RF Passive Components Models for QUCS Studio (Part I)

 In the following entry of this blog, several models for passive componets suitable to build high frequency circuits in QUCS Studio are presented. It is delivered in a qucs project file that is accesible in the "Spice and Models" section of this site.
The models contained are the following:

1.- High frequency 0603 resistor
2.- High frequency 0402 resistor
3.- High frequency 0402, type wrap, resistor
4.- High frequency 0201 resistor
 

All of them, from VISHAY manufacturer and based in a technical note issued and downloadable in the following link: 

VISHAY Technical Note. Frequency Response of Thin Film Resistors

In the file it is include also a kit of inductor values, 0603 geometry, from COILCRAFT

COILCRAFT 0606 Inductor Modelling of Type CS elements 

 
This is an open activity. There will be another updates that will include more models for RF components from other manufacturers.

Microstrip coupled lines simulation anomaly in QUCS Studio

In this new entry of the blog, I will share the results of several simulations that prove there is some sort of bug in the equations of the microstrip coupled lines model in QUCS Studio, that produces wrong results in the simulations, once several parameters of the microstrip substrate are set in a determined manner.

This bug has been discovered by Margeride48. She brought to my attention several strange results simulating microstrip coupled lines. She wanted me to try to reproduce her results, just to confirm the wrong ones that she was getting from the simulator.

The following lines explain the anomaly in her words:

Focusing on coupled microstrips lines, have you tried thinner dielectrics ?
I'm simulating a 0.254mm I-Tera MT RF material.
S-parameter simulation values are going suddenly totally wrong when thickness is lower than 0.44 mm (eg 0.435mm).

Same for the Coupled Microstrip Line Calculator !
Impedances, losses, etc, become suddenly wrong.

On the opposite, the 'single' Microstrip Line Calculator leads to good results for 0.254mm thickness.

An EM simulation performed on the auto-generated PCB give good results with 0.254mm thickness for coupled microstrips.

We made a little investigation and I think that the best way of describing the findings is to consult the document linked to this entry that summarizes the results we got.

Microstrip Coupled lines simulation anomaly

OCTAVE Functions for Basic Signal Processing

 

In the following entry of this blog, several functions built for OCTAVE will be presented.

The aim of these functions is to serve as basic tools for digital signal processing.

Each function will be tested separately and each test file will be included as part of the information provided for each function.

These functions will be presented in order of complexity, just a way of organizing the information.

The functions will be the following:

• Bit_Seq_Gen.m: Function for getting a pseudo random bit sequence.

  • Test file: “Test_Bit_Seq_Gen.m”

• Unipolar2Polar.m: Function for transforming an unipolar bit sequence to a bipolar one.

  • Test file: “Test_Unipolar2Polar.m”.

• NRZ_Sequence2.m: Function for getting a NRZ signal from a pseudo random bit sequence.

  • Test file: “Test_NRZ_sequence2.m”.

• RZ_Sequence2.m: Function for getting a RZ signal from a pseudo random bit sequence.

  • Test file: “Test_RZ_sequence2.m”.

• SP_L_Sequence2: Function for getting a SP-L signal from a pseudo random bit sequence.

  • Test file: “Test_SP_L_Sequence2.m”.

• NRZ_Sequence.m: Function for getting a NRZ signal from a pseudo random bit sequence. In this case it is possible to define the transition time to high value and to low value, being both the same.

  • Test file: “Test_NRZ_Sequence.m”.

• RZ_Sequence.m: Function for getting a RZ signal from a pseudo random bit sequence. In this case it is possible to define the transition time to high value and to low value, being both the same.

  • Test file: “Test_RZ_Sequence.m”.

• RCF.m: Function for building the rise cosine filter response.

  • Test file: “Test_Rise_Cosine_filter.m”.

After those functions are presented, several examples of usage will be included as a short of annex.

 The document that presents these functions can be accessed in this link:

OCTAVE Basic functions for signal processing 

All the OCTAVE files that are presented in the document can be accessed in the following link:

OCTAVE Files for signal processing

 

Non linear Models for Microstrip Basic Elements working in QUCS Studio

 The present work that conforms this new entry of the blog is an on going task which eventually will not be necessary if the progress of QUCS Studio as a CAD tool continues to develop in the manner that it has being doing until now.
QUCS Studio is really alive and its progression is really awsome. Therefore, eventually, the work that is going to be presented in this new entry will be just a mere theoretical, maybe interesting and meaningless exercise.
One of the things that needs to be improved is the way that the microstrip basic models included in the transmission lines tab deal with the non linear analysis.

Transient analysis and harmonic balance do not work if the schematic that is under simulation contains microstrip line models. This is because this elements are designed to work only with linear analysis like the scattering parameters one.

The elements that are going to be introduced in the document linked in this blog entry try to mitigate this situation until a future version of the software make them useless.

A brief presentation of this work in made in the document that is available in the following link:

Non linear models for Microstrip Basic Elements

The models presented are compiled in this QUCS Studio project that can be downloaded in the following link:

Microstrip Non Linear Models for QUCS Studio

As it has been said in the begining of the entry, this is an on going process, and there is some of the elements that needs to be refined. Any improvement or progress in any of them will be updated. And, of course, any suggestion, correction or any form of cooperation will be really wellcome.

QUCS Studio project files for L-Band Oscillator & L-Band Amplifier tutorials

Some people have asked regarding the files corresponding to the L-Band oscillator design and for the L-Band amplifier design. These are two of the tutorials that you can find in two entries of this website. But, inexplicably, the project files where not available yet.

