Micro-Apps 2013: Integrated Electro-Thermal Design of a SiGe PA

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#AWR Corporation

Integrated Electro-Thermal Design of a SiGe PA

Dr. Michael Heimlich and Mark Saffian, AWR Corporation

The integrated design flow that links simulation, layout, and electromagnetic (EM) analysis is the foundation for modern RF/microwave integrated circuit (IC) design. This presentation shows how the inclusion of thermal simulation in this flow is now possible with modern thermal solvers linked into RF/microwave design tools. A silicon germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) power amplifier (PA) design is used as an example, where such a flow is most beneficial due to numerous issues such as array sizing and thermal runaway. An electro-thermal flow is discussed relative to some overall metrics for design flows, and which incorporates the availability of an integrated thermal solver into the earliest parts of, and potentially throughout, the entire design flow. The result is a flow that potentially reduces iterations during the design process and boosts design performance by freeing up margin.

IMS2013 Micro-Apps Thursday 1250

Integrated Electro-Thermal Design of a SiGe PA

Dr. Michael Heimlich and Mark Saffian, AWR Corporation

IMS2013 Micro-Apps Thursday 1250

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