Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1.
Customize Toolbar Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19 Customize Toolbar Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20 Customizing the Tools Menu: External Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20 Working with the Shortcut Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Shortcut Menu in the Toolbars Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22 Shortcut Menu in the 3D Modeler Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23 Shortcut Menus in the Project Manager Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
Keyboard Shortcuts for HFSS General Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24 Custom Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-25 Working with the Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27 Exiting the Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27 Working with the Project Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
Working with the Project Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28 Setting the Project Tree to Expand Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28 Viewing HFSS Design Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-29 Viewing the Design List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-29 Viewing Material Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-30
Working with the 3D Modeler Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-36 Working with the History Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-37
Expand or Collapse Groupings in the History Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-38 History tree Grouping by Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-38 Select Objects in the History Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-39 Shortcut Menus in the History Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-39 View Item Properties in the History Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40 View and Edit Commands on History Tree Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-41 Controlling the View of Objects in the History Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-42 Upgrade Version in History Tree Shortcut Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-42
Running HFSS from a command line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-45 Running from a Windows Remote Terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51 Windows HPC Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-52 Getting Started Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-53
Getting Started Guide: A Waveguide Tee Junction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-53 Getting Started Guide: Optimizing A Waveguide Tee Junction . . . . . . . 1-54 Getting Started Guide: A Dielectric Resonator Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-55 Getting Started Guide: A 20 GHz Waveguide Combiner . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-55 Getting Started Guide: Floquet Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-55 Getting Started Guide: RCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-56 Getting Started Guide: Coax Tee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-56 Getting Started Guide: A Coax Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-57 Getting Started Guide: A Bandpass Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-57 Getting Started Guide: A UHF Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-58 Getting Started Guide: A Patch Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-58 Getting Started Guide:Silicon Spiral Inductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-59 Application Specific Modeling Guide: Antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-60 Application Specific Modeling Guide: Spiral Inductors on Silicon Substrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-60
HFSS-IE Getting Started Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-62 HFSS Transient Getting Started Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-64 Example Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-66
Other Examples with Brief Descriptions in the Online Help . . . . . . . . . . 1-67 Tee and OptimTee Waveguide Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-68 Dielectric Resonator Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-70 Waveguide Combiner Example Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-71 cavity.hfss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-72 Optiguide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-74 Package Example Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-76 Antennas on Mast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-77 Parametric Sweep of a Coax Bend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-78 Coaxial Resonator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-79 Connector - Terminal Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-81 Corporate Feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-83 Helical Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-84 Package Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-86 Small Array of Planar Flared Dipole Antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-88 Pyramidal Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-89 Ring Hybrid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-91 Tune a Coax Fed Patch Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-94
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2.
Getting Help
Conventions Used in the Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 Searching in Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 Using WebUpdate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5 Obtaining Information About the Software and Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6 Emailing a Help Page Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
3.
Deleting Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14 Undoing Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15 Redoing Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16 Updating Design Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17 Managing Projects and Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
Copy and Paste a Project or Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18 Rename a Project or Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18 Delete a Project or Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
Exporting 3D Model Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22 Exporting Graphics Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24 Exporting Data Table Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Importing 3D Model Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51 Importing DXF and DWG Format Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53 Importing Solution Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55 Importing Data Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-56 Importing HFSS Plot Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-57 Importing Plot Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-57
Inserting a Documentation File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59 Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-60 Previewing the Printout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-61 Changing the Page Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-62 Saving Project Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-63 Setting Options in HFSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-64
Setting General Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-64
General Options: Project Options Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-64 General Options: Default Units Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-65 General Options: Analysis Options Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-65 General Options: RSM Service Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-67 General Options: WebUpdate Options Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-67 General Options: Miscellaneous Options Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-67
Report2D Options: Marker tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-77 Report2D Options: Marker Table Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-78 Report2D Options: General Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-78 Report2D Options: Table Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-79
Assigning Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-100 Choosing a Variable to Optimize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-100 Including a Variable in a Sensitivity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-101 Choosing a Variable to Tune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-102 Including a Variable in a Statistical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-102 Exporting Variables for Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-103
4.
5.
HFSS Transient
Adding a Solution Setup for Transient Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 Transient Network Analysis Input Signal Tab: a Time Profile . . . . . . . . . 5-5 Duration Tab for Transient Solution Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7 Saved Fields Tab for Transient Solution Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Contents - 6
Active or Passive Excitations in HFSS Transient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9 Transient Solution Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11 Selecting the Report Type in HFSS Transient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13 Procedure for Viewing Transient Radiated Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
6.
HFSS-IE
Inserting an HFSS-IE Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 Assigning HFSS-IE Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4 Assigning Excitations in HFSS-IE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5 Adding a Solution Setup to an HFSS-IE Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
7.
Drawing a Model
Setting Units of Measurement for the Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3 Drawing Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
Drawing a Straight Line Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5 Drawing a Three-Point Arc Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6 Drawing a Center-Point Arc Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7 Drawing a Spline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8 Drawing a Polyline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9 Assigning a Cross Section and Dimensions to a Polyline . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11 Inserting Line Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13 Drawing an Equation-Based Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14 Drawing a Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15 Drawing an Ellipse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15 Drawing a Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-17 Drawing a Regular Polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-17 Drawing an Equation-Based Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18 Drawing a Sphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19 Drawing a Cylinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20 Drawing a Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-21 Drawing a Regular Polyhedron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-22 Drawing a Cone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-22 Drawing a Torus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23 Drawing a Helix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-24 Drawing a Segmented Helix with Polygon Cross-Section Using a User Defined Primitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-25 Drawing a Segmented Helix with Rectangular Cross-Section Using a User Defined Primitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-26 Drawing a Spiral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-27 Drawing a Spiral using User Defined Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-29
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Drawing a Bondwire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-30 Drawing a Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-31 Drawing a Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-31 Creating Segmented Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-32
Segmented Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-32
Design Settings for HFSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-43 Design Settings for HFSS-IE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-45 Setting the Temperature of Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-46 Heal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
Healing Non-Manifold Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-48 Setting the Healing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-51 Stitch Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-52 Align Selected Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-53 Remove Selected Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-53 Remove Selected Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-53
Copying and Pasting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-61 Import a Model from the Clipboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-62 Copy Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-62 Deleting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-63
Deleting Start Points and Endpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-63
Cutting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-64 Moving Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-64 Rotating Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-64 Changing the Orientation of an Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-65 Mirroring Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-65 Offsetting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-67 Duplicating Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-67
Duplicating Objects Along a Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-68 Duplicating Objects Around an Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-68 Duplicating and Mirroring Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-69
Wrap Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-73 Covering Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-74 Covering Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-75 Uncovering Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-75 Detaching Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-75 Detaching Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-75 Creating a Cross-Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-76 Connecting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-76 Moving Faces or Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-76
Moving Faces Along the Normal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-77 Moving Faces Along a Vector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-78 Moving Edges Along Normal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-79
Uniting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-79 Subtracting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-80 Creating Objects from Intersections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-81 Creating an Object from a Face . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-82 Creating an Object from an Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-83 Splitting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-83 Separating Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-85 Converting Polyline Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-85 Rounding the Edge of Objects (Fillet Command) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-86 Flattening the Edge of Objects (Chamfer Command) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-87 Imprinting an Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-87 Imprint Projection commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-89
Contents - 9
Selecting Vertices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-106 Selecting Multi (a Mode for Selecting Objects, Faces, Vertices or Edges) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-107
Controlling the Selection in Multi Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-107
Clearing a Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-108 Selecting the Face, Edge, Vertex, or Object Behind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-108 Selecting Objects by Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-109
Modifying Coordinate Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-130 Expressing Cartesian, Cylindrical, or Spherical Coordinates . . . . . . . . . 7-131 Deleting Coordinate Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-132
8.
Assigning Boundaries
Zoom to Selected Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2 Setting Default Boundary/Excitation Base Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3
Assigning Perfect E Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5 Assigning Perfect H Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6 Assigning Impedance Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-7 Assigning Radiation Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8 Assigning PML Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-11
Creating PMLs Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-11 Creating PML Boundaries Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-13 Guidelines for Assigning PML Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-15 Modifying PML Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-15
Assigning Finite Conductivity Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-17 Assigning Finite Conductivity Boundaries in HFSS-IE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-19 Assigning Symmetry Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-21 Assigning Master Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-22 Assigning Slave Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-24 Assigning Lumped RLC Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-26
Vector Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-27
Assigning Layered Impedance Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-31 Assigning Aperture Boundaries in HFSS-IE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-33
Contents - 11
Assigning Infinite Ground Plane Boundaries in HFSS-IE . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-34 Assigning Layered Impedance Boundaries in HFSS-IE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-35 Designating Infinite Ground Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-37 Modifying Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-38 Deleting Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-39 Reassigning Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-40 Reprioritizing Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-41 Global Material Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-42 Duplicating Boundaries and Excitations with Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-43 Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-44
Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations in the Active View Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-44 Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations in Every View Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-45
Reviewing Boundaries and Excitations in the Solver View . . . . . . . . . . . 8-46 Setting Default Values for Boundaries and Excitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-47
9.
Assigning Excitations
Zoom to Selected Excitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Manually Assigning Terminals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12 Manually Assigning a Wave Port for Terminal Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-13
Incident Cylindrical Wave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35 Incident Gaussian Beam Wave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36 Incident Linear Antenna Wave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38 Far Field Wave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-39
Setup Link for Far Field or Near Field Wave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41 External Data File for Far Field Wave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42 Translation of Source Relative to Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Assigning Magnetic Bias Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51 Setup Link Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53 Modifying Excitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54 Deleting Excitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-55 Reassigning Excitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56 Duplicating Excitations with Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57 Showing and Hiding Excitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-58 Setting the Impedance Multiplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-59 Renormalizing S-Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60 De-embedding S-Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
10.
Assigning Materials
Solving Inside or on the Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4 Assigning DC Thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5 Searching for Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-7
Searching by Material Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-7 Searching by Material Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-7
Defining Variable Material Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14 Defining Frequency-Dependent Material Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Assigning Frequency Dependent Material: Piecewise Linear Input . . . . . 10-17
Contents - 13
Assigning Frequency Dependent Material: Debye Model Input . . . . . . . . 10-18 Assigning Frequency Dependent Material: Multipole Debye Model Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-19 Assigning Frequency Dependent Material: Djordjevic-Sarkar Model Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22 Assigning Frequency Dependent Material: Enter Frequency Dependent Data Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Specifying Thermal Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25 Defining Material Properties as Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26 Defining Functional Material Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Assigning Materials from the Object Properties Window . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27 Viewing and Modifying Material Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28 Validating Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30 Copying Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31 Removing Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-32 Exporting Materials to a Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33 Sorting Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34 Filtering Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35 Working with Material Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Working with Ansofts System Material Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36 Working with User Material Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36 Editing Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36 Configuring Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
11.
Hiding Objects from View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-9 Showing Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-10 Active View Visibility Dialogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12 Rendering Objects as Wireframes or Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-13
Setting the Default View Rendering Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-13
Setting the Curved Surface Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-14 Using Clip Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-16
Contents - 14
Modifying the Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-22 Setting the Projection View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-23 Setting the Background Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-24 Modifying the Coordinate System Axes View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-25
Showing or Hiding the Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-25 Show the Axes for Selected Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-25 Enlarging or Shrinking the Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-25 Showing or Hiding the Triad Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-25
12.
13.
Solving for Ports Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8 Setting the Minimum Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-9 Setting the Number of Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-10 Setting Adaptive Analysis Parameters for HFSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-11
Setting the Maximum Number of Passes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-11 Setting the Maximum Delta S Per Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-12 Setting the Maximum Delta Energy Per Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-12 Setting the Maximum Delta Frequency Per Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13
Specifying Convergence on Real Frequency Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13
Specifying Expressions for Adaptive Convergence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13 Specifying a Source for the Initial Mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-16
Clearing Linked Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-19
Setting Lambda Refinement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-19 Setting Lambda Refinement for HFSS-IE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-20 Setting the Percent Maximum Refinement Per Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-20 Setting the Maximum Refinement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-21 Setting the Minimum Number of Passes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-21 Setting the Minimum Number of Converged Passes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-21 Setting Matrix Convergence Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-22 Setting the Order of Basis Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-23 Enable Iterative Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-24 Enable Use of Solver Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-24 Balancing Resources for Solver Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-25 Use Radiation Boundary on Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-26 Port Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-26 Enable Thermal Feedback from ANSYS Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-27 Produce Derivatives for Selected Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-29
Change the Value of an Existing Frequency Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-40 Deleting Frequency Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-41 Inserting Frequency Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-41 Choosing Frequencies for Full-Wave SPICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-42 Guidelines for Calculating Frequencies for Full-Wave SPICE . . . . . 13-43 Requirements for Full-Wave SPICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-44
Disabling or Enabling a Frequency Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-45 Disabling and Enabling an Analysis Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-46 Specifying the Number of Processors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-47 Specifying the Desired RAM Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-48 Specifying the Hard Memory Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-49
14.
Running Simulations
Solving a Single Setup or Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-3 Running More Than One Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-3 Monitoring Queued Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-6 Remote Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-7
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-10
Monitoring the Solution Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-18 High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-20
Scheduler Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-20 What a Scheduler Does . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-21 Installation of Ansoft Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-22
Firewall Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-23 Installation Directory Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-23
Ansoft Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-23 Integration with Microsoft Windows HPC Scheduler . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-24
Windows HPC Job Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-25 Windows HPC Task Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-26 Windows HPC Job Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-28 Selecting Computation Resource Units (Job Unit Type) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-29 How to Select the Windows HPC Job Unit Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-30 Windows HPC Job Credentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-30
Specifying the Number of Compute Resource Units for HPC Jobs . . . . . 14-37
Integration with PBS (Portable Batch System) Professional from Altair Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-50
qsub Arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-52 Monitoring Ansoft PBS Batch Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-53 Example PBS qsub Command Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-53
Command Line Enhancements for Ansoft Desktop Products . . . . . . . . 14-63 Integrating Ansoft Tools with Third Party Schedulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-65
Build Information for Scheduler Proxy Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-65 Implementation Details for Custom Scheduler Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-66 IsProductLaunchedInYourEnvironment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-66 GetTempDirectory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-67 GetMachineListAvailableForDistribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-67 LaunchProcess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-68 GetUseRsmForEngineLaunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-69 GetThisJobID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-70 GetSchedulerDisplayName . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-70
Changing a Solution Priority for System Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-77 Aborting an Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-78 Re-solving after Modifying a Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-79 Re-Solving after ANSYS Thermal Link Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-80
15.
Optimetrics
Parametric Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-3 Setting Up a Parametric Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-4
Adding a Variable Sweep Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-4
Specifying Variable Values for a Sweep Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-6 Synchronizing Variable Sweep Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-6
Modifying a Variable Sweep Definition Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-7 Overriding a Variable's Current Value in a Parametric Setup . . . . . . . . 15-8 Specifying a Solution Setup for a Parametric Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-8
Specifying the Solution Quantity to Evaluate for Parametric Analysis . . . 15-9 Setup Calculations for Optimetrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-9 Specifying a Solution Quantity's Calculation Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-11
Viewing Results for Parametric Solution Quantities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-11 Using Distributed Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-12 Adding a Parametric Sweep from a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-13
Optimization Setup for the SNLP Optimizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-27 Optimization Setup for the SMINLP Optimizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-28 Optimization Setup for the Genetic Algorithm Optimizer . . . . . . . . . . . 15-29 Setting the Maximum Iterations for an Optimization Analysis . . . . . . . 15-30 Cost Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-31
Acceptable Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-32 Cost Function Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-32 Adding a Cost Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-32 Adding/Editing a Cost Function Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-34 Specifying a Solution Quantity for a Cost Function Goal . . . . . . . . . 15-35 Setting the Calculation Range of a Cost Function Goal . . . . . . . . . . . 15-35 Setting a Goal Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-36 Specifying a Single Goal Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-36 Specifying an Expression as a Goal Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-37 Specifying a Variable-Dependent Goal Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-37 Goal Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-37
Modifying the Starting Variable Value for Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . 15-39 Setting the Min. and Max. Variable Values for Optimization . . . . . . . . 15-39
Overriding the Min. and Max. Variable Values for a Single Optimization Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-40 Changing the Min. and Max. Variable Values for Every Optimization Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-40
Solving a Parametric Setup Before an Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-43 Solving a Parametric Setup During an Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-44 Automatically Updating a Variable's Value After Optimization . . . . . . 15-44 Changing the Cost Function Norm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-44
Explanation of L1, L2 and Max norms in Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-45 Example of a More Complex Cost Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-47
Setting the Initial Displacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-57 Solving a Parametric Setup Before a Sensitivity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . 15-57 Solving a Parametric Setup During a Sensitivity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . 15-58
Modifying the Starting Variable Value for Statistical Analysis . . . . . . 15-67 Solving a Parametric Setup During a Statistical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . 15-68
Copying Meshes in Optimetrics Sweeps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-77 Adding an Expression in the Output Variables Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-78 Excluding a Variable from an Optimetrics Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-79 Modifying the Value of a Fixed Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-80 Linear Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-81
Setting a Linear Constraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-81 Modifying a Linear Constraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-82 Deleting a Linear Constraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-82
Contents - 21
Running an Optimetrics Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-84 Viewing Analysis Results for Optimetrics Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-85
Viewing Solution Data for an Optimetrics Design Variation . . . . . . . . 15-85 Viewing an Optimetrics Solution's Profile Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-86 Viewing Results for Parametric Solution Quantities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-86
Plotting Solution Quantity Results vs. a Swept Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-87
16.
Viewing Mesh Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17 Viewing Eigenmode Solution Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-18 Deleting Solution Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-19 Deleting Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-19
Selecting the Report Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-50 Selecting the Display Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-51
Creating 2D Rectangular Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-52 Creating 2D Rectangular Stacked Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-54 Creating 3D Rectangular Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-56 Creating Rectangular Contour Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-57 Creating 2D Polar Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-58 Reviewing 2D Polar Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-60 Creating 3D Polar Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-60 Creating Smith Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-61 Creating Smith Contour Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-62 Creating Data Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-64 Creating Radiation Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-66 Delta Markers in 2D Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-67
Selecting a Function for a Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-88 Selecting Solution Quantities to Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-92 Selecting a Field Quantity to Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-94 Selecting a Far-Field Quantity to Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-95 Plotting Vertical Cross-Sections of Far Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-100 Plotting Horizontal Cross-Sections of Far Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-100 Selecting a Near-Field Quantity to Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-101 Selecting an Emission Test Quantity to Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-102 Plotting Imported Solution Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-103 Setting a Range Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-103
Eye Measurement Range Function Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-104
Derivative Tuning for Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-113 Port Field Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-115 Plotting Field Overlays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-117
Overlaying 3D Polar Plots on Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-119 Plotting Derived Field Quantities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-120 Creating Scalar Field Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-121
Modifying SAR Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-121
Creating Vector Field Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-122 Modifying Field Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-122 Setting Field Plot Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-123
Modifying Field Plot Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-125 Setting the Color Key Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-126 Moving the Color Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-127 Modifying the Field Plot Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-127 Modifying Vector Field Plot Arrows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-129 Setting the Mesh Visibility on Field Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-130 Modifying Scalar Field Plot Isovalues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-130 Mapping Scalar Field Plot Transparency to Field Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-131 Modifying Markers on Point Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-131
Contents - 24
Setting a Plot's Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-133 Saving a Field Overlay Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-133 Opening a Field Overlay Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-134 Deleting a Field Overlay Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-134 Setting Field Plot Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-134
General Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-148 Steps for Calculating the Complex Vector Electric Field . . . . . . . . . . . 16-151 Scalar Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-152
Vec? Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-152 1/x (Inverse) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-153 Pow Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-153 (Square Root) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-153 Trig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-154 d/d? (Partial Derivative) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-154 (Integral) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-154 Min Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-155 Max Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-156 (Gradient) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-156 Ln Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-157 Log Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-157
Cross Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-160 Divg Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-160 Curl Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-160 Tangent Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-161 Normal Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-161 Unit Vec Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-162
Calculating Derived Field Quantities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-167 Named Expression Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-168 Exiting the Fields Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-170
17.
Technical Notes
The Finite Element Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-2
Representation of a Field Quantity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-2 Rectilinear Elements and Curvilinear Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-2 Basis Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-3 Size of Mesh Vs. Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-4
Field Overlay Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-31 Field Quantities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-32 Specifying the Phase Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-33 Peak Versus RMS Phasors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-33 Calculating the SAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-34
Passivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-55
Max U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-70 Peak Directivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-71 Peak Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-71 Peak Realized Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-72 Radiated Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-72 Accepted Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-73 Incident Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-74 Radiation Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-74 Decay Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-75
Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-96
Perfect E Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-96 Impedance Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-96
Units of Impedance Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-97
Screening Impedance Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-106 Lumped RLC Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-107 Layered Impedance Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-107
Impedance Calculation for Layered Impedance Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-108 Surface Roughness Calculation for Impedance Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-108
Infinite Ground Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-109 Frequency-Dependent Boundaries and Excitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-109 Implicit Boundary Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-110
Excitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-115
Wave Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-115
Mode Polarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-116 Mode Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-116 Analytic Port Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-117
Voltage Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-131 Current Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-131 Magnetic Bias Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-132
Uniform Applied Bias Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-132 Non-uniform Applied Bias Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-133
Deembedding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-133
Relative Permittivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-141 Bulk Conductivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-141 Dielectric Loss Tangent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-142 Magnetic Loss Tangent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-142 Ferrite Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-142
Magnetic Saturation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-142 Lande G Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-143 Delta H . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-143
18.
Scripting
Recording a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-1 Stopping Script Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-2 Running a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-2 Pausing and Resuming a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-2 Stopping a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-3
19.
20.
Glossaries
Contents - 31
Contents - 32
1
Getting Started with HFSS
HFSS is an interactive software package for calculating the electromagnetic behavior of a structure. The software includes post-processing commands for analyzing this behavior in detail. Using HFSS, you can compute:
Basic electromagnetic field quantities and, for open boundary problems, radiated near and far fields. Characteristic port impedances and propagation constants. Generalized S-parameters and S-parameters renormalized to specific port impedances. The eigenmodes, or resonances, of a structure.
You are expected to draw the structure, specify material characteristics for each object, and identify ports and special surface characteristics. HFSS then generates the necessary field solutions and associated port characteristics and S-parameters. Note If you are using the Eigenmode Solution solver, you do not need to specify sources for the problem. HFSS calculates the resonances for the model based on the geometry, materials, and boundaries.
As you set up the problem, HFSS allows you to specify whether to solve the problem at one specific frequency or at several frequencies within a range.
System Requirements
HFSS supports the following operating systems:
Windows Linux
For details regarding which revisions of each of these operating systems are supported; as well as, memory and disk requirements and known issues at the time of shipping, consult the read me file shipped with this release of the software by clicking the link below: . On all systems when you run HFSS for the first time (that is, with no project directory specified in the registry), or if the project directory or the temp directory does not exist, HFSS displays a dialog that asks you to set the project and temp directories. For the temp directory, there is a comment asking you to ensure that adequate disk space is available. HFSS 13 requires at least FLEXlm for Ansoft v10.8.5 license server. Note If you attempt to run HFSS and get a message reporting a corrupted license file, please contact Ansoft. HFSS displays a warning message if the license file expires within 15 days. All operating systems must have 32-bit OpenGL libraries installed regardless of whether the OS is 32-bit or 64-bit.
Note Note
Windows
Supported Platforms
Windows XP Professional (32-bit and 64-bit) Windows Server 2003 (32-bit and 64-bit) Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (32-bit and 64-bit)
Users with the appropriate Windows OS can take advantage of potentially all the installed RAM up to a limit of 3 GB on 32-bit PCs. Doing so also requires setting up the appropriate OS boot.ini switch (/3GB) to tell the OS that 3 GB is to be used for application space and only one GB for the OS kernel and related overhead. Note If you are using the NVIDIA Quadro2 MXR/EX video card on Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you should also download Version 40.41 or greater video driver, available for download at http://www.nvidia.com.
64-bit System Requirements Minimum System Requirements: Supported processors: AMD Athlon 64, AMD Opteron, Intel Xeon with Intel EM64T support, Intel Pentium 4 with Intel EM64T support Hard Drive Space (for HFSS software): 200 MB RAM: 2 MB Recommended Minimum Configuration (for Optimal Performance) Supported processors: AMD Athlon 64, AMD Opteron, Intel Xeon with Intel EM64T support, Intel Pentium 4 with Intel EM64T support Video card: 128-bit SVGA or PCI Express video card Hard Drive Space (for HFSS software and temporary files): 700 MB RAM: 8 GB
If you are running the Windows Vista 32-bit Operating System, you can take advantage of potentially all the installed RAM up to a limit of 3GB on 32-bit machines. On Windows Vista, the /3gb switch has been replaced with an option called increaseuserva. You must edit its value using the bcdedit utility. If you type bcdedit from a Windows command prompt, you will see the current values for the Boot Manager and Boot Loader. If you do not have increaseuserva set, then you will not see this line in the boot loader output. To set increaseuserva to 3GB: 1. 2. Open a Command Prompt window. Type bcdedit /set increaseuserva 3072 in the Command Prompt window and press Enter. Open a Command Prompt window. Type bcdedit /deletevalue increaseuserva in the Command Prompt window and press
To delete the increaseuserva setting, which will revert the OS back to 2GB: 1. 2.
Enter. Note You must edit this value as an administrator. If you have User Access Control enabled, then you must start the command prompt in elevated mode. To do this, find the Command Prompt in the Windows Start menu, right-click on it, and choose Run as Administrator.
Linux
If you attempt to open an HFSS v9 project in Linux, you receive an error message that the project must first be converted to HFSS v11. This must be done using the -BatchSave command on a nonLinux system running HFSS v11. See the discussion here.
Supported Platforms
Red Hat Enterprise Linux v4 and v5 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server v10 and v11.
32-bit System Requirements Minimum System Requirements: Processor: All fully compatible 686 (or later) instruction set processors, 500 MHz Hard Drive Space (for HFSS software): 200 MB RAM: 512 MB Recommended Minimum Configuration (for Optimal Performance): Processor: All fully compatible 786 (or later) instruction set processors, 2 GHz Hard Drive Space (for HFSS software and temporary files): 700 MB RAM: 4 GB 64-bit System Requirements Minimum System Requirements: Supported processors: AMD Athlon 64, AMD Opteron, Intel Xeon with Intel EM64T support, Intel Pentium 4 with Intel EM64T support Hard Drive Space (for HFSS software): 200 MB RAM: 2 MB Recommended Minimum Configuration (for Optimal Performance): Supported processors: AMD Athlon 64, AMD Opteron, Intel Xeon with Intel EM64T support, Intel Pentium 4 with Intel EM64T support Video card: 128-bit SVGA or PCI Express video card Hard Drive Space (for HFSS software and temporary files): 700 MB RAM: 8 GB
The MainWin Control Panel appears. 2. 3. 4. 5. Double-click on the Printers icon to start the MainWin Printers panel. Then double-click on the Add New Printer icon. This starts the Add Printer Wizard. Select the Let the wizard search for printers radio button and click Next. In the Identify your Unix Printer dialog do one of the following:
If your printer is listed, select it. If your printer is not listed, you will need to cancel and get someone with root permission to setup a printer queue on your machine (and then you will need to come back and run this wizard later). On Solaris you setup a new print queue by running "lpadmin" (as root). On Red Hat Linux, you can run 'System Settings/Printing' to launch printconf-gui (as root).
Note 6. 7. 8. 9.
Click Next. The Print Command dialog appears. Change the Print Command only if instructed to do so by your user administrator. Click Next. The Choose PPD File dialog appears. Select your printer manufacturer and model from the list or use the Choose File button to browse to a PPD file provided by your printer manufacturer. Click Next. The Printer Name dialog appears.
10. Enter a Name to identify the printer. Click Next. 11. Choose whether this printer should be the default and click Next. 12. Choose whether you would like to print a test page and click Next. 13. In the Finish Adding New Printer dialog, verify the printer setup information. If the information is incorrect, use the Back button to return to the appropriate dialog and correct the entry. If the information is correct, click Finish to complete the setup of your printer. With a print queue setup, and the printer added, you should then see the printer when running the software.
Click for Introduction to HFSS: Fundamental Principles, Concepts and Use. . Click for help on HFSS Process Flow topics:
Use F1 on any open dialog to open the Online Help for that dialog. Click the "?" icon on the toolbar, and then click on any menu command, icon, or window for help on that selection. With the Online Help Contents tab selected, navigate the help topic hierarchy. With the Online Help Index tab selected, search the help index. With the Online Help Search tab selected, search the full help text. With Online Help Favorites tab selected, create a custom list of favorite topics.
Use F1 on any open dialog to open the Online Help for that dialog. Click the "?" icon on the toolbar, and then click on any menu command, icon, or window for help on that selection. With the Online Help Contents tab selected, navigate the help topic hierarchy. With the Online Help Index tab selected, search the help index. With the Online Help Search tab selected, search the full help text. With Online Help Favorites tab selected, create a custom list of favorite topics.
Drawing Bondwires Keyboard shortcuts for the 3D Modeler Window. Modifying the Model View
Use F1 on any open dialog to open the Online Help for that dialog. Click the "?" icon on the toolbar, and then click on any menu command, icon, or window for help on that selection. With the Online Help Contents tab selected, navigate the help topic hierarchy. With the Online Help Index tab selected, search the help index. With the Online Help Search tab selected, search the full help text. With Online Help Favorites tab selected, create a custom list of favorite topics.
Use F1 on any open dialog to open the Online Help for that dialog. Click the "?" icon on the toolbar, and then click on any menu command, icon, or window for help on that selection. With the Online Help Contents tab selected, navigate the help topic hierarchy. With the Online Help Index tab selected, search the help index. With the Online Help Search tab selected, search the full help text. With Online Help Favorites tab selected, create a custom list of favorite topics.
Use F1 on any open dialog to open the Online Help for that dialog. Click the "?" icon on the toolbar, and then click on any menu command, icon, or window for help on that selection. With the Online Help Contents tab selected, navigate the help topic hierarchy. With the Online Help Index tab selected, search the help index. With the Online Help Search tab selected, search the full help text. With Online Help Favorites tab selected, create a custom list of favorite topics.
Detecting and Addressing Model Problems Handling Complicated Models to Improve Meshing Specify the initial mesh settings For detailed information on these and many other topics:
Use F1 on any open dialog to open the Online Help for that dialog. Click the "?" icon on the toolbar, and then click on any menu command, icon, or window for help on that selection. With the Online Help Contents tab selected, navigate the help topic hierarchy. With the Online Help Index tab selected, search the help index. With the Online Help Search tab selected, search the full help text. With Online Help Favorites tab selected, create a custom list of favorite topics.
Use F1 on any open dialog to open the Online Help for that dialog. Click the "?" icon on the toolbar, and then click on any menu command, icon, or window for help on that selection. With the Online Help Contents tab selected, navigate the help topic hierarchy. With the Online Help Index tab selected, search the help index. With the Online Help Search tab selected, search the full help text. With Online Help Favorites tab selected, create a custom list of favorite topics.
Use F1 on any open dialog to open the Online Help for that dialog. Click the "?" icon on the toolbar, and then click on any menu command, icon, or window for help on that selection. With the Online Help Contents tab selected, navigate the help topic hierarchy.
With the Online Help Index tab selected, search the help index. With the Online Help Search tab selected, search the full help text. With Online Help Favorites tab selected, create a custom list of favorite topics.
Use F1 on any open dialog to open the Online Help for that dialog. Click the "?" icon on the toolbar, and then click on any menu command, icon, or window for help on that selection. With the Online Help Contents tab selected, navigate the help topic hierarchy. With the Online Help Index tab selected, search the help index. With the Online Help Search tab selected, search the full help text. With Online Help Favorites tab selected, create a custom list of favorite topics.
Use F1 on any open dialog to open the Online Help for that dialog. Click the "?" icon on the toolbar, and then click on any menu command, icon, or window for help on that selection. With the Online Help Contents tab selected, navigate the help topic hierarchy. With the Online Help Index tab selected, search the help index.
Getting Started with HFSS 1-11
With the Online Help Search tab selected, search the full help text. With Online Help Favorites tab selected, create a custom list of favorite topics.
Antennas in HFSS
Click graphics for descriptions of the following HFSS and HFSS-IE antenna examples:
Click for HFSS Application Modeling Guide: Antennas. Click for the download site for the HFSS Antenna Design kit. The HFSS Antenna Design Kit is a stand-alone GUI-based utility which automates the geometry creation, solution setup, and post-processing reports for over 25 antenna elements. This tool allows antenna designers to efficiently analyze common antenna types using HFSS and also assists new users in learning to use HFSS for antenna design. The design kit can be integrated into the HFSS user interface or launched from the standard Windows menu. All antenna models created by the design kit are ready to simulate in HFSS.
RF/Microwave in HFSS
Click graphics for descriptions of the following HFSS RF/Microwave examples:
Also see: Application Specific Modeling Guide: Spiral Inductors on Silicon Substrate
Project Manager
Property window
Message Manager Status bar Progress window Related Topics Getting Help Keyboard Shortcuts for HFSS General Purposes Keyboard shortcuts for the 3D Modeler Window.
You can also close the windows by clicking the "x" in the window title bar.
Modeler menu
Use the Modeler menu commands to import, export, and copy Ansoft 2D Modeler files and 3D Modeler files; assign materials to objects; manage the 3D Modeler windows grid settings; define a list of objects or faces of objects; control surface settings; perform boolean operations on objects; and set the units for the active design. Use the HFSS menu to setup and manage all the parameters for the active project. Most of these project properties also appear in the project tree. Use the Tools menu to modify the active projects material library, arrange the material libraries, run and record scripts, update project definitions from libraries, customize the desktops toolbars, and modify many of the softwares default settings. Use the Window menu commands to rearrange the 3D Modeler windows and toolbar icons. Use the Help menu commands to access the online help system and view the current HFSS version information.
Keyboard Shortcuts for General Purposes Keyboard shortcuts for the 3D Modeler Window.
Click Tools>Customize. Right-click the history tree, and then click Customize on the shortcut menu. Click Tools>Customize. On the Customize dialog box, click Reset All.
Related Topics Customize Toolbar Options Working with Toolbars Customizing the Tools Menu: External Tools
3.
To add a custome Tools menu entry, click the Add button in the Customize User Tools Menu dialog. This enables the following fields: Menu Text field -- this displays [new tool] as text you will replace with the text you want to appear in the User Tools menu. Command field -- this will display the external executable. An ellipsis button [...] lets you navigate to the file location. Arguments field -- this field accepts command arguments from the > button menu selections for File Path, File Directory, File Name, File Extension, Project Directory, or Temp Directory. Initial Directory -- this field specifies the initial directory for the command to operate. The ellipsis button {...] displays a dialog that lets you navigate folders in your desktop, or across the network.
4.
Click OK to add the External Tools menu to HFSS or Cancel to close the dialog without changes.
You can also add scripts to the Tools menu. Assuming you have a script to generate custom reports called report.vbs, use the cscript.exe program to execute your script.
This example shows the cscript.exe program added to the Tools menu as Run My Script. The command line argument to the csscript.exe program is report.vbs. You can also name the directory in which it will be run. Related Topics Scripting
Shortcut menus in the Use the shortcut menus in the Project Manager window to manage Project Manager window HFSS project and design files and design properties; assign and edit boundaries, excitations, and mesh operations; add, analyze, and manage solution setups; add optimetrics analyses; create postprocessing reports; insert far- and near-field radiation setups; edit project definitions; and, run Ansofts Maxwell SPICE. Shortcut menus in the History Tree Use the shortcut menus in the History tree to expand or collapse groupings. If you select particular objects in the history tree, the shortcut menu lists the commands that you can apply to the selected object or objects.
Note
All of the commands on the shortcut menus are also available on the menu bar.
A check box will appear next to a command if the item is visible. For example, if a check box appears next to the Project Manager command, then the Project Manager window is currently visible on the desktop. Click Customize to open the Customize dialog box, which enables you to modify the toolbar settings on the desktop.
