Circuit Simulation Overview
• Unmatched Harmonic-Balance and Envelope-Transient
analyses
o Harmonic Balance steady-state solver with robust
convergence
o Envelope hybrid time-frequency domain nonlinear
simulator for efficient modulated signal analysis
o Fast Envelope reduces runtimes by orders of magnitude
while capturing memory effects
• Comprehensive set of analyses
o DC, AC, noise, S-parameters, Transient
o Small Signal Noise Analysis, transient noise, as well as
Winslow stability analyses.
o Intermodulation distortion and gain compression Figure 4. RFPro Circuit provides thorough
• Sweeps, Monte Carlo, and Optimization circuit analyses, while simplifying the setups
o Quickly analyze and diagnose problem areas early in the with natural groupings of parameters.
design cycle,
o Fully optimize circuit performance before tapeout.
o Easy-to-use tools such as multi-dimensional sweeps, optimization and load-pull analysis.
• Superior support for multi-physics design flows, using Keysight simulators:
o Electromagnetics, using Keysight RFPro (EM) for both FEM and 3D Planar with circuit
excitations.
o Electro-Thermal simulation accounting for dynamic and device-specific thermal effects
o System-Circuit co-design with Keysight Virtual Test Benches (VTBs) for “EVM true” results
Figure 5. RFPro Circuit encapsulates Keysight’s 40-year heritage in high-frequency design with proven
modulation and stability analyses, as well as support for both Silicon and III-V compound semiconductor PDKs
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Flexible Licensing
The W5600E RFPro Circuit product provides a flexible package of six (6) individual “1-pack” simulation
licenses, which can be used to enable simulation technologies and add-on capabilities, according to the
user’s run-time requirements. 1-packs can be added for capacity using the W5601E.
Figure 6. The W5600E RFPro Circuit product provides a flexible package of six (6)
individual “1-pack” simulation licenses.
This flexibility enables multiple users to run parallel basic simulations; or a single user to access higher-
performance or specialized simulation modes, which might be used less frequently. Users have the power
to choose the right combination of features to solve a wide variety of design challenges.
Easy configurations
The flexible licensing structure of RFPro Circuit has several benefits:
• Enables multiple parallel sweeps for faster design verifications and accelerated machine learning.
• Allows multiple concurrent users, for agile project decisions about design capacity.
• Grants access to specialized technologies or new features that may be used less frequently.
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Advanced Analysis Overview
Figure 7a, 7b. The RFPro Circuit UI simplifies the setup of advanced analyses to access multiple-run simulations
including Monte Carlo or Optimization analyses.
• Multi-dimensional sweeps with unmatched speed and convergence
• Advanced Monte Carlo sampling algorithms (Latin Hypercube or Hammersley Sequence)
• Powerful optimization engine
• Extensive load-pull and compression setups plotting capabilities.
• Full contribution table
• EVM fast optimization through Keysight Compact Test Signals and Distortion EVM
• Amplifier Digital Pre-Distortion (DPD) tests
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Automation Tools to Accelerate Your Design Cycle
Design verification of today’s RFICs can be tedious and time-consuming. RFPro Circuit accelerates this
task with powerful tools that allow designers to set up and run distributed simulations. These tools enable
quick analysis and display massive amounts of data; and can be used within Virtuoso, operated
separately or integrated with other third-party products
RFPro Circuit offers a variety of post-processing solutions and functionality beyond support of the
Cadence ADE plotting capabilities. The Performance Editor and ADS Data Display include large
repositories of built-in expressions. Data Display’s flexibility enables designers to create advanced plots
(e.g., load-pull contours, gain circles or eye diagrams) or even write their own functions.
Figure 8. RFPro Circuit supports the Cadence ADE-Explorer and Assembler cockpits to provide a variety of tools to
set up, launch and analyze parallel verification runs including corners.
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Optimizing RFICs from RF to mm-Wave
By leveraging the powerful ADS model library, RFPro Circuit accurately models the effects of integrating
microwave components with silicon RFICs within the Cadence Virtuoso environment. Its transient and
envelope-transient engines handle very large S-parameter blocks, beyond the frequency-domain, using
multi-threaded convolution techniques.
Tight links to the ADS common Open Access database allow designers to include IC content within the
complete module design inside ADS or to perform more complete package characterization.
Figure 9. RFPro Circuit provides access from within Virtuoso to over 150 passive and distributed circuit models
through interoperability with Keysight ADS. A Virtuoso layout can be viewed in 3D within the ADS platform to include
off-chip packaging effects, for end-to-end EM verification. This means that a raw RFIC can be validated in ADS with
packaging and other 3D heterogeneous integration (3D-HI) and assembly effects, then re-opened in Virtuoso. The
final IC tape-out can then account for any off-chip RF impairments, in a consistent flow.
RF to mm-Wave Design Overview
• Accurately model the effects of microwave • RF passive elements.
components and parasitic interconnections
• Tight links into ADS enable RF simulation to
on silicon or SiGe chips. go off-chip beyond the IC.
• RFPro EM enables silicon-accurate 3D • ADS Data Display provides extensive
planar EM simulation down to nanometer plotting options.
scales.
• Robust convolution engine ensures
• Over 150 ADS models: accurate results when using frequency-
• Lines, bends, tees, and more, bond wires dependent components in a transient
with coupling. simulation.
