Latest release of Ansys HFSS 3D Components adds a new model delivery mechanism

Ansys’ Matt Commens explains the new function and recaps the key features of this collaboration tool, which enables designers of high frequency systems to use accurate 3D component models specifically developed for the HFSS simulation engine

The latest Ansys release (2021 R2) includes updates to HFSS 3D Components, a tool that enables what the company calls “electromagnetic simulation collaboration” between component vendors and system integrators through the use of 3D component models specifically developed for HFSS (Ansys’ 3D high frequency electromagnetic simulation software). Matt Commens, Principal Product Manager for HFSS at Ansys, has described the key features and new functions of HFSS 3D Components in the video interview he has recently given to EDACafe’s Sanjay Gangal; in addition to that, we have asked Matt a few more questions on some specific aspects.

Pursuing better simulation accuracy and easier collaboration

In the video interview, Commens started out by recalling the concepts that have led to the development of HFSS 3D Components. “The idea was pretty simple when we first thought about it,” he said. “Designs were getting much more complex as computers got faster, algorithms got better. It was just getting difficult to keep track of stuff: lots of parts, lots of material properties. And so the basic idea of 3D Components is: let’s take a part of the design, like a connector or chip capacitor, just encapsulate it into a design file that’s much easier to re-use and share. It really helps people collaborate. If someone else in my company wants to use some of my designs, I can send them this file. It’s all set up, ready to go for simulation.

“So, it is like if I send you a PDF: I can just attach it to an email and send it to you.” The ultimate goal, Commens explained, is improving the accuracy of EM simulation: “On the system integrator side you can design for much tighter margins, if you really are doing true EM simulation with the actual component geometry, right there in your actual device. And in the end, you can just be more confident that when you build that product and go to market, it’s going to work.” The underlying assumption, here, is that the models used by Ansys HFSS 3D Components provide better accuracy than S-parameters models: “You can get an S-parameter model, and you can use that in a system or circuit simulator,” Commens said. “It will do fine, but especially as we go to higher frequencies, higher data rates, components want to couple and interact in ways that we can’t anticipate. A component will behave differently depending on what substrate it might be on, whether it’s a Rogers substrate or FR-4, and depending on the thickness, pad sizes.”

Protecting component vendors’ IP through encryption of the inner structure

Commens then recalled another key concept behind HFSS 3D Components: the ability to simulate models within a system, while at the same time protecting the component vendors’ IP. That was achieved by encrypting the inner structure of the components. “There was this realization that companies were struggling to collaborate through simulation,” he said. “If you are a component vendor you’d like to be able to share [your component’s model] with somebody, but to do that you have got to put NDAs in place, and it can be pretty complicated and complex.
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So the other part that we implemented, about four years ago, was an encryption scheme, so that if I’m creating a component model and I want to share it with someone, I can basically decide: ‘I want the end user to see this part of the design,’ basically connection points, or some feature to understand how to orient the component.” Then the inner structure can be encrypted, as Commens explained from the vendor perspective: “Say I have a surface mount inductor and I have some IP in there: it could be material properties, it could be something about how I minimize parasitic inductance. I don’t want people to see that, because that’s really important for me: I can just hide that. So it was all encrypted.”

This way, according to Ansys, HFSS 3D Components can reconcile simulation-based collaboration and IP protection: “You could share that component model with someone else,” Commens said, “they could bring that component into their HFSS simulation, add it to their design, design with the component, and then be very confident that if they buy this component for their product, it’s going to work, because HFSS says it will. So it really opened up a lot of collaboration opportunities between component vendors and system integrators.”

At the same time, according to Commens, HFSS 3D Components reduces the integration burden on component vendors: “They spend a lot of their own engineering resources helping other companies integrate their components. [HFSS 3D Components] can alleviate some of that need, if they can send these models and allow system integrators to do the integration.”

Sourcing HFSS 3D models from component vendors or from specialist company Modelithics

Availability of a complete library of HFSS 3D models is essential to the usefulness of this model-based EM simulation solution. In fact, the market today offers a very wide range of component models specifically targeted at Ansys HFSS. As Commens explained, most of them come from either the components vendors, or from a specialized company.

“We have created a number of component models, very basic stuff, some basic antenna components, waveguide components, just to introduce the concept,” he said. “And then we started engaging with some vendors, to actually get actual vendor components inside the HFSS installation. One of the first companies to join us was Johanson Technology, but we have a number of other vendors who have components inside the installation. I apologize if I leave anybody out, but TDK, Molex comes to mind.”

An example quoted by Commens is Murata: “If you go to the Murata product website, you can find that they have HFSS 3D components available for download, so you can use them inside of HFSS.” He then went on to talk about the other major source of model libraries: “A company that maybe a lot of people aren’t aware of is Modelithics, who is an expert at creating high accuracy component models.

They’ve actually built a new business model out of helping companies create these encrypted HFSS 3D components for themselves if, for instance, they don’t have HFSS expertise in house.” According to Commens, Modelithics provides “very accurate component models that take into account substrate effects. If you go to the Modelithics website, you’ll see there’s an area where you can download HFSS 3D Components models, for a variety of vendors that they’ve partnered with.” He added that Modelithics has been delivering encrypted HFSS 3D Components since the fully encrypted technology was first delivered in Ansys 2018 release.

