On-Chip Inductor Synthesis

With ADS Momentum or Sonnet, you can EM simulate an RFIC on-chip inductor if the layout already exists, but how to design the best possible layout? How to find the best inductor layout for your requirements?

Mühlhaus RFIC Inductor Toolkit for ADS does that synthesis for you, and enables you to efficiently design “optimum” inductors.

 Your input:
Required inductance value and target frequency
Additional input:
Geometry limitations
Inductor Toolkit does the work for you: 
It automatically synthesizes and EM simulates the best possible layout for your requirements
You get:
DRC clean layout with best possible inductor, within the given geometry limits
EM accurate simulation results for the inductor
Equivalent circuit model and Spectre *.scs netlist file
Typically, Mühlhaus RFIC InductorToolkit is pre-configured for a certain process technology, but it can also be customized to support other technologies and customized inductor shapes. Customization is available through Mühlhaus consulting services. Customization by the end user is possible with the open-technology version (separate license required).

 

“Thanks much for providing this design kit. It is very helpful for my inductor designs.”
Zhe Li, Intel

“I am very impressed with what your RFIC inductor toolkit can do.”
Mury Thian, Queens University Belfast

“With Inductor Toolkit, the inductor with highest Q can be found, based on only a few parameters like inductance and shape. The resulting layout is then exported in GDSII format. This tool saves valuable time during layout and the entire circuit design.”
Prof. Nils Pohl, Fraunhofer FHR


 

Available layout options

Layout options include symmetric octagon inductors, symmetric square inductor and asymmetric square inductors. The symmetric inductors are support in single layer configuration as well as stacked metal configuration. Patterned ground shield for reduced substrate coupling and increased Q factor is also available.

 

DRC clean layout

All layouts are created DRC clean, with full details for via arrays etc. Technology specific layout options, such as via sizes and via spacing, are customized with a technology file. For EM simulation, the required via array simplification is handled automatically.

 

EM accurate results

EM simulations are automated, with pre-configured substrates and emSetup/emModel elements. The user does not need any EM expertise to use Inductor Toolkit for ADS. However, experienced users are able to customize the EM settings if they wish.