F1: Help F1 + Shift: Context help F4 + CTRL: Close program CTRL + C: Copy CTRL + N: New project CTRL + O: Open... CTRL + P: Print...
CTRL + V: Paste CTRL + X: Cut CTRL + Y: Redo CTRL + Z: Undo CTRL + 0: Cascade windows CTRL + 1: Tile windows horizontally CTRL + 2: Tile windows vertically
To customize the shortcut assignments, use Tools>Keyboard Shortcuts. Related Topics Keyboard Shortcuts for the 3D Modeler Window Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
Selecting a Command category lists the available commands for that category. If the command has an assigned shortcut, it is displayed on the Shortcuts for the selected command field. You can use the Remove button to disable the shortcut for the selected command. If the selected command does not have an assigned shortcut, the Shortcuts for selected command field and the Remove button are greyed out. To create a new shortcut key: 1. 2. 3. Select the Category and Command. If you want disable a current assignment for the selected command, click Remove. To assign a keyboard shortcut, place the cursor in the Press new shortcut key field. The field displays the keystrokes you make. When you have made keystrokes, the dialog enables the Assign button. If you combine keystrokes these are displayed with a + between them. For example, Ctrl + p or Alt +o. 4. The Use new shortcut in field displays Global by default, which means that the shortcut will apply to all applicable contexts, including HFSS and HFSS-IE. If a limited context exists, the menu will offer a selection. When you have made the assignments you want to make, You can save the assignments to a named file. Clicking the Save... button displays a browser window that lets you navigate the file structure and assign a name, using an aks suffix for Ansoft Keyboard Shortcut file. Buttons on the browser window let you designate the file location as Use Path, Personallib, Syslib, UserLib, or Project folder. If you have an existing aks file, you can use the Load... button to display a browser window to locate the desired file. 6. You can OK the current settings, or Reset to Default. Related Topics Keyboard Shortcuts for HFSS General Purposes Keyboard Shortcuts for the 3D Modeler Window
5.
A check box appears next to this command if the status bar is visible. Depending on the command being performed, the status bar can display the following:
X, Y, and Z coordinate boxes. A pull-down list to enter a points absolute, relative, cartesian, cylindrical, or spherical coodinates. The models units of measurement.
The Project Manager window displays details about all open HFSS projects. Each project ultimately includes a geometric model, its boundary conditions and material assignments, and field solution and post-processing information.
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Click View> Project Manager. A check box appears next to this command if the Project Manager window is visible. Right-click in the toolbars area on the desktop, and then click Project Manager on the shortcut menu. A check box appears next to this command if the Project Manager window is visible.
Related Topics Working with the Project Tree Shortcut Menus in the Project Manager Window
The top node listed in the project tree is the project name. It is named Projectn by default, where n is the order in which the project was added to the current session of HFSS. Expand the project icon to view all the projects HFSS design information and material definitions. Related Topics Viewing HFSS Design Details
Excitations
Mesh Operations
In the project tree, double-click the design setup icon that you want to edit.
A dialog box appears with that setups parameters, which you can then edit.
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Model Boundaries
Displays the objects that comprise the model and their properties. Displays the boundary conditions assigned to an HFSS design, which specify the field behavior at the edges of the problem region and object interfaces. Displays the excitations assigned to an HFSS design, which are used to specify the sources of electromagnetic fields and charges, currents, or voltages on objects or surfaces in the design. Displays the mesh operations specified for objects or object faces. Mesh operations are optional mesh refinement settings that are specified before a mesh is generated. Displays the solution setups for an HFSS design. A solution setup specifies how HFSS will compute the solution.
Excitations
Mesh Operations
Analysis Setup
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Related Topics Opening the Properties Window Showing and Hiding the Properties Window Setting the Properties Window to Open Automatically Modifying Object Attributes using the Properties Window Modifying Object Command Properties Using the Properties Window
Rather than opening a separate window, you can also view an object's properties if you have the Properties window displayed within the desktop. Related Topics Showing and Hiding the Properties Window Setting the Properties Window to Open Automatically Modifying Object Attributes using the Properties Window Modifying Object Command Properties Using the Properties Window
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Click View> Property Window. A check box appears next to this command if the Properties window is visible. Right-click in the toolbars area at the top of the desktop, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu. A check box appears next to this command if the Properties window is visible.
Select the check box to apply the attribute; clear the check box to disable the attribute. Click in the field and edit the numeric values or text, and then press ENTER. Click the button and then edit the current settings in the window or dialog box that appears. Click the attribute, and then select a new setting from the menu that appears.
Related Topics Modifying Objects Modifying Object Command Properties Using the Properties Window
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Under the Command tab in the Properties window, edit the commands properties. Depending on the property type, you can edit it by doing one of the following:
Select the check box to apply the property; clear the check box to disable the property. Click in the field and edit the numeric values or text, and then press ENTER. Click the button and then edit the current settings in the window or dialog box that appears. Click the attribute, and then select a new setting from the menu that appears.
Related Topics Modifying Objects Modifying Object Attributes using the Properties Window
A check box appears next to this command if the Progress window is visible.
Right-click the history tree, and then click Progress on the shortcut menu. A check box appears next to this command if the Progress window is visible.
Related Topics Stopping or Aborting Simulation Progress Viewing Distributed Analysis Subtasks
Right-click the progress window, and select Show Subtask Progress Bars. Right-click the progress window, and select Hide Subtask Progress Bars.
A check box appears next to this command if the Message Manager is visible. If you right click in the Message Manager window, you see a popup menu that lets you:
Clear the messages for the current model. Copy the messages to the clipboard. This can be helpful for sending the messages to application engineers. Details. This brings up a information dialog with the project and design for specific message. After you run a validation check, you can right-click on an intersection error message in the Message window, and select Go to reference from the shortcut menu. This selects the intere-
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secting objects.
Related Topics Showing new messages Showing errors and warnings Setting the Message Manager to Open Automatically
Insert a new HFSS design into the current project. Double-click an HFSS design in the project tree.
The model you draw is saved with the current project when you click File>Save. Objects are drawn in the 3D Modeler window. You can create 3D objects by using HFSSs Draw menu commands or you can draw 1D and 2D objects, and then manipulate them to create 3D objects. For more information, see Drawing a Model. You can modify the view of objects in the 3D Modeler window without changing their actual dimensions or positions. For more information, see Modifying the Model View. Related Topics Modifying the Model View Keyboard shortcuts for the 3D Modeler Window.
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You can perform the following tasks with the history tree.
Expand or Collapse Groupings in the History Tree Group Items by Material in the History Tree Select Objects in the History Tree Use Shortcut Menus in the History Tree View Properties for History Tree Objects View and Edit Commands on History Tree Objects Control the View of Objects in the History Tree Select All Objects in a History Tree Group Upgrade Version Lists all invalid objects Displays all the models objects and a history of the commands carried out on each object. By default HFSS groups objects by material. you can change this by selecting the Objects icon in the history tree and right-click to display the shortcut menu with the Group Objects By Material checkbox. Displays all the sheets in the model 3D design area. By default, HFSS groups sheet objects by boundary assignment. You can change this by selecting the Sheet icon in the history tree and right-click to display the shortcut menu with the Group Sheets by Assignment checkbox. Displays all line objects included in the active model. See Drawing a Straight Line for information on how to draw a line object. Displays all point objects included in the active model. See Drawing a Point for information on how to draw a point object.
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The history tree contains the following model details: Invalid Objects
Sheets
Lines Points
Coordinate Systems Displays all the coordinate systems for the active model. See Setting Coordinate Systems for more information on this model detail. Planes Lists Displays the planes for all the coordinate systems. When you create a coordinate system, default planes are created on its xy, yz, and xz planes. Displays the object or face lists for the active model. By default, a list called "AllObjects" appears. Creating an object list is a convenient way to identify a group of objects for a field plot or calculation. Creating a face list is a convenient way to identify a specific set of surfaces for a field plot or calculation. See Creating an Object List
Note
While objects created in HFSS can always be classed in the history tree as either a solid, sheet, or wire some imported objects may have mixture of these. HFSS places such objects in an Unclassified folder in the history tree.
Related Topics Purge History Generate History Selecting Several Objects Creating an Object List
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In other cases, you can only view properties, or expand or collapse hierarchy.
Related Topics View Properties for History Tree Objects View and Edit Commands on History Tree Objects
Click the items name in the history tree. The items properties appears in the docked Properties window. Double-click on an item in the history tree to display a Properties window. Click the items name in the history tree, and double right click to display a shortcut menu. Then select Properties to display the Properties window.
Related Topics Purge History Generate History Selecting Several Objects Selecting All from a History Tree Grouping
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Selecting a command in the history highlights the object in the Modeler window and shows that objects properties (if available) in the docked Properties dialog. You can look at the fields in the Properties dialog to see any editable fields for that command, such as coordinate system, line type, coordinates, or units. For some commands, such as Edit>Arrange>Move, or boolean operations, selecting them in the history tree enables the X (delete) icon on the toolbar and the Edit>Delete menu. In these cases, you can delete those commands from the history tree as a way of undoing those operations. As an alternative to deletion, you can check Suppress command in the Properties window for that command. This undoes the effect of a command on an object without removing it from the History tree. Related Topics Select Objects in the History Tree Purge History command Generate History command Modifying Objects
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Fit in Active View Hide in Active View Show in Active View Fit in All Views Hide in All Views Show in All Views
The Modeler by default opens the legacy project in previous (what ever that the project was saved with) ACIS version so that you don't see side effects of slight topology changes between ACIS versions. If you want you can use Upgrade Version to move the operation to use latest ACIS code. Typically this applies when a needed fix is available with new ACIS version. Related Topics Working with the History Tree
B: Select face/object behind current selection F: Select faces mode O: Select objects mode
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E: Select edges mode V: Select vertices mode M: Multi select mode CTRL + A: Select all visible objects CTRL + SHIFT + A: Deselect all objects CTRL + D: Fit view CTRL + E: Zoom in, screen center CTRL + F: Zoom out, screen center SHIFT + LMB: Zoom in / out Alt + LMB: Rotate model Alt + SHIFT + LMB: Zoom in / out Alt + 2xLMB: Sets model projection to standard isometric projections (cursor must be in corner of model screen N/NE/E/SE/S etc) F6: Render model wire frame F7: Render model smooth shaded Note LMB means Left Mouse Button
To customize the shortcut assignments, use Tools>Keyboard Shortcuts. Related Topics Keyboard Shortcuts for HFSS General Purposes Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
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4.
Enter Password and confirm for Full Access or for Execute Only Access. Use Ansoft Password (for execute only). This does not require you to enter a password, but it is still encrypts the library.
Once you have selected a radio button, and, if necessary, specified passwords correctly, click OK. This displays the Password Manager with the resource listed.
To Encrypt a Resource 1. 2. 3. Select an existing resource to highlight it and enable the Encrypt button. This displays a File browser window Select the appropriate Files of Type filter. The choices are Circuit files (*.lib) and Ansoft Library files. For HFSS, chose Ansoft Library files. Any existing resources in the selected directory will appear. 4. When you have selected the appropriate resource, click OK. This encrypts the resource.
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-MachineList file=<machine list file path> You can use either form of the MachineList option to indicate the machine(s) on which to run a distributed batchsolve. The settings persist only for the current session. When you use a file to define the machines available for a distributed solve you should list the machine addresses or names on separate lines: 192.168.1.1 192.168.1.2 (etc) -MachineList num = <numb distributed engines> In a scheduler environment, you can specify the number of distributed engines that should be used for distributed processing. In this case, you do not specify the machine names after the the flag because the names are provided by the scheduler. For example, in the Windows HPC environment, you can write the number of distributed engines as follows. -machinelist num=4 -batchoptions '<option1>' '<option2>'... All options that are specified through Tools>Options dialogs go to the user-level registry. You can override such registry entries via the -batchoptions command line. These overrides apply only to the current Desktop session. This feature is available for all desktop products. The registry setting overrides may be specified on the command line, or may be in a file with the file pathname specified on the command line. The -batchoptions command line option is only valid for batch jobs; it is ignored if neither -BatchSolve nor -BatchSave command line options are specified. The following examples use hfss, but this feature is available for all desktop products.
The registry path separator is the slash "/" Registry key pathnames are enclosed in single quotes Registry string values are enclosed in single quotes Backslashes in registry key values must be escaped with another backslash
Example with registry settings specified on the command line hfss.exe -batchsolve -batchoptions _ "'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors'=4 _ 'Desktop/ProjectDirectory'='C:\\projects\\test'"_ projectname.hfss This command line overrides the values of the HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors and Desktop/ProjectDirectory registry settings. Notes:
Multiple registry settings may appear in a single -batchoptions value, separated by whitespace The -batchoptions value must be enclosed in double quotes if it contains any whitespace
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Example with registry settings specified in a file hfss.exe -batchsolve -batchoptions filename projectname.hfss where file filename contains: $begin 'Config' 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors'=4 'Desktop/ProjectDirectory'='C:/projects/test' $end 'Config' This command line overrides the values of the HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors and Desktop/ProjectDirectory registry settings. These overrides apply only to the current hfss session. Note
The -batchoptions filename value must be enclosed in double quotes if it contains whitespace The $begin 'Config' and $end 'Config' lines are required
The -batchoptions filename value must be enclosed in double quotes if it contains whitespace The $begin 'Config' and $end 'Config' lines are required
-batchoptions Uses Relative Registry Paths When using the -batchoptions command line option, the registry paths specified on the command line or in the batchoptions file are relative paths. The paths are relative to the current version of the current product. If the examples above are used with HFSS version 12.0, then the following table shows the relative and absolute paths of the registry overrides in the above examples. Relative Path HFSS/Preferences/ NumberOfProcessors Desktop/ProjectDirectory Absolute Path for HFSS 12.0 HKCU/Software/Ansoft/HFSS/12.0/HFSS/Preferences/ NumberOfProcessors HKCU/Software/Ansoft/HFSS/12.0Desktop/ProjectDirectory
When to Use the -batchoptions Desktop Command Line Option Many analysis parameter settings may be done using the GUI. For example, a number of HFSS options may be set using the HFSS Options dialog box, which is brought up by the Tools>Options>HFSS Options... menu item. These parameter settings include the following solver options (not a complete list):
NumberOfProcessors NumberOfProcessorsDistributed MemLimitSoft: (Desired RAM Limit) MemLimitHard: (Maximum RAM Limit)
These values of these parameters are saved in the registry when HFSS is not running. When running a batch analysis, these parameters will take the values from the registry. The -batchoptions Desktop command line option allows you to override the parameter values set in the
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registry with values specified on the command line or in a file. The values specified using the -batchoptions command line option only apply to the batch job, and do not affect the parameter values in the registry. For example, you could specify the following command to ensure that this analysis uses 2 processors for distributed processing and 2 processors for non-distributed processing. If the -batchoptions value is not specified, then the number of processors for distributed processing or for non-distributed processing could be affected by an interactive HFSS job running on the same host as the same user. hfss -ng -BatchSolve -Distributed -machinelist num=2 _ -batchoptions _ "'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessorsDistributed'=2 _ 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors'=2 'HFSS/Preferences/UseHPCForMP'=1 'HFSS/Preferences/HPCLicenseType'=pool" OptimTee.hfss -Monitor You can monitor progress and messages on standard output, during non-graphical analysis. Progress, warning and info messages are logged to the standard output stream. Error and fatal messages are logged to the standard error stream. Schedulers intercept these streams and provide commands for display of this output - see individual scheduler documentation for specifics. Examples: C:\HFSS\hfss.exe -distributed _ -machinelist list="192.168.1.1,192.168.1.2" _ -batchsolve design_transient:Optimetrics "C:\distrib_project.adsn" C:\HFSS\hfss.exe -batchsolve HFSSDesign1:Nominal _ "C:\Project1.hfss" "c:/Program Files/Ansoft/HFSS13.0/hfss.exe" _ -Iconic -Queue _ -LogFile "H:\HFSS\_HFSSQueue\fence-v2__Array with Fence4.log" _ -BatchSolve "Array with Fence4:Nominal" "H:\HFSS\fence-v2.hfss" -RunScript <script file name> Run the specified script. You can use the -ScriptArgs option to add one or more arguments to this command and can use the -Iconic option. -RunScriptAndExit <script file name>
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Run the specified script and exit. You can use the -ScriptArgs option to add one or more arguments to this command. You can also use the -Iconic option, the -Logfile option, and the -WaitForLicense option. <none> If you do not specify a run command with hfss on the command line, you can still specify the -Help and -Iconic option. <project file> Open the specified project on start up. If -BatchSolve is also set, the project will be solved. Note The <project file> must be the last command line entry.
Options The following options can be associated with one or more of the run commands. -Distribute Distribute a batch solve to multiple machines. This option must be combined with the BatchSolve run command and must be specified before it in the command line. See Distributed Analysis for more information on distributed analysis. Example: C:\HFSS\hfss.exe -distribute -batchsolve _ HFSSDesign1:Optimetrics:ParametricSetup1 "C:\Project1.hfss" -Help Open a window that displays the different command-line options. This is only used when none of the four run commands are used. -Iconic Run HFSS with the window iconified (minimized). This can be used with all or none of the run commands. -LogFile <log file name> Specify a log file (use in conjunction with -BatchSave or -BatchSolve or -RunScriptAndExit run commands). If no log file is specified, it will be written to the directory in which the script or HFSS project is located, with the name <project_name>.log. -ng Run HFSS in non-graphical mode (use along with -BatchSave or -BatchSolve run commands). -WaitForLicense Wait for unavailable licenses (use along with -BatchSolve or -RunScriptAndExit). -ScriptArgs <scriptArguments> Add arguments to the specified script in conjunction with -RunScript and -RunScriptAndExit.
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ScriptArgs looks at the single argument after it and uses those as script arguments. You can pass multiple arguments to scriptargs by surrounding the script arguments in double quotes. For instance: hfss -scriptargs "HFSSDesign1 Setup1" -RunScriptAndExit c:\temp\test.vbs Here, HFSSDesign1 is taken into HFSS as the first argument, and Setup1 is the second argument. Without the quotes, HFSSDesign1 is taken as the first argument, and Setup1 will not be understood by HFSS. hfss -scriptargs HFSSDesign1 Setup1 -RunScriptAndExit c:\temp\test.vbs Example: c:\hfss\hfss.exe -runscriptandexit "c:\project1.vbs" -scriptargs "Setup1" Example: C:\hfss\hfss.exe -RunScriptAndExit C:\scripts\test.vbs _ -scriptsargs "arg1 arg2 arg3" Related Topics Running a Script. Windows HPC Task Properties Command Line Enhancements for Ansoft Desktop Products
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Showing axes when interactively drawing objects will slow the performance. Remote OpenGL performance will be slower in general. Graphics card and driver quality helps. All 3D windows will be closed when you switch from remote PC to a console or from a console to remote. This is to avoid display/opengl instability during the switch. Grid will not be turned off while viewing a plot from a remote desktop. The mouse over highlights on 2D plots may appear as not totally overlapping the line color or as thin dotted lines.
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A list of example projects included with the HFSS installation is located here. A brief Application Specific Modeling Guide: Antennas. An Application Specific Guide: Spiral Inductors on Silicon Substrate: Guides for HFSS-IE are here. Guides for HFSS Transient are here.
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structure is used to split an incoming microwave signal into two outgoing signals. The waveguides transmission and reflection of the signal will depend on the position of the septum. By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to perform the following tasks in HFSS:
Draw a geometric model. Modify a models design parameters. Assign variables to a models design parameters. Specify solution settings for a design. Validate a designs setup. Run an HFSS simulation. Create a 2D x-y plot of S-parameter results. Create a field overlay plot of results. Create a phase animation of results.
Create a basic parametric setup. Solve a parametric analysis. Create a 2D x-y plot of S-parameter results. Create a 2D x-y plot of power distribution results. Create a geometry animation. Specify a variable to be optimized. Create an optimization setup, which includes defining a cost function and setting the range of variable values for an optimization. Solve an optimization analysis. During an optimization analysis, view a plot of cost values versus solved iterations. Run an HFSS simulation using the optimal variable value. Update an existing field overlay plot with new results.
Draw a geometric model. Modify a models design parameters. Assign variables to a models design parameters. Specify solution settings for a design. Validate a designs setup. Run an HFSS simulation. Create a 2D x-y plot of S-parameter results. Create a field overlay plot of results. Create a phase animation of results.
Draw a geometric model. Modify a models design parameters. Assign variables to a models design parameters. Specify solution settings for a design. Validate a designs setup. Run an HFSS simulation. Create a 2D x-y plot of S-parameter results. Create a field overlay plot of results. Create a phase animation of results.
This Getting Started guide is written for HFSS beginners as well as experienced users who are using version 12 for the first time. This manual guides you through the setup, solution, and analysis of two different models using Floquet ports. By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to setup Floquet ports in HFSS.
Draw the geometric models. Create the Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) Boundaries Add the Excitation Setup Mesh Operations Specify solution setting for the design. Validate the design setups. Run HFSS simulations. Create the geometry setups for monostatic and bistatic infinite spheres. Create plots for these geometries for a Normalized Bistatic RCS and Monostatic RCS.
By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to setup RCS problems.
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Coax Shield
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This Getting Started guide assumes some familiarity with HFSS. It guides you through the process of creating a bandpass filter. It includes the use of duplicate around axis commands.
This Getting Started guide assumes some familiarity with HFSS. It includes the use of Perfect E and Radiation boundaries and a Radiation Pattern plot.
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Related Topics Example Projects Application Specific Modeling Guide: Spiral Inductors on Silicon Substrate
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Open the PDF: . This Getting Started guide is written for HFSS-IE beginners as well as experienced users who are using version 12 for the first time. This manual guides you through the setup, solution, and analysis a simple radar cross section (RCS) problem. By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to perform the following tasks in HFSS-IE:
Draw the geometric models. Add the Excitation Specify solution setting for the design. Run HFSS-IE simulations. Create the geometry setups for infinite spheres. Create plots for RCS.
By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to setup RCS problems. Open the PDF: . This Getting Started guide is written for HFSS-IE beginners as well as experienced users who are using version 12 for the first time. This manual guides you through the setup, solution, and analysis a simple monocone antenna problem. By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to perform the following tasks in HFSS-IE:
Draw the geometric models. Add the excitation and infinite ground plane. Specify solution setting for the design. Run HFSS-IE simulation. Create the geometry setups for infinite spheres.
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By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to setup HFSS-IE antenna problems.
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Open the PDF: . This Getting Started guide is written for HFSS Transient beginners as well as experienced users who are using version 13 for the first time. This manual guides you through the setup, solution, and analysis of a transent horn antenna problem. By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to perform the following tasks in HFSS:
Import the model Add the boundaries and the excitation Specify solution setting for the design. Run HFSS Transient simulations. View reports Create the geometry setups for infinite spheres. Create field plots.
By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to setup trancient antenna problems. Related Topics Transient Solution Type Open the PDF: . This Getting Started guide is written for HFSS Transient beginners as well as experienced users who are using version 13 for the first time. This manual guides you through the setup, solution, and analysis of a time delayed response problem for a coax bend. By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to perform the following tasks in HFSS:
Specify solution setting for the design. Run HFSS transient simulation. Create a plots and animate a field overlay.
By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to setup HFSS transient problems. Related Topics Transient Solution Type Open the PDF: . This Getting Started guide is written for HFSS Transient beginners as well as experienced users who are using version 13 for the first time. This manual guides you through the setup, solution, and analysis of a . By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to perform the following tasks in HFSS:
Draw the geometric models. Add the boundaries and excitation. Specify solution setting for the design. Run HFSS transient simulation. Create a plots, including the use of Output Variables.
By following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to setup HFSS transient problems. Related Topics Transient Solution Type
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Example Projects
Example Projects
Your HFSS installation includes an example directory containing a projects folder including the following projects: Getting Started Guide Projects: (See associated Getting Started Guides)
Related Topics Other Examples with Brief Descriptions in the Online Help Opening Example Projects
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Example Projects
For further examples, see Getting Started Guides and look at the Ansoft Website Related Topics Example Projects Getting Started Guides
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Example Projects
the Modeler parameterization of a design feature setup and analysis the use of the Reporter and field animation.
The animated Mag_E1 plot of the E-field when the septum is located 0.2 inches closer to Port 2. The second version of the wave guide t-junction demonstrates the use of the Optimetrics.
parametric analysis
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variable for optimization an optimization setup a cost function Optimization analysis. plot of cost values versus solved iterations. Use of output variables.
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boolean operations on geometries, the use of symmetry and radiation boundaries mesh operations lumped ports modifying the impedance multiplier because of symmetry animation of a field plot
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Example Projects
wave ports integration lines in wave ports. solution data plot creation and analysis a phase animation.
cavity.hfss
The cavity model is in the Examples/Projects directory.
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Example Projects
Optiguide
This optiguide project is a modal solution project located in the Examples/Projects folder.
a Perfect H Boundary wave ports project variables for length, width, and height Optimization setup Parametrics setup Sensitivity setup Statisitcal setup, with distribution criteria Port field display
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Example Projects
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Example Projects
a terminal solution project multiple materials radiation boundary lumped ports with terminals Interpolating sweep
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Example Projects
Antennas on Mast
Description - Three dipole antennas mounted on an aluminum mast, simulated in HFSS-IE. The mast is mounted on an infinite ground plane.
Model - The mast is 3.1 m high. The dipoles are modeled using 2D objects with a PerfE boundary. The excitations are lumped ports and the mounting structures are modeled by the polystyrene rods. Note under Boundaries in the Project tree, InfGndPlane1.
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Setup - Adapt at 0.9 GHz. Note To view a port or boundary, select the desired item in the Project Tree. It is then highlighted in the Model window and the properties will be displayed in the Properties window. Selecting an object in the History tree will also display its properties.
Post Processing Antennas Mounted on a Mast After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on Setup1 and selecting Profile to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Convergence, Matrix Data, and Mesh Statistics. Before viewing the fields make sure all three antennas are excited. Go to HFSS-IE>Fields>Edit Sources and uncheck all Terminated options. Set Scaling Factor to 1 for all three ports. To view the radiation pattern shown, double click on Radiation Pattern 1 under Results in the Project tree. This is the = 90o pattern cut. To view the induced currents on the mast, double click on Mag_J1 under Field Overlays>J Fields.
Model - The walls of the coax use the default outer PerfE boundary. The inner conductor is copper. The ports are assigned to the faces of the coax so port2 will automatically move with the coax body as the angle is changed.
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Setup - Adapt at 5 GHz and do an interpolating sweep from 0.1 to 5 GHz. The defined Parametric sweep in bend angle sweeps from 50 - 90o every 10o. Note To view a port or boundary, select the desired item in the Project Tree. It is then highlighted in the Model window and the properties will be displayed in the Properties window. Selecting an object in the History tree will also display its properties.
Post Processing Coax Bend After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on Setup1 and selecting Profile to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Convergence, Matrix Data, and Mesh Statistics. To view the solution data for different bend angle values, click on the ellipsis [...] net to the design variation box and select the variation of interest.
To view the S Parameter frequency plots for all five bend_angle variations, double-click on XY Plot 1 under Results in the Project tree. To see the shade plots of the electric field, double-click on Mag_E1 under Field Overlays>E Field. To view all variations right-click on Mag_E1 and select Animate. In the Select Animation window select New, and then select bend_angle for the swept variable in the setup pane. Then click OK.
Coaxial Resonator
Description - A coaxial resonator model showing how to use the Eigenmode solver. The eigen solver computes the resonant frequency and Q of the model. This example was taken from Microwave Circuit Modelling Using Electromagnetic Field Simulation (D. Swanson Jr., W. Hoefer). Model - A coaxial cavity. Walls are defined to have = 6.17 x 107 mho/m. Setup - There are no defined sources in an eigen solution so you need only select the number of modes to compute and the convergence criteria. For this model, only the first mode is computed. For maximum accuracy, we need to use curvilinear elements. To verify that this has been set for the
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Example Projects
model, go to HFSS>Mesh Operations> Initial Mesh Settings, and make sure Apply Curvilinear Elements is checked.
Note
Selecting an object in the History tree will also display its properties.
Coaxial Resonator Post Processing After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on Setup1 and selecting Eigenmode Data to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Profile, Convergence, and Mesh Statistics. To view the resonant frequency and Q, select the Eigenmode Data tab on the Solution dialog.*
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To view the shade plot, right-click on E Field under Field Overlays in the Project tree, and select Update Plots.
* Data computed using a mode matching program are given in the reference. The results presented are f0 = 1.87 GHz and Q = 5592.
Model - the connector is configured with lumped ports on each end of the two inner pins. The two outer pins are each grounded at both ends. The boards are FR4 and the connector body is modfied epoxy. A radiation boundary is applied to the surrounding airbox.
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Setup - Driven Terminal Solution with adapt at 5 GHz. An interpolating sweep is also included that has an upper frequency of 5 GHz and uses DC extrapolation at the low end. Note To view a port or boundary, select the desired item in the Project Tree. It is then highlighted in the Model window and the properties will be displayed in the Properties window. Selecting an object in the History tree will also display its properties.
Connector Post Processing After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on Setup1 and selecting Profile to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Convergence, Matrix Data, and Mesh Statistics. To view the S parameter plot show below, double click on XY plot1 in the Project Tree under Results.
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Example Projects
Corporate Feed
Description - A microstrip 8 way corporate feed. The model was originally created in Ansoft Designer. Export to HFSS was used to create this project. It is a Driven Terminal design.
Model - The traces are defined as 2D objects with a finite conductivity boundary of copper. The sources are all lumped ports with a 50 Ohm impedance. There is a surrounding air box with a radiation boundary on the top and sides. Setup - Adapt at 7.5 Ghz and use Mixed Order for the Order of Basis function. Note To view a port or boundary, select the desired item in the Project Tree. It is highlighted in the Model window and the properties will be displayed. Selecting an object in the History tree will also display its properties.
Corporate Feed Post Processing After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on the Setup and selecting Profile to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Convergence, Matrix Data, and Mesh Statistics.
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To view the shade plot of the E field, shown below, double click on MagE1 in the Project tree under Field Overlays>E Field. To see a phase animation of this field plot, right click on MagE1, and select Animation, Then click OK in the dialog.
Helical Antenna
Description - a coax fed helical antenna with a dielectric support on a finite ground plane. The antenna is designed to run at 3.5 GHz. A smaller virtual object is defined as the integration surface for radiated field calculations. This is surrounded by an air box with a radiation boundary.*
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Model - the support is made of Teflon and the ground has as thickness of 0.5 in. The coax port is internal and is capped by a conducting object. You can create a helix similar to this by using Draw>User Defined Primitive>SysLib>Segmented Helix. Setup - adapt at 3.5 GHz and use mixed order for Order of Basis function. Since this model has open air regions and the tightly spaced helix it is a good choice for mixed order. Note To view a port or boundary, select the desired item in the Project Tree. It is then highlighted in the Model window and the properties will be displayed in the Properties window. Selecting an object in the History tree will also display its properties. *For a further discussion on using integration surfaces and for more on creating sample antenna designs, see the antenna design kit at www.ansoft.com/hfssantennadesignkit. Post Processing After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on Setup1 and selecting Profile to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Convergence, Matrix Data, and Mesh Statistics. To view 3D plot of the antenna gain, look in the Project Tree under Results and double click on 3D Polar Plot 1. To overlay the 3D plot on the model, click HFSS>Fields>Plot Fields>Radiation Field to display the Overlay radiation field dialog. Check Visible for 3D Polar Plot 1, and set the transparency and scale as desired.
To view a 2D plot of the total gain, in the Project tree, double-click on Results - Radiation Pattern 1. To view a 2D plot of the circular polarization pattern for this antenna in the = 0o cut, in the Project tree, double click Results - Radiation Pattern 2.
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You can add markers to the Radiation Pattern plots by right-clicking on the plot window and choosing Marker>Add Marker.
Package Section
Description - a model of a section of a complex package. The model was created using Ansoft Links from an ANF file and is a driven terminal design.
Model - the model is two traces of a larger package. At one end are the bond wires that are excited by lumped ports. The opposite ends terminate in ports at the solder balls. The substrate is FR4 and a radiation boundary has been applied to the surface of the surrounding airbox. Setup - driven terminal setup with an adapt frequency of 2.5 GHz. An interpolating sweep is also included that has an upper frequency of 2.5 GHz and uses DC Extrapolation at the lower end. Note To view a port or boundary, select the desired item in the Project Tree. It is then highlighted in the Model window and the properties will be displayed in the Properties window. Selecting an object in the History tree will also display its properties.
Package Post Processing After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on Setup1 and selecting Profile to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Convergence, Matrix Data, and Mesh Statistics.
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To view the S parameter plot show below, double click on XY plot1 in the Project Tree under Results.
To view the shade plot of jsurf, the surface current density, on one of the package planes, right click on Jsurf under Field Overlays in the Project Tree and select update.
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Model - The elements use a teflon substrate with 1.6 mm thickness. The excitations are lumped ports. A radiation boundary is defined on an air box that is not show here.The post processing variable is called phase_shift. Setup - Adapt at 1.9 GHz. Note To view a port or boundary, select the desired item in the Project Tree. It is then highlighted in the Model window and the properties will be displayed in the Properties window. Selecting an object in the History tree will also display its properties.
Post Processing Small Array of Planar Flared Dipole Antennas After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on Setup1 and selecting Profile to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Convergence, Matrix Data, and Mesh Statistics. To view the = 90o radiation pattern double click on Radiation pattern 1 under Results in the Project tree. As stated the relative element-to-element phase shift in degrees for this array is controlled
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Example Projects
by the phase_shift post processing variable. To verify this, go to HFSS>Fields>Edit Sources where you will see the offset phase, defined as multiples of the variable phase_shift.
The easiest way to adjust the phase_shift variable is to click on the design name, HFSSDesign2, in the Project tree. You will see the design variable displayed in the Properties window. You can change the value of phase_shift in this window. The plot shown here is for a setting of 30o.
Pyramidal Horn
Description - A pyramidal horn designed to operate at 10 GHz. The feed is an x-band waveguide.This project uses PMLs for its radiation boundary.
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Model - The horn has 0.02" wall thickness and is defined as PEC. The port is internal to the solution region and is capped by a PEC object (cap). PMLs are included in the model and are defined on the faces of air_box. Their visibility, by default, has been turned off. Setup - Adapt at 10 GHz. Note To view a port or boundary, select the desired item in the Project Tree. It is then highlighted in the Model window and the properties will be displayed in the Properties window. Selecting an object in the History tree will also display its properties.
Pyramidal Horn Post Processing After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on Setup1 and selecting Profile to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Convergence, Matrix Data, and Mesh Statistics. To view 3D plot of the antenna gain, look in the Project Tree under Results and double click on 3D Polar Plot 1. To overlay the 3D plot on the model, click HFSS>Fields>Plot Fields>Radiation
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Field to display the Overlay radiation field dialog. Check Visible for 3D Polar Plot 1, and set the transparency and scale as desired.
To view a 2D plot of the dB gain total, look in the Project Tree under Results, and double click on Radiation Pattern 1 A shade plot showing the fields on the Y-Z plane has also been created and can be viewed by rightclicking on E Field under Field Overlays and selecting Update.