Let's fix that. Both project files will be now available in the following links:

 

L Band Amplifier design QUCS Studio project files 

 

 L Band Amplifier desing QUCS Studio project files

QUCS Studio vs ADS2016. Annex Simulation. Microstrip Coupled lines

As a Annex of a previous document in this entry you will find a document where it is included one more comparison between the results obtained when a simple coupled pair of microstrip lines are simulated using QUCS Studio and those obtained using ADS 2016.

In the previous document, that you can also find as one entry of this blog, you will find more examples of simulations comparing different microstrip structures very commonly used in high frequency RF circuits.

This time, the schema simulated is a pair of coupled microstrip lines matched in the isolated port and the coupled port with the characteristic impedance, in this case, 50 ohm, then terminated with the MELF component in ADS comparing it with the MOC from QUCS Studio, and, finally, evaluating only the microstrip coupled lines in both simulators.

The link where the Annex can be accesed is the following:

Annex. QUCS Studio vs ADS2016. Microstrip coupled lines

The link where the S2P files with the results obtained from ADS2016 can be obtained in this link:

ADS2016 scattering parameters for microstrip coupled lines

Infineon RF Transistors SPICE library converted for QUCS Studio

In the SPICE and Models section of this site, you will find the QUCS Studio compatible models for the RF bipolar transistor library published by INFINEON in their website. The transistors are included in a project and they are the following:

*     BFP181              BFP620F             BFP843              

*     BFP182W             BFP640              BFP843F             

*     BFP183              BFP640ESD           BFQ19S              

*     BFP183W             BFP640F             BFQ790              

*     BFP193              BFP640FESD          BFR106              

*     BFP193W             BFP650              BFR181W             

*     BFP196              BFP720              BFR182              

*     BFP196W             BFP720ESD           BFR182W             

*     BFP405              BFP720F             BFR193F             

*     BFP405F             BFP720FESD          BFR193W             

*     BFP410              BFP740              BFR340F             

*     BFP420              BFP740ESD           BFR35AP             

*     BFP420F             BFP740F             BFR380F             

*     BFP450              BFP740FESD          BFR740L3RH          

*     BFP460              BFP750              BFR840L3RHESD       

*     BFP520              BFP760              BFR843EL3           

*     BFP540              BFP780              BFR92P              

*     BFP540ESD           BFP840ESD           BFR93A              

*     BFP540FESD          BFP840FESD          BFR93AW             

*     BFP620              BFP842ESD

Along with the models test files are included in the project in order to get an idea of what are the shape of the DCDC curves of each transistor.

It is important to note that several models have convergence issues during the DCDC analysis, that are currently under investigation.

Optimizing in QUCS Studio. How to get a package model for a semiconductor device

In the following entry a brief description of how to proceed in order to get the lumped elements model for the package of a certain varicap diode will be presented.

This activity is a need very common in the design process of high frequency circuits. In many occasions the component that is necessary to use in the design is characterized, in terms of its RF performances, only partially, and the rest of the information is not available.

The component that will be characterized in this case is the varactor diode model BB914.

The process of getting a model for a semiconductor device is something far more complex than the quick steps reflected in this entry. But the objective of it is to show that a really more complex what is the characterization of a real component can be carried out using QUCS Studio.

All the files used to make this entry are available in the following link:

QUCS Studio Getting a model for BB914 package

A file containing a summary of the process carried out is available in this link:

How to get the Lumped Elements Model of the Package for BB914 varicap diode

QUCS Studio vs ADS 2016. Performances Comparison

In the following entry of the blog, the comparison between the performance of QUCS Studio, as RF and microwave simulation tool, and ADS 2016 from Keysight, is shown.

It is known, worldwide, that ADS has been the corner stone of the simulation CAD tools, for more than thirty years. It has been, and it will be in the near future, the mirror where all the competitors want of will want to be reflected in.

In order to get an accurate idea of what are the capabilities of QUCS Studio in terms of simulating RF and microwave circuits, the best comparison will be the one that compares the suite with the best ECAD tool available in the market.

Since the most relevant design area that ADS has historically been focused in is the RF and microwave circuits, this will be the type of circuits that will be compared to the equivalent simulated in QUCS Studio.

The document is arranged as a list of microstrip circuit examples, very commonly used in many of the high frequency designs that are analyzed using both CAD tools.

For each example, the main relevant performances are compared. Transmission parameter, reflection parameter mainly.

A brief explanation of the activity is summarized in the following document:  

QUCS Studio vs ADS 2016 performance comparison

All the files used in the making of this document are included in the following link, arranged as a QUCS Studio project.

ADS_Comparison_prj

The Angelov MESFET Model built for QUCS Studio

In the present entry, an Angelov MESFET model built for the QUCS Studio CAD tool will be presented.

This model is based in the VERILOG-A built in capabilities that offers QUCS Studio.

The technical background that is necessary to understand the equations and expressions that model the behavior of MESFET transistors can be found, in part, in the following paper:

An Angelov Large Signal Model and its Parameter Extraction Strategy for GaAs HEMT

by

Yan Wang Wenyuan Zhang

Tsinghua University

The paper is available in this link:

http://www.mos-ak.org/beijing_2018/presentations/Yan_Wang_MOS-AK_Beijing_2018.pdf

The file containing the brief explanation about the process of modelling can be found in this link:

The Angelov MESFET Model built for QUCS Studio

The files that are described in the previous document can be accessed in this link:

The Angelov Model files for QUCS Studio