Open Source FEM: Create AWS Palace models from GDSII layout files

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Palace is an open source FEM solver created by AWS. It can be scaled from single computer to large high performance simulation clusters and cloud-based computing.

To simplify the use of Palace for RFIC EM simulation, I created the gds2palace workflow. Input is GDSII layout file + technology stackup file, output are model files for the Palace FEM solver.

github repository of gds2palace:
https://github.com/VolkerMuehlhaus/gds2palace_ihp_sg13g2

Quick overview of gds2palace with examples:
https://github.com/VolkerMuehlhaus/gds2palace_ihp_sg13g2/blob/main/doc/IHP_Palace_Workflow_evaluation_October%202025.pdf

Documentation including User’s Guide:
https://github.com/VolkerMuehlhaus/gds2palace_ihp_sg13g2/tree/main/doc

AWS Palace FEM solver home page:
https://awslabs.github.io/palace/stable/

Open Source EM: New user friendly openEMS workflow for SG13G2

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At FSiC 2025, I presented a new user friendly openEMS workflow, with many improvements over using native openEMS, e.g. automatic meshing.

Conference slides
Github download

The files provided here enable openEMS EM simulation with layouts created for the IHP SG13G2 RFIC technology.

The difference to the workflow available at https://github.com/IHP-GmbH/IHP-Open-PDK/tree/main/ihp-sg13g2/libs.tech/openems is that we now have an additional layer of abstraction, to simplify the re-use of model code and enable this new functionality:

  • Automatic mesh generation
  • The model code can load files directly from GDSII
  • Ports (in-plane or via port) are defined in GDSII file on special layers
  • The technology stackup is read from an XML file
  • Merging of via arrays is supported
  • Touchstone SnP file output is supported

Overall, models in this new workflow looks much cleaner because most “routine” stuff is moved into external libraries.