Ring Hybrid
Description - a ring hybrid that can be used as a splitter. Power input to the Sum port splits equally between Ports 2 and 3 in phase while power input to Difference Port splits with 180o phase shift. It
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can be used as a power combiner with power input to Ports 2 and 3. In that case, the sum of the two inputs will be seen at Sum port and the difference at Difference port.
Model - This is a hybrid designed to operate at 10 GHz using stripline transmission lines. The substrate is 40 mil Duriod 5880. The ports are defined on four of the faces of the substrate. Default outer boundary boundary (PerfE) is defined on the remaining faces. The trace is a 2D object with a PerfE boundary. Setup - Adapt at 10 GHz with interpolating frequency sweep from 8 to 12 GHz. Also, the model includes an output variable called Diff_port_phase that computes the difference in phase between ports 2 and 3 when the Difference port is excited. Note To view a port or boundary, select the desired item in the Project Tree. It is then highlighted in the Model window and the properties will be displayed. Selecting an object in the History tree also displays its properties.
Ring Hybrid - Post Processing After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on Setup1 and selecting Profile to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Convergence, Matrix Data, and Mesh Statistics. To view plots of S parameter data you can open XY Plot 1. For a plot of Diff_port_phase, open XY Plot 2. To view a shade plot, double click on Mag_E1 under E Field under Field Overlays.
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To view the shade plot as shown, change excitations so that ports 2 and 3 are excited by equal amplitude and phase, using HFSS>Fields>Edit Sources. To view a phase animation of the resulting shade plot, right click on MagE1 and choose Animation from the menu.
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Example Projects
Model - The patch, shoulder, and ground plate are united into a single PEC object. The air filled coax has an internal port that is capped by the PEC ground plate. The variable feed_pos controls the value of X for the coax location in millimeters. The surrounding air box with radiation boundary is not shown. Setup - Adapt at 1.8 GHz., and do an interpolating sweep from 1.5 to 2 GHz. The derivative of the S parameter data w.r.t. feed_pos about the default value of 10.8 mm is computed. This feature is enabled in the Derivatives tab of the Setup1 window. Post processing for tuning a Coax Fed Patch Antenna After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on Setup1 and selecting Profile to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Convergence, Matrix Data, and Mesh Statistics.
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Example Projects
To view the derivatives you can create a new plot by right clicking on Results and choosing Create Modal Solution Data Report>Rectangular Plot. In the New Report Setup window, select feed_pos in the derivative box and select the desired quantities to plot.
To tune the design, double-click on XY Plot 2 under Results to open the plot shown. In a separate project, the response for feed_pos = 10.5 and 11 mm was computed and the results from each was imported into this plot. By right clicking on Results and choosing Tune Reports you can open the Report Tuning dialog shown. As you adjust the slider, the plot is recomputed using the derivatives. Adjust the Offset to -0.3 and +0.2 to compare to the imported feed_pos = 10.5 and 11mm results. Related Topics Derivative Tuning for Reports
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Example Projects
Model - the antenna is fed by a coax line with a wave port. The upper face of the unit cell is terminated in a Floquet port. The sides are two pairs of Master and Slave boundaries. The substrate r = 6 and is 1.27 mm thick. The conducting traces are 2D objects with PerE boundaries. Setup - Adapt at 4.5 GHz with an interpolating sweep from 2 to 5 GHz.
Note
To view a port or boundary, select the desired item in the Project Tree. It is then highlighted in the Model window and the properties will be displayed in the Properties window.
Post Processing After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on Setup1 and selecting Profile to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Convergence, Matrix Data, and Mesh Statistics.
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Example Projects
To view a plot of active S parameter seen at the feed, look in the Project tree and double-click on XY Plot1. To view the modes present on the Floquet port click on the desired mode under Port Field Display>Floquet Port 1 in the Project tree, and a vector plot of the mode will be displayed.
This design was analyzed in Analysis of Periodic Structures via a Time-Domain Finite-Element Formulation with a Floquet ABC, L.E.R. Peterson et al., IEEE Trans, AP, March 2006, pp 933944. You will see the plot computed here agrees nicely with Fig. 9b in the reference.
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Example Projects
Via Model
Description - a model of a differential via pair. It has a pair of microstrip lines that transition through the vias to a pair of striplines on a lower layer. This model was created using the Via Wizard.*
Model - the two microstrip lines are each assigned a terminal in the coupled microstrip port. Likewise for the two striplines at the opposite end. The conductors are copper and a radiation boundary is applied to the air box. Setup - adapt at 4.38 GHz with an interpolating sweep that has an upper frequency of 4.38 GHz and uses DC extrapolation at the lower end. Mixed Order is set for Order of Basis Function. Note To view a port or boundary, select the desired item in the Project Tree. It is then highlighted in the Model window and the properties will be displayed in the Properties window. Selecting an object in the History tree will also display its properties.
* To download the Via Wizard, see www.ansoft.com/3dviadesign. Via Model Postprocessing After solving, you can view solution data by right-clicking on Setup1 and selecting Profile to display the Solution dialog. You also view the Solution tabs for Convergence, Matrix Data, and Mesh Statistics.
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Example Projects
To view the S parameter plot shown below, double click on XY plot1 in the Project Tree under Results.
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Third-party open source software notice: Secure Hash Algorithm Copyright 2000-2001, Aaron D. Gifford All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 1. 2. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
3.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR AND CONTRIBUTOR(S) ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR CONTRIBUTOR(S) BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
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2
Getting Help
Ansys Technical Support To contact Ansys technical support staff in your geographical area, please log on to the Ansys corporate website, https://www1.anssys.com. You can also contact your Ansoft account manager in order to obtain this information. E-mail can work well for technical support. All Ansoft software files are ASCII text and can be sent conveniently by e-mail. When reporting difficulties, it is extremely helpful to include very specific information about what steps were taken or what stages the simulation reached. This allows more rapid and effective debugging. Help Menu Commands To access online help from the menu bar, do the following:
Click Help>Contents Click Help>Index Click Help>Search Click Help>Scripting Contents Click Help>Scripting Index Click Help>Search Scripting
You can also access help for the scripting commands via the menu bar:
Context-Sensitive Help To access online help from the HFSS user interface, do one of the following:
To open a help topic about an HFSS menu command, press Shift+F1 or click click the command or toolbar icon.
and then
To open a help topic about an HFSS dialog box, open the dialog box, and then press F1.
The pdf of online help provides a format and function better suited for printing than the chm. You can print ranges of pages encompassing topics and subtopics as needed. Open the PDF: .
Getting Help2-2
Procedures are presented as numbered lists. A single bullet indicates that the procedure has only one step. Bold type is used for the following: - Keyboard entries that should be typed in their entirety exactly as shown. For example, "copy file1" means to type the word copy, to type a space, and then to type file1. - On-screen prompts and messages, names of options and text boxes, and menu commands. Menu commands are often separated by carats. For example, click File>Open. - Labeled keys on the computer keyboard. For example, "Press Return" means to press the key labeled Return.
Italic type is used for the following: - Emphasis. - The titles of publications. - Keyboard entries when a name or a variable must be typed in place of the words in italics. For example, "copy file name" means to type the word copy, to type a space, and then to type a file name.
The plus sign (+) is used between keyboard keys to indicate that you should press the keys at the same time. For example, "Press Shift+F1" means to press the Shift key and the F1 key at the same time. Toolbar buttons serve as shortcuts for executing commands. Toolbar buttons are displayed after the command they execute. For example, "Click Draw> Line the Line command. " means that you can click the Draw Line toolbar button to execute
Getting Help2-3
Searching in Help
Searching in Help
The online help system provides four ways to search for information and navigate quickly:
A hierarchical table of contents - you can expand or collapse the hierarchy by clicking, and you can jump to selected entries by double-clicking. A searchable index - you can search for indexed terms by typing the text field, and jump to topic locations by double-clicking on them. A full text search - you can type text, and search the entire online help. Items are listed according to rank in discussing the search text. A favorites list - you can select topics that you use frequently to create a favorites list.
Getting Help2-4
Using WebUpdate
Using WebUpdate
To use WebUpdate: 1. 2. Select Help>Launch WebUpdate. This displays the WebUpdate dialogue, which lists the applications available for update. Select the application of interest and click Next. This displays the application and whether it is currently up to date and whether an update is available 3. If an update is available, enable the application checkbox to select it. a. You can choose to enable the checkboxes to install the update automatically and to save the update to disk. If you choose to update, the Next button is enabled. b. c. 4. Click Next to continue the update. The Webupdate shows the progress of the update.
Getting Help2-5
4. a. b. c. d. 5.
Active Host Ids Active Servers Admin Directory Customer Number FLEXlm Version License Files Click Export. The Save As dialog box appears. Browse to the location where you want to save the information as a text file. Type a name for the file in the File name text box. The Save as type pull-down list is already specified as Export (*.txt). Click Save.
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3. 4. 5.
Supply an email address and send the email. Upon receiving the email, the recipient follows the directions by opening the online help, and selecting the Search pane. Select Search titles only..
6. 7.
The recipient copies the section title from the email and pastes it into the search field. The recipient clicks the List Topics button. This displays the topic. The recipient can click the topic to go directly to the help page.
Getting Help2-7
3
Working with HFSS Projects
An HFSS or HFSS-IE project is a folder that includes one or more HFSS models, or designs. Each design ultimately includes a geometric model, its boundary conditions and material assignments, and field solution and post-processing information. A new project called Projectn is automatically created when the software is launched. A design named Designn is automatically created for a new project. You can also open a new project by clicking File>New. In general, use the File menu commands to manage projects. If you move or change the names of files without using these commands, the software may not be able to find information necessary to solve the model.
HFSS Files
When you create an HFSS project, it is given an .hfss file extension and stored in the directory you specify. Any files related to that project are also stored in that directory. Some common HFSS file and folder types are listed below: .hfss design_name.hfssresults project_name.hfssresults project_name.asol HFSS project. HFSS folder containing results data for a design. It resides in the project.hfssresults folder. HFSS folder containing results data for a project. The .asol file contains the database of all solved variations and where the resulting data is stored in the design.hfssresults folder. This file is stored in the project_name.hfssresults folder. HFSS version 8.5 and earlier project. Ansoft PCB neutral file
.pjt .anfp
Creating Projects
Click File> New . A new project is listed in the project tree. It is named Projectn by default, where n is the order in which the project was added to the current project folder. A default design named Designn is added under the project. Project definitions, such boundary and material assignments, are stored under the project name in the project tree. You specify the name of the project when you save it using the File>Save or File>Save As commands.
Projects
Open a previously saved project using the File>Open command. 1. 2. 3. 4. Click File> Open . Use the file browser to find the HFSS or HFSS-IE .hfss project file. By default, files that can be opened or translated by HFSS or HFSS-IE are displayed. Select the file you want to open. Click OK. The project information appears in the project tree. If you open another project without editing the automatically-created project, HFSS or HFSSIE removes the automatically-created project. You can also open a saved project by:
Dragging an HFSS or HFSS-IE project file icon to the HFSS or HFSS-IE icon. Dragging an HFSS or HFSS-IE project file icon to the HFSS or HFSS-IE desktop. Double-clicking on an HFSS or HFSS-IE project file icon.
The online help contains additional descriptions of these projects. Related Topics Example Projects
Click the name of the project file at the bottom of the File menu.
If you open another project without editing the automatically-created project, HFSS or HFSS-IE removes the automatically-created project.doc
Model Geometry
The translated geometrys construction history is unavailable; therefore the original object properties you defined cannot be modified in the Properties window. However, you can modify the geometry using version 10s modeling features. For units unavailable in version 10, such as yards, the nearest available units are used; the model will be scaled slightly to fit the new units. View visualization settings apply to the saved design. If these have been changed from the default (15 deg), this affects the memory and CPU required to open the project. Port impedance and calibration lines become integration lines in version 10. If the legacy project contained both impedance and calibration lines, impedance lines are translated and calibration lines are ignored. If the project contained both impedance and terminal lines, both are translated. The impedance lines will be ignored for Driven Terminal solutions and terminal lines will be ignored if the project is changed to a Driven Modal solution. Boundaries assigned to named interface selections or rectangle selections are not translated. For a boundary assigned to the intersection of two faces, HFSS 10 will create a new 2D sheet object from the intersecting area and assign the boundary to that object. Functions defined in legacy projects become project variables in version 10; therefore, functional material properties are translated. Perfect conductors become regular materials with conductivity values of of 1E30. Object coordinate systems are created for objects assigned anisotropic materials in legacy projects. The coordinate system is defined at the same origin as the global coordinate system, with the same orientation defined when the anisotropic material was assigned to the object in the legacy project. Nonlinear materials from legacy projects that have magnetic saturation values greater than zero are treated as ferrite materials in version 10. Their properties are not modified. Mesh refinement operations performed on arbitrary boxes in legacy projects are ignored. Area- and volume-based mesh operations are translated as length-based mesh operations in version 10 by taking their square roots and cube roots, respectively.
Excitations and Boundaries
Materials
Mesh Operations
Optimetrics
Setup information, including design variables, is not supported; however, the nominal model can be translated. Parameterizing a translated model is limited because geometry construction history is unavailable. Driven solver projects that contained terminal lines are translated to Driven Terminal solution types in version 10. Impedance-only and emissions-only solutions are not supported in version 10; therefore these selections in legacy projects are ignored. The designs initial mesh is used for the version 10 solution. Current meshes are not translated. Saving dominant-only or higher-order-only mode S-matrix entries are not supported in version 10; therefore these mode selections in legacy projects are ignored. For frequency sweeps, the Number of Steps value specified in the legacy project is converted to the corresponding Step Size value in version 10. The total number of requested adaptive passes in the legacy project becomes the Maximum Number of Passes value in version 10. For example, if you request 3 adaptive passes, solve them, and then request 2 adaptive passes, 5 will be the value specified for the Maximum Number of Passes in version 10. Solution data is not translated; therefore, you must solve legacy HFSS projects again in version 10.
Solutions
Closing Projects
To close the current HFSS or HFSS-IE project, select HFSS or HFSS-IE>Close. This closes the project without exiting HFSS or HFSS-IE. If there you have a simulation running, you see a message saying that if you continue, HFSS or HFSS-IE will abort before closing. If you OK, HFSS or HFSS-IE aborts the simulation and closes the project.
Saving Projects
Use the File>Save As command to do the following:
Save a new project. Save the active project with a different name or in a different location. Save the active project in another file format for use in another program. command to save the active project.
HFSShas a "Save before solving" setting located in the Tools>Options> HFSS or HFSS-IE Options menu. By default this is on. However, for efficiency reasons, the project is only saved if it has been modified since its last save. A prompt appears when you attempt to save a previously-versioned file. If you agree to the prompt, the file is upgraded to the HFSSversion in which you are running the software. In this case the file may no longer be compatible with previous versions. If you do not agree to the prompt, the file is not saved, so the file retains the previous compatibility. If you have a simulation running, you see a warning that if you continue, HFSSwill abort the simulation. If you OK the warning, HFSS or HFSS-IE aborts the simulation and saves the project. Related Topics Saving a New Project Saving the Active Project Saving a Copy of a Project Deleting Projects
6.
Leave the option selected to display the new file name, and then close the current file. Cancel the Switch to saved selection to save the file under the new name without changing which file is displayed.
Click OK. HFSS saves the project to the location you specified.
Warning
Be sure to save geometric models periodically. Saving frequently helps prevent the loss of your work if a problem occurs. Although HFSS has an "auto-save" feature, it may not automatically save frequently enough for your needs.
6.
Leave the field selected to display the new file name, and then close the current file. Cancel the Switch to saved selection to save the file under the new name without changing which file is displayed. HFSS saves the project with the new name or file extension to the location you specified.
Click OK.
Renaming a Project
To rename an existing, active project: 1. 2. 3. Select the project in the Project tree. Right-click to display the short-cut menu. Select Rename. This activates the text field for the project name.
Working with HFSS Projects3-11
4.
Type the new project name and press enter. The new project name appears in the directory and the project remains in the original location.
Note 4.
Click OK to apply the specified auto-save settings. Once the specified number of edits is carried out, a "model-only" save will occur. This means that HFSS or HFSS-IE does not save solutions data or clear any undo/redo history. When HFSS or HFSS-IE auto-saves, an ".auto" extension is appended to the original project file name. For example, "Project1.hfss" will automatically be saved as "Project1.hfss.auto".
Warning
When you close or rename a project, HFSS or HFSS-IE deletes the auto-save file. HFSS or HFSS-IE assumes that you have saved any desired changes at this point.
In the case where you start a solve while another solve is running, and the Save Before Solve option is set, HFSS or HFSS-IE asks if you want solve without saving first. This lets you do multiple solves, and if you have not edited the project in between solves, crash recovery will work. In any case, you can start a new solve while running another without having to abort the running solve.
To recover project data in an auto-save file: 1. 2. If HFSS or HFSS-IE has crashed, launch HFSSfrom your desktop. Click File>Open, and then select the original Projectn.hfss project file for which you want to recover its Projectn.hfss.auto auto-save file. The Crash Recovery window appears, which gives you the option to open the original project file or the auto-save file. 3. Select Open project using autosave file to recover project data in the auto-save file, and then click OK. HFSS or HFSS-IE replaces the original project file with the data in the auto-save file. HFSS or HFSS-IE immediately overwrites the original project file data with the auto-save file data, removing the results directory (solutions data) from the original project file as it overwrites to the auto-save file. Warning If you choose to recover the auto-save file, you cannot recover the original project file that has been overwritten; recovering data in an auto-save file is not reversible.
Deleting Projects
To delete a project: 1. 2. Select the project in the project tree. Click either Edit>Delete, or right click to display the short-cut menu and select Delete. A dialog displays the message: "The project selected and all its files will be deleted from the permanent storage medium. Click OK to proceed." 3. Click OK to delete the files or Cancel to retain them.
Undoing Commands
Use the Undo command on the Edit menu to cancel, or undo, the last action you performed on the active project or design. This is useful for undoing unintended commands related to project management, model creation, and post-processing. 1. In the Project Manager window, do one of the following:
Note 2.
To undo the last action you performed on the active project, such as inserting a design or adding project variables, click the project icon. To undo the last action you performed on the active design, such as drawing an object or deleting a field overlay plot, click the design icon. You cannot undo an analysis that youve performed on a model, that is, the HFSS>Analyze command. on the toolbars.
Click Edit> Undo, or click the Undo button Your last action is now undone.
Note
When you save a project, HFSS always clears the entire undo/redo history for the project and its designs.
Redoing Commands
Use the Redo command on the Edit menu to reapply, or redo, the last action that was canceled, or undone. You can redo a canceled action related to project management, model creation, and postprocessing. 1. In the Project Manager window, do one of the following:
2.
To redo the last action you canceled on the active project, such as inserting a design or adding project variables, click the project icon. To redo the last action you canceled on the active design, such as drawing an object or deleting a field overlay plot, click the design icon. on the toolbars.
Click Edit>Redo, or click the Redo button Your last canceled action is now reapplied.
Note
When you save a project, HFSS always clears the entire undo/redo history for the project and its designs.
3. 4. 5. 6.
From the Show Types list in the List Options section, select the types of definitions you want to show in the Item List list. Select the item you want to update from the Item List list. Click the Select All or Unselect All buttons to select or clear all items listed. Click Update. A message appears telling you the update was successful. Click OK to close the message.
Validating Projects
Before you run an analysis on a model, it is very important that you first perform a validation check on the project. When you perform a validation check on a project, HFSS runs a check on all the setup details of the active project to verify that all the necessary steps have been completed and their parameters are reasonable. To perform a validation check on the active project: 1. 2. Click HFSS>Validation Check . HFSS checks the project setup, and then the Validation Check window appears. View the results of the validation check in the Validation Check window.
The following icons can appear next to an item: Indicates the step is complete. Indicates the step is incomplete. Indicates the step may require your attention. 3. View any messages in the Message Manager window.
4.
If the validation check indicates that a step in your project is incomplete or incorrect, carefully review the setup details for that particular step and revise them as necessary.
Working with HFSS Projects3-19
5. 6.
Click HFSS>Validation Check to run a validation check after you have revised any setup details for an incomplete or incorrect project step. Click Close. Modeler Validation Settings
Related Topics
The Warning Only entity check setting allows all models to pass 3D Model validation regardless of any faults that are found (acis_entity check errors). These faults are posted in the message window as warnings. The Basic entity check setting allows most models to pass 3D Model validation. This excuses non-manifold errors and most acis_entity_check errors. Some faults are flagged as model errors (basic entity check errors), thereby prohibiting a design from proceeding to the meshing stage of an analysis. You must either correct such errors before attempting to analyze the design under the Basic setting, or you must change the Model Validation level to Warning Only. The Strict entity check setting enforces a tighter tolerance for model faults than the "Warning Only" and "Basic" settings. All model faults that are found during 3D Model validation are posted to the message window. These errors must be corrected before attempting to analyze the design under the Strict setting, or you must change the Model Validation level to Basic or Warning Only. Select Modeler->Validation Settings. This displays the Validation Settings dialog that lets you set the validation as basic, strict, or warning only.
2.
Choose the desired level of validation from the Entity Check Level drop down menu. You can also click the Save as Default button to make the current selection the default. You can select the Restore Default button.
3.
Related Topics Model Analysis Analyze Objects Interobject Misalignment Analyze Surface Mesh
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Heal Healing State On: Validation Check Show Analysis dialog Align Faces Remove Faces Remove Edges Technical Notes: Healing and Meshing Technical Notes: Detecting and Addressing Model Problems to Improve Meshing
Exporting Files
You can export the following types of files from HFSS or HFSS-IE:
5.
Click Save. The file is exported to the specified location as a 3D model file Extension Contents ACIS geometry solid model files. Ansoft 2D Geometry File Ansoft 3D Modeler files in ACIS version 2.0 or greater. AutoCAD Drawing Interchange Format files. .model - CATIA 4.1.9 to 4.2.4 .Catia V4 Export Files
GDSII files
Industry standard Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) files. AN additional license is required. Parasolid Binary Files. Parasolid Text Files
.x_b, .x_t
Standard ACIS binary. Industry standard AP203 STEP files. An additional license is required.
If you selected .sm3, the Select Version dialog box appears. Do the following:
7.
Click an ACIS version in which to export the model from the ACIS SM3 Version pulldown list, and then click OK.
Click Save. Unless you selected GDSII, the file is exported to the specified location as a 3D model file. If you selected GDSII, the GDSII Export dialog appears.
If the model has been defined with layers, those layers are listed by layer number in the table, with columns for Layer Name, Layer Number, Elevation in units. There is a checkbox to specify whether to include the layer in the exported file. If you have defined a layer map file for the model, the Layermap button opens a browser for you to open that file before export. The *.layermap file is a text file that maps the GDSII layer numbers to layer names in the stackup. The *.layermap file can have the same format as the .tech file used in GDSII import, but it only needs the layer name and number in the file. In a *.layermap file, other information is ignored.
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8.
In the Polygon Vertices area, check a radio button to select either No Limit to the number of vertices or Limit the number of vertices to a specified value. For Arc tolerance, specify a value or accept the default.
Click the OK button in the GDSII Export dialog to complete the export. The file is exported to the specified location.
Related Topics Exporting 2D Model Files Exporting Graphics Files Importing 3D Model Files Importing GDSII Format Files Export Results to Thermal Link for ANSYS Mechanical
To export a file to a graphics format: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click Modeler>Export to save the file in a graphics format. Use the file browser to find the directory where you want to save the file. Type the name of the file in the File name box. Select the desired graphics file format from the Save as type pull-down list. Click Save. The file is exported to the specified location as a graphics file.
Alternatively, right-click on the data table, and then click Export to File on the shortcut menu.
The Export plot data to file dialog box appears. 2. 3. 4. Use the file browser to find the directory where you want to save the file. Type the name of the file in the File name box. Select one of the following file formats from the Save as type pull-down list: Extension .txt .csv .tab .dat 5. Contents Post processor format file Comma-delimited data file Tab-separated file Ansoft plot data file
Click Save. The file is exported to the specified location as a data table file.
Importing Files
You can import the following types of files to HFSS or HFSS-IE:
2D model files 3D model files Solution data files Data table files HFSS or HFSS-IE Plot Data Plot Data
The import dialog contains a check box for the Heal command which is enabled by default. Related Topics Exporting Files
To import a 2D model file: 1. 2. 3. 4. Click Modeler>Import. The Import File dialog box appears. Select a file type from the Files of type pull-down list. For 2D model files, this would be either GDSII Files (*.gds) or Ansoft 2D Geometry Files (*.sm2). Use the file browser to find and select the file you want to import. Click Open. The file is imported into the active Modeler window. Extension .gds .sm2 Contents GDSII is a standard file format for 2D graphical design layout data. Ansoft 2D Modeler files.
Note
When importing .sm2 files, they will import into the current XY or XZ plane depending upon how they were originally created. If you want to import them in a specific orientation other than the current XY or XZ plane, you must first create a relative coordinate system with the planes in the desired orientation. See Creating a Relative Coordinate System for more information.
The GDSII file may contain several top level structures. 1. 2. Click on a structure name in the GDSII Structures panel to highlight it. Clicking on the Select checkbox in the GDSII Structures panel both highlights the structure and selects that top-level structure to be imported.
When multiple structures are imported, HFSS or HFSS-IE creates multiple designs under the current project, one for each of the GDSII structures. Descendants Panel The GDSII file is hierarchical and may contain many sub-layouts. The Descendants panel shows the sub-layouts in the selected top-level designs. Layers for structurename Panel The Layers for structurename panel shows the layers for the (most recently) highlighted top level structure [structurename]. GDSII layers are identified by layer numbers. All Layers Panel The All Layers panel lists all the layers from all the structures in the file. Use the Import check boxes in the All GDSII Layers panel to select the layers to import. You can drag and drop the layers in the list to change the vertical stackup of layers. General Field The Flatten hierarchy checkbox is automatically selected. HFSS always flattens any hierarchical geometry in the GDSII. Nodes Field GDSII supports nodes and boundaries as separate data types. Normally, boundaries represent polygons. HFSS can either convert objects that use the nodes data type to boundary types, or can ignore them. Use the radio buttons to select Convert to boundaries or Ignore. The default is to convert data type nodes to data type boundary. Import Method Field Use the radio button to select the import method as Script of Acis Layer Mapping Field If desired, you can create a mapping of the GDSII layer numbers to layer names in the design stackup. To create and use the mapping. 1. Use a text editor to create a text file that maps the GDSII layer numbers to layer names in the stackup. The layer mapping file must have a .tech suffix. The .tech format:
/ is the comment character Units may be specified with a line UNITS <string> before the lines of layer information. <string> is any of the allowed desktop length units. The default units is nm. Each layer is specified by a line that contains <import layer> <product layer> <layer color> <layer elevation> <layer thickness>
where:
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<import layer> - the name of the DXF layer <destination layer> - the name to map the DXF layer to. This specifies the layout layer in Designer. In HFSS, it is used as part of the name for objects imported from this DXF layer. <layer color> - A string from the choices listed here, for example. blue2 <layer elevation> - double <layer height> - double 2. For example: UNITS um / / -----------------------------------------------------------/ import# S12 TR S3 3. 4. destination signal12 trace signal3 Color blue red yellow Elevation 1100 6620 8150 Thickness 530 530 2000 / -----------------------------------------------------------
Click the Open button in the Layer mapping panel to locate and open an existing layer mapping file. Click OK. The file is imported into the active Modeler window. You can use the Save button to save a layer mapping file with the current settings.
papaya whip RBG = { 255, 239, 213}, PapayaWhip RBG = { 255, 239, 213}, blanched almond RBG = { 255, 235, 205}, BlanchedAlmond RBG = { 255, 235, 205}, bisque RBG = { 255, 228, 196}, peach puff RBG = { 255, 218, 185}, PeachPuff RBG = { 255, 218, 185}, navajo white RBG = { 255, 222, 173}, NavajoWhite RBG = { 255, 222, 173}, moccasin RBG = { 255, 228, 181}, cornsilk RBG = { 255, 248, 220}, ivory RBG = { 255, 255, 240}, lemon chiffon RBG = { 255, 250, 205}, LemonChiffon RBG = { 255, 250, 205}, seashell RBG = { 255, 245, 238}, honeydew RBG = { 240, 255, 240}, mint cream RBG = { 245, 255, 250}, MintCream RBG = { 245, 255, 250}, azure RBG = { 240, 255, 255}, alice blue RBG = { 240, 248, 255}, AliceBlue RBG = { 240, 248, 255}, lavender RBG = { 230, 230, 250}, lavender blush RBG = { 255, 240, 245}, LavenderBlush RBG = { 255, 240, 245}, misty rose RBG = { 255, 228, 225}, MistyRose RBG = { 255, 228, 225}, white RBG = { 255, 255, 255}, black RBG = { 0, 0, 0}, dark slate gray RBG = { 47, 79, 79}, DarkSlateGray RBG = { 47, 79, 79}, dark slate grey RBG = { 47, 79, 79}, DarkSlateGrey RBG = { 47, 79, 79}, dim gray RBG = { 105, 105, 105}, DimGray RBG = { 105, 105, 105}, dim grey RBG = { 105, 105, 105},
3-30 Working with HFSS Projects
DimGrey RBG = { 105, 105, 105}, slate gray RBG = { 112, 128, 144}, SlateGray RBG = { 112, 128, 144}, slate grey RBG = { 112, 128, 144}, SlateGrey RBG = { 112, 128, 144}, light slate gray RBG = { 119, 136, 153}, LightSlateGray RBG = { 119, 136, 153}, light slate grey RBG = { 119, 136, 153}, LightSlateGrey RBG = { 119, 136, 153}, gray RBG = { 190, 190, 190}, grey RBG = { 190, 190, 190}, light grey RBG = { 211, 211, 211}, LightGrey RBG = { 211, 211, 211}, light gray RBG = { 211, 211, 211}, LightGray RBG = { 211, 211, 211}, midnight blue RBG = { 25, 25, 112}, MidnightBlue RBG = { 25, 25, 112}, navy RBG = { 0, 0, 128}, navy blue RBG = { 0, 0, 128}, NavyBlue RBG = { 0, 0, 128}, cornflower blue RBG = { 100, 149, 237}, CornflowerBlue RBG = { 100, 149, 237}, dark slate blue RBG = { 72, 61, 139}, DarkSlateBlue RBG = { 72, 61, 139}, slate blue RBG = { 106, 90, 205}, SlateBlue RBG = { 106, 90, 205}, medium slate blue RBG = { 123, 104, 238}, MediumSlateBlue RBG = { 123, 104, 238}, light slate blue RBG = { 132, 112, 255}, LightSlateBlue RBG = { 132, 112, 255}, medium blue RBG = { 0, 0, 205}, MediumBlue RBG = { 0, 0, 205}, royal blue RBG = { 65, 105, 225}, RoyalBlue RBG = { 65, 105, 225}, blue RBG = { 0, 0, 255},
Working with HFSS Projects3-31
dodger blue RBG = { 30, 144, 255}, DodgerBlue RBG = { 30, 144, 255}, deep sky blue RBG = { 0, 191, 255}, DeepSkyBlue RBG = { 0, 191, 255}, sky blue RBG = { 135, 206, 235}, SkyBlue RBG = { 135, 206, 235}, light sky blue RBG = { 135, 206, 250}, LightSkyBlue RBG = { 135, 206, 250}, steel blue RBG = { 70, 130, 180}, SteelBlue RBG = { 70, 130, 180}, light steel blue RBG = { 176, 196, 222}, LightSteelBlue RBG = { 176, 196, 222}, light blue RBG = { 173, 216, 230}, LightBlue RBG = { 173, 216, 230}, powder blue RBG = { 176, 224, 230}, PowderBlue RBG = { 176, 224, 230}, pale turquoise RBG = { 175, 238, 238}, PaleTurquoise RBG = { 175, 238, 238}, dark turquoise RBG = { 0, 206, 209}, DarkTurquoise RBG = { 0, 206, 209}, medium turquoise RBG = { 72, 209, 204}, MediumTurquoise RBG = { 72, 209, 204}, turquoise RBG = { 64, 224, 208}, cyan RBG = { 0, 255, 255}, light cyan RBG = { 224, 255, 255}, LightCyan RBG = { 224, 255, 255}, cadet blue RBG = { 95, 158, 160}, CadetBlue RBG = { 95, 158, 160}, medium aquamarine RBG = { 102, 205, 170}, MediumAquamarine RBG = { 102, 205, 170}, aquamarine RBG = { 127, 255, 212}, dark green RBG = { 0, 100, 0}, DarkGreen RBG = { 0, 100, 0}, dark olive green RBG = { 85, 107, 47}, DarkOliveGreen RBG = { 85, 107, 47},
3-32 Working with HFSS Projects
dark sea green RBG = { 143, 188, 143}, DarkSeaGreen RBG = { 143, 188, 143}, sea green RBG = { 46, 139, 87}, SeaGreen RBG = { 46, 139, 87}, medium sea green RBG = { 60, 179, 113}, MediumSeaGreen RBG = { 60, 179, 113}, light sea green RBG = { 32, 178, 170}, LightSeaGreen RBG = { 32, 178, 170}, pale green RBG = { 152, 251, 152}, PaleGreen RBG = { 152, 251, 152}, spring green RBG = { 0, 255, 127}, SpringGreen RBG = { 0, 255, 127}, lawn green RBG = { 124, 252, 0}, LawnGreen RBG = { 124, 252, 0}, green RBG = { 0, 255, 0}, chartreuse RBG = { 127, 255, 0}, medium spring green RBG = { 0, 250, 154}, MediumSpringGreen RBG = { 0, 250, 154}, green yellow RBG = { 173, 255, 47}, GreenYellow RBG = { 173, 255, 47}, lime green RBG = { 50, 205, 50}, LimeGreen RBG = { 50, 205, 50}, yellow green RBG = { 154, 205, 50}, YellowGreen RBG = { 154, 205, 50}, forest green RBG = { 34, 139, 34}, ForestGreen RBG = { 34, 139, 34}, olive drab RBG = { 107, 142, 35}, OliveDrab RBG = { 107, 142, 35}, dark khaki RBG = { 189, 183, 107}, DarkKhaki RBG = { 189, 183, 107}, khaki RBG = { 240, 230, 140}, pale goldenrod RBG = { 238, 232, 170}, PaleGoldenrod RBG = { 238, 232, 170}, light goldenrod yellow RBG = { 250, 250, 210}, LightGoldenrodYellow RBG = { 250, 250, 210},
Working with HFSS Projects3-33
light yellow RBG = { 255, 255, 224}, LightYellow RBG = { 255, 255, 224}, yellow RBG = { 255, 255, 0}, gold RBG = { 255, 215, 0}, light goldenrod RBG = { 238, 221, 130}, LightGoldenrod RBG = { 238, 221, 130}, goldenrod RBG = { 218, 165, 32}, dark goldenrod RBG = { 184, 134, 11}, DarkGoldenrod RBG = { 184, 134, 11}, rosy brown RBG = { 188, 143, 143}, RosyBrown RBG = { 188, 143, 143}, indian red RBG = { 205, 92, 92}, IndianRed RBG = { 205, 92, 92}, saddle brown RBG = { 139, 69, 19}, SaddleBrown RBG = { 139, 69, 19}, sienna RBG = { 160, 82, 45}, peru RBG = { 205, 133, 63}, burlywood RBG = { 222, 184, 135}, beige RBG = { 245, 245, 220}, wheat RBG = { 245, 222, 179}, sandy brown RBG = { 244, 164, 96}, SandyBrown RBG = { 244, 164, 96}, tan RBG = { 210, 180, 140}, chocolate RBG = { 210, 105, 30}, firebrick RBG = { 178, 34, 34}, brown RBG = { 165, 42, 42}, dark salmon RBG = { 233, 150, 122}, DarkSalmon RBG = { 233, 150, 122}, salmon RBG = { 250, 128, 114}, light salmon RBG = { 255, 160, 122}, LightSalmon RBG = { 255, 160, 122}, orange RBG = { 255, 165, 0}, dark orange RBG = { 255, 140, 0}, DarkOrange RBG = { 255, 140, 0}, coral RBG = { 255, 127, 80},
3-34 Working with HFSS Projects
light coral RBG = { 240, 128, 128}, LightCoral RBG = { 240, 128, 128}, tomato RBG = { 255, 99, 71}, orange red RBG = { 255, 69, 0}, OrangeRed RBG = { 255, 69, 0}, red RBG = { 255, 0, 0}, hot pink RBG = { 255, 105, 180}, HotPink RBG = { 255, 105, 180}, deep pink RBG = { 255, 20, 147}, DeepPink RBG = { 255, 20, 147}, pink RBG = { 255, 192, 203}, light pink RBG = { 255, 182, 193}, LightPink RBG = { 255, 182, 193}, pale violet red RBG = { 219, 112, 147}, PaleVioletRed RBG = { 219, 112, 147}, maroon RBG = { 176, 48, 96}, medium violet red RBG = { 199, 21, 133}, MediumVioletRed RBG = { 199, 21, 133}, violet red RBG = { 208, 32, 144}, VioletRed RBG = { 208, 32, 144}, magenta RBG = { 255, 0, 255}, violet RBG = { 238, 130, 238}, plum RBG = { 221, 160, 221}, orchid RBG = { 218, 112, 214}, medium orchid RBG = { 186, 85, 211}, MediumOrchid RBG = { 186, 85, 211}, dark orchid RBG = { 153, 50, 204}, DarkOrchid RBG = { 153, 50, 204}, dark violet RBG = { 148, 0, 211}, DarkViolet RBG = { 148, 0, 211}, blue violet RBG = { 138, 43, 226}, BlueViolet RBG = { 138, 43, 226}, purple RBG = { 160, 32, 240}, medium purple RBG = { 147, 112, 219}, MediumPurple RBG = { 147, 112, 219},
Working with HFSS Projects3-35
thistle RBG = { 216, 191, 216}, snow1 RBG = { 255, 250, 250}, snow2 RBG = { 238, 233, 233}, snow3 RBG = { 205, 201, 201}, snow4 RBG = { 139, 137, 137}, seashell1 RBG = { 255, 245, 238}, seashell2 RBG = { 238, 229, 222}, seashell3 RBG = { 205, 197, 191}, seashell4 RBG = { 139, 134, 130}, AntiqueWhite1 RBG = { 255, 239, 219}, AntiqueWhite2 RBG = { 238, 223, 204}, AntiqueWhite3 RBG = { 205, 192, 176}, AntiqueWhite4 RBG = { 139, 131, 120}, bisque1 RBG = { 255, 228, 196}, bisque2 RBG = { 238, 213, 183}, bisque3 RBG = { 205, 183, 158}, bisque4 RBG = { 139, 125, 107}, PeachPuff1 RBG = { 255, 218, 185}, PeachPuff2 RBG = { 238, 203, 173}, PeachPuff3 RBG = { 205, 175, 149}, PeachPuff4 RBG = { 139, 119, 101}, NavajoWhite1 RBG = { 255, 222, 173}, NavajoWhite2 RBG = { 238, 207, 161}, NavajoWhite3 RBG = { 205, 179, 139}, NavajoWhite4 RBG = { 139, 121, 94}, LemonChiffon1 RBG = { 255, 250, 205}, LemonChiffon2 RBG = { 238, 233, 191}, LemonChiffon3 RBG = { 205, 201, 165}, LemonChiffon4 RBG = { 139, 137, 112}, cornsilk1 RBG = { 255, 248, 220}, cornsilk2 RBG = { 238, 232, 205}, cornsilk3 RBG = { 205, 200, 177}, cornsilk4 RBG = { 139, 136, 120}, ivory1 RBG = { 255, 255, 240}, ivory2 RBG = { 238, 238, 224},
3-36 Working with HFSS Projects
ivory3 RBG = { 205, 205, 193}, ivory4 RBG = { 139, 139, 131}, honeydew1 RBG = { 240, 255, 240}, honeydew2 RBG = { 224, 238, 224}, honeydew3 RBG = { 193, 205, 193}, honeydew4 RBG = { 131, 139, 131}, LavenderBlush1 RBG = { 255, 240, 245}, LavenderBlush2 RBG = { 238, 224, 229}, LavenderBlush3 RBG = { 205, 193, 197}, LavenderBlush4 RBG = { 139, 131, 134}, MistyRose1 RBG = { 255, 228, 225}, MistyRose2 RBG = { 238, 213, 210}, MistyRose3 RBG = { 205, 183, 181}, MistyRose4 RBG = { 139, 125, 123}, azure1 RBG = { 240, 255, 255}, azure2 RBG = { 224, 238, 238}, azure3 RBG = { 193, 205, 205}, azure4 RBG = { 131, 139, 139}, SlateBlue1 RBG = { 131, 111, 255}, SlateBlue2 RBG = { 122, 103, 238}, SlateBlue3 RBG = { 105, 89, 205}, SlateBlue4 RBG = { 71, 60, 139}, RoyalBlue1 RBG = { 72, 118, 255}, RoyalBlue2 RBG = { 67, 110, 238}, RoyalBlue3 RBG = { 58, 95, 205}, RoyalBlue4 RBG = { 39, 64, 139}, blue1 RBG = { 0, 0, 255}, blue2 RBG = { 0, 0, 238}, blue3 RBG = { 0, 0, 205}, blue4 RBG = { 0, 0, 139}, DodgerBlue1 RBG = { 30, 144, 255}, DodgerBlue2 RBG = { 28, 134, 238}, DodgerBlue3 RBG = { 24, 116, 205}, DodgerBlue4 RBG = { 16, 78, 139}, SteelBlue1 RBG = { 99, 184, 255},
Working with HFSS Projects3-37
SteelBlue2 RBG = { 92, 172, 238}, SteelBlue3 RBG = { 79, 148, 205}, SteelBlue4 RBG = { 54, 100, 139}, DeepSkyBlue1 RBG = { 0, 191, 255}, DeepSkyBlue2 RBG = { 0, 178, 238}, DeepSkyBlue3 RBG = { 0, 154, 205}, DeepSkyBlue4 RBG = { 0, 104, 139}, SkyBlue1 RBG = { 135, 206, 255}, SkyBlue2 RBG = { 126, 192, 238}, SkyBlue3 RBG = { 108, 166, 205}, SkyBlue4 RBG = { 74, 112, 139}, LightSkyBlue1 RBG = { 176, 226, 255}, LightSkyBlue2 RBG = { 164, 211, 238}, LightSkyBlue3 RBG = { 141, 182, 205}, LightSkyBlue4 RBG = { 96, 123, 139}, SlateGray1 RBG = { 198, 226, 255}, SlateGray2 RBG = { 185, 211, 238}, SlateGray3 RBG = { 159, 182, 205}, SlateGray4 RBG = { 108, 123, 139}, LightSteelBlue1 RBG = { 202, 225, 255}, LightSteelBlue2 RBG = { 188, 210, 238}, LightSteelBlue3 RBG = { 162, 181, 205}, LightSteelBlue4 RBG = { 110, 123, 139}, LightBlue1 RBG = { 191, 239, 255}, LightBlue2 RBG = { 178, 223, 238}, LightBlue3 RBG = { 154, 192, 205}, LightBlue4 RBG = { 104, 131, 139}, LightCyan1 RBG = { 224, 255, 255}, LightCyan2 RBG = { 209, 238, 238}, LightCyan3 RBG = { 180, 205, 205}, LightCyan4 RBG = { 122, 139, 139}, PaleTurquoise1 RBG = { 187, 255, 255}, PaleTurquoise2 RBG = { 174, 238, 238}, PaleTurquoise3 RBG = { 150, 205, 205}, PaleTurquoise4 RBG = { 102, 139, 139},
3-38 Working with HFSS Projects
CadetBlue1 RBG = { 152, 245, 255}, CadetBlue2 RBG = { 142, 229, 238}, CadetBlue3 RBG = { 122, 197, 205}, CadetBlue4 RBG = { 83, 134, 139}, turquoise1 RBG = { 0, 245, 255}, turquoise2 RBG = { 0, 229, 238}, turquoise3 RBG = { 0, 197, 205}, turquoise4 RBG = { 0, 134, 139}, cyan1 RBG = { 0, 255, 255}, cyan2 RBG = { 0, 238, 238}, cyan3 RBG = { 0, 205, 205}, cyan4 RBG = { 0, 139, 139}, DarkSlateGray1 RBG = { 151, 255, 255}, DarkSlateGray2 RBG = { 141, 238, 238}, DarkSlateGray3 RBG = { 121, 205, 205}, DarkSlateGray4 RBG = { 82, 139, 139}, aquamarine1 RBG = { 127, 255, 212}, aquamarine2 RBG = { 118, 238, 198}, aquamarine3 RBG = { 102, 205, 170}, aquamarine4 RBG = { 69, 139, 116}, DarkSeaGreen1 RBG = { 193, 255, 193}, DarkSeaGreen2 RBG = { 180, 238, 180}, DarkSeaGreen3 RBG = { 155, 205, 155}, DarkSeaGreen4 RBG = { 105, 139, 105}, SeaGreen1 RBG = { 84, 255, 159}, SeaGreen2 RBG = { 78, 238, 148}, SeaGreen3 RBG = { 67, 205, 128}, SeaGreen4 RBG = { 46, 139, 87}, PaleGreen1 RBG = { 154, 255, 154}, PaleGreen2 RBG = { 144, 238, 144}, PaleGreen3 RBG = { 124, 205, 124}, PaleGreen4 RBG = { 84, 139, 84}, SpringGreen1 RBG = { 0, 255, 127}, SpringGreen2 RBG = { 0, 238, 118}, SpringGreen3 RBG = { 0, 205, 102},
Working with HFSS Projects3-39
SpringGreen4 RBG = { 0, 139, 69}, green1 RBG = { 0, 255, 0}, green2 RBG = { 0, 238, 0}, green3 RBG = { 0, 205, 0}, green4 RBG = { 0, 139, 0}, chartreuse1 RBG = { 127, 255, 0}, chartreuse2 RBG = { 118, 238, 0}, chartreuse3 RBG = { 102, 205, 0}, chartreuse4 RBG = { 69, 139, 0}, OliveDrab1 RBG = { 192, 255, 62}, OliveDrab2 RBG = { 179, 238, 58}, OliveDrab3 RBG = { 154, 205, 50}, OliveDrab4 RBG = { 105, 139, 34}, DarkOliveGreen1 RBG = { 202, 255, 112}, DarkOliveGreen2 RBG = { 188, 238, 104}, DarkOliveGreen3 RBG = { 162, 205, 90}, DarkOliveGreen4 RBG = { 110, 139, 61}, khaki1 RBG = { 255, 246, 143}, khaki2 RBG = { 238, 230, 133}, khaki3 RBG = { 205, 198, 115}, khaki4 RBG = { 139, 134, 78}, LightGoldenrod1 RBG = { 255, 236, 139}, LightGoldenrod2 RBG = { 238, 220, 130}, LightGoldenrod3 RBG = { 205, 190, 112}, LightGoldenrod4 RBG = { 139, 129, 76}, LightYellow1 RBG = { 255, 255, 224}, LightYellow2 RBG = { 238, 238, 209}, LightYellow3 RBG = { 205, 205, 180}, LightYellow4 RBG = { 139, 139, 122}, yellow1 RBG = { 255, 255, 0}, yellow2 RBG = { 238, 238, 0}, yellow3 RBG = { 205, 205, 0}, yellow4 RBG = { 139, 139, 0}, gold1 RBG = { 255, 215, 0}, gold2 RBG = { 238, 201, 0},
3-40 Working with HFSS Projects
gold3 RBG = { 205, 173, 0}, gold4 RBG = { 139, 117, 0}, goldenrod1 RBG = { 255, 193, 37}, goldenrod2 RBG = { 238, 180, 34}, goldenrod3 RBG = { 205, 155, 29}, goldenrod4 RBG = { 139, 105, 20}, DarkGoldenrod1 RBG = { 255, 185, 15}, DarkGoldenrod2 RBG = { 238, 173, 14}, DarkGoldenrod3 RBG = { 205, 149, 12}, DarkGoldenrod4 RBG = { 139, 101, 8}, RosyBrown1 RBG = { 255, 193, 193}, RosyBrown2 RBG = { 238, 180, 180}, RosyBrown3 RBG = { 205, 155, 155}, RosyBrown4 RBG = { 139, 105, 105}, IndianRed1 RBG = { 255, 106, 106}, IndianRed2 RBG = { 238, 99, 99}, IndianRed3 RBG = { 205, 85, 85}, IndianRed4 RBG = { 139, 58, 58}, sienna1 RBG = { 255, 130, 71}, sienna2 RBG = { 238, 121, 66}, sienna3 RBG = { 205, 104, 57}, sienna4 RBG = { 139, 71, 38}, burlywood1 RBG = { 255, 211, 155}, burlywood2 RBG = { 238, 197, 145}, burlywood3 RBG = { 205, 170, 125}, burlywood4 RBG = { 139, 115, 85}, wheat1 RBG = { 255, 231, 186}, wheat2 RBG = { 238, 216, 174}, wheat3 RBG = { 205, 186, 150}, wheat4 RBG = { 139, 126, 102}, tan1 RBG = { 255, 165, 79}, tan2 RBG = { 238, 154, 73}, tan3 RBG = { 205, 133, 63}, tan4 RBG = { 139, 90, 43}, chocolate1 RBG = { 255, 127, 36},
Working with HFSS Projects3-41
chocolate2 RBG = { 238, 118, 33}, chocolate3 RBG = { 205, 102, 29}, chocolate4 RBG = { 139, 69, 19}, firebrick1 RBG = { 255, 48, 48}, firebrick2 RBG = { 238, 44, 44}, firebrick3 RBG = { 205, 38, 38}, firebrick4 RBG = { 139, 26, 26}, brown1 RBG = { 255, 64, 64}, brown2 RBG = { 238, 59, 59}, brown3 RBG = { 205, 51, 51}, brown4 RBG = { 139, 35, 35}, salmon1 RBG = { 255, 140, 105}, salmon2 RBG = { 238, 130, 98}, salmon3 RBG = { 205, 112, 84}, salmon4 RBG = { 139, 76, 57}, LightSalmon1 RBG = { 255, 160, 122}, LightSalmon2 RBG = { 238, 149, 114}, LightSalmon3 RBG = { 205, 129, 98}, LightSalmon4 RBG = { 139, 87, 66}, orange1 RBG = { 255, 165, 0}, orange2 RBG = { 238, 154, 0}, orange3 RBG = { 205, 133, 0}, orange4 RBG = { 139, 90, 0}, DarkOrange1 RBG = { 255, 127, 0}, DarkOrange2 RBG = { 238, 118, 0}, DarkOrange3 RBG = { 205, 102, 0}, DarkOrange4 RBG = { 139, 69, 0}, coral1 RBG = { 255, 114, 86}, coral2 RBG = { 238, 106, 80}, coral3 RBG = { 205, 91, 69}, coral4 RBG = { 139, 62, 47}, tomato1 RBG = { 255, 99, 71}, tomato2 RBG = { 238, 92, 66}, tomato3 RBG = { 205, 79, 57}, tomato4 RBG = { 139, 54, 38},
3-42 Working with HFSS Projects
OrangeRed1 RBG = { 255, 69, 0}, OrangeRed2 RBG = { 238, 64, 0}, OrangeRed3 RBG = { 205, 55, 0}, OrangeRed4 RBG = { 139, 37, 0}, red1 RBG = { 255, 0, 0}, red2 RBG = { 238, 0, 0}, red3 RBG = { 205, 0, 0}, red4 RBG = { 139, 0, 0}, DeepPink1 RBG = { 255, 20, 147}, DeepPink2 RBG = { 238, 18, 137}, DeepPink3 RBG = { 205, 16, 118}, DeepPink4 RBG = { 139, 10, 80}, HotPink1 RBG = { 255, 110, 180}, HotPink2 RBG = { 238, 106, 167}, HotPink3 RBG = { 205, 96, 144}, HotPink4 RBG = { 139, 58, 98}, pink1 RBG = { 255, 181, 197}, pink2 RBG = { 238, 169, 184}, pink3 RBG = { 205, 145, 158}, pink4 RBG = { 139, 99, 108}, LightPink1 RBG = { 255, 174, 185}, LightPink2 RBG = { 238, 162, 173}, LightPink3 RBG = { 205, 140, 149}, LightPink4 RBG = { 139, 95, 101}, PaleVioletRed1 RBG = { 255, 130, 171}, PaleVioletRed2 RBG = { 238, 121, 159}, PaleVioletRed3 RBG = { 205, 104, 137}, PaleVioletRed4 RBG = { 139, 71, 93}, maroon1 RBG = { 255, 52, 179}, maroon2 RBG = { 238, 48, 167}, maroon3 RBG = { 205, 41, 144}, maroon4 RBG = { 139, 28, 98}, VioletRed1 RBG = { 255, 62, 150}, VioletRed2 RBG = { 238, 58, 140}, VioletRed3 RBG = { 205, 50, 120},
Working with HFSS Projects3-43
VioletRed4 RBG = { 139, 34, 82}, magenta1 RBG = { 255, 0, 255}, magenta2 RBG = { 238, 0, 238}, magenta3 RBG = { 205, 0, 205}, magenta4 RBG = { 139, 0, 139}, orchid1 RBG = { 255, 131, 250}, orchid2 RBG = { 238, 122, 233}, orchid3 RBG = { 205, 105, 201}, orchid4 RBG = { 139, 71, 137}, plum1 RBG = { 255, 187, 255}, plum2 RBG = { 238, 174, 238}, plum3 RBG = { 205, 150, 205}, plum4 RBG = { 139, 102, 139}, MediumOrchid1 RBG = { 224, 102, 255}, MediumOrchid2 RBG = { 209, 95, 238}, MediumOrchid3 RBG = { 180, 82, 205}, MediumOrchid4 RBG = { 122, 55, 139}, DarkOrchid1 RBG = { 191, 62, 255}, DarkOrchid2 RBG = { 178, 58, 238}, DarkOrchid3 RBG = { 154, 50, 205}, DarkOrchid4 RBG = { 104, 34, 139}, purple1 RBG = { 155, 48, 255}, purple2 RBG = { 145, 44, 238}, purple3 RBG = { 125, 38, 205}, purple4 RBG = { 85, 26, 139}, MediumPurple1 RBG = { 171, 130, 255}, MediumPurple2 RBG = { 159, 121, 238}, MediumPurple3 RBG = { 137, 104, 205}, MediumPurple4 RBG = { 93, 71, 139}, thistle1 RBG = { 255, 225, 255}, thistle2 RBG = { 238, 210, 238}, thistle3 RBG = { 205, 181, 205}, thistle4 RBG = { 139, 123, 139}, gray0 RBG = { 0, 0, 0}, grey0 RBG = { 0, 0, 0},
3-44 Working with HFSS Projects
gray1 RBG = { 3, 3, 3}, grey1 RBG = { 3, 3, 3}, gray2 RBG = { 5, 5, 5}, grey2 RBG = { 5, 5, 5}, gray3 RBG = { 8, 8, 8}, grey3 RBG = { 8, 8, 8}, gray4 RBG = { 10, 10, 10}, grey4 RBG = { 10, 10, 10}, gray5 RBG = { 13, 13, 13}, grey5 RBG = { 13, 13, 13}, gray6 RBG = { 15, 15, 15}, grey6 RBG = { 15, 15, 15}, gray7 RBG = { 18, 18, 18}, grey7 RBG = { 18, 18, 18}, gray8 RBG = { 20, 20, 20}, grey8 RBG = { 20, 20, 20}, gray9 RBG = { 23, 23, 23}, grey9 RBG = { 23, 23, 23}, gray10 RBG = { 26, 26, 26}, grey10 RBG = { 26, 26, 26}, gray11 RBG = { 28, 28, 28}, grey11 RBG = { 28, 28, 28}, gray12 RBG = { 31, 31, 31}, grey12 RBG = { 31, 31, 31}, gray13 RBG = { 33, 33, 33}, grey13 RBG = { 33, 33, 33}, gray14 RBG = { 36, 36, 36}, grey14 RBG = { 36, 36, 36}, gray15 RBG = { 38, 38, 38}, grey15 RBG = { 38, 38, 38}, gray16 RBG = { 41, 41, 41}, grey16 RBG = { 41, 41, 41}, gray17 RBG = { 43, 43, 43}, grey17 RBG = { 43, 43, 43}, gray18 RBG = { 46, 46, 46},
Working with HFSS Projects3-45
grey18 RBG = { 46, 46, 46}, gray19 RBG = { 48, 48, 48}, grey19 RBG = { 48, 48, 48}, gray20 RBG = { 51, 51, 51}, grey20 RBG = { 51, 51, 51}, gray21 RBG = { 54, 54, 54}, grey21 RBG = { 54, 54, 54}, gray22 RBG = { 56, 56, 56}, grey22 RBG = { 56, 56, 56}, gray23 RBG = { 59, 59, 59}, grey23 RBG = { 59, 59, 59}, gray24 RBG = { 61, 61, 61}, grey24 RBG = { 61, 61, 61}, gray25 RBG = { 64, 64, 64}, grey25 RBG = { 64, 64, 64}, gray26 RBG = { 66, 66, 66}, grey26 RBG = { 66, 66, 66}, gray27 RBG = { 69, 69, 69}, grey27 RBG = { 69, 69, 69}, gray28 RBG = { 71, 71, 71}, grey28 RBG = { 71, 71, 71}, gray29 RBG = { 74, 74, 74}, grey29 RBG = { 74, 74, 74}, gray30 RBG = { 77, 77, 77}, grey30 RBG = { 77, 77, 77}, gray31 RBG = { 79, 79, 79}, grey31 RBG = { 79, 79, 79}, gray32 RBG = { 82, 82, 82}, grey32 RBG = { 82, 82, 82}, gray33 RBG = { 84, 84, 84}, grey33 RBG = { 84, 84, 84}, gray34 RBG = { 87, 87, 87}, grey34 RBG = { 87, 87, 87}, gray35 RBG = { 89, 89, 89}, grey35 RBG = { 89, 89, 89},
3-46 Working with HFSS Projects
gray36 RBG = { 92, 92, 92}, grey36 RBG = { 92, 92, 92}, gray37 RBG = { 94, 94, 94}, grey37 RBG = { 94, 94, 94}, gray38 RBG = { 97, 97, 97}, grey38 RBG = { 97, 97, 97}, gray39 RBG = { 99, 99, 99}, grey39 RBG = { 99, 99, 99}, gray40 RBG = { 102, 102, 102}, grey40 RBG = { 102, 102, 102}, gray41 RBG = { 105, 105, 105}, grey41 RBG = { 105, 105, 105}, gray42 RBG = { 107, 107, 107}, grey42 RBG = { 107, 107, 107}, gray43 RBG = { 110, 110, 110}, grey43 RBG = { 110, 110, 110}, gray44 RBG = { 112, 112, 112}, grey44 RBG = { 112, 112, 112}, gray45 RBG = { 115, 115, 115}, grey45 RBG = { 115, 115, 115}, gray46 RBG = { 117, 117, 117}, grey46 RBG = { 117, 117, 117}, gray47 RBG = { 120, 120, 120}, grey47 RBG = { 120, 120, 120}, gray48 RBG = { 122, 122, 122}, grey48 RBG = { 122, 122, 122}, gray49 RBG = { 125, 125, 125}, grey49 RBG = { 125, 125, 125}, gray50 RBG = { 127, 127, 127}, grey50 RBG = { 127, 127, 127}, gray51 RBG = { 130, 130, 130}, grey51 RBG = { 130, 130, 130}, gray52 RBG = { 133, 133, 133}, grey52 RBG = { 133, 133, 133}, gray53 RBG = { 135, 135, 135},
Working with HFSS Projects3-47
grey53 RBG = { 135, 135, 135}, gray54 RBG = { 138, 138, 138}, grey54 RBG = { 138, 138, 138}, gray55 RBG = { 140, 140, 140}, grey55 RBG = { 140, 140, 140}, gray56 RBG = { 143, 143, 143}, grey56 RBG = { 143, 143, 143}, gray57 RBG = { 145, 145, 145}, grey57 RBG = { 145, 145, 145}, gray58 RBG = { 148, 148, 148}, grey58 RBG = { 148, 148, 148}, gray59 RBG = { 150, 150, 150}, grey59 RBG = { 150, 150, 150}, gray60 RBG = { 153, 153, 153}, grey60 RBG = { 153, 153, 153}, gray61 RBG = { 156, 156, 156}, grey61 RBG = { 156, 156, 156}, gray62 RBG = { 158, 158, 158}, grey62 RBG = { 158, 158, 158}, gray63 RBG = { 161, 161, 161}, grey63 RBG = { 161, 161, 161}, gray64 RBG = { 163, 163, 163}, grey64 RBG = { 163, 163, 163}, gray65 RBG = { 166, 166, 166}, grey65 RBG = { 166, 166, 166}, gray66 RBG = { 168, 168, 168}, grey66 RBG = { 168, 168, 168}, gray67 RBG = { 171, 171, 171}, grey67 RBG = { 171, 171, 171}, gray68 RBG = { 173, 173, 173}, grey68 RBG = { 173, 173, 173}, gray69 RBG = { 176, 176, 176}, grey69 RBG = { 176, 176, 176}, gray70 RBG = { 179, 179, 179}, grey70 RBG = { 179, 179, 179},
3-48 Working with HFSS Projects
gray71 RBG = { 181, 181, 181}, grey71 RBG = { 181, 181, 181}, gray72 RBG = { 184, 184, 184}, grey72 RBG = { 184, 184, 184}, gray73 RBG = { 186, 186, 186}, grey73 RBG = { 186, 186, 186}, gray74 RBG = { 189, 189, 189}, grey74 RBG = { 189, 189, 189}, gray75 RBG = { 191, 191, 191}, grey75 RBG = { 191, 191, 191}, gray76 RBG = { 194, 194, 194}, grey76 RBG = { 194, 194, 194}, gray77 RBG = { 196, 196, 196}, grey77 RBG = { 196, 196, 196}, gray78 RBG = { 199, 199, 199}, grey78 RBG = { 199, 199, 199}, gray79 RBG = { 201, 201, 201}, grey79 RBG = { 201, 201, 201}, gray80 RBG = { 204, 204, 204}, grey80 RBG = { 204, 204, 204}, gray81 RBG = { 207, 207, 207}, grey81 RBG = { 207, 207, 207}, gray82 RBG = { 209, 209, 209}, grey82 RBG = { 209, 209, 209}, gray83 RBG = { 212, 212, 212}, grey83 RBG = { 212, 212, 212}, gray84 RBG = { 214, 214, 214}, grey84 RBG = { 214, 214, 214}, gray85 RBG = { 217, 217, 217}, grey85 RBG = { 217, 217, 217}, gray86 RBG = { 219, 219, 219}, grey86 RBG = { 219, 219, 219}, gray87 RBG = { 222, 222, 222}, grey87 RBG = { 222, 222, 222}, gray88 RBG = { 224, 224, 224},
Working with HFSS Projects3-49
grey88 RBG = { 224, 224, 224}, gray89 RBG = { 227, 227, 227}, grey89 RBG = { 227, 227, 227}, gray90 RBG = { 229, 229, 229}, grey90 RBG = { 229, 229, 229}, gray91 RBG = { 232, 232, 232}, grey91 RBG = { 232, 232, 232}, gray92 RBG = { 235, 235, 235}, grey92 RBG = { 235, 235, 235}, gray93 RBG = { 237, 237, 237}, grey93 RBG = { 237, 237, 237}, gray94 RBG = { 240, 240, 240}, grey94 RBG = { 240, 240, 240}, gray95 RBG = { 242, 242, 242}, grey95 RBG = { 242, 242, 242}, gray96 RBG = { 245, 245, 245}, grey96 RBG = { 245, 245, 245}, gray97 RBG = { 247, 247, 247}, grey97 RBG = { 247, 247, 247}, gray98 RBG = { 250, 250, 250}, grey98 RBG = { 250, 250, 250}, gray99 RBG = { 252, 252, 252}, grey99 RBG = { 252, 252, 252}, gray100 RBG = { 255, 255, 255}, grey100 RBG = { 255, 255, 255}, dark grey RBG = { 169, 169, 169}, DarkGrey RBG = { 169, 169, 169}, dark gray RBG = { 169, 169, 169}, DarkGray RBG = { 169, 169, 169}, dark blue RBG = { 0, 0, 139}, DarkBlue RBG = { 0, 0, 139}, dark cyan RBG = { 0, 139, 139}, DarkCyan RBG = { 0, 139, 139}, dark magenta RBG = { 139, 0, 139}, DarkMagenta RBG = { 139, 0, 139},
3-50 Working with HFSS Projects
dark red RBG = { 139, 0, 0}, DarkRed RBG = { 139, 0, 0}, light green RBG = { 144, 238, 144}, LightGreen RBG = { 144, 238, 144}
To import a 3D model file: 1. 2. 3. Click Modeler>Import. The Import File dialog box appears. Select the file type you want from the Files of type pull-down list. Select any import options available for the selected file type.
4. 5. 6.
Some file types permit you to Heal Imported Objects. See the table below and Healing an Imported Object. For Ansoft .sm3 files, you can also check the model. For ProE files, you can choose check to enable the Import Free Surfaces option. This imports such surfaces as well as parts. For Natran and STL files, you can set the Model Resolution Length in Model Units, or accept the auto setting. For STEP and IEGS files, you can specify a Stitch tolerance and units. The default value (auto) comes from the Healing dialog Options tab with Manual Healing selected.
Use the file browser to find the file you want to import. Select the 3D model file you want to import or enter the name of the file in the File Name box. Click Open. The file is imported into the active Modeler window.
If you selected Heal Imported Objects with the Manual option selected for the import, then the Healing Options dialog box opens, allowing you to set parameters for the heal operation. For tips on dealing with very complex models, see Technical Notes: Handling Complicated Models. Note While objects created in HFSS or HFSS-IE can always be classed in the history tree as either a solid, sheet, or wire some imported objects may have mixture of these. HFSS or HFSS-IE places such objects in an Unclassified folder in the history tree.
Contents ACIS 19 Service Pack 2 geometry solid model files.1 Ansoft 3D modeler files up to ACIS 19 Service Pack 2.1 Ansoft 2D modeler files Ansoft legacy 3D model files AutoCAD Drawing Interchange Format files from version 2.5 through 2009. The .tech file is an ASCII file that contains layer names, units, color, elevation, thickness, and material information in a tab delimited format. See Importing DXF and DWG Format Files. Catia R4/R5 models.1 .model - CATIA 4.1.9 to 4.2.4 .CATPart - CATIA V5 R2 through R19
.model, .CATPart
GDSII files. Industry standard Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) files versions up to 5.3.1 NASTRAN format files.2 Parasolid Files 10-20.1 Pro/E model files. For ProE models, the import dialog lets enable Import Free Surfaces, which will include such surfaces as well as parts. .Pro/E 16 to Wildfire 4.0
Standard ACIS binary. Industry standard AP203 STEP files and AP214 (geometry only).1 Stereolithography format files.2 Unigraphics file 11 to 18, NX to NX6.1 (Windows only).
Extension
Contents
1. Automatic or Manual Healing available if desired. See Healing an Imported Object. 2. Defeaturing based on Model Resolution Length. Select Auto, None, or enter a numeric value directly in the entry box. Related Topics Importing 2D Model Files Importing DXF and DWG Format Files. Exporting 3D Model Files Technical Notes: Handling Complicated Models
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
2D Polyline, Polyline, and Line Arc Circle Ellipse Solid Block Click Modeler>Import. The Import File dialog box appears. Select AutoCAD Files (*.dxf;*.dwg) from the Files of type pull-down list. Use the file browser to find the file you want to import. Select the .dxf/.dwg model file you want to import. Click Open.
To import a .dxf or .dwg model file (which may use an associated .tech file):
Initially, the DWG/DXF Import dialog opens with the Layer Selection tab is displayed:
The Input Layer Name field shows the name of the layer in the DXF/DWG file (not editable) 6. 7. Use the Include check boxes to specify which layers to import from the selected file. You can use the Open button for a browser window to locate a tech file. The tech file is a plain text file that includes units, layer names, color, elevation, and thickness information. units um //Layer_Name BOTTOMLAYER MIDLAYER TOPLAYER Color purple green blue Elevation Thickness 0 500 1000 200 200 200
8.
9.
Use the Override pulldown to select the layout units for the imported file (default is mm).
Auto-detect closure causes polylines to be checked to see whether or not they are closed. If a polyline is closed, the modeler creates a polygon in the design. Self-stitch causes multiple straight line segments to be joined to form polylines. If the resulting polyline is closed, a polygon is created in the modeler. De-feature tolerance removes certain small features in the imported geometry to reduce complexity. The features that are removed include: multiple points placed within the specified distance; thin or narrow regions (thins and spikes); and extraneous points along straight line segments. Round coordinates to Decimal place rounds all imported data to the specified number of decimal points. Convert closed wide lines to polygons imports wide polylines as polygons. You have more flexibility to change the shape of such an object when it is imported as a polygon. Import as 2D sheet bodies causes imported objects to be organized in terms of 2D sheets.
11. For Import method, select Script or Acis. 12. When you have completed selections on all tabs, click OK on any tab. The file is imported into the active Layout window.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Click Import Solution. The S Parameter Import dialog box appears. In the File Name text box, type the name of the solution file you want to import or click Browse and use the file browser to locate the file. Selecting the file with the file browser loads it, but note that the file has not been imported yet. Optionally, type a new name in the Source Name box or accept the default name. Click the solutions you want to import in the Available Solutions list, and then click Import. You return to the Imported Data dialog box. Click the solution data you want to import, and then click OK.
Tab-separated. HFSS will recognize complex data if the values are separated by a comma (e.g. real, imaginary). Comma-separated. HFSS will recognize complex data if the values are separated by a space (e.g. real imaginary). Click HFSS or HFSS-IE>Results>Import Solutions.
1.
Alternatively, right-click Results in the project tree and then click Import Solutions on the shortcut menu.