The Johanson Bluetooth antenna example

As we saw earlier, Johanson was one of the first component vendors to make models available for Ansys HFSS 3D Components (see also this article). This company is an example of how vendors use the solution; and Ansys is often using this application case to show how encryption protects vendors’ IP.

“[Johanson] has a range of chip antennas that typically are integrated on a printed circuit board, part of some electronic product,” Commens explained. “You can’t just drop an antenna on any arbitrary printed circuit board and think it’s going to work. You actually have to put a lot of thought into how that antenna is fed with a transmission line, how your ground plane reference looks like, what’s the impact on far-field patterns efficiency. It really takes some knowledge, which HFSS can bring you.

So Johanson saw real value here: if I can provide these encrypted components – because I do have IP inside these – and someone can drag & drop the model in, drive it in the HFSS simulation, he can go to market with our component as part of the product.” Commens then described the Johanson graphical example frequently used by Ansys to show the encryption capabilities of the solution: “We can do a cut plane view of electromagnetic field plots, and we sweep it through the antenna. We can’t show you the EM field inside the antenna, because you could figure out what the topology would look like then.

We can’t show you [the mesh] either, because that would also tell you how the thing was built.” But, despite the internal structure looking like a black box to the user, simulation works: “HFSS still behind the scenes decrypts the information and meshes it. It’s a fully coupled uncompromised HFSS simulation, still doing the same magic of adaptive meshing using the physics to guide the mesh algorithm, so no compromise,” he said.

Commens also cited another application example concerning a GPS antenna for a drone. “The GPS antenna vendor might have some details inside of the antenna structures, such as the feed for impedance match, that they don’t necessarily want to make freely available.” Still, accurate EM simulation is needed: “You really have to put a lot of thought: where do I put the antenna? do I still get a good impedance match? what do my far-field pattern look like?” The encrypted model of the GPS antenna reconciles both requirements, according to Commens: “The component vendor gets their component out there inside HFSS, which is really a premier simulation tool in the industry.”

New feature: the 3D Components Agent

The update to HFSS 3D Components included in the Ansys 2021 R2 release is a new model delivery mechanism called 3D Component Agents. “With 3D Component Agents” – Commens explained answering our additional questions – “vendors can make their 3D Components available to HFSS users via an easy to use drag-and-drop tool that takes a user to a vendor’s component website. Here the user can download and install a vendor’s 3D Components for use in a larger more complex system simulation. This allows the vendor to make HFSS users aware of the availability of HFSS 3D Components of their products right in the HFSS software. So, in effect it is another ‘go to market’ for a component vendor. The first two companies to participate in HFSS 3D Component Agents are Samtec and Rosenberger. Their component links are available in the Ansys 2021 R2 release.”

As for Modelithics, it will be joining the 3D Component Agents program in Ansys upcoming 2022 R1 release, scheduled for January of next year.

Partnering with component vendors

Commens concluded the video interview with some hints for component vendors that might be interested in partnering with Ansys to make their models available in HFSS 3D Components: “It’s actually quite easy,” he said. “A little bit of work on the component vendors side: they have to set up the web pages to provide the 3D components for download, but they’ve been doing this already for years. And then on our side, we integrate basically the information of what webpage to go to for what component into our installation, so when someone opens up HFSS, there’s your component, there’s your company name, and your components are ready to be brought into HFSS.”.

The market scenario

Answering some more questions complementing the video interview, Commens commented on HFSS 3D Components’ market penetration and competitive landscape. “We first introduced HFSS 3D Component solution in 2016, with 2018 being the first release with the fully encrypted capability,” he recalled. “It has been very well received by HFSS users as a collaboration tool. With this solution, component vendors can gain an advantage on their competition by allowing their customers – the system integrators – to design for tighter margins with the rigorous accuracy of full 3D electromagnetic simulation in HFSS. We are very pleased at how broadly this technology is being used in the industry and frequently speak with HFSS users who are both creating and sharing, as well as users who are consuming, HFSS 3D Components. We really feel like we are changing the high-tech electronics industry by allowing this tight degree of collaboration and design with encrypted Ansys HFSS 3D Components.” According to Ansys, the solution has a clear advantage over competitors. “This is a unique and patented technology available to all HFSS users,” Commens maintained. “HFSS users can both create and consume encrypted HFSS 3D Components. Other competitors are trying to deliver similar solutions but the uniqueness with HFSS is that its automatic adaptive meshing technology can truly deliver accurate and reliable solution for the end users utilizing the component. For other software tools that require manual meshing, trial and error approaches, it’s going to be challenging to determine if you have an accurate mesh and solution if you cannot observe the key, encrypted IP, of the component,” he observed.

More information about HFSS 3D Components, including several YouTube videos, can be accessed from the Ansys website. Resources include on-demand webinars.

Categories: EDACafe Editorial, Video Interview

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