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Integrated with RFPro (FEM full 3DEM and
Momentum 3D Planar Simulators)
Figure 10. RFPro EM integration with Virtuoso extends 3D visualization and full 3D EM simulation of foundry PDK
components, supported by broad foundry partners. This enables off-chip packaging to be included in simulation.
RFPro (FEM full 3D and Momentum planar 3DEM simulator):
• Automated expert setup of ports, ground references and mesh for correct simulation.
• No manual removing of active devices and placing pins and ports.
• No manual reconnecting S-parameter ports to schematic nodes for EM-circuit cosimulation.
Silicon-accurate nanometer RFIC process support:
• Automated defeaturing (via merging/dummy removal/hatched planes…)
• Dummy metal fill and process scaling support.
• Can read RFPro Circuit simulations to show the EM behavior under real conditions.
Main integrations:
• Consistent user interface for ADS/ Cadence Virtuoso/ Synopsys Custom Compiler.
• Sweeping capabilities.
• Broad foundry PDK support for Momentum stack-up files.
• 3D Viewer with embedded visualization of surface currents or radiated fields.
Going beyond 3D planar:
• Access to the Finite Element Method directly in Virtuoso and Custom Compiler.
• Through Silicon Via modeling support.
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Co-validate with Electro-Thermal Simulation
RFPro Circuit is integrated with Keysight’s optional W3050E Electro-thermal simulator, for validation of
key steady-state and dynamic transient thermal effects prior to tape-out.
Closing the internal interactions between electrical and thermal networks requires connectivity between
simulation domains. However, Electro-thermal (ETH) enables much more fine-grained awareness of
junction temperatures (for estimates of basic operating margins as well as lifetime reliability), and allows
better estimates of both DC and RF operating performance measures. Both are extremely valuable and
can affect overall power power-added efficiency (PAE) and effective radiated power of 5G Advanced
wireless power amplifiers (PA) working in phased array front-end modules (FEM).
Figure 11. RFPro Circuit is integrated with the Keysight W3050E Electro-Thermal simulator, enabling much more
robust designs, especially for critical RF power amplification stages in 5G Advanced and WiFi7 transceivers, MIMO,
and phased array/beamforming modules.
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Assuring Circuit-Level Compliance to System-
Level Wireless-Standards
RFPro Circuit features links to system-level analysis for design and verification of the complex
measurements required by today’s wireless standards. Today, system-level specifications commonly
involve ACLR and EVM under wideband, modulated conditions. The ability to directly predict EVM and
ACLR early in the design phase until tape-out – as well as to sweep, optimize, and perform statistical
studies – is essential for avoiding “over-design” using older CW and 2-tone techniques. CW techniques
do not account for high peak-to-average power (PAPR) variations of modern waveforms, nor memory
effects, or ripple and packaging-based mismatch across wide bandwidths.
RFPro Circuit integrates easy-to-use Virtual Test Benches (VTBs), as well data displays, for post-
processing. Such flexibility makes it ideal for a range of uses, whether performing architectural
exploration, block-level specification refinement or complete standard-compliant system tests.
Benefits
• Avoid overdesigning RFICs.
• Impairments of completed RFIC designs visible to system engineer.
• Low barrier for RF verification engineer to access standard-compliant modulated signals.
• Access to the latest standard of communications (5GNR, WLAN11be,…).
Wireless Standard Compliance
• Full radio functionality verification using • Links to Keysight test equipment.
Keysight’s extensive standard-compliant
• Stimuli creation through Signal Studio.
wireless libraries.
• Standard-compliant post-processing in
• Fast Circuit-Envelope (FCE) model export Keysight’s Vector Signal Analyzer (VSA)
to SystemVue. software.
• Pre-configured standard-compliant Virtual • Digital Pre-Distortion examples.
Test Benches (VTBs).
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Keysight RFIC Design Configurations
RFPro Circuit features links to system-level analysis—from architectural exploration up to full co-simulation
with data flow.
RFPro Circuit Simulation Elements for Virtuoso and Custom Compiler design flows
Advanced RF Circuit Simulation
Keysight RFPro Circuit simulation suite (includes a total of six 1-packs) W5600E
Keysight RFPro Circuit simulation 1-pack (a common expansion add-on) W5601E
Electromagnetic Simulation
Keysight RFPro (incl. Momentum and FEM Simulators) W3030E
Electro-Thermal Simulation
Keysight Electro-Thermal Simulator W3050E
Keysight Electro-Thermal Dynamic Model Generator W3051E
System-Circuit Verification Simulator and VTBs
Keysight System-Circuit Verification Simulator (incl. Ptolemy and VTB Engine) W3040E
Keysight VTB Engine W3048E
Keysight Radar VTB W3041E
Keysight 5G and Cellular VTB W3042E
Keysight WiFi and Connectivity VTB W3043E
Keysight WiMedia, WVAN and DTV VTB W3046E
Keysight Complete VTBs W3049E
Keysight enables innovators to push the boundaries of engineering by quickly solving
design, emulation, and test challenges to create the best product experiences. Start your
innovation journey at www.keysight.com.
This information is subject to change without notice. © Keysight Technologies, 2024,
Published in USA, April 12, 2024, 3124-1288.EN