The Imported Data dialog box appears. 2. 3. 4. Click Import Table. The Table Import dialog box appears. In the File Name text box, type the name of the data table file you want to import or click Browse and use the file browser to locate the file. If the data in the table is complex, select the format real/ imaginary, or magnitude/ phase in which to import the data. If the data is simple, this option will be ignored. 5. 6. 7. 8. Click Load File. Note that the file has not been imported yet. Optionally, type a new name in the Source Name box that indicates the origin or the data table, or accept the default name. Optionally, type a new name in the Table Name box that describes the data in the table, or accept the default name In the All Columns list, the headings of each column in the data file are listed. Optionally, specify a new name for a column heading by doing the following:
a. b.
In the All Columns list, click the heading you want to change. The heading appears in the Column Name box. Type a new name in the Column Name box, and then click Set Column Name. The heading is changed to the new name in every place it appears in the Imported Data dialog box.
9.
In the Independent Data Columns list, the first heading in the data table file is listed by default. In the Dependent Data Columns list, the second and subsequent headings in the data table file are listed by default. Optionally, click a heading name and then click an arrow button to move it from one column to another.
10. If the data in the Dependent Data Columns list contains matrix data, select Matrix Data. If it contains field data, select Field Data. 11. Click Import. You return to the Imported Data dialog box. 12. Click the data you want to import in the Current Imports list, and then click OK. The solution data is now available for post processing. Related Topics Adding Datasets
2. 3. 4. 5.
Use the Look In feature, or the icons to navigate to the file location. Specify the file name in the file name field, or select the file from those listed in the current directory. The file format field contains a drop-down menu listing the formats you can import. These include comma delimited files (.csv) tab delimited files (.tab) or Ansoft Plot Data files (*.dat). Click Open to import the file into the currently open Report. The imported traces appear in the Project tree under the current report.
Printing
The printing commands enable you to send an image of the active window to the printer. To print the project: 1. Click File>Print . A dialog box similar to the following one appears:
2. 3.
You can change the printer (if other printer names are listed on the drop down), set the print range, number of copies, or use the check box to Print to file. Do one of the following:
Click OK to print the project. Click Cancel to dismiss the window without printing. Click Setup to define printer settings.
You can also access the printer properties by clicking Printer in the Page Setup dialog box. Related Topics Getting Help
You can also access the printer properties by clicking Printer in the Page Setup dialog box.
Note
Notes are used to document aspects of designs only. For project level documentation, you can insert a documentation file into a project with the Project>Insert Documentation Files command.
General options, such as project options, units settings, and analysis options. HFSS-specific options, such as default solution mode, processor and RAM settings. Fields Reporter options, such as field overlay and phase animation settings. HFSS-IE Options, such as whether to duplicate boundaries, save and delete options, or processor and RAM settings. Report2D options, such as fonts, labels, line styles, and colors. Report Setup Options, including advanced mode editing, the number of significant digits to display, and drag and drop behavior. Modeler options, such as cloning options, display colors and render settings, snap modes and mouse sensitivity.
2. 3.
Project Options Default Units Analysis Options RSM Service Options WebUpdate Options Miscellaneous Options
Click each tab, and make the desired selections. Click OK.
For each directory, Project, Syslib, UserLib, and PersonalLib, enter a path in the Directory text box, or click the ... button to find and select the desired directory. If you modify SysLib, UserLib or PersonalLib paths through Tools>General options, the User Defined Primitives menu should reflect those changes on next startup or on Draw>User Defined Primitive>Update Menu. If you want to enter a directory path in the Temp Directory text box, you must check Override
3.
to enable the path text field and the ... button for finding and selecting the desired directory. 4. 5. 6. 7. To reset the library directories to the default, click Reset Library Directory. Select or clear the Expand Project Tree on Insert check box. For When creating a new project, select a radio button to either Insert a design of type HFSS or Dont insert a design. You can choose to specify a warning to be given when available disk space is less than a given amount in M bytes.
Length Angle Time Temperature Torque Magnetic Induction Frequency Power Voltage Current Speed Weight Resistance Inductance Capacitance Force Angular Speed Magnetic field strength Pressure
lyzing, select Prompt for analysis machine when launching analysis. Note 3. If the Queue all simulations option is selected, this setting is ignored, and the default analysis machine is used.
Under Analysis Machine Options, select whether the default analysis machine should be the local machine (Local), a remote machine (Remote), or whether analysis should be distributed across multiple machines (Distributed). a. b. If you selected Remote, enter the default analysis machine information either as an IP address, a DNS name, or a UNC name. See Remote Analysis. If you selected Distributed, you can select an distributed machine configuration list, or add new list, or edit, remove, or clone an existing machine list. See Configuring Distributed Analysis. When you have made a selection, the lower field shows the enab led machines in the configuration.
Regardless of the machine(s) on which the analysis is actually run, the number of processors and Desired RAM Limit settings, and the default process priority settings are now read from the machine from which you launch the analysis. See HFSS Options: Solver Tab. For more information, see distributed analysis. Once configured, you can also control these selections via toolbar icons for:
4.
Select or clear the Queue all simulations check box. This allows subsequent projects to wait in a queue till the currently running project solves completely.
Related Topics HFSS Options: Solver Tab or HFSS-IE Options:Solver Tab for setting the maximum Number of Processors, the desired RAM and Maximum RAM, and the process priority.
3-66 Working with HFSS Projects
RSM Service Options Technical Notes: Handling Complicated Models Configuring Distributed Analysis Selecting an Optimal Configuration for Distributed Analysis
The Ansoft Service should be running on this port for all distributed machines. To change the Ansoft Service Port, click the Change button to display an editable dialog. The Send analysis request as option selection can be Service User or Specified User. Selecting Specified User enables the fields for user name, password, and domain information.
You can also Disable access by remote machines, by using the checkbox. Related Topics Remote Analysis
The last time the software was updated, as well as the last attempt, are displayed in the following two fields:
Select or clear the Show Message Window on new messages check box. Select or clear the Ensure that new messages are visible in the Message Window Tree check box. Select or clear the Show Progress Window when starting a simulation check box. Select or clear the Update reports on file open check box. The Design type is HFSS or HFSS-IE.
Working with HFSS Projects3-67
Select or clear Dynamically update reports and field overlays during edits. If selected, report plots and overlays update dynamically. Dynamically update postprocessing data for new solutions. Updating numerous reports may a significant amount of time. Updating reports during the analysis process can impact the overall time to solution. You may want to vary the times when your reports get updated relative to the impact on overall solve time. Five options exist for updating reports during solutions:
Automatically - the default. It means update most things immediately. For "AdaptivePass" plot context, plots are updated at the end of each solution pass. For "LastAdaptive" or "Transient" the plot is updated at the end of the transient or adaptive solution. This option balances report and field plot updating with solution time. For example, reports may be updated after each adaptive pass but field plots will not be updated until the solution is complete. Immediately - update reports and plots as soon as data comes from the solver. This option will have the greatest impact on the overall solution time but will have the most rapid updating of reports and field plots. Caution should be used in selecting this option. Some types of reports and field plots may take a long time to update, especially as the mesh size increases. Never - only manual intervention updates reports. This option will prevent updates from impacting the solution time. On Completion - as with Never, but a single update is done when the solve completes. Note: Reports that are updated on completion are done after the solve has been completed. The time for that update is not included in the solve profile. After Each Variation - when performing an Optimetric or parametric analysis, all reports are updated after analysis of each variation has been completed.
The Animation setting lets you set a limit to Stop computing animation frames when available memory is less than a value in megabytes. The default is 100. The ANSYS Workbench Application Path lets you specify a path to an installation, if you have one. This path can be used by the HFSS Optimetrics feature for connecting to the Design Xplorer.
2. 3.
Click each tab, and make the desired selections. Click OK.
2.
Eigenmode Driven Modal Terminal Transient Transient Network Check or uncheck whether to Include ferrite materials Set the Solve Inside threshold values in Siemens/m.
3.
In the Assignment Options section, select or clear the following two check boxes and settings.
Use Wizards for data input when creating new boundaries When this is checked, the creation of boundaries and excitations use Wizard to guide you through the process. When this is not checked, the creation of boundaries and excitations displays a Properties dialog with tabs for different kinds of information.
Duplicate boundaries/mesh operations with geometry When this is checked, you can duplicate a boundary or excitation when its geometry is pasted or duplicated. See Duplicating Boundaries and Excitations with Geometry.
Visualize Boundaries on geometry. When this is checked, boundaries on geometries are displayed. Unchecking this turns off boundary visualization, and speeds up the display for complex models.
Auto assign terminals on ports When this is checked, the commands to assign wave or lumped ports will automatically assign
terminals. See Assigning Wave Ports for Terminal Solutions.
4.
Set the number of processors to use for radiated fields post processing. Set the default Matrix sort order. This affects the order of the Matrix Data, and is of interest depending on how port names are assigned for that design. The default is ascending alphanumeric. This can also be a User Specified order that defaults to creation order.
5.
Save before solving Save Optimetrics field solutions Apply variation deletions immediately
Working with HFSS Projects3-69
2.
Enter the Number of Processors, Distributed to use. This applies to distributed solutions (parametrics, optimization, frequency sweeps, and domains).The value specifies the maximum number of distributed processors to use; if you specify that you want to use 4 processors, and the machine on which you are solving only has two processors, the solve machine will only use two processors. For distributed solve, if you want to use as many processors as exist on each solve machine, you can set the number of processors to a high value.
3.
Select one or both of the following check boxes, and enter values in the text boxes:
An environment variable allows you to override the desired RAM limit settings without permanently change the values set here. This is useful for unattended solves, for instance when running a non-graphical batchsolve:
4.
ANSOFT_DESIRED_RAM_LIMIT (value is the desired RAM usage limit, in MB, that you wish to place on the solvers)
Select one of the following HPC Licensing Options. The selection determines whether multiprocessing is enabled by an HPC license, or by HPC Pack licensing.
Solution setups with domains always use HPC licensing. Even though domains are distributed and may use multiprocessing, they do not use distributed solve or multiprocessing licenses all of this is included in the HPC licensing when solving domains.
3-70 Working with HFSS Projects
HPC licensing is based on counting the total number of cores in a simulation. For example, when solving a distributed solution across 10 nodes, with multiprocessing enabling 2 cores per node, the total number of cores is 2x10, or twenty cores. The HPC License Type determines the type and number of licenses that will be checked out for a given number of cores. For the HPC type, one license will be checked out for each core in use. So a simulation with twenty cores would require twenty HPC licenses. For the HPC Pack type, a single pack enables eight cores, and each additional pack enables four times as many cores. So a simulation with twenty cores would require two HPC Pack licenses, enabling up to 8x4, or 32, cores. If you are solving an HFSS Transient problem, the solver will not checkout hfss_solve (regular solve license). We will only checkout a hfss_transient_solve license. For HFSS-IE problems an hfssie_solve license is required. For HFSS problems with radiation boundaries and Use IE Formulation checked, a hfssie_solve license is required in addition to the hfss_solve. 5. For multiprocessing, check Enable multiprocessing using HPC licenses. This option causes HPC licenses to be used to enable multiprocessing even when solving problems that do not include domains. In this context, the HPC licenses take the place of the MP license. For HFSS Transient problems, we will always use HPC licenses for multiprocessing (even if you have NOT chosen "Enable multiprocessing using HPC" option). 6. Select one of the following from the Default Process Priority pull-down list:
Critical (highest) Priority (Not recommended) Above Normal Priority (not recommended) Normal Priority Below Normal Priority Idle (lowest) Priority
You can set these values using VB Scripts. Related Topics Configuring Distributed Analysis Setting Solver Settings Using VB Scripts
2. 3.
Click each tab, and make the desired selections. Click OK.
Duplicate boundaries with geometry When this is checked, you can duplicate a boundary or excitation when its geometry is pasted or duplicated. See Duplicating Boundaries and Excitations with Geometry.
Save before solving Apply variation deletions immediately. Checking this saves disk space. Save Optimetrics Field solutions. Checking this uses more disk space. Visualize boundaries on geometry. This controls the display of boundaries. Auto-assign terminals on ports. If this option is switched on, then the Assign Lumped port command will try to automatically assign the terminals on ports. If this option is switched off, then you assign a lumped port. You have a choice to either: a. b. Manually assign a terminal. Select any edge/face of conductor that is touching the port. Use Excitations>Auto Assign Terminals. This will bring up a dialog box to get the input from the user to select the objects used for reference Lumped port can have only one terminal. No two terminals can touch each other Unassigned terminals (not assigned to any port)
Use Wizards for data input when creating new boundaries When this is checked, the creation of boundaries and excitations use Wizard to guide you through the process. When this is not checked, the creation of boundaries and excitations displays a Properties dialog with tabs for different kinds of information.
Default matrix sort order. This affects the order of the Matrix Data, and is of interest depending on how port names are assigned for that design. The default is ascending alphanumeric. This can also be a User Specified order that defaults to creation order.
2.
Enter the Number of Processors, Distributed to use. This applies to distributed solutions (parametrics, optimization, and frequency sweeps).The value specifies the maximum number of distributed processors to use; if you specify that you want to use 4 processors, and the machine on which you are solving only has two processors, the solve machine will only use two processors. For distributed solve, if you want to use as many processors as exist on each solve machine, you can set the number of processors to a high value.
3.
Select one of the following HPC Licensing Options. The selection determines whether multiprocessing is enabled by an HPC license, or by HPC Pack licensing.
HPC licensing is based on counting the total number of cores in a simulation. For example, when solving a distributed solution across 10 nodes, with multiprocessing enabling 2 cores per node, the total number of cores is 2x10, or twenty cores. The HPC License Type determines the type and number of licenses that will be checked out for
Working with HFSS Projects3-73
a given number of cores. For the HPC type, one license will be checked out for each core in use. So a simulation with twenty cores would require twenty HPC licenses. For the HPC Pack type, a single pack enables eight cores, and each additional pack enables four times as many cores. So a simulation with twenty cores would require two HPC Pack licenses, enabling up to 8x4, or 32, cores. For HFSS-IE problems an hfssie_solve license is required. 4. For multiprocessing, check Enable multiprocessing using HPC licenses. This option causes HPC licenses to be used to enable multiprocessing. In this context, the HPC licenses take the place of the MP license. 5. Select one of the following from the Default Process Priority pull-down list:
Critical (highest) Priority Above Normal Priority Normal Priority Below Normal Priority Idle (lowest) Priority
Related Topics Configuring Distributed Analysis HFSS-IE Options: General Options tab
Curve Axis Grid Tab Header Tab Note Tab Legend Tab Marker Tab Marker Table Tab General Tab Table tab
For properties controlled by checkboxes, you can set values for all curves by clicking the column header cell that contains the property title. Right-clicking on a text field cell displays a context menu that lets you cut, copy and paste values. Right-clicking on a menu cell displays a context menu that lets you copy and paste entire rows. You can use a Restore Defaults button. 2. 3. Click each tab, and make the desired selections. Click OK.
8.
9.
Sym Color -- set the color for the symbol by double clicking to display the Set color dialog. Select a default or custom color and click OK.
3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
6. 7. 8. 9.
preview field. OK the selections to apply the font edits and to close the dialog. 3. X Marker -- use the following options to set the X Marker properties. a. b. c. Show Intersection -- checkbox to show the intersection. XMarker Color -- set the color by double clicking to display the Set color dialog. Select a default or custom color and click OK. XMarker Font -- click the cell to display the Edit Text Font dialog. The dialog lets you select from a list of available fonts, styles, sizes, effects, colors, and script. The dialog also contains a preview field. OK the selections to apply the font edits and to close the dialog. Box Background Color -- set the color by double clicking to display the Set color dialog. Select a default or custom color and click OK. Line Color -- set the color by double clicking to display the Set color dialog. Select a default or custom color and click OK. Line Style -- select the options from the drop down menu. The options are Solid, Dot, Dash, and Dot dash. Line Width -- set the line width by editing the real value in the text field.
d. e. f. g.
4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
default or custom color and click OK. 2. 3. 4. 5. Contrast Color -- set the color by double clicking to display the Set color dialog. Select a default or custom color and click OK. Highlight Color -- set the color by double clicking to display the Set color dialog. Select a default or custom color and click OK. Accumulate Depth -- set to 4 by default. Curve Tooltip Option -- use the checkboxes to toggle the following properties: a. b. c. 6. a. b. Show Trace Name Show Variation Key Show Solution Name Capture Aspect Size Ratio -- this can be As Shown or Full Screen. Capture Background Color -- this can be As Shown or White.
Clipboard Option - use the drop down menus to specify the following properties:
2.
Copy to Clipboard -- use the following checkboxes to toggle the following properties for table copy operations.: a. b. With Header With Tab Separator -- this improves copy and paste to a spreadsheet.
2. 3.
Click each tab, and make the desired selections. Click OK.
2.
Clone tool objects before uniting Clone tool objects before subtracting Clone tool options before intersecting
In the Coordinate System section, select or clear the Automatically switch to face coordinate system check box. By default, the modeler operates within the user selected coordinate system. If this option is enabled, you can select a face and when a new object creation is started, the modeler first creates a face coordinate system consistent with the selected face and the new object is created within the face coordinate system. With this selection, unchecked, you must manually create a Face Coordinate System before creating an object related to it.
3.
In the Polyline section, select or clear the Automatically cover closed polylines check box. By default, surface objects created with the Polyline command will be created with a cover so that they become sheet objects. You can choose to leave the polyline as an uncovered object to perform further operations prior to creating a sheet object
4.
If checked, closed polylines become sheet objects, and are listed as such in the History tree. If not checked, closed polylines are listed under lines in the History tree. If checked, the history tree is expanded after operations on object properties, even if the tree is collapsed for the item. If not checked, when you select an object in 3D view, only the object selected, and current tree collapse/expand state is preserved If checked, selecting an object automatically opens the history tree. If not checked, the history tree does not open on object selection. This can be useful for speeding the display of multiple object selections, or complex objects.
5.
Select the object or action from the Default color pull-down list and click the color button. The Color window appears.
2.
Select a color for the selected object or action, and click OK.
To specify the default for the View>Render setting for new projects, select WireFrame or SmoothShade from the Default view render pull-down list. When dealing with complicated geometries, choose WireFrame rendering. This is faster than shaded rendering.
3. 4. 5. 6.
To set the Default transparency, move the slider, or enter a numerical value. Select or clear the Show orientation of selected objects check box. Select or clear the Highlight selection dynamically check box. Select or clear Highlight UV Isolines. For models with curved faces, you may prefer to clear this selection to simplify the wire-frame display, so the rendering will be faster.
7. 8.
Under Default tree layout, select or clear the Group objects by material check box. Under History operations visualization, select or clear the Visualize history of objects check box. The option lets you view an outline of each part that comprises an object when the given part is selected in the model history tree. This can help you visualize an object that has been merged with another object. A change to the option takes effect only when you restart HFSS. Clearing this selection removes visualization of objects that are part of the model history. For large models, this is faster and uses less memory. The following figure shows an example history tree with an object selected and the outline view of that object in the Main window.
2. 3. 4.
Enter how near the mouse needs to be to click a grid item in the Mouse Sensitivity box, in pixels. Select or clear the Show measures dialog check box. The specifies whether a Properties dialog appears on the creation of a new primitive. The Operation Data Mode controls whether you draw new objects directly via the mouse, or whether a Properties dialog opens for you to enter dimensions for the object. The Dialog mode drawing feature works with the equation based line, and all two and three dimensional objects.
5.
You can also use F3 for Point mode and F4 for dialog mode. To have a Properties dialog display whenever you create a new object in the modeling window, check the box for Edit properties of new primitives.
You expect to change a parameter often. You expect to use the same parameter value often. You intend to run a parametric analysis, in which you specify a series of variable values within a range to solve. You intend to optimize a parameter value by running an optimization analysis. You intend to run a convergence on an output variable.
There are two types of variables in HFSS: Project Variables A project variable can be assigned to any parameter value in the HFSS project in which it was created. HFSS differentiates project variables from other types of variables by prefixing the variable name with the following symbol: $. You can manually include the symbol $ in the project variables name, or HFSS will automatically append the project variables name after you define the variable. Design Variables A design variable can be assigned to any parameter value in the HFSS design in which it was created. From the Design Variables Properties dialog, you can Add, Add Array, Edit, or Remove Design variables. Related Topics Defining an Expression Defining Mathematical Functions Assigning Variables Specify Expressions for Adaptive Convergence Specifying Output Variables Using Optimetrics for Design Analysis Choosing a Variable to Optimize Selecting Objects by Variable Exporting Variables for Documentation
ables name when you create it, or HFSS will automatically append the project variables name with the symbol after you define the variable. 1. Clicke Project>Project Variables.
Alternatively, right-click the project name in the project tree, and then click Project Variables on the shortcut menu.
The Properties dialog box appears. 2. 3. Under the Project Variables tab, click Add. The Add Property dialog box appears. In the Name text box, type the name of the variable. Project variable names must start with the symbol $ followed by a letter. Variable names may include alphanumeric characters and underscores ( _ ). The names of intrinsic functions and the pre-defined constant pi () cannot be used as variable names. You can sort the project variables by clicking on the Name column header. By default, variables are sorted in original order. Clicking once sorts them in ascending order, noted by a triangle pointing up. Clicking against sorts in descending order, noted by a triangle pointing down. Clicking a third time sorts in original order, with no triangle. 4. In the Unit Type text box you can use the drop down menu to select from the list of available unit types. None is the default. When you select a Unit Type, the choices in drop down menu for the Units text box adapt to that unit type. For example, selecting Length as the Unit Type causes the Unit menu to show a range of metric and english units for length. Similarly, if you select the Unit Type as Resistance, the Units drop down lists a range of standard Ohm units. 5. In the Value text box, type the quantity that the variable represents. If you did not specify the Unit Type and Unit, you can also optionally, include the units of measurement. If you include the variables units in its definition (in the Value text box), do not include the variables units when you enter the variable name for a parameter value.
Warning
The quantity can be a numerical value, a mathematical expression, or a mathematical function. The quantity entered will be the current, (or default) value for the variable. If the mathematical expression includes a reference to an existing variable, this variable is treated as a dependent variable. The units for a dependent variable will automatically change to those of the independent variable on which the value depends. Additionally, dependent variables, though useful in many situations, cannot be the direct subject of optimization, sensitivity analysis, tuning, or statistical analysis. 6. Click OK. You return to the Properties dialog box. The new variable and its value are listed in the table. If the value is an expression, the evaluated value is shown. Updating the expression also changes the evaluated value display. Any dependent variables also have evaluated values
changed.
7. 8. 9.
Optionally, type a description of the variable in the Description text box. Optionally, select Read Only. The variables name, value, unit, and description cannot be modified when Read Only is selected. Optionally, select Hidden. If you clear the Show Hidden option, the hidden variable will not appear in the Properties dialog box.
10. Click OK. The new variable can now be assigned to a parameter value in the project in which it was created. Related Topics Deleting Project Variables Defining an Expression Defining Mathematical Functions Exporting Variables for Documentation
Unit mA
Description Terminal current in user-defined model (A). Variable to define parametric equation-based curve. Variable to define parametric equation-based surface. Port Voltage in user defined model (V). Post Processing variable
Name Index
Unit
Description Post processing variable, not settable by the user. Post processing variables, not settable by the user. Post processing variables, not settable by the user.
IWave Phi, IWave deg Theta Normalized Deformation, Distance OP Phase, Phi R Rho Rspeed Spectrum Temp Theta Time Vac, Vbe, Vce, Vds, Vgs X,Y,Z ZAng ZRho rpm GHz cell deg ns mV mm deg mW deg mm
Post processing variables, not settable by the user. Post processing variables, not settable by the user. Post processing variables, not settable by the user. Speed of the machine. Not settable by the user. Post processing variable, not settable by the user. Analysis temperature (deg) Post processing variable, not settable by the user. Time point in transient analysis Post processing variables, not settable by the user. Post processing variables, not settable by the user. Post processing variable, not settable by the user. Post processing variable, not settable by the user.
Alternatively, right-click the design name in the project tree, and then click Design Properties on the shortcut menu.
The Local Variables Properties dialog box appears. From the Properties dialog you can Add, Add Array, Edit.. or Remove variables. This section describes Add. Use the links for descriptions of Add Array, .Edit and Remove,
Any existing Design variables are listed in the Properties dialog with the name followed by cells for Value, Unit, Evaluated Value, Type, Description, and Read-only and Hidden check boxes. A Show Hidden checkbox on the lower right of the Properties dialog controls the appearance of any Hidden variables .
Initially, you leave the radio button with Value selected until you have defined a variable. The other radio buttons let you enable defined variables for Optimization, Tuning, Sensitivity or Statistics. Selecting one of these radio buttons add a new column to the Variable definition row for which you can check or uncheck Include for regular variables for that kind of Optimetrics simulation. For further discussion, see Optimetrics. 2. 3. Click Add. The Add Property dialog box appears. In the Name text box, type the name of the variable. Variable names must start with a letter, and may include alphanumeric characters and underscores ( _ ). The names of intrinsic functions and the pre-defined constant pi () cannot be used as variable names. You can sort the project variables by clicking on the Name column header. By default, variables are sorted in original order. Clicking once sorts them in ascending order, noted by a triangle pointing up. Clicking against sorts in descending order, noted by a triangle pointing down. Clicking a third time sorts in original order, with no triangle. 4. In the Unit Type text box you can use the drop down menu to select from the list of available unit types. None is the default. When you select a Unit Type, the choices in drop down menu for the Units text box adapt to that unit type. For example, selecting Length as the Unit Type causes the Unit menu to show a range of metric and english units for length. Similarly, if you select the Unit Type as Resistance, the Units drop down lists a range of standard Ohm units. 5. In the Value text box, type the quantity that the variable represents. Optionally, include the
units of measurement. Note If you include the variables units in its definition (in the Value text box), do not include the variables units when you enter the variable name for a parameter value.
The quantity can be a numerical value, a mathematical expression, or a mathematical function. The quantity entered will be the current (or default value) for the variable. If the mathematical expression includes a reference to an existing variable, this variable is treated as a dependent variable. The units for a dependent variable will automatically change to those of the independent variable on which the value depends. Additionally, dependent variables, though useful in many situations, cannot be the direct subject of optimization, sensitivity analysis, tuning, or statistical analysis. Note 6. Complex numbers are not allowed for variables to be used in an Optimetrics sweep, or for optimization, statistical, sensitivity or tuning setups.
Click OK. You return to the Properties dialog box. The new variable and its value are listed in the table. If the value is an expression, the evaluated value is shown. Updating the expression also changes the evaluated value display. Any dependent variables also have evaluated values changed.
7. 8.
Optionally, type a description of the variable in the Description text box. Click OK.
The new variable can now be assigned to a parameter value in the design in which it was created. Related Topics Add Array of Values for a Design Variable Editing a Design Variable Deleting Design Variables Deleting Project Variables Defining an Expression Defining Mathematical Functions Exporting Variables for Documentation
Alternatively, right-click the design name in the project tree, and then click Design Properties on the shortcut menu.
The Local Variables Properties dialog box appears. From the Properties dialog you can Add, Add Array, Edit... or Remove variables. This section describes Add Array. Use the links for descriptions of Add,.Edit and Remove,
Any existing Design variables are listed in the Properties dialog with the name followed by cells for Value, Unit, Evaluated Value, Type, Description, and Read-only and Hidden check boxes. A Show Hidden checkbox on the lower right of the Properties dialog controls the appearance of any Hidden variables.
Initially, you leave the radio button with Value selected until you have defined a variable. The other radio buttons let you enable regular variables for Optimization, Tuning, Sensitivity or Statistics. Array variables cannot be enabled for Optimetrics use. 2. 3. 4. Click the Add Array.... button. The Add Array dialog displays. Specify a variable Name in the text field. Select a Unit Type and Units from the drop down menus.
5.
To specify the array with Edit in Grid Selected, you can begin by clicking the Append Rows...
Working with HFSS Projects 3-91
button to display the Number of Rows dialog. (For Edit in plain text field, see below.)
6.
Specify a value and click OK. This displays a list of indexed data rows in the Add Array dialog. You can type any data value in the cells. If you enter alphanumeric text in a cell it must be delimited by double quotes. You can edit the rows relative a row selection by clicking buttons to Add Row Above, Add Row Below, or Remove Row. All cells must contain a value.
7.
When you have completed the array, click OK to close the dialog, The Array variable is listed in the Design Properties dialog as a Local Variable. The array variable value field includes the array contents in brackets with the unindexed data values delimited by commas. If you elected to edit the array Edit in plain text field in the Add Array dialog, the bracketed and comma delimited format is used.
Related Topics Design Variables Editing a Design Variable Deleting Design Variables Deleting Project Variables Defining an Expression Defining Mathematical Functions
Alternatively, right-click the design name in the project tree, and then click Design Properties on the shortcut menu.
The Local Variables Properties dialog box appears. From the Properties dialog you can Add, Add Array, Edit.. or Remove variables. This section describes Edit. Use the links for descrip-
Any existing Design variables are listed in the Properties dialog with the name followed by cells for Value, Unit, Evaluated Value, Type, Description, and Read-only and Hidden check boxes. A Show Hidden checkbox on the lower right of the Properties dialog controls the appearance of any Hidden variables.
Initially, you leave the radio button with Value selected until you have defined a variable. The other radio buttons let you enable defined variables for Optimization, Tuning, Sensitivity or Statistics. Selecting one of these radio buttons add a new column to the Variable definition row for which you can check or uncheck Include a regular variable for that kind of Optimetrics simulation. Array variables cannot be Enabled for Optimetrics. For further discussion, see Optimetrics. 2. 3. Select a variable to highlight it. Click the Edit button. For regular variables, the Add Property dialog for that variable opens, and for array variables, the Edit Array variable dialog for that variable opens. 4. Complete the edits and OK the dialog to apply them. Related Topics Design Variables Exporting Variables for Documentation
1. 2. 3. 4.
Remove all references to the variable in the design, including dependent variables. Save the project to erase the command history. Click HFSS or HFSS-IE>Design Properties to display the Properties dialog with list of local variables. Select the variable and click Remove and OK.
Adding Datasets
Datasets are collections of plotted data points that can be extrapolated into an equation based on the piecewise linear makeup of the plot. Each plot consists of straight line segments whose vertices represent their end points. A curve is fitted to the segments of the plot and an expression is derived from the curve that best fits the segmented plot. The created expression is then used in piecewise linear intrinsic functions. You can add datasets at either the Project Level or the Design level. They can be for various purposes, including to define frequency dependent port impedances or frequency
dependent global variables, and boundary definitions.
1.
For a Project level dataset, click Project>Datasets. For a Design level dataset, click HFSS or HFSS-IE>Design Datasets. The Datasets dialog box appears. This lists any existing datasets for the Project or Design level, respectively.
2.
Click Add. The Add Dataset dialog box appears. The dialog contains fields for the Dataset name, and a table for x- and y- coordinates. It contains a graphic display that draws a line for the coordinates you add. It also includes buttons for the following functions:
3. 4.
Swap X-Y Data - this swaps the x- and Y- coordinates and adjusts the graphical display. Import Dataset - this provides a way to import data sets from an external source. The format is a tab separated points file. Clicking the button opens a file browser window. Export Dataset -- this provides a way to export the current dataset to a tab separated points file. Clicking the button opens a file browser window. Add Row Above - adds a new row to the table above the selected row. Add Row Below - adds a new row to the table below the selected row/ Append Row - opens a dialog that lets you specify a number of rows to add to the table. Delete Row - deletes the selected row or rows.
Optionally, type a name other than the default for the dataset in the Name text box. Enter the x- and y- coordinates by one of the following methods
Import Dataset Type the x- and y-coordinates for the first data point in the row labeled 1.Type the x- and y-coordinates for the remaining data points in the dataset using the same method. After you type a points coordinates and move to the next row, the point is added to the plot, adjusting the display with each newly entered point.
5.
When you are finished entering the data point coordinates, click OK.
The dataset plot is extrapolated into an expression that can be used in parametric analyses, boundary definitions, or assigned to a material property value. Related Topics Adding a Design Variable
3-94 Working with HFSS Projects
Modifying Datasets Using Piecewise Linear Functions in Expressions Using Dataset Expressions
Modifying Datasets
1. For Project level datasets, click Project>Datasets. For Design level datasets, click HFSS or HFSS-IE>Design Datasets. The Datasets dialog box appears. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click the dataset name you want to modify, and then click Edit. The Edit Dataset dialog box appears. Optionally, type a name other than the default for the dataset in the Name text box. Type new values for the data points as desired. The plot is adjusted to reflect the revised data points. When you are finished entering the data point coordinates, click OK. Related Topics Adding Datasets Adding a Design Variable Modifying Datasets Using Piecewise Linear Functions in Expressions Using Dataset Expressions
The predefined variables X, Y, Z, Phi, Theta, R, and Rho must be entered as such. X, Y, and Z are the rectangular (cartesian) coordinates. Phi, Theta, and Rho are the spherical coordinates. R is the cylindrical radius, and Rho is the spherical radius. If you do not specify units, all trigonometric expressions expect their arguments to be in radians, and the inverse trigonometric functions return values are in radians. If you want to use degrees,
Working with HFSS Projects 3-95
you must supply the unit name deg. When the argument to a trigonometric expression is a variable, the units are assumed to be radians. These function names are reserved and may not be used as variable names. As far as expression evaluation is concerned: units are conversion factors (that is, from the given unit to SI). Note also that the evaluated value of an expression) is always interpreted as in SI units. Related Topics Setting Coordinate Systems Expressing Cartesian, Cylindrical or Spherical Coordinates
Defining an Expression
Expressions are mathematical descriptions that typically contain intrinsic functions, such as sin(x), and arithmetic operators, such as +, -, *, and /, well as defined variables. For example, you could define: x_size = 1mm, y_size = x_size + sin(x_size). Defining one variable in terms of another makes a dependent variable. Dependent variables, though useful in many situations, cannot be the subject of optimization, sensitivity analysis, tuning, or statistical analysis. The Constants tab of the Project Variables dialog lists the available pre-defined constants.These may not be reassigned a new value. Name abs0 Boltz c0 elecq eta g0 mathE pi planck u0 -273.15 1.3806503E-023 299792458 8.854187817e-012 376.730313461 9.80665 2.718281828 3.14159265358979 6.6260755e-034 . Ratio of circle circumference . Boltzmann constant (J/K) Speed of light in vacuum (m/s) Permittivity of vaccum (F/m) Electron Charge (C) Value Description
Numerical values may be entered in Ansofts shorthand for scientific notation. For example, 5x107 could be entered as 5e7. Related Topics Defining Mathematical Functions Using Valid Operators for Expressions Using Intrinsic Functions for Expressions
3-96 Working with HFSS Projects
The following intrinsic functions may be used to define expressions: Function abs sin cos tan asin acos atan atan2 asinh atanh sinh cosh tanh even Sine Cosine Tangent Arcsine Arccosine Arctangent (in range of -90 to 90 degrees) Arctangent (in range of -180 to 180 degrees) Hyperbolic Arcsine Hyperbolic Arctangent Hyperbolic Sine Hyperbolic Cosine Hyperbolic Tangent Returns 1 if integer part of the number is even; returns 0 otherwise. Returns 1 if integer part of the number is odd; returns 0 otherwise. Sign extraction Exponential (e ) Raise to power (x ) If Piecewise Linear Piecewise Linear for periodic extrapolation on x Square Root
y x
Description Absolute value (|x|) abs(x) sin(x) cos(x) tan(x) asin(x) acos(x) atan(x) atan2(y,x) asinh(x) atanh(x) sinh(x) cosh(x) tanh(x) even(x)
Syntax
odd
odd(x)
sgn(x) exp(x) pow(x,y) if(cond_exp,true_exp, false_exp) pwl(dataset_exp, variable) pwl_periodic(dataset_exp, variable) sqrt(x)
ln
Natural Logarithm (The "log" function has been discontinued. If you use "log(x)" in an expression, the software automatically changes it to "ln(x)".)
ln(x)
Logarithm base 10 Truncated integer function Nearest integer Maximum value of two parameters Minimum value of two parameters Modulus Fractional part (remainder)
Note
If you do not specify units, all trigonometric functions interpret their arguments as radians. Likewise, inverse trigonometric functions return values are in given in radians. When the argument to a trigonometric expression is a variable, the units are assumed to be radians. If you want values interpreted in degrees, supply the argument with the unit name deg.
Assigning Variables
To assign a variable to a parameter in HFSS:
Type the variable name or mathematical expression in place of a parameter value in a Value text box. If you typed a variable name that has not been defined, the Add Variable to DesignName dialog box will appear, enabling you to define the design variable. If you typed a variable name that included the $ prefix, but that has not been defined, the Add Variable to Project dialog box will appear, enabling you to define the project variable. Note You can assign a variable to nearly any design parameter assigned a numeric value in HFSS. See the HFSS online help about the specific parameter you want to vary to determine if can be assigned a variable.
3.
Click the row containing the variable you want to optimize. Dependent variables cannot be optimized.
Note 4. 5.
Select the Optimization option above. For the variable you want to optimize, select Include. The selected variable will now be available for optimization in an Optimetrics setup defined in the current design or project.
Note 6.
Complex numbers are not allowed for variables to be used in an Optimetrics sweep, or for optimization, statistical, sensitivity or tuning setups.
Optionally, override the default minimum and maximum values that Optimetrics will use for the variable in every optimization analysis. During optimization, the optimizer will not consider variable values that lie outside of this range.
Note 4. 5.
Select the Sensitivity option above. For the variable you want to include in the sensitivity analysis, select Include. The selected variable will now be available for sensitivity analysis in a sensitivity setup defined in the current design or project.
Note 6.
Complex numbers are not allowed for variables to be used in an Optimetrics sweep, or for optimization, statistical, sensitivity or tuning setups.
Optionally, override the default minimum and maximum values that Optimetrics will use for the variable in every sensitivity analysis. During sensitivity analysis, Optimetrics will not consider variable values that lie outside of this range. Optionally, override the default initial displacement value that Optimetrics will use for the
Working with HFSS Projects 3-101
7.
variable in every sensitivity analysis. During sensitivity analysis, Optimetrics will not consider a variable value for the first design variation that is greater than this step size away from the starting variable value. Related Topics Setting up a Sensitivity Analysis
Note 4. 5.
Select the Tuning option above. For the variable you want to tune, select Include. Complex numbers are not allowed for variables to be used in an Optimetrics sweep, or for optimization, statistical, sensitivity or tuning setups.
Note 6.
Click OK. The selected variable will now be available for tuning in the Tune dialog box.
Related Topics Tuning a Variable Example Projects: Tune a Coax Fed Patch Antenna
3.
Click the row containing the variable you want to include in the statistical analysis. Dependent variables cannot be included in a statistical analysis.
Note 4. 5.
Select the Statistical option above. For the variable you want to include in the statistical analysis, select Include. The selected variable will now be available for statistical analysis in a statistical setup defined in the current design or project.
Note 6.
Complex numbers are not allowed for variables to be used in an Optimetrics sweep, or for optimization, statistical, sensitivity or tuning setups.
Optionally, override the distribution criteria that Optimetrics will use for the variable in every statistical analysis.
The pasted variables appear in a tab separated column format. Fields that do not contain values are left blank.: Name $width $length $height Value 14.8570192 7.824547736 0.45*$width Unit mm mm "Evaluated Value 14.8570192mm 7.824547736mm 6.68565864mm "Description Read-only false false false Hidden false false false
4
Setting up an HFSS Design
To set up an HFSS design, follow this general procedure. Note that after you insert a design, you do not need to perform the steps sequentially, but they must be completed before a solution can be generated. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Insert an HFSS or HFSS-IE design into a project. Select the solution type. Set the models units of measurement. Draw the model geometry and assign material characteristics to objects. Assign boundaries, which specify the field behavior at the edges of the problem region and object interfaces. For Driven solution-type designs, assign excitations - sources of electromagnetic fields and charges, currents, or voltages on objects or surfaces. Specify how HFSS or HFSS-IE will compute the solution. (Optional) Set up any Optimetrics you want to run. Run the simulation.
10. View solution results, post-process results, view reports, and create field overlays.
Note
After a period of ildleness of 10 minutes, HFSS gives up its license. A renewal of activity automatically requests a license. Such idle notifications do not occur during solves.
The new design is listed in the project tree. It is named HFSSDesignn or HFSS-IEDesignn by default, where n is the order in which the design was added to the project. The 3D Modeler window appears to the right of the Project Manager. You can now create the model geometry. Note Click the plus sign to the left of the design icon in the project tree to expand the project tree and view specific data about the model, such as its boundary assignments.
Related Topics Setting up an HFSS or HFSS-IE Design Setting the Project Tree to Expand Automatically
Driven Terminal
Transient
Related Topics
Simulations with pulsed excitations, such as ultra-wideband antennas, lightning strikes, electro-static discharge; field visualization employing short-duration excitations; time-domain reflectometry.
5
HFSS Transient
HFSS Transient includes two solution types within HFSS. It employs a time-domain (transient) solver. Typical applications include, but are not limited to:
Simulations with pulsed excitations, such as ultra-wideband antennas, lightning strikes, electro-static discharge; field visualization employing short-duration excitations; time-domain reflectometry.
The interface of HFSS Transient is much like the Terminal Driven solution type in the frequency domain. The geometry creation and the mesh are almost identical. Boundary conditions and definitions of ports or incident waves are almost the same, except for some restrictions in cases where certain frequency-domain options do not apply in the time domain. Therefore, you can often change an existing Terminal Driven design into a Transient design and vice versa. (Note: before doing so, you must remove the setups and solutions.) Notable differences for transient solution types are:
Materials cannot have arbitrary frequency dependence in a time-domain analysis. For lossy dielectrics, a Debye model is applied to ensure that the loss remain physical across the spectrum. For lossy metals, a Pad approximation is used for the same reason. When lossy materials touch a port, the port solver will launch an excitation that fits the lossless case. This is inherent to most time-domain solvers. The 3D part of the simulation will take losses into account correctly. The Analysis Setup for the transient solver is different from that of the frequency domain. Two types of analysis setup are offered: a. Transient Network Analysis solution types - excitations are identical on all active ports and are simulated one at a time to facilitate the data collection. Saved fields can be visualized, and voltages and currents can be monitored. Your choice in setting the Transient solution type affects the options for the setup. If you select Transient Network Analysis the setup includes a tab for the Excitation for the simulation.
HFSS Transient 5-1
b.
Transient solution types - Different ports can have different excitations. All Active excitations are launched in one simulation. No S-parameters or TDR results may be available, but saved fields can be visualized, and voltages and currents can be monitored.
Fields will only be saved on pre-selected surfaces, because saving all 3D fields for all times would take more disk space and I/O time than generally desired.
Related Topics HFSS Transient Getting Started Guides Adding a Solution Setup for Transient Solutions Active and Passive Excitation in HFSS Transient Transient Solution Theory Selecting the Report Type in HFSS Transient Procedure for Viewing Transient Radiated Fields
2.
Optionally check Import Mesh for mesh linking. Otherwise, the mesh for the transient simulation is generated by a regular frequency-domain simulation. For that simulation, the software decides on the appropriate frequency at which to perform the adaptive passes. It uses mixed element orders and the iterative solver.
3.
Maximum Number of Passes For Device characterization solutions, you specify a Maximum Delta S. For Field Visualization solutions, you specify a Maximum Delta Energy for convergence per pass.
4. 5. 6.
For a Transient Network Analysis solution, select the Input Signal tab to create a time profile. Select the Duration tab to specify the simulation stop criteria. Use the Saved Fields tab to select the face or object lists for which to calculate fields. By checking the boxes you can enable the Start saving fields time, and Save fields at interval. When you select an object list, you can also specify the Maximum Number of Samples. If your design includes a radiation boundary, you can select the Radiated Fields tab to if you intend to view radiated fields.
7.
Transient Network Analysis Solution Input Signal Tab: A Time Profile Saved Data Tab for Transient Solution Setup
You specify the function to use for the Profile by selecting from the drop down menu.
The wave plots are updated if you select a different function or edit the parameters. The following table lists the available functions and the parameters that apply to the upper plot. The energy spectrum plot parameters are always Frequency and Max Frequency. Function Broadband Pulse Upper Plot Parameters Min Freq. Frequencies extracted Max Freq. Description A time profile that has as strong spectral content between the Min and Max frequencies. This can be used for such purposes as extracting Sparameters in that frequency range. A Min Freq. of 0 Hz. is allowed. This changes the shape of the pulse. TDR Rise Time Frequencies extracted This resembles a Sweep with a Min Freq. of 0 Hz. For convenience, however, this time profile is specified by the rise time rather than the frequency range. This also enables TDR output.
Related Topics Adding a Solution Setup for Transient Solutions Transient Solution Theory Duration Tab for Transient Solution Setup Active and Passive Excitation in HFSS Transient
2.
Related Topics Transient Network Analysis Solution Input Signal Tab: A Time Profile Active and Passive Excitation in HFSS Transient
If lists exist, you can also choose whether to Start saving fields, the save interval, and specify the Maximum Number of Samples. Transient solutions support plotting rE, a real vector versus time, in reporter. Patterns and 3D plots will also be supported. Related Topics Adding a Solution Setup for Transient Solutions Transient Network Analysis Solution Input Signal Tab: A Time Profile Transient Solution Theory Options Tab for Transient Solution Setup
5-8 HFSS Transient
For excitations in HFSS Transient solutions (and not HFSS Transient Network solutions), if you select Active, you can specify additional parameters for the excitation.
The general Transient solution type has more time profiles. In this case, the time profiles are defined as part of the excitations, because excitations can have individual profiles in a general analysis. The profile includes two plots. The upper plot shows the excitation of interest given the currently specified parameters. The lower plot shows the energy spectrum of the upper plot. The lower plot parameters include the Min and Max frequencies. The following table describes the parameters for the upper plots.
Description A time profile that has as strong spectral content between the Min and Max frequencies. This can be used for such purposes as extracting Sparameters in that frequency range. A Min Freq. of 0 Hz. is allowed. This changes the shape of the pulse.
See Adding Datasets for a description of how to create a dataset. The T0 parameter specified the start time of the pulse with the given Width and Amplitude. The harmonic displays as a regular sine wave.
Harmonic
Related Topics Adding a Solution Setup for Transient Solutions Transient Network Analysis Solution Input Signal Tab: A Time Profile Technical Notes: Transient Solution Theory Technical Notes: Excitations in the Time Domain Options Tab for Transient Solution Setup
2. 3.
Then selecting from the Show dropdown menu, you can select Input, Output, TDRz or Field Residual to display. You can select which time step to display from the dropdown, or check Show All.
4.
To export the transient data, click Export. This opens File browser winder that lets you specify a File name, location, and data format.
For Transient, the format selections are: .csv .tab .dat .txt Comma Delimited Data. Tab Delimited Data files. Ansoft Plot Data files Post Processing Files
With Transient selected, the Quantities include Input and Output related to the terminals in your design, as well as TDRz and Residual. For Transient Network Solution type designs, if you select Spectral, the Category and Quantity lists offer different selections:, including Terminal S Parameters, VSWR, and Port Zo.
3.
Under HFSS>Radiation, you can Insert Far Field Setup> Infinite Sphere. This menu is enabled for designs with radiation boundaries, even if no setups are saving radiated fields. The setup dialog resembles the one for frequency domain, but without the Radiation Surface tab. Use this dialog to set up the Theta and Phi sampling and, if needed, the local coordinate sys-
tem. You can create multiple Infinite Sphere setups in a single design.
4.
Once you have created a far field setup AND at least one setup has "Save radiated fields" selected, the Results menu will include Create Far Fields Report, with all submenus as in Frequency domain. For Rectangular Plot, Rectangular Stacked Plot, and Data Table, the default is "Time" as the primary sweep, with Theta and Phi in Families set to single values corresponding to the first sample point. For all other plots, the primary and secondary sweeps will be Theta and/or Phi, as in Frequency domain, and the Time is set to a single value - the start time.
5.
In the Report dialog, the Solution selection includes only setups with "Save radiated fields" checked. The Geometry selection will include all far field Infinite Sphere setups. The Categories include rE, Variables, Output Variables, and Design. The rE quantities are as for fre-
No matter what type of plot is generated, you can access the Time sweep and change the sampling, as with Field reports in Transient. For 3D patterns, you can overlay the pattern on the geometry, and to animate versus time, as is done in frequency domain. Once plots have been created, the reporter caches the base radiation field calculation. This means that subsequent plots will be generated more quickly. If you change the radiation setup, or invalidate solutions, the cache is cleared and the next plot takes longer. For Transient Network Analysis, the radiated fields are based on the setup in Edit Sources. If you change the source excitations that forces recomputation of the radiated fields. Output variables are supported, as for frequency domain. Related Topics HFSS Transient Getting Started Guides Creating Reports Plotting Field Overlays
6
HFSS-IE
HFSS-IE is a fullwave Integral Equation solver that calculates the currents on the surfaces of the objects in the model both finite conducting and lossy dielectric objects are allowed. HFSS-IE is designed for large open problems. Application areas include:
Radar cross Section (RCS) Antenna placement (for example, antenna on a vehicle) Stand alone antennas Coupling. EMI/EMC Works from within the standard HFSS desktop, sharing the GUI and the same 3D modeler and reporting features. Naturally open no air volume or ABC needed Support for infinite ground plane Supports ground planes apertures Supports lumped gap and incident wave excitations. Supports discrete and/or interpolating frequency sweeps Near and far field calculations For larger models, HFSS-IE uses automated advanced matrix based compression techniques. Data link from HFSS available, which means that you divide appropriate models based on each solvers advantages.
HFSS-IE features:
How HFSS-IE is different than HFSS HFSS uses the finite element method (FEM) to solve for the electromagnetic fields in the solution region. It meshes over the entire solution volume and solves for the electric field throughout that volume.
HFSS-IE 6-1
HFSS-IE uses an integral equation (sometimes called method of moments = MoM) and solves for the currents on surfaces of objects. It creates a triangular surface mesh on all objects - it solves for the currents or equivalent currents on conducting and dielectric objects. The IE technique is by default an "open model" technique so no ABCs are needed. It can handle closed spaces, but that is typically not where it will be used. In addition HFSS-IE includes a true infinite ground plane. Related Topics HFSS-IE Options Inserting an HFSS or HFSS-IE Design Setting up an HFSS or HFSS-IE Design Assigning Excitations Assigning HFSS-IE Boundaries Adding a Solution Setup to an HFSS-IE Design HFSS-IE Getting Started Guides Technical Notes: Integral Equation Method Used in HFSS-IE
6-2 HFSS-IE
The new design is listed in the project tree. It is named HFSS-IEDesignn by default, where n is the order in which the design was added to the project. The 3D Modeler window appears to the right of the Project Manager. You can now create the model geometry. Note Click the plus sign to the left of the design icon in the project tree to expand the project tree and view specific data about the model, such as its boundary assignments.
Related Topics Setting up an HFSS or HFSS-IE Design Setting the Project Tree to Expand Automatically
HFSS-IE 6-3
Finite Conductivity Represents an imperfect conductor. Infinite Ground Plane Aperture Impedance Lumped RLC Layered Impedance Related Topics Assigning Boundaries Zoom to Selected Boundary Setting Default Boundary Base Names Modifying Boundaries Deleting Boundaries Reassigning Boundaries Reprioritizing Boundaries Duplicating Boundaries and Excitations with Geometry Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations Reviewing Boundaries and Excitations in the Solver View Setting Default Values for Boundaries and Excitations
6-4 HFSS-IE
After assigning an excitation, you can modify it in some of the following ways, if applicable to the excitation type:
Change its properties. Delete it. Reassign it to another surface. Hide it from view. Modify the impedance multiplier.
HFSS-IE 6-5
Alternatively, right click Analysis in the project tree, and then click Add Solution Setup on the shortcut menu. If you have an existing setup, you can Copy and Paste it, and then edit parameters. Includes general solution settings. Includes settings for lambda refinement, adaptive analysis and solution options. Includes a list of expressions and output variables that you can use for convergence for adaptive analysis. Enables you to save the current settings as the defaults for future solution setups or revert the current settings to HFSSs standard settings.
The Solution Setup dialog box appears. It is divided among the following tabs: General Options Expression Cache Defaults 3. 4.
Click the General tab. Enter a Setup Name or accept the default. The Enabled checkbox on General tab permits to you to disable a setup so that it does not run when you select Analyze All.
5. 6.
Enter the Solution Frequency and select the frequency units from the pull down list. If you are performing an adaptive analysis, enter 2 or more passes in the Maximum Number of Passes box.
For driven problems HFSS-IE always requires at least one adaptive pass. Entering 1 will also bypass adaptive analysis, generating a solution only at the solution frequency you specified.
7.
If ports exist, accept or set the Maximum Delta S per pass. If ports do not exist accept or set the Maximum Residual Error for convergence per pass. Maximum Residual Error is a stopping criterion for the adaptive solution. If the residual error is less than this value from one iteration to the next, the adaptive analysis stops. Otherwise, it continues until the requested number of passes is completed. In HFSS-IE this is an absolute value that functions like the Maximum Delta Energy, a relative value in HFSS that do not have ports. The default is 0.001.
8.
Click the Options tab. Under the Options tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, you can edit the following settings: a. b. c. Do Lambda Refinement Use Free Space Lamda Maximum Refinement Per Pass
6-6 HFSS-IE
d. e. 9.
Under the Expression Cache tab of the Solution Setup, you can edit the following settings: Adaptive Options: whether to use Output Variable Convergence (output variables must be defined for this to be enabled.) Add, Edit, Remove, or Remove all expressions. Also use selected expressions for convergence. Checking this enables the radio button and field for either Max Delta or Max Percent Delta. For expressions in the cache, you can directly edit the name, and, by clicking the Intrinsics field for an expression, you can edit the sweep values to which the expression applies.
10. Click OK. 11. Optionally, add a frequency sweep to the solution setup. Related Topics Setting Adaptive Analysis Parameters Technical Notes: The HFSS Solution Process Copying a Solution Setup Renaming a Solution Setup HFSS-IE Feature
HFSS-IE 6-7
6-8 HFSS-IE
7
Drawing a Model
After you insert a design into the current project, you can draw a model of the electromagnetic structure. The general strategy is to build the model as a collection of 3D objects. You can assign any single material to each 3D object. You can create 3D objects by using the modelers Draw commands or you can draw 1D and 2D objects, and then manipulate them to create 3D objects. Objects are drawn in the 3D Modeler window. You can also import objects from other systems. To open a new 3D Modeler window, do one of the following:
Insert a new design into the current project. Double-click an HFSS design in the project tree. Click HFSS>3D Model Editor. Right-click the design name in the project tree, and then click 3D Model Editor on the shortcut menu.
If a 3D Modeler window for an existing design is not open, do one of the following:
The model you draw is saved with the current project when you click File>Save. Note If you access your machine via Remote Desktop, if HFSS is running and one or more modeler windows are open, those modeler windows automatically close. The message manager window displays a message indicating that HFSS closed the modeler windows.
When working with multiple projects, or when a project has multiple designs, you may have multiple Modeler windows available. To switch to the modeler window associated with a specific design: 1. 2. In the Project Manager window, select the Design of interest. Click HFSS3D Model Editor to focus the modeling window on the selected design.
If the menu command is unavailable, then the selected design is already in the modeler window.
Drawing a Model 7-1
Related Topics Setting the Units of Measurement for the Model Drawing Objects Model Analysis Design Settings Setting the Temperature of Objects Creating a User Define Primitive Modifying Objects Selecting Objects Choosing the Movement Mode Choosing the Snap Settings Measure Modes for Objects Setting Coordinate Systems
Select the Rescale to new units option to rescale the dimensions to the new units. For example, selecting centimeters (cm) as the new unit of measurement results in a dimension of 10 millimeters (mm) becoming 10 cm. Clear the Rescale to new units option (the default) to convert the dimensions to the new units without changing their scale. For example, selecting cm as the new unit of measurement results in a dimension of 10 mm becoming 1 cm.
Drawing Objects
You can draw one-, two-, or three-dimensional objects using the Draw commands. You can alter objects individually or together to create the geometry of your structure. In the Tools>Modeler Options, Drawing tab, you can set a default to either draw objects directly with the mouse or by invoking a Properties dialog in which you can enter the values for the object dimensions. The Dialog mode drawing feature works with the equation based curve, equation based surface, and all two and three dimensional objects. You can toggle to Point mode via the F3 function key and to Dialog mode via the F4 function key. When you use the Dialog mode for drawing objects the Edit property of new primitives setting is ignored. One-dimensional (1D) objects in the modeler include straight line, arc line, and spline segments, or a combination of these - called polylines. One-dimensional objects are open objects; their boundaries do not enclose a region, unless you connect their endpoints. They have length, but no surface or volume. Generally they are used as temporary objects from which to create 2D objects. Two-dimensional (2D) objects in the modeler include objects such as equation based surfaces, rectangles, ellipses, circles, and regular polygons. Two-dimensional objects are closed sheet objects; their boundaries enclose a region. You can create 2D sheet objects by covering the enclosed region.
In many applications (FSS, antennas) it is essential to calculate net power flow through a surface. You can also edit the properties of a polyline from the history tree to assign it a Cross Section property as line or rectangular. If you then assign it either a height or a width, the polyline becomes a sheet object.
By default, the history tree organizes sheet objects according to their boundary assignments. To change this, select the Sheets icon, and right-click to display the Group Sheets by Assignment checkbox. Within the calculator sheet objects are listed under surface. Three-dimensional (3D) objects in the modeler include objects such as boxes, cylinders, regular polyhedra, cones, spheres, torii, and helices. These objects have boundaries that enclose a region with volume. You can create 3D objects by manipulating 2D objects along a plane or by using the appropriate Draw commands. You can also edit the properties of a polyline from the history tree to assign it a Cross Section property as circle rectangular. If you then assign it an appropriate diameter or both height or a width,
the polyline becomes a 3D object.
By default, the history tree groups 3D objects by material. To change this, select the Objects icon, and right click to display the Group Objects by Material checkbox. While you draw objects you can also:
Select Movement Mode as 3D, In Plane, Out of Plane, Along X, Y or Z axis. Select Grid Plane as XY, YZ, or XZ. Set Snap Mode Set Reference Point for the movement mode Adjust the View
After you draw an object in the 3D Modeler window, you can modify the objects properties, such as its position, dimensions, or color, in the Properties dialog box. Most model object properties can
7-4 Drawing a Model
be assigned as Design variables when can then be manipulated during the solve to test their effect on the solution. For non-model objects, you can both Post Processing variables (default and Design variables,. Note If you access your machine via Remote Desktop, if HFSS is running and one or more modeler windows are open, those modeler windows automatically close. The message manager window displays a message indicating that HFSS closed the modeler windows.
Related Topics Assigning a Cross Section and Dimension to a Polyline Modifying Objects Drawing a Region Setting the Temperature of Objects
Click the point. You can accept the point or change it by editing its coordinates in the X, Y, and Z boxes in the status bar.
To delete the last point that was entered, click Undo Previous Segment on the shortcut menu. After using the undo feature, you can also use Redo Previous Segment on the shortcut menu. 3. Select the endpoint of the line by clicking the point or typing the coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar. The endpoint serves as the start point for a subsequent line segment. To delete all points and start over, press ESC or click Escape Draw Mode on the shortcut menu. 4. Complete the line in one of the following ways:
Double-click the endpoint. Click Done on the context (right-click) menu. Press Enter.
If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, in which you can modify the objects attributes by editing the Properties. Those listed under the Command tab describe the commands used to create the object. These commands also appear in the History tree. The Properties listed as line attributes include Name, Orientation, whether a Model object, whether to Display Wireframe, Color, Transparency, and whether to Show Direction as arrows. The Show Direction property is most helpful to unambiguously show the line start orientation when plotting fields along a line.
5.
Click OK to close the Properties dialog. While drawing a polyline, you can switch between straight line, arc line, or spline segments using the Set Edge Type commands on the shortcut menu.
Note
Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Deleting Polyline Segments Converting Polyline Segments Drawing a Three-Point Arc Drawing a Center-Point Arc Line Drawing a Spline Drawing a Polyline
Select the start point of the arc in one of the following ways:
3.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the X, Y, and Z text boxes.
Select the midpoint of the arc by clicking the point or typing the coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar. To delete the last point that was entered, click Undo Previous Segment on the shortcut menu. After using the undo feature, you can also use Redo Previous Segment on the shortcut menu. To delete all points and start over, press ESC or click Escape Draw Mode on the shortcut menu.
4.
Select the endpoint of the arc by clicking the point or typing the coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar. The endpoint serves as the start point for a subsequent arc line segment. If the endpoint is the last point of the polyline object, double-click the point to complete the polyline or click Done on the shortcut menu. If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, in which you can modify the objects attributes by editing the Properties. Those listed under the Command tab describe the commands used to create the object. These commands also appear in the History tree. The Properties listed as line attributes include Name, Orientation, whether a Model object, whether to Display Wireframe, Color, Transparency, and whether to Show Direction as arrows. The Show Direction property is most helpful
5.
to unambiguously show the line start orientation when plotting fields along a line. 6. Click OK. Based on the three points you specified, the modeler calculates the center point and radius of the arc and draws an arced line through the three points. Note While drawing a polyline, you can switch between arc line, straight line, or spline segments using the Set Edge Type commands on the shortcut menu.
Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Drawing a Straight Line Drawing a Spline Drawing a Center-Point Arc Line Drawing a Polyline Deleting Polyline Segments Converting Polyline Segments
3.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
Select the start point, or radius, of the arc by clicking the point or typing the coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar. To delete the last point that was entered, click Undo Previous Segment on the shortcut menu. After using the undo feature, you can also use Redo Previous Segment on the shortcut menu. To delete all points and start over, press ESC or click Escape Draw Mode on the shortcut menu.
4. 5.
Sweep the angle, or endpoint, of the arc by clicking the point or typing the coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar. If the endpoint is the last point of the polyline object, double-click the point to complete the polyline or click Done on the shortcut menu. If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects attributes.
6.
Click OK. While drawing a polyline, you can switch between arc line, straight line, or spline segments using the Set Edge Type commands on the shortcut menu.
Note
Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Drawing a Straight Line Drawing a Spline Drawing a Polyline Deleting Polyline Segments Converting Polyline Segments Drawing a Three-Point Arc
Drawing a Spline
A spline is a curved line defined by three points. The modeler uses a natural spline type: a piece wise cubic spline with an end condition that has a derivative of zero. Use the Draw>Spline command to create a polyline object with one or more spline segments. 1. 2. Click Draw>Spline .
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar, and then press Enter.
To delete the last point entered, click Undo Previous Segment on the shortcut menu.After using the undo feature, you can also use Redo Previous Segment on the shortcut menu. To delete all selected points and start over, press ESC or click Escape Draw Mode on the shortcut menu. 3. 4. Select the midpoint of the spline by clicking the point or typing the coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar. Select the endpoint of the spline by clicking the point or typing the coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar. The endpoint serves as the start point for a subsequent spline segment. 5. Complete the spline in one of the following ways:
Double-click the endpoint. Click Done on the shortcut menu. Press Enter.
If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, in which you can modify the objects attributes by editing the Properties. Those listed under the Command tab describe the commands used to create the object. These
7-8 Drawing a Model
commands also appear in the History tree. The Properties listed as line attributes include Name, Orientation, whether a Model object, whether to Display Wireframe, Color, Transparency, and whether to Show Direction as arrows. The Show Direction property is most helpful to unambiguously show the line start orientation when plotting fields along a line. 6. Click OK. While drawing a polyline, you can switch between spline, straight line, or arc line segments using the Set Edge Type commands on the shortcut menu.
Note
Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Drawing a Polyline Drawing a Center-Point Arc Line Deleting Polyline Segments Converting Polyline Segments
Drawing a Polyline
A polyline is a single object that includes any combination of straight line, arc line, or spline segments. The endpoint of one segment is the start point for the next segment. Use the shortcut menus Set Edge Type commands to switch between straight line, arc line, or spline segments while drawing a polyline.
In the Polyline section of Operation tab of the Modeler Options, select or clear the Automatically cover closed polylines check box. If checked, closed polylines become sheet objects, and are listed as such in the History tree. If unchecked, closed polylines are listed under lines in the History tree.
1. 2. 3. 4.
Click Draw>Line
Right-click in the 3D Modeler window to access the shortcut menu, and then point to Set Edge Type. Click Straight, Spline, 3 Point Arc, or Center Point Arc depending on which type of polyline segment you want to draw. If you clicked Straight, follow the procedure for drawing a straight line. If you clicked Spline, follow the procedure for drawing a spline. If you clicked 3 Point Arc, follow the procedure for drawing a three-point arc line. If you clicked Center Point Arc, follow the procedure for drawing a center-point arc line.
5.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each segment of the polyline object. The endpoint of the previous segment serves as the start point for the next segment. The shortcut menu lets you do the following for each segment: Undo Previous Segment or Redo Previous Segment.
6.
Note
Double-click the endpoint of the final segment. Click Done on the shortcut menu. To connect the polylines start and endpoints, click Close Polyline on the shortcut menu.
If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, in which you can modify the objects attributes by editing the Properties. Those listed under the Command tab describe the commands used to create the object. These commands also appear in the History tree. The Properties listed as line attributes include Name, Orientation, whether a Model object, whether to Display Wireframe, Color, Transparency, and whether to Show Direction as arrows. The Show Direction property is most helpful to unambiguously show the line start orientation when plotting fields along a line. Notice that by going to the History tree selecting Create Polyline for that object, you can assign a cross section and dimensions to a polyline. 7. Click OK. If you select a polyline in the History tree, you can use the Measure mode to see the total length. Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Assigning a Cross Section and Dimension to a Polyline Drawing a Straight Line Drawing a Three-Point Arc Drawing a Center-Point Arc Line Drawing an Equation-Based Curve
7-10 Drawing a Model
Drawing a Spline Deleting Polyline Segments Converting Polyline Segments Generate History Setting Modeler Options: Operations Tab
2.
In a Properties window (either docked or undocked) for the selected polyline click on None on the Type line under Cross Section to display the choices for Line, Circle, Rectangle.
3.
Selecting Line causes the Cross Section area of the polyline properties to display editable fields for Orientation and Width.
Drawing a Model 7-11
4. 5.
Selecting Circle causes the Cross Section area of the polyline properties to display an editable field for diameter. Selecting Rectangle causes the Cross Section area of the polyline properties to display editable fields for Orientation, Width and Height.
If you select Line or Rectangle, you can edit the Orientation as Auto, X, Y, or Z. This provides the direction in which the dimension extends. Specify the dimensions and select the units for the Cross section. Type a value in the dimension field(s) and select units from the drop down menu. The dimensions must be reasonable relative to the specified shape and orientation of the polyline. If the polyline cannot be extended into current Orientation for the given dimension(s), you will receive a warning. If you receive a warning, check the Orientation, dimension and units. When the modeler can extend the dimensions legally, it displays the modified object, and lists it in the History tree as either a Sheet object (Line or one dimensional Rectangle) or as a Solid object (Circle or two dimensional Rectangle).
6.
You can modify the new polyline either by editing the properties, or by using the History tree to select one of the line objects that make up the polyline, and right clicking to display the popup menu showing commands to Insert, Delete, or display editable segment Properties.
A segment that you select in the Project tree is indicated in the Modeler window by a line in the dimensioned object. If you insert a new segment, it adopts the dimensions you specified for the polyline object. Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Drawing a Polyline Drawing an Equation-Based Curve Deleting Polyline Segments Inserting Line Segments
7-12 Drawing a Model
Drawing a Center-Point Arc Line Drawing a Straight Line Drawing a Three-Point Arc
Note
Double-click the endpoint of the final segment. Click Done on the shortcut menu. To connect the polylines start and endpoints, click Close Polyline on the shortcut menu.
The Properties dialog box appears, in which you can modify the objects attributes by editing the Properties. Those listed under the Command tab describe the commands used to create the object. These commands also appear in the History tree. The Properties listed as line attributes include Name, Orientation, whether a Model object, whether to Display Wireframe, Color, Transparency, and whether to Show Direction as arrows. The Show Direction property is most helpful to unambiguously show the line start orientation when plotting fields along a line. 7. Click OK.
Related Topics Drawing a Center-Point Arc Line Deleting Polyline Segments Converting Polyline Segments
Note
3.
Type a numerical value or expression directly in the text box. Select a function to insert from the pull-down list, and select Insert Function. Select an operator from the pull-down list, and select Insert Operator. Select a quantity from the pull-down list, and select Insert Quantity.
When you are finished defining the equation, click OK to close the Edit Equation dialog box and return to the Equation Based Curve dialog box.
Any unitless value input in equation based curve is taken as model units. For example, for Y(_t) = 1, the y value is taken as 1 model units (say mm). If a value has units, then it is converted to model units and used. For example, if we specify Y(_t) = 1cm, then y value will be correctly taken as 10mm. While parsing expressions, equation based curves convert each variable separately to model units and assume that the resulting expression is in model units. Equation based curves depend on the variable value library to correctly evaluate the units of expression.
3. 4. 5.
Select a start value from the Start_t pull-down list. Select an end value from the End_t pull-down list. Select the number of points in the curve from the Points pull-down list. If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, in which you can modify the objects attributes by editing the Properties. Those listed under the Command tab describe the commands used to create the object. These commands also appear in the History tree. The Properties listed as line attributes include Name, Orientation, whether a Model object, whether to Display Wireframe, Color, Transparency, and whether to Show Direction as arrows. The Show Direction property is most helpful to unambiguously show the line start orientation when plotting fields along a line.
6.
Drawing a Circle
Draw a circle by selecting a center point and a radius. Circles are drawn as true surfaces in the modeler. 1. 2. Click Draw>Circle . Select the center point of the circle in one of the following ways:
3.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
Specify the radius by selecting a point on the circles circumference in one of the following ways:
Click the point. Type the coordinates of the point relative to the center point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties. 4. Click OK. If the Automatically cover closed polyline option is selected in the Modeler Options window, the circle will be covered, resulting in a 2D sheet object. Otherwise it will be a closed 1D polyline object. Note The 3D Geometry Modeler permits drawing of true-curved objects. However, the solution will be obtained with a tetrahedral mesh which conforms to the true surface only within the limits identified by certain mesh settings. The modeler has default settings for this conformance which is a reasonable trade-off between solution speed and solution quality for most objects, but may not be ideal for all such objects. High-aspect ratio curves structures, such as helices with narrow and curved cross-sections, may benefit from user control of the faceting values. For details about these commands see: Technical Notes, "Surface Approximations" and related sections, Rectilinear Elements and Curvilinear Elements, "Modifying Surface Approximations," and "Guidelines for Modifying Surface Approximations" Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Surface Approximation Creating Segmented Geometry Covering Lines
Drawing an Ellipse
Draw an ellipse by specifying a center point, base radius, and secondary radius.
Drawing a Model 7-15
1. 2.
Click Draw>Ellipse
Select the center point of the ellipse in one of the following ways:
3.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
Specify the base radius of the ellipse. If the current drawing plane is xy, then x is the base radius direction. If the drawing plane is yz, then y is the base radius direction. If the drawing plane is xz, then z is the base radius direction. Select the point in one of the following ways:
4.
Click the point. HFSS constrains mouse movement to the base radius direction. Type the coordinates of a point relative to the center point in the dX, dY, or dZ box, where d is the distance from the previously selected point. Click the point. HFSS constrains mouse movement to a point on the plane orthogonal to the base radius direction. Type the coordinates of a point relative to the center point in the dX, dY, or dZ box.
Specify the secondary radius of the ellipse. Select the point in one of the following ways:
If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties. The Ratio value represents the aspect ratio of the secondary radius to the base radius. 5. Click OK. If the Automatically cover closed polyline option is selected in the Modeler Options window, the ellipse will be covered, resulting in a 2D sheet object. Otherwise it will be a closed 1D polyline object. If the base radius is larger than the secondary radius, the ellipses longer axis will lie along the default base radius direction. If the secondary radius is larger than the base radius, the ellipses longer axis will lie perpendicular to the default base radius direction. To create an ellipse with an arbitrary orientation, rotate or move the ellipse after drawing it. Note The 3D Geometry Modeler permits drawing of true-curved objects. However, the solution will be obtained with a tetrahedral mesh which conforms to the true surface only within the limits identified by certain mesh settings. The modeler has default settings for this conformance which is a reasonable trade-off between solution speed and solution quality for most objects, but may not be ideal for all such objects. High-aspect ratio curves structures, such as helices with narrow and curved cross-sections, may benefit from user control of the faceting values. For details about these commands see: Technical Notes, "Surface Approximations" and related sections, Rectilinear Elements and Curvilinear Elements, "Modifying Surface Approximations," and "Guidelines for Modifying Surface Approximations" Related Topics Setting the Reference Point
7-16 Drawing a Model
Drawing a Rectangle
Draw a rectangle (or square) by selecting two diagonally opposite corners. 1. 2. Click Draw>Rectangle .
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
To delete the selected point and start over, press ESC or click Escape Draw Mode on the shortcut menu. 3. Select the second corner of the rectangle in one of the following ways:
Click the point. Type the coordinates of the point relative to the first diagonal corner in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties. 4. Click OK. If the Automatically cover closed polyline option is selected in the Modeler Options window, the rectangle will be covered, resulting in a 2D sheet object. Otherwise it will be a closed 1D polyline object. Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Covering Lines
3.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
Specify the polygons radius, the distance from the center point to one of the polygons vertices, in one of the following ways:
Click the point. Type the coordinates of the point relative to the center point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes,
Drawing a Model 7-17
where d is the distance from the previously selected point. 4. In the Segment number dialog box, enter the Number of segments in the polygon, and then click OK. If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties. 5. Click OK. The radius is measured from the center point to a corner of the polygon, or the intersection of two edges. It is not measured from the center point to the midpoint of an edge.
Note
If the Automatically cover closed polyline option is selected in the Modeler Options window, the polygon will be covered, resulting in a 2D sheet object. Otherwise it will be a closed 1D polyline object. Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Covering Lines
Note
3.
Type a numerical value or expression directly in the text box. Select a function to insert from the pull-down list, and select Insert Function. Select an operator from the pull-down list, and select Insert Operator. Select a quantity from the pull-down list, and select Insert Quantity.
When you are finished defining the equation, click OK to close the Edit Equation dialog box and return to the Equation Based Surface dialog box.
Any unitless value input in equation based curve is taken as model units. For example, for Y(_t) = 1, the y value is taken as 1 model units (say mm). If a value has units, then it is converted to model units and used. For example, if we specify Y(_t) = 1cm, then y value will be correctly taken as 10mm.
3.
While parsing expressions, equation based curves convert each variable separately to model units and assume that the resulting expression is in model units. Equation based curves depend on the variable value library to correctly evaluate the units of expression.
Select start values from the Start_u and Start_v pull-down lists. Select end values from the End_u and End_v pull-down lists.If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects attributes.
4.
Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Assigning a Cross Section and Dimension to a Polyline Drawing an Equation Based Curve
Drawing a Sphere
Draw a sphere, a 3D circle, by selecting a center point and a radius. Spheres are drawn as true surfaces in the modeler. 1. 2. Click Draw>Sphere . Select the center point of the sphere in one of the following ways:
3.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
Specify the radius by selecting a point on the spheres circumference in one of the following ways:
Click the point. Type the coordinates of the point relative to the center point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties.
4.
Click OK. The 3D Geometry Modeler permits drawing of true-curved objects. However, the solution will be obtained with a tetrahedral mesh which conforms to the true surface only within the limits identified by certain mesh settings. The modeler has default settings for this conformance which is a reasonable trade-off between solution speed and solution quality for most objects, but may not be ideal for all such objects. High-aspect ratio curves structures, such as helices with narrow and curved cross-sections, may benefit from user control of the faceting values. For details about these commands see: Technical Notes, "Surface Approximations" and related sections, Rectilinear Elements and Curvilinear Elements, "Modifying Surface Approximations," and "Guidelines for Modifying Surface Approximations"
Note
Drawing a Cylinder
Draw a cylinder by selecting a center point, radius, and height. Cylinders are drawn as true surfaces in the modeler. 1. 2. Click Draw>Cylinder . Select the center point of the cylinders base circle in one of the following ways:
3.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
Specify the radius by selecting a point on the base circles circumference in one of the following ways:
4.
Click the point. Type the coordinates of the point relative to the center point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
Specify the cylinders height by selecting a point on the axis perpendicular to the base circles plane. Select the point by clicking the point or typing the coordinates in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes. If you create a cylinder with a height of zero, HFSS draws a circular sheet object.
Note
If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties.
5.
Click OK. The 3D Geometry Modeler permits drawing of true-curved objects. However, the solution will be obtained with a tetrahedral mesh which conforms to the true surface only within the limits identified by certain mesh settings. The modeler has default settings for this conformance which is a reasonable trade-off between solution speed and solution quality for most objects, but may not be ideal for all such objects. High-aspect ratio curves structures, such as helices with narrow and curved cross-sections, may benefit from user control of the faceting values. For details about these commands see: Technical Notes, "Surface Approximations" and related sections, Rectilinear Elements and Curvilinear Elements, "Modifying Surface Approximations," and "Guidelines for Modifying Surface Approximations"
Note
Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Assigning a Cross Section and Dimension to a Polyline Modifying Surface Approximation Settings Creating Segmented Geometry
Drawing a Box
Draw a box by selecting two diagonally opposite corners of the base rectangle, then specifying the height. 1. 2. Click Draw>Box . Select the first diagonal corner of the base rectangle in one of the following ways:
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
To delete the selected point and start over, press ESC or click Escape Draw Mode on the shortcut menu. 3. Select the second corner of the base rectangle in one of the following ways:
4.
Click the point. Type the coordinates of the point relative to the first diagonal corner in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
Specify the height of the box by selecting a point on the axis perpendicular to the base rectangle. Select the point by clicking the point or typing the coordinates in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes. If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties.
5.
Click OK.
Select the center point of the polyhedron in one of the following ways:
3.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
Select the radius of the polyhedron, the distance from the center point to one of the polyhedrons vertices, in one of the following ways:
4.
Click the point. Type the coordinates of the point relative to the center point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
In the Segment number dialog box, enter the Number of segments in the polyhedron, and then click OK. If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties.
5.
Click OK. The radius is measured from the center point to a corner of the polygon, or the intersection of two edges. It is not measured from the center point to the midpoint of an edge.
Note
If the Automatically cover closed polyline option is selected in the Modeler Options dialog box, the polygon will be covered, resulting in a 2D sheet object. Otherwise it will be a closed 1D polyline object. Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Covering Lines
Drawing a Cone
Draw a cone by selecting the center point and radius of the cones base circle, then specifying the radius of the cones top circle and the cones height. Cones are drawn as true surfaces in the modeler. 1. 2. Click Draw>Cone .
Select the center point of the cones base circle in one of the following ways:
7-22 Drawing a Model
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
3.
Specify the radius of the cones base circle by selecting a point on the base circles circumference. Select the point in one of the following ways:
4.
Click the point. Type the coordinates of the point relative to the center point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
Specify the radius of the cones top circle by selecting a point on its circumference. Select the point by clicking it or typing its coordinates in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes. To create an apex, select the same center point as the cones base circle. Specify the height of the cone by selecting a point on the axis perpendicular to the base circles plane. Select the point by clicking the point or typing the coordinates in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes. If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties.
5.
6.
Click OK. The 3D Geometry Modeler permits drawing of true-curved objects. However, the solution will be obtained with a tetrahedral mesh which conforms to the true surface only within the limits identified by certain mesh settings. The modeler has default settings for this conformance which is a reasonable trade-off between solution speed and solution quality for most objects, but may not be ideal for all such objects. High-aspect ratio curves structures, such as helices with narrow and curved cross-sections, may benefit from user control of the faceting values. For details about these commands see: Technical Notes, "Surface Approximations" and related sections, Rectilinear Elements and Curvilinear Elements, "Modifying Surface Approximations," and "Guidelines for Modifying Surface Approximations"
Note
Drawing a Torus
Draw a torus by selecting its center point, major radius, and minor radius. The modeler then sweeps a circle around a circular path. Toruses are drawn as true surfaces in the modeler. 1. 2. Click Draw>Torus .
Select the center point of the torus in one of the following ways:
3.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar. Click the point. Type the coordinates of the point relative to the center point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes,
Drawing a Model 7-23
Specify the major radius by selecting a point in one of the following ways:
where d is the distance from the previously selected point. The major radius determines the diameter of the torus. 4. Specify the minor radius by selecting a point relative to the major radius point. The minor radius determines the diameter of the "donut hole". If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties. 5. Click OK. The 3D Geometry Modeler permits drawing of true-curved objects. However, the solution will be obtained with a tetrahedral mesh which conforms to the true surface only within the limits identified by certain mesh settings. The modeler has default settings for this conformance which is a reasonable trade-off between solution speed and solution quality for most objects, but may not be ideal for all such objects. High-aspect ratio curves structures, such as helices with narrow and curved cross-sections, may benefit from user control of the faceting values. For details about these commands see: Technical Notes, "Surface Approximations" and related sections, Rectilinear Elements and Curvilinear Elements, "Modifying Surface Approximations," and "Guidelines for Modifying Surface Approximations"
Note
Drawing a Helix
A helix is a 3D spiral object created by sweeping a 1D or 2D object along a vector. Sweeping a 1D object results in a hollow 3D object. Sweeping a 2D sheet object results in a 3D solid object. 1. 2. 3. Select the 1D or 2D object you want to sweep to form a helix. Click Draw>Helix .
Draw the vector you want to sweep the object along. The two points that describe the vector affect axis direction only and not the helix length. The helix length is determined when you enter the pitch and number of turns in the Pitch and Turns text boxes. The initial radius of the helix is determined by the axis position relative to the object being swept. a. b. Select the start point by clicking the point or typing its coordinates in the X, Y, and Z text boxes. Select the endpoint by clicking the point or typing its coordinates relative to the start point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes. The Helix dialog box appears.
4. 5. 6.
For Turn Direction, select Right hand if the turn direction is clockwise and Left hand if the turn direction is counter-clockwise. In the Pitch text box, type the distance between each turn in the helix, and click a unit in the pull-down list. In the Turns text box, type the number of complete revolutions the object will make along the vector.
7. 8.
In the Radius Change per Turn text box, type a number for the increase in the radius and select the units from the pull-down list. After you set these values, the selected object is swept along the vector to form a helix. The original object you swept is deleted. If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties.
9.
Click OK. The 3D Geometry Modeler permits drawing of true-curved objects. However, the solution will be obtained with a tetrahedral mesh which conforms to the true surface only within the limits identified by certain mesh settings. The modeler has default settings for this conformance which is a reasonable trade-off between solution speed and solution quality for most objects, but may not be ideal for all such objects. High-aspect ratio curves structures, such as helices with narrow and curved cross-sections, may benefit from user control of the faceting values. For details about these commands see: Technical Notes, "Surface Approximations" and related sections, Rectilinear Elements and Curvilinear Elements, "Modifying Surface Approximations," and "Guidelines for Modifying Surface Approximations"
Note
Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Drawing a Segmented Helix with Polygon Cross-Section using a User-Defined Primitive Drawing a Segmented Helix with Rectangular Cross-Section using a User Defined Primitive.
Drawing a Segmented Helix with Polygon Cross-Section Using a User Defined Primitive
Ansoft provides you with a DLL to define the parameters of a segmented helix with a polygon cross-section. 1. Click Draw>User Defined Primitive>SysLib>SegmentedHelix>PolygonHelix. The Create User Defined Part dialog box appears. The Parameters tab permits you to edit the parameters. An Info tab contains information about the user defined primitive, its purpose, the company/author who created it, the date created and the version number. 2. Specify the values for the following parameters: PolygonSegments Number of segments in the polygon cross-section. Enter zero (0) for true circle PolygonRadius Radius of the polygon cross-section. StartHelixRadius The radius of a segmented helix is defined from the helix center of rotation to the center of the helix cross-section at segment transitions. The first and last segments of the helix are half segments. See this figure.
Drawing a Model 7-25
The radius change per turn of the helix. Distance between helix turns. The number of turns in the helix.
SegmentsPerTurn The number of segments constructing each turn. Enter zero (0) for true curve. RightHanded 3. Click OK. Helix winding direction. Enter non-zero value for righthanded helix.
Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Creating a User Defined Primitive Drawing a Segmented Helix with Rectangular Cross Section Using a User Defined Primitive
Drawing a Segmented Helix with Rectangular Cross-Section Using a User Defined Primitive
Ansoft provides you with a DLL to define the parameters of a segmented helix with a rectangular cross-section. 1. Click Draw>User Defined Primitive>SysLib>SegmentedHelix>RectHelix. The Create User Defined Part dialog box appears. The Parameters tab permits you to edit the parameters. An Info tab contains information about the user defined primitive, its purpose, the company/author who created it, the date created and the version number. 2. Specify the values for the following parameters: RectHeight RectWidth Height of rectangular cross-section. Width of rectangular cross-section.
StartHelixRadius The radius of a segmented helix is defined from the helix center of rotation to the center of the helix cross-section at segment transitions. The first and last segments of the helix are half segments. See this figure. RadiusChange Pitch Turns The radius change per turn of the helix. Distance between helix turns. The number of turns in the helix.
SegmentsPerTurn The number of segments constructing each turn. Enter zero (0) for true curve. RightHanded 3. Click OK. Helix winding direction. Enter non-zero value for righthanded helix.
Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Creating a User Defined Primitive Drawing a Segmented Helix with Polygon Cross-Section using a User-Defined Primitive
Drawing a Spiral
A spiral is a 2D or 3D spiral object created by sweeping an object around a vector. Sweeping a 1D object results in a 2D sheet object. Sweeping a 2D sheet object results in a 3D solid object. 1. 2. 3. Select the 1D or 2D object you want to sweep to form a spiral. Click Draw>Spiral a. b. .
Draw the vector you want to sweep the object around: Select the start point by clicking the point or typing its coordinates in the X, Y, and Z text boxes. Select the endpoint by clicking the point or typing its coordinates relative to the start point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes. The Spiral dialog box appears.
4.
Select Right hand if the turn direction is clockwise and Left hand if the turn direction is
Drawing a Model 7-27
counter-clockwise. 5. In the Radius Change text box, type the difference in radius between each turn of the spiral. The radius of the first turn is measured from the center point of the 1D or 2D object you are sweeping to the vector you drew. 6. 7. Click a unit for the radius in the pull-down list. In the Turns text box, type the number of complete revolutions the object will make around the vector. The selected object is swept around the vector to form a spiral. The original object you swept is deleted. If the Modeler option for editing properties of new primitives is checked, the Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties. 8. Click OK.
This 3D spiral was created from a 2D circle drawn at z = 0. The turn direction was right hand, the radius change was set at 2, and the number of turns was set at 2.
Note
The 3D Geometry Modeler permits drawing of true-curved objects. However, the solution will be obtained with a tetrahedral mesh which conforms to the true surface only within the limits identified by certain mesh settings. The modeler has default settings for this conformance which is a reasonable trade-off between solution speed and solution quality for most objects, but may not be ideal for all such objects. High-aspect ratio curves structures, such as helices with narrow and curved cross-sections, may benefit from user control of the faceting values. For details about these commands see: Technical Notes, "Surface Approximations" and related sections, Rectilinear Elements and Curvilinear Elements, "Modifying Surface Approximations," and "Guidelines for Modifying Surface Approximations"
Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Drawing a Spiral Using User Defined Primitives
Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Creating a User Defined Primitive Drawing a Spiral
Drawing a Bondwire
A bondwire is a thin metal wire that connects a metal signal trace with a chip. Please see the topic Bondwires in the Technical Notes before drawing a bondwire. 1. 2. Click Draw>Bondwire .
3.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
Select the lead point by clicking the point or typing the coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar. The Bondwires dialog box appears. In the Type list, click the JEDEC modeling standard shape you want the bondwire to have: JEDEC 4-point, JEDEC 5-point, or Low. The Type selection changes the dialogue bondwire graphic, and shows options for that type. Enter the number of facets in the bondwire in the No. of Facets text box. The minimum value is 3. The value describes the number of faces that make up the circumference of the bondwire.
4.
5.
6. 7. 8.
In the diameter field, specify a diameter value and select the units from the pull-down menu. Enter the height between the bond pad and the top of the loop in the h1 text box. Include the heights unit of length. The value in the h2 text box is the height between the bond pad and the lead point. It was calculated by HFSS based on the lead point you selected. If you modify the value of h2, the lead point will be modified. Optionally, type a new value in the h2 text box. Include the heights unit of length. If you selected JEDEC 5-point or Low do the following: a. b. Type the angle between the horizontal plane and the wire at the bond pad point in the alpha text box. Type the angle between the horizontal plane and the wire at the lead point in the beta text box.
9.
10. Click OK. Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Technical Notes: Bondwires
7-30 Drawing a Model
Drawing a Point
Drawing a point object within the problem region enables you to plot fields or perform field computations at that point. Points are always considered non-model objects by the modeler. 1. 2. Click Draw>Point . Select the point in one of the following ways:
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
The point is listed under Points in the history tree. Related Topics Setting the Reference Point Modifying Markers on Point Plots Drawing Non-Model Objects
Drawing a Plane
A plane object is a cutplane through the problem region. You can plot fields or perform field computations on its surface. Planes are always considered non-model objects by the modeler. 1. 2. Click Draw>Plane . Select the origin in one of the following ways:
3.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the text boxes in the status bar.
To delete the selected point and start over, press ESC. Select a normal point in one of the following ways:
Click the point. Type the coordinates of the point relative to the origin in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
The plane is created. Its center point is located at the origin you specified and oriented perpendicular to the normal point you specified. The plane is listed under Planes in the history tree. Note You only need to draw a plane that does not lie on a pre-defined xy, yz, and xz plane. Default planes are created on the xy, yz, and xz planes of the global coordinate system as well as any new coordinate system you create.
The following model objects can be created as segmented structures: Circle, Ellipse, Cylinder Polyline, Arc, Line Segment See Segmented Objects See Converting Polyline Segments
Segmented Objects
To create segmented circles, ellipses, and cylinders use the Number of Segments parameter on the Command Tab of the Properties dialog as shown below. To convert an object from true surface to segmented, do the following: 1. 2. Select the circle, ellipse, or cylinder in the modeler window or in the history tree. In the command tab of the properties window (shown docked below), change the Number of
Values of 1 and 2 are not valid values for the circle, ellipse, or cylinder command and will cause an error. Related Topics Modifying Surface Approximation Settings Creating Segmented Geometry
Draw a polyline along which to plot fields or perform field computations. Note that when you create a value versus distance plot, by default, the line will be divided into 100 equally spaced points. You can modify the number of points into which the line is divided in the Edit Sweeps dialog box.For more information, see Specifying Variable Values for a Sweep Definition.
Drawing a Model 7-33
Draw a rectangle upon which to plot fields or perform field computations. Draw a volume box to analyze fields in areas of the problem region that are not occupied by an object or that consist of parts of several objects. Draw a plane, which is always a non-model object. Draw a point object, which is always a non-model object, in order to plot fields or perform field computations at that point.
What do you want to do? Switch to non-model drawing mode. Objects you draw in non-model mode will not be included in the solution process. Modify an existing model object to be a non-model object.
2.
Drawing a Region
To draw a region encompassing the objects in the current project:
7-34 Drawing a Model
1.
This displays the Region dialog. You can define the region padding as a percentage offset, relative offset, or absolute offset. 2. For the Padding data, click the Padding Data radio button as Pad all directions similarly or Pad individual directions. Selecting Pad all directions similarly leaves the Padding Percentage field as requiring a single value that affects all directions. In this case, you can specify the Padding type by selecting Percentage Offset or Absolute Offset from the drop down menu. Selecting Pad individual directions displays the Padding Percentage as a table of Positive and Negative X,Y, and Z coordinates, permitting you to specify padding for each direction. In this case, you can specify the Padding type by selecting Percentage Offset or Absolute Offset or Absolute Position from the drop down menu. 3. 4. 5. Specify the Padding values in the fields and select the units from the dropdown list. If desired, click the check box to save the values as Default. Click OK to close the dialog and create the region. The region is drawn, selected, and displayed in the History tree. It is created using the current coordinate system. The Properties dialog for the region has a Commands tab that shows the coordinate system and Padding values, and the Attributes tab includes properties for Name, Material (Default, vacuum), Solve inside, Orientation, Model, Color, Display Wireframe, and Transparency. You can edit all of these values. If you try to create a region that does not contain all of the objects in your model, the modeler automatically expands the region to cover all objects. The region also updates automatically as your geometry changes. Only one region can be created for a single project using the Draw>Region command. If you try to create a second region, the Properties window appears for the existing region, allowing you to change operation parameters and attributes.
Model Analysis
For some models it may be beneficial to remove unnecessary small entities and to fix object misalignments to avoid potential mesh issues. HFSS includes Model Analysis functions to help you evaluate models you have imported or created. Select Modeler> Model Analysis to see the menu options. Depending on the design and the current selection, some features may not be enabled. The menu includes the following commands.
Analyze Objects Analyze InterObject Misalignment Analyze Surface Mesh Show Analysis dialog
Note
Before running model analysis, you must remove all command history for the selected object by using the Purge History command. If you need to save the object history, save a separate copy.
1.
After import, you typically perform validation check. This lets you focus on objects and object pairs that have errors and or warnings. The objects that fail should be analyzed by using the Modeler>Model Analysis>Analyze Objects menu item. Select the objects and invoke Modeler>Model Analysis>Analyze Objects. This displays the Analysis Options dialog to allow you to specify settings for entity check level, and small feature detection. When you OK this dialog, the initial analysis executes and the Model Analysis dialog is displayed.
2.
3. 4.
Choose the objects that have "Invalid Entities Found" and Perform>Heal Objects. In most cases, the objects will be healed and the errors fixed. If errors still persist, choose the edges and faces and click on Delete. This will replace the selected face/edge object by a tolerant edge/vertex respectively. In some cases the replacement of the face/edge by tolerant edge/vertex will fail.
When models pass the initial validity checks, mesh generation could still fail. The following errors can be present in models: (See Error Detection.) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Non-manifold topology. These are non-manifold edges and vertices that are present in the model. Object pair intersection. This detects whether pairs of objects intersect. Small feature detection small edge length, small face area and sliver face detection. Mis-aligned entities detection detects pairs of faces from objects that can be aligned to remove object intersections. This improves the probability of mesh success. Mesh failure error display. This is available for single object, object pairs and last simulation
run (all objects in a model). Errors reported by the meshing module are reported to the user. Errors of type 3 and 4 should be resolved before you invoke the meshing for the model. By default, the Heal command is automatically applied to imported objects. Related Topics Set Material Override Analysis Options Dialog Healing Technical Notes: Removing Object Intersections Healing Non-manifold Objects Healing Options Technical Notes: Healing and Meshing Technical Notes: Detecting and Addressing Model Problems to Improve Meshing
4.
Detect Holes, and specify the Maximum Radius. Detect Chamfers, and specify the Maximum Width. Detect Blends, and specify the Maximum Radius. Small Edges, length less than Small Faces, area less than Sliver Faces, which enables: Object Bounding Box Scale Factor Sliver Edge Width
If desired set the Detect Small Entities features and tolerance values.
5. 6.
Click the Properties tab to see a listing of the geometric properties of the selected object. Clicking OK on this dialog displays the Model Analysis dialog which contains the results of the analysis.
Drawing a Model 7-37
3. 4.
You can also open the Surface Mesh Analysis Options dialog box from the Model Analysis dialog box via the Perform pull-down menu on the Objects tab.
Select or clear the Perform Object Pairs Analysis check box. Selecting this option evaluates the mesh for all combinations of the selected objects. Select or clear the Ignore Objects Separated by greater than check box, and enter a value in the text box. Selecting this option means that object pairs are disregarded from analysis if their separation is greater than the specified value. Click OK to perform the analysis with the selected options. The Model Analysis dialog box appears, displaying the results of the analysis.
5.
The Model Analysis dialog box appears. (This dialog box also appears automatically after clicking OK in the Analysis Options dialog box.) 3. Select the Auto zoom to selection check box to automatically zoom to the item selected on the Objects tab.
4.
Make the desired changes on each tab in the Model Analysis dialog box.
Heal
Objects tab Objects Misalignment tab Surface Mesh (Single/Pairs) tab Last Simulation Mesh tab
Click Close to close the Model Analysis dialog box.Related Topics Analysis Options Technical Notes: Healing and Meshing Technical Notes: Detecting and Addressing Model Problems to Improve Meshing
Objects Tab
All results relating to model analysis of specific objects are presented under the Objects tab. 1. The results table contains the following information.
Name - column listing the objects in the current design. Last Analysis status - column giving the analysis status of the listed objects. Objects can have the following status:
2.
Good - the object contains no invalid geometry entities given the tolerance values specified in the Analysis Options dialog. Null Body - the object is non-existent. Analysis not performed - the object was not selected for analysis. Invalid entity errors - these are api_check_entity() errors and non-manifold errors which Ansoft recommends that you fix before meshing. Small entity errors - small faces, sliver faces and small edges that are optionally detected based on the tolerance limits specified in the Analysis Options dialog.
Select any object name in the table which contains errors to display a set of radio buttons in the panel and a list of corresponding faces, edges and vertices. Auto Zoom to Selection -- if this option is checked, the modeler automatically zooms to the item selected in the Model Analysis dialog box.
Note 3. 4. 5.
Select the face, edge or vertex entity from the list to view the error description in the Description field. Select the Delete button if you want to remove a selected face or edge entity. Select the Perform button to list the commands that you can execute on the selected objects in the Results table.
Heal Objects - repairs invalid geometry entities for the selected objects within the specified tolerance settings. The Healing Analysis dialog will appear. Analyze Objects - evaluates the object status. Selecting this displays the Analysis Options
Drawing a Model 7-39
dialog.
Analyze Surface Mesh - invokes a mesh for each selected object and reports analysis results under the Surface Mesh (Single/Pairs) tab. Selecting this option displays a dialog with radio buttons to select.
Perform Object Pairs Analysis - evaluates mesh for all combinations of the selected objects. Ignore objects separated by greater than a specified value - object pairs are disregarded from analysis if their separation is greater than the specified value. Click OK to perform the analysis with the selected options.
Analyze Interobject Misalignment - determines any misalignments between two selected objects in the results table. The results are reported under the Objects Misalignment tab.
Display Healing Log -- checking this causes the Model Analysis dialog to display a healing log which includes information about operations performed on an object during the healing process.
Related Topics Analyze Objects Analyze Interobject Misalignment Analyze Surface Mesh Healing
Align Faces - select a face pair in the table and click the Align Faces button to align selected faces. Clear All Analysis Data - this button removes all information from the tables. Auto Zoom to Selection -- if this option is checked, the modeler automatically zooms to the item selected in the table.
After validation check is performed, the pairs of objects that intersect are chosen for analysis. Use the analysis results to find whether objects have faces that can be aligned. Choose all the bodies that intersect with another body. 1. From the Model Analysis dialog choose perform/Analyze Interobject misalignment. Or you can run Modeler>Model Analysis>Analyze Interobject Misalignment. If the analysis finds object pairs that can be aligned, they will be displayed in the Objects Misalignment tab.
7-40 Drawing a Model
2. 3. 4. 5.
You can select individual or multiple rows and perform Align Faces. In some cases, face alignment will fail if the topology of the body changes by a large factor after alignment. Identify individual bodies and body pairs that fail to mesh. Perform Mesh analysis on individual objects and object pairs. Review the reports and fix the errors.
Related Topics Analyze Objects Analyze Interobject Misalignment Analyze Surface Mesh Healing Technical Notes: Removing Object Intersections Healing Non-manifold Objects Healing Options Technical Notes: Healing and Meshing Technical Notes: Detecting and Addressing Model Problems to Improve Meshing Set Material Override for HFSS Set Material Override for HFSS-IE Select by intersection error message.
Note 2.
Individual Objects Object Pairs Auto Zoom to Selection -- if this option is checked, the modeler automatically zooms to the object or object pair selected.
The results table contains the following information: Object - column listing object name or a pair of object names. Last Analysis Status - column stating the meshing status of the object or object pair.
Error Type - this column gives the category of error that caused the mesh failure. Error Detail - provide specific geometry information regarding mesh error location. Display Mesh Analysis log checkbox -checking this displays further details concerning each error to be listed.
Drawing a Model 7-41
Auto Zoom to Selection -- checking this causes the modeler to automatically zoom to objects or faces corresponding to the error.
Related Topics Analyze Objects Analyze Interobject Misalignment Analyze Surface Mesh Healing
Error Type - this column gives the category of error that caused the mesh failure. Error Detail - provide specific geometry information regarding mesh error location. Display Mesh Analysis log checkbox -checking this displays further details concerning each error to be listed. Auto Zoom to Selection -- checking this causes the modeler to automatically zoom to objects or faces corresponding to the error.
Related Topics Analyze Objects Analyze Interobject Misalignment Analyze Surface Mesh Healing
Related Topics
Drawing a Model 7-43
Analyze Objects Analyze Interobject Misalignment Analyze Surface Mesh Healing Materials Setting the Temperature of Objects
Perfect Conductors in Siemens per meter. Insulator Conductor in Siemens per meter
The Design Settings dialog also contains checkboxes on each tab to Save As Default. Note Users must be careful: these settings change the "ground rules" of the modeler, and may have unexpected results.
Related Topics Analyze Objects Analyze Interobject Misalignment Analyze Surface Mesh Healing Materials Setting the Temperature of Objects
Heal
The Heal command provides a way to correct geometric violations and to remove specific kinds of small features. When models are imported, two types of errors can occur geometry errors and topology errors. Geometry errors are errors in definition of the underlying geometry while topology errors are errors in how the underlying components like faces, edges and vertices are connected. Ansoft recommends that these be fixed before you invoke mesh generation. Imported objects which have only one operation on the history tree, can be healed. (Use the Purge History command to remove unwanted history operations before using Heal.) Note If you need to save the object history, save a separate copy for that purpose before you heal the object.
The menu command Modeler>Model Healing>Heal command applies to a selected object. Some formats permit healing during Modeler>Import. These are: 3D Modeler file (*.sm3), SAT file (*.sat), STEP file (*.step,*. stp), IGES file (*.iges, *.igs), ProE files (*.prt, *.asm), CATIA (*.model, *.CATpart), and Parasolid file (*.x_t, and *.x_b). Selecting these formats enables a checkbox at the bottom of this window, "Heal Imported Objects." The Model Analysis dialog that appears after running Modeler>Model Analysis>Analyze Objects, or Modeler>Model Analysis>Show Analysis dialog includes a Perform action menu with Heal Objects as a selection.
Any of these approaches leads to the same heal process. Basic Steps in the Heal Process There are several steps that are performed on selected objects. 1. 2. Entity check, according to the Analysis Options settings. Basic healing. This is done for all selected objects. Basic healing consists of fixing surface normals in the object and updating the orientation (to avoid having an object with negative volume). Advanced healing. This is auto-heal. This is invoked on objects that require healing, that is, bodies that have errors, including have non-manifold errors. Feature Removal. If you choose in the Healing Options to remove small holes, chamfers, blends, small edges, small faces and/or sliver faces, the actions are performed on all selected objects. There is no guarantee that small feature removal will be successful. (Also see Specifying the Model Resolution for defeaturing through the Auto Simplify and Model Resolution settings there.)
3. 4.
The above actions are performed on the selected objects. If you choose objects for healing which have not been analyzed, analysis is performed to determine its state (that is, whether it has invalid entities, small entities, and so forth). Invalid objects have all the above steps performed. Advanced healing is not performed on objects that do not require it.
Drawing a Model 7-47
While working on analyzing complex bodies, it is sometimes useful to examine faces, edges and vertices. In particular it is useful to find the connected faces for a face or edge or vertex, connected edges for a face/edge/vertex and connected vertices for a face/edge/vertex. The additional selection modes are available under Edit->Select and via the toolbar icons. Related Topics Align Faces Remove Faces Remove Edges Technical Notes: Removing Object Intersections Healing Non-manifold Objects Healing Options Specifying the Model Resolution Technical Notes: Healing and Meshing Technical Notes: Detecting and Addressing Model Problems to Improve Meshing
object touches itself at a vertex, or a 3D object touches itself at a point or edge. These cases are shown in the figure below.
Another type of non-manifold object has mixed dimensionality. For example, a pair of 2D objects connected by a 1D line segment, or a pair of 3D objects connected by a 2D sheet object. These cases are illustrated below.
The criteria for manufacturability is a simple manifestation of a complex mathematical concept that must be adhered to in the solid modeling system. When creating geometry, either directly, or through boolean operations, you should always consider whether or not the resulting operation will result in an object that could not be manufactured. If this is the case, then the object will cause an error in the modeler or in the meshing system. To heal non-manifold objects: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Identify an edge that is non-manifold. Select the connected faces. You can use the Face selection toolbar icons. Create a face coordinate system on the planar face. Create a small box to cover the non-manifold edge. Either do a union or a subtraction to remove the faces that contain the non-manifold edge. The non-manifold edge is now removed. You may also remove or add a small portion of the model.
7-50 Drawing a Model
6.
Related Topics Healing Technical Notes: Removing Object Intersections Healing Options Technical Notes: Healing and Meshing Technical Notes: Detecting and Addressing Model Problems to Improve Meshing Technical Notes: Mixed Dimensionality.
2.
Healing Options Feature Removal Options Properties, which lists the geometric properties of the currently selected object. Heal Type as: Auto Heal (default), Manual Heal, or No Heal. Perform Tolerant Stitching checkbox. This enables a field for the Stitch Tolerance value, and a checkbox to Stop After First Error.
Select the Healing Options tab on the Healing Options dialog to specify the following:
Perform Geometry Simplification This enables fields for Simplification Tolerance and Maximum Generated Radius values. You can also select radio buttons to Simplify Curves, Surfaces, or Both.
Tighten Gaps settings. A checkbox to select Perform Tighten Gaps A field to specify Tighten Gaps Within a given value in mm.
3.
Select the Feature Removal Options tab to specify the following: Here you can specify the following Feature Removal Options.
Remove Holes checkbox and Maximum Radius value. Remove Chamfers checkbox and Maximum Width value. Remove Blends checkbox and Maximum Radius value.
Drawing a Model 7-51
Small Edges, Length Less Than, less than a specified value. Small Faces Area e Less Than, less than a specified area. Sliver Face Width Less Than, less than either:
Object Bounding box Scale Factor, less than a specified scale factor Sliver Edge Width, less than a specified value.
Sliver faces have a maximum distance among the long edges that is smaller than the specified tolerance and have at least one short edge and at most three long edges. A short edge has a length less than the specified tolerance. A long edge has a length greater than the specified tolerance. You can give the tolerance as a absolute value or a factor of the bounding box containing the face. You can Control Object Properties Change according to the following settings:
4. 5.
Allowable Change in Surface Area checkbox, and percent value. Allowable Change in Volume checkbox, and percent value.
Select the Properties tab to view the geometric properties of the currently selected object. Click OK to apply the specified Healing options and to open the Analysis dialog.
Related Topics Healing Stitch Sheets Technical Notes: Removing Object Intersections Healing Non-manifold Objects Specifying the Model Resolution Technical Notes: Healing and Meshing Technical Notes: Detecting and Addressing Model Problems to Improve Meshing
Stitch Sheets
Use the Modeler>Model Healing>Stitch Sheets command to stitch selected sheets. 1. 2. Select two or more sheet objects. This enables the Stitch Sheets command on the Modeler>Model Healing submenu. Click Modeler>Model Healing>Stitch Sheets This displays a Stitch dialog with a Maximum Stitch Tolerance field. The default value (auto) comes from the Healing dialog Options tab with Manual Healing selected. You may edit the value in the Stitch dialog or in the Healing Options. 3. Click OK. This closes the dialog and attempts to perform stitching on the selected sheets. If the sheets are separated beyond the stitch tolerance, stitching is not performed and a warning is issued.
7-52 Drawing a Model
Related Topics Align Faces Analyze Objects Analyze Interobject Misalignment Analyze Surface Mesh Healing Technical Notes: Healing and Meshing Technical Notes: Detecting and Addressing Model Problems to Improve Meshing Set Material Override
Related Topics Technical Notes: Healing and Meshing Technical Notes: Detecting and Addressing Model Problems to Improve Meshing Technical Notes: Error Types Technical Notes: Error Detection Analyze Objects Analyze Interobject Misalignment Analyze Surface Mesh Healing
In the UDPDir directory, create a Headers subdirectory. Copy the UserDefinedPrimitiveStructures.h and UserDefinedPrimitiveDLLInclude.h files from the UserDefinedPrimitives/Headers directory. The header files include information on the methods that are available for use in your source code. They must be included when you compile the DLL.
Note 5. 6.
In the UDPDir directory, create a Source subdirectory. Use the sample source file RectangularSpiral.cpp as a template: a. b. c. Copy RectangularSpiral.cpp from the UserDefinedPrimitives/Examples directory to this new directory. Make sure the new file has write permission. Rename the file to myUDP.cpp. The resulting directory structure will resemble the following:
10. To view your primitives, click Draw>User Defined Primitive>Update Menu and then click Draw>User Defined Primitive>UserLib. Note On UNIX, you may use the same example directory structure, source, and header files to build and compile a shared library using C++. The resulting shared library will have a .so extension for Solaris and a .sl extension for HP-UX, and needs to be placed in the same hfss13/userlib/UserDefinedPrimitives directory. As with the Windows DLL, the compiled library will work only on the operating system on which it was built. Related Topics Drawing a Spiral Using User Defined Primitives Drawing a Segmented Helix with Polygon Cross-Section Using a User-Defined Primitive Drawing a Segmented Helix with Rectangular Cross Section Using a User Defined Primitive
Modifying Objects
You can quickly modify the position, dimensions, and other characteristics of objects created in the 3D Modeler window. What do you want to do?
Assign color to an object. Assign transparency to an object. Assigning a Cross Section and Dimension to a Polyline Copy and paste objects. Delete objects. Delete Last Operation Cutting Objects Move objects. Rotate objects. Change the Orientation of an object Mirror objects about a plane. Offset an object (move every face of an object). Duplicate objects. Scale the size of objects. Sweep objects. Cover lines. Cover faces. Uncover faces. Detach faces. Detach edges. Create a new object by taking a cross-section of a 3D object. Connect objects. Move faces or edges. Unite objects. Subtract objects. Create objects from intersections. Create an object from a face. Create an object from an edge. Split objects. Separate objects.
Drawing a Model 7-59
1.
Convert polyline segments. Rounding the edge of an object (Fillet) Flattening the edge of an object (Chamfer) Wrap Command Imprint Projection Commands Imprinting an Object View and Edit Commands on History Tree Objects Purge History Generate History Select the object to which you want to assign a color. If the Properties window not visible on the desktop, click View>Properties Window or use Edit>Properties.
2. 3. 4.
In the Properties dialog box, click the Attribute tab. Click Edit in the Color row. The Color palette appears. Select a color from the Color palette, and then click OK. The color is assigned to the selected object.
4.
Select a color from the Color palette, and then click OK. The outlines of any objects you draw after this point will be assigned the default color you selected.
In the Properties dialog box, click the Attribute tab. Click the value in the Transparency row. The Set Transparency window appears. Move the slider to the right to increase the transparency of the object. Move the slider to the left to decrease the transparency of the object. Click OK.
The objects are copied to the Clipboard, a temporary storage area. The selected items are not deleted. To cut an item to the clipboard and deleting the original, use the scissors icon on the toolbar. 3. 4. 5. Select the design into which you want to paste the objects. It can be the same design from which you copied the items. Click in the 3D Modeler window. Select the working coordinate system. Objects are pasted relative to the current working coordinate system.
Drawing a Model 7-61
6.
Click Edit>Paste
The objects appear in the new window. Items on the Clipboard can be pasted repeatedly. The items currently stored on the Clipboard are replaced by the next items that are cut or copied. Related Topics Duplicating Boundaries and Excitations with Geometry
2.
The objects are copied to the Clipboard, a temporary storage area. The selected items are not deleted. 3. 4. 5. 6. Select the design into which you want to paste the objects. It can be the same design from which you copied the items. Click in the 3D Modeler window. Select the working coordinate system. Objects are imported relative to the current working coordinate system. Click Modeler>Import From Clipboard.
The geometry model is pasted from the Clipboard with the ID preserved. Related Topics Setup Link Dialog Selecting Items in the 3D Modeler Window
Copy Image
You can import images of the 3D Modeler window or of Reports into any other application. The image has to be copied to the clipboard, so that it can be imported into the other application. To copy an image of the 3D Modeler window and paste into another application: 1. 2. Make the 3D Modeler window active. This enables the Edit>Copy Image command in the menu bar. Click Edit>Copy Image, or right click on the 3D Modeler window to display the shortcut menu and select Copy Image.
The 3D Modeler window is copied to the Clipboard as an image. 3. 1. 2. Select and open the application into which you want to paste the objects, and paste the image. Make the report the active window. The enables the Edit>Copy Image command in the menu bar. Click Edit>Copy Image, or right click on the Report window to display the shortcut menu and select Copy Image. The report is copied to the Clipboard as an image. 3. Select and open the application into which you want to paste the objects, and paste the image. To copy an image of a Report to paste into another application:
Related Topics Copy and Paste of Report and Trace Data Copy and Paste of Report and Trace Definitions
Deleting Objects
1. 2. Select the objects to delete. Click Edit>Delete .
Note
The objects are deleted. To maintain valid boundaries, excitations, or other parameters that were associated with the deleted object, reassign them to other objects.
Related Topics Deleting Polyline Segments Deleting Start points and End points
Cutting Objects
1. 2. Select the objects to cut. Click Edit>Cut.
The objects are copied to the Clipboard and deleted from the design.
Moving Objects
1. 2. 3. Select the objects to move. Click Edit>Arrange>Move . Select an arbitrary anchor point in one of the following ways:
4.
Click the point. Enter the points coordinates in the X,Y, and Z boxes. Click the point. Type the coordinates of a point relative to the anchor point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
All selected objects move the distance determined by the offset between the anchor point and the target point.
Rotating Objects
Rotate objects about the x-, y-, or z-axis using the Edit>Arrange>Rotate command. To rotate objects about an axis: 1. 2. 3. 4. Select the objects to rotate. Click Edit>Arrange>Rotate The Rotate dialog box appears. Select the axis about which to rotate the objects: X, Y, or Z. Type the angle to rotate the objects in the Angle box. .
A positive angle causes the object to be rotated in the counter-clockwise direction. A negative angle causes the object to be rotated in the clockwise direction. 5. Click OK. The selected objects are rotated about the axis. To rotate and copy objects, use the Edit>Duplicate>Around Axis command.
Related Topics Assigning Material Property Types Setting Coordinate Systems Creating a Relative Coordinate System
Mirroring Objects
Mirror an object about a plane using the Edit>Arrange>Mirror command. The plane is selected by defining a point on the plane and a normal point. This command allows you to move an object and change its orientation. Note The distance between the point on the mirror plane and the point along the normal does not matter only the vector direction matters.
To mirror an object about a plane: 1. 2. 3. Select the object or objects that you want to mirror. You can select multiple objects. Click Edit>Arrange>Mirror .
Select a point on the plane around which you want to mirror the object. You can do this by clicking a point, or typing coordinates in the X, Y, and Z boxes in the status bar.
Drawing a Model 7-65
If you select a point on the object, the mirroring is relative to that point on the object. In the following example, the first point clicked after selecting Edit>Arrange>Mirror was on the right-rear bottom corner of the selected object. So the axis of rotation as you move the cursor is that corner. As you move the cursor, it drags a diamond-shape on a vector extending from the initial point. The distance along the vector does not matter. Moving the mouse rotates an outline of the object to new orientations. Clicking the mouse moves the object to location indicated by the outline..
In this second example, the initial point is at a distance from the original object, designated by the triad from which the handle for rotation extends to the dragging cursor.
4.
Click the point. Type the coordinates of a point relative to the first point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point. As you type in the values, the outline moves to the coordinates. Hit the Enter key to complete the command.
The selected object is moved to the plane you specified and oriented relative to the normal point you specify. To mirror and copy objects about a plane, use the Edit>Duplicate>Mirror command. Related Topics Duplicating and Mirroring Objects
7-66 Drawing a Model
Offsetting Objects
Move every face of a 3D object in a direction normal to its surface using the Edit>Arrange>Offset command. The faces are moved a specified distance normal to their original planes. This command enables you to move every face of a solid object without having to individually select and move each face. Use the Surfaces>Move Faces>Along Normal command if you want to move just one or more faces of an object. To offset every face of an object: 1. 2. 3. 4. Select the object you want to offset. Click Edit>Arrange>Offset. The Offset dialog box appears. Type the distance you want to move the object faces from their origins, and then select a unit from the pull-down list. Click OK. The selected objects faces are moved the distance you specified.
Duplicating Objects
You can duplicate objects within a design using the Edit>Duplicate commands. Duplicates are dependent upon the parameters of their parent object at the time they were created, that is, they share the parent objects history at the time of creation. The command hierarchy in the history tree will show the duplication command, illustrating which commands affect all duplicates (those performed before the duplication) and which commands would not affect the duplicates (those performed after the duplication). For example, if you modify the radius of a parent objects hole, the change is applied to the holes of the objects duplicates because they share the radius specification history, but if you move the faces of the parent object, its duplicates are not affected because this operation took place after the duplicates were created. Operations performed on duplicates are independent. For example, if you duplicate a cylinder twice, creating a row of three, and then split the second cylinder, the first and third cylinders are not affected by the split. When creating duplicates, the parent object is duplicated along a line or around an axis the number of times you specify. You can also create a single duplicate that mirrors the parent object about a plane. Choose from the following commands: Edit>Duplicate>Along Line Edit>Duplicate>Around Axis Edit>Duplicate>Mirror Duplicates the parent object along a straight line. The child object can be designated as attached to the parent object, but if so, no ports or boundary conditions are duplicated. Duplicates the parent object around an axis. The child object can be designated as attached to the parent object, but if so, no ports or boundary conditions are duplicated. Duplicates a mirror image of the parent object about a plane.
Drawing a Model 7-67
To copy objects to another design, use the Edit>Copy and Edit>Paste commands. Note There is currently no method for dissolving the parent/duplicate relationship once a duplicate has been created.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the in the X, Y, and Z boxes.
Any point in the drawing region can be selected; however, selecting an anchor point on the objects edge or within the object makes it easier to select the duplication line. b. Select a second point in one of the following ways:
Click the point. Type the coordinates of a point relative to the anchor point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
This point defines the direction and distance from the anchor point to duplicate the object. The Duplicate Along Line dialog box appears. 4. 5. 6. Type the total number of objects, including the original, in the Total Number box. By option check the Attach to Original Object checkbox. If this is checked, no ports or boundary conditions are duplicated for the child. Click OK. The duplicates are placed along the vector you specified.
5. 6. 7.
Type the total number of objects, including the original, in the Total Number box. By option check the Attach to Original Object checkbox. If this is checked, no ports or boundary conditions are duplicated for the child. Click OK. The object is duplicated around the axis at the angle you specified.
Click the point. Type the coordinates of a point relative to the first point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
A duplicate of the object appears on the plane you specified, oriented according to the normal point you specified. Related Topics Mirroring Objects
Scaling Objects
Scale an objects dimensions in one or more directions using the Edit>Scale command. The scale of an object is determined by the distance of each of its vertices from the origin of the model coordinate system. When an object is scaled, the distance of each vertex from the origin is multiplied by the scaling factor, causing the object to be resized and/or moved. For example, if you specify a scaling factor of 2 in the X direction, each vertex in the model will be moved so that the distance to its origin is doubled. Note that a vertex located at the origin will not move. You can alter an objects proportions by scaling it in one direction. To scale an objects dimensions in one or more directions: 1. 2. If necessary, set a different working coordinate system to achieve the desired scaling. Select the object to scale. Click Edit>Scale. The Scale dialog box appears.
Drawing a Model 7-69
3. 4.
Type the scale factor for each axis. Click OK. The object is scaled about the working coordinate systems origin.
Sweeping Objects
You can sweep a 2D object around an axis, along a vector, or along a path to create a 3D solid object. Objects that can be swept include circles, arcs, rectangles, trapezoids, polylines, or any 2D object created in the 3D Modeler window. The 2D object need not be orthogonal to the sweep path. You can also thicken sheets to make a 3D object. You can also sweep open 1D objects, such as polylines. This results in open 2D sheet objects. You can also sweep one or more faces of a 3D object to create a new object. See Sweep Faces Along Normal. Related Topics Assigning a Cross Section and Dimension to a Polyline Sweeping Around an Axis Sweeping Along a Vector Sweep Along a Path Sweep Faces Along Normal Thicken Sheet
1. 2. 3.
The object and the axis you are sweeping around must lie in the same plane. For example, if you are sweeping an object around the z-axis, the object must lie in a plane that includes the zaxis, such as xz or yz. The normal of the objects plane faces must be perpendicular to the axis around which you are sweeping. The object may not cross the axis around which it is being swept. Select the object you want to sweep. Click Draw>Sweep>Around Axis. The Sweep Around Axis dialog box appears. Select the axis you want to sweep the object around: X, Y, or Z.
4. 5.
Type the angle to sweep the object through in the Angle of sweep box. The value must be between -360 and 360 degrees. Type the draft angle. This is the angle to which the objects profile, or shape, is expanded or contracted as it is swept.
6.
Select one of the following draft types from the pull-down list. The draft type instructs the modeler how to fill in gaps created by expanding or contracting a profile with a draft angle. Extended Round Natural The edges of the new profile are extended with straight tangent lines until they intersect. The facetting of the faces will be displayed. The edges of the new profile are rounded. The edges of the new profile are extended along their natural curves until they intersect. For example, if the original object had sharp edges, the new profile will have sharp edges.
7.
Type the number of segments in the Number of segments text box.Click OK. The default number of segments is zero, which creates a true path. A positive value results in a segmented sweep, while a negative value results in an error. If the sweep angle is 360 degrees, the number of segments is equal to the value specified. If the sweep angle is less than 360 degrees, half segments appear at the ends. Projects and scripts from previous software versions are treated as if the number of segments were zero. The object is swept around the axis. The new object has the properties of the original object. The Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties.
Note
8.
Click OK.
Click the point. Type the coordinates of a point relative to the start point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
The Sweep Along Vector dialog box appears. 2. Type the draft angle.
Drawing a Model 7-71
This is the angle to which the profile is expanded or contracted as it is swept. 3. Select one of the following draft types from the pull-down list box: Extended Round Natural The new object will have sharp edges like the original object. The facetting of the faces will be displayed. The new object will have rounded edges. The new object will have sharp edges like the original object
The object is swept along the vector. The new object has the name and color of the original profile. The Properties dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the objects properties. 4. Click OK.
Thicken Sheet
To thicken one or more sheet objects to make 3D objects: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Select the sheet or sheets. Click Modeler>Surface>Thicken Sheet. The Thicken Sheet dialog appears. Specify the thickness by typing in the field. Specify the units by selecting from the drop down menu. If you want to thicken both sides, use the checkbox. Click OK. The dialog closes and the sheets are changed into 3D objects of the desired thickness.
Wrap Command
You can use Modeler>Surface>Wrap command to wrap a sheet object around a suitable 3D object (rectangular or segmented.) The sheet object must be in contact with the 3D object. It should have smaller dimensions than the 3D object. If the sheet object does not overlap the corners of the 3D object, the wrap is straightforward, as shown in the figure. A sheet object that overlaps corners
may not wrap in straightforward fashion, depending on both the angle(s) involved, and the sheet object. While it is possible, it is not recommended.
To wrap a sheet object: 1. 2. 3. Create a sheet in contact with an appropriate 3D object. Select both objects. Click Modeler>Surface>Wrap. The sheet object wraps around the 3D object. You can select the wrapped sheet object and the 3D object separately, and assign properties separately. If the object cannot wrap, the Message window contains a warning and description. You can wrap multiple sheets on the same 3D object. If you delete the 3D object, the wrapped sheet retains the form it took when wrapped. Related Topics Imprinting an Object
Covering Lines
To cover a closed 1D polyline object with a face, use the Modeler>Surface>Cover Lines command. The polyline object becomes a 2D sheet object. To convert a closed polyline object to a sheet object: 1. 2. Select the closed polyline object you want to cover. Click Modeler>Surface>Cover Lines. The object is now covered. It is now a 2D sheet object that can be swept to form a 3D solid object. Note If you want the modeler to automatically cover all closed polyline objects you draw, including circles, ellipses, rectangles, and regular polygons, select the Automatically cover closed polylines option in the Modeler Options dialog box. A closed polyline object can also be created by using boolean unite operations on two or more polylines.
Covering Faces
To cover object faces, the faces must be united into a 3D sheet object. To cover the face of a 2D or 3D object, use the Modeler>Surface>Cover Faces command. Covering the face of an open 2D sheet object that had previously been uncovered results in a 3D solid object. For example, for a box, when you select and uncover a face, the solid box becomes a sheet with five faces. When you then select that sheet body box and use the Cover Faces command, the box becomes a solid again with six faces. To cover the faces of objects: 1. 2. Select the faces of the objects you want to cover. Click Modeler>Surface>Cover Faces.
Uncovering Faces
Uncover a surface of a 3D object using the Modeler>Surface>Uncover Faces command. Uncovering the surface of a 3D solid object results in an open 2D sheet object. To uncover the face of a 3D object: 1. 2. Switch to face selection mode: Click Edit>Select>Faces. Select a face of the object you want to uncover. Click Modeler>Surface>Uncover Faces. The selected face is uncovered, leaving an open face on the object. Note You can uncover one face of a 3D object at a time. If you select multiple faces, only the first face will be uncovered.
Detaching Faces
The Modeler>Surface>Detach Faces command enables you to remove the face of a 3D object, resulting in two separate objects. To detach the face of an object: 1. 2. Switch to face selection mode: Click Edit>Select>Faces. Select the face of the object you want to detach. You can select multiple faces to detach. Click Modeler>Surface>Detach Faces. The selected face is now detached, resulting in two 2D sheet objects.
Detaching Edges
The Modeler>Edge>Detach Edges command enables you to remove an edge of a wire object, resulting in two separate wire objects. To detach an edge of an object: 1. 2. Switch to edge selection mode: Click Edit>Select>Edges. Select the edge of the object you want to detach. You can select multiple edges to detach.
Drawing a Model 7-75
3.
Click Modeler>Edge>Detach Edges. The selected edge is now detached, resulting in multiple wire objects.
Note
Only edges from wire bodies can be used in a detach edge operation.
Creating a Cross-Section
You can take a cross-section of a 3D object to create a new 2D object. This is done using the Modeler>Surface>Section command. Use this command to create cross-sections of 3D objects on the xy, yz, or xz plane. The cross-sections are created as 2D closed polyline objects. To create a cross-section of an object: 1. 2. 3. 4. Make sure the working coordinate system you want to use for the cross-sectioning plane is set. Select the object from which you want to create a cross-section. Click Modeler>Surface>Section. Select the section plane you will use to divide the object: XY, YZ, or ZX. Click OK. A closed polyline object is created from the object that was sliced by the selected axis. The original, sectioned object is unmodified. Related Topics Setting the Working Coordinate System
Connecting Objects
Use the Modeler>Surface>Connect command to perform the following operations:
Connect two or more 1D polyline objects. HFSS will modify the first polyline you select to be a 2D sheet object that connects to the second and any subsequently selected polylines. The second and subsequent polylines selected are deleted. Connect two or more 2D sheet objects. HFSS will modify the first 2D object you select to be a 3D solid object that connects to the second and any subsequently selected objects. The second and subsequent objects selected are deleted. Select the objects you want to connect. Click Modeler>Surface>Connect. A new object is created that connects the objects you selected. The first object you selected was modified to create the new object and all subsequently selected objects were deleted.
To connect objects: 1. 2.
Related Topics Moving Faces Along the Normal Moving Faces Along a Vector Offsetting Objects Moving Edges Along the Normal
Extruding Faces
Resizing Holes
To move every face of an object normal to its surface, use the Edit>Arrange>Offset command. Related Topics Moving Faces Along a Vector Offsetting Objects Moving Edges Along the Normal
Drawing a Model 7-77
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the in the X, Y, and Z boxes.
Any point in the drawing region can be selected; however, selecting an anchor point on the objects edge or within the object makes it easier to select the vector. b. Select a second point in one of the following ways:
Click the point. Type the coordinates of a point relative to the anchor point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
This point defines the direction and distance from the anchor point to move the face. The face is moved along the vector you specified.
Relocating Holes To move every face of an object normal to its surface, use the Edit>Arrange>Offset command. Related Topics Moving Faces Along the Normal
7-78 Drawing a Model
Uniting Objects
To join two or more objects into one object, use the Modeler>Boolean>Unite command. The new object has the name, color, boundary, and material assignment of the first object selected. The objects are united at the point of intersection. 1. 2. Select the objects you want to join. Click Modeler>Boolean>Unite. The objects are united. Note By default, the objects being joined to the first object selected are not preserved for later use. If you want to keep a copy of the objects being joined to the first object selected, do one of the following: .
Copy the objects, and then paste them back into the design after uniting them. Select Clone before unite in the Modeler Options dialog box. This option instructs the modeler to always keep a copy of the original objects being joined.
Subtracting Objects
1. 2. 3. Select the object from which you want to subtract other objects. Hold down the Ctrl key and select the objects you want to subtract. Click Modeler>Boolean>Subtract The Subtract dialog box appears. Objects listed in the Tool Parts list will be subtracted from the object or objects listed in the Blank Parts list. 4. Optionally, select an object name in either list and use the left and right arrow buttons to move the object name to the opposite list. .
5. 6.
Alternatively, type the name of object you want to subtract in the empty text box below the Tool Parts list, and then type the name of the object from which you want to subtract it in the empty text box below the Blank Parts list.
Optionally, select Clone tool objects before subtract. This instructs HFSS to always keep a copy of the original objects being subtracted. Click OK.
The new object (or objects) retains the name, color, and material of the first object selected.
Note
By default, the objects being subtracted from the first object selected are not preserved for later use. If you want to keep a copy of the objects being subtracted from the first object selected, do one of the following:
Copy the objects, and then paste them back into the design after subtracting them. Select Clone before subtract in the Modeler Options dialog box. This option instructs HFSS to always keep a copy of the original objects being subtracted.
Warning 2.
Click Modeler>Boolean>Intersect
The original objects vanish, leaving only the new object that was formed from their intersec-
tion. Note By default, the original intersecting objects are not preserved for later use. If you want to keep a copy of the objects that intersect the first object selected, do one of the following:
Copy the objects, and then paste them back into the design after creating the new object from the intersection. Select Clone before intersect in the Modeler Options dialog box. This option instructs the modeler to always keep a copy of the original objects that intersect the first object selected.
sheet object. Hint This command is useful for assigning a boundary to the intersection of two faces. To do this, first select the faces, and then create an object from them using the procedure above. Next, make sure the Clone before intersect option is clear in the Modeler Options window, and then use the Modeler>Boolean>Intersect command to modify the object so that it includes only the intersection of the two faces. Then assign the boundary to the new object.
Related Topics Assigning a Cross Section and Dimension to a Polyline Creating an Object from an Edge
The edge is copied. The resulting object appears in the history tree as a line object. Related Topics Assigning a Cross Section and Dimension to a Polyline Creating an Object from a Face
Splitting Objects
To an object or objects that lie on the xy, yz, or xz plane, use the Modeler>Boolean>Split command. 1. 2. 3. 4. Select the object you want to split. You can select more than one. Click Modeler>Boolean>Split The Split dialog box appears. Select XY, YZ, or XZ as the Split plane. Select one of the following Keep fragments options to specify which object fragments you want to keep (those on the positive side of the selected plane, those on the negative side of the plane, or all pieces on both sides of the plane): .
5.
Split entire selection Select this option if you do not want to preserve objects that are not crossing the split plane and still part of the selection. Split objects crossing split plane Select this option so that objects of the selection that do not cross the split plane are preserved after the split operation is performed. Note In previous versions of the modeler, the split operation only affected the selected objects that crossed the selected split plane. Other objects were ignored during the operation. In complex geometries, you may want to select everything and perform a split. In some cases, operations are still performed on selected objects that do not cross the split plane (i.e., both parts are retained, yielding the original object and an invalid object). Also, depending on the options specified, some objects not crossing the split may be deleted. The Split objects crossing split plane option allows you to identify selected objects that do not cross the split plane and ignore them for the operation. For a multiple selection, only those objects that cross the split plane are split; others are kept intact. By design, splits in existing designs from previous versions are not changed.
6.
Separating Bodies
To separate an object with multiple lumps into individual bodies: 1. 2. Select the object you want to separate. Click Modeler>Boolean>Separate Bodies. The object is separated.
This figure shows two separate bodies, each with one lump, that were created from one object.
1. 2.
Straight line segments to arc line or spline segments. Arc line segments to straight line or spline segments. Spline segments to straight line segments. In the history tree, locate the polyline that contains the segment you want to convert. Expand this part of the history tree. In the history tree, right-click the polyline segment operation you want to change, and then click Properties. The Properties dialog appears. In the Properties dialog box, click in the Value text box of the Segment Type row. Select the desired polyline segment type from the pull-down list.
3. 4.
The polyline segment you selected is changed to the new type. Note Converting an arc line or spline segment to a straight line segment results in two straight line segments; one segment is created between the start point and midpoint and one segment is created between the midpoint and endpoint.
5. 6.
By default, curved surfaces are treated as smooth (True) surfaces. If segmented surfaces are desired, enter a number of 2 or greater in the Number of Segments parameter. Click OK to dismiss the properties panel and implement the changes. If the changes are not what was expected, undo the change using the Edit>Undo command or press CTRL-Z.
Related Topics Assigning a Cross Section and Dimension to a Polyline Creating Segmented Geometry Surface Approximation
1. 2. 3. 4.
Right-click the desktop, and select Select Edges from the shortcut menu. Select the edge you want to change. This highlights the edge and enables the Fillet command. Click 3D Model>Fillet or click the fillet icon The Fillet Properties dialog is displayed. Enter a value for the Fillet Radius in the text field and select units from the drop down menu. The default is millimeters. Enter a value for the setback distance. The setback distance controls the shape of the vertex. It is the distance of the cross curve from the vertex at the end of the edge. If it is less than the fillet radius it has no effect. You will get an error if it is greater then the length of the edge. .
5.
Click OK to apply the change to the edge. The dialog closes and the object is rounded by the radius value relative to the edge you
selected.
1. 2.
Right-click the desktop, and select Select Edges from the shortcut menu. Select the edge you want to change. The edge is highlighted, and the Chamfer command is enabled. Click Modeler>Chamfer or click the Chamfer the selected edges icon on the Modeler Blending toolbar. The Chamfer Properties dialog box appears. Type a value in the Chamfer value text box, and select the units from the pull-down list. Click OK to apply the change to the edge.
3. 4.
The Chamfer Properties dialog box closes, and the object is flattened by the radius value relative to the edge you selected.
Imprinting an Object
The Boolean>Imprint command lets you imprint the geometry of one object upon another. For example, you could draw a polyhedron intersecting a cylinder, and then imprint the intersecting lines on the cylinder.
You can select the faces of the imprinted surface separately and assign properties as needed.
To imprint one object with another: 1. 2. Select the intersecting objects. Click Modeler>Boolean>Imprint... This displays the Imprint dialog in which you designate which objects are the Blank Parts, and which the Tool Parts. If necessary, you can select the objects in lists, and use the arrow keys to move them. If desired, you can clone the tool objects before the imprint operation.
3.
Click OK. This closes the dialog and performs the boolean imprinting.
After you perform the imprinting, the History tree retains the Imprint Object command and the create command for the imprinted object
If you select the Imprint command in the History tree, you can suppress the command via the Properties window. If you select the Create <object> icon for the object, you can edit the properties of that object. The changes applied to the object carry over to the imprinting. Related Topics View and Edit Commands on History Tree Objects Imprint Projection Commands
If the surface is curved, the dimensions of the projection will be affected.You can select the faces of the imprinted object separately, and edit properties as needed.
If projected shape extends beyond the face of the receiving object, the shape wraps. 1. 2. Select the intersecting objects. Click Modeler>Boolean>Imprint Projection>Along Normal or Modeler>Boolean>Imprint Projection>Along Direction... If you select Along Normal, the projection occurs along the normal. If you select Along DirecDrawing a Model 7-89
tion, you need to specify two points that describe the direction. Once you have defined a line by clicking two points, you see a dialog for specifying the distance for the projection.
3.
Specify a distance and select units from the drop down menu and click OK. This closes the dialog and performs the boolean imprinting.
After you perform the imprinting, the History tree shows the Imprint Object command and the create command for the imprinted object If you select the Imprint Projection command in the History tree, you can suppress the command via the Properties window. If you select the Create <object> icon for the object, you can edit the properties of that object. The changes applied to the object carry over to the imprinting. Related Topics View and Edit Commands on History Tree Objects Imprinting an Object
Purge History
Each object is a sequence of modeler-based operations. The history for each object is shown under its name in the model tree. You can use the Purge History command to remove the history of operations while not affecting the geometry itself. This is useful when you wish to perform healing operations on the object. If there is an object for which you want to keep the history, you should make a copy of the object for that purpose before purging. To purge the history: 1. 2. Select the object. Select Modeler>Purge History.The history for the model is purged, and the context for the Undo and Redo commands is updated.
To reproduce the line segments in the model history tree: 1. Select the polyline object. Click Modeler>Generate History. Related Topics Purge History Draw Polyline
Select Objects. Select Faces. Select Edges. Select Vertices. Select Multi (a mode for selecting objects, faces, edges or vertices) Coordinates in the drawing space. Select By Area Select by Variable Select by History Tree Group Select by intersection error message.
Selecting Objects
By default, the modeler is in object selection mode. Simply click an object in the view window or an object name in the history tree and it will be selected. All other objects become relatively transparent. When the mouse hovers over an object in the view window, that object is highlighted, which indicates that it will be selected when you click. Selected objects become the color specified under the Display tab of the Modeler Options dialog box. Tooltips, as you hover the cursor over an entity, indicate the type/ID of entity (object name in the case of objects, Face_id in the case of faces, and so on). This feature helps you distinguish between face-of-sheet-object pick versus sheet-object pick. If the modeler is not currently in object selection mode, you can switch to it using one of the following methods:
Press the shortcut key O. Right-click in the view window, and then click Select Objects. Click Edit > Select>Objects. Select Object from the pull-down list in the 3D Modeler Selection toolbar.
Related Topics Selecting Several Objects Selecting Objects by Name Selecting All Faces of an Object Creating an Object List Selecting the Face or Object Behind
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Select Edges. Select Vertices. Select Multi (a mode for selecting objects, faces, edges or vertices) Select By Area Selecting Objects and Surfaces that Lie Inside Other Objects Clearing a Selection
2.
Hold down Ctrl, and click the objects in the view window that you want to select. Hold down Ctrl, and click the object names in the history tree that you want to select. In the History tree, select a range of objects by first clicking one object to select it, and then Shift-click to extend the selection of visible items. In the History tree, under Lists, select AllObjects. This is an automatically created list that lets you selects all object. Click Edit>Select All to select all objects that were drawn in the active view window, including objects that are not currently visible. Press CTRL+A or click Edit>Select All Visible to select all objects that are visible in the active view window.
Selected objects become the color that is specified for selected objects under the Display tab of the Modeler Options dialog box. Use Tools>Options>Modeler Options to display the dialog and set the default color. By default, the selected objects are opaque and all other objects become relatively transparent.The settings for the relative opacity and transparency of selected and non-selected objects appear in the 3D UI Options dialog box. Use View>Options to display the 3D UI Options dialog. To deselect all objects, do one of the following:
Related Topics Selecting Objects by Name Selecting All Faces of an Object Creating an Object List Selecting the Face or Object Behind Select Edges. Select Vertices.
7-94 Drawing a Model
Select Multi (a mode for selecting objects, faces, edges or vertices) Select By Area Selecting All Objects in a History Tree Group
4.
Alternatively, type the name of an object you want to select in the empty text box.
Related Topics Selecting Several Objects Selecting Objects by Name Selecting All Faces of an Object Creating an Object List Selecting the Face or Object Behind Select Edges. Select Vertices. Select Multi (a mode for selecting objects, faces, edges or vertices) Select By Area
Select By Area
You can select items by area in the Modeler window clicking and rubber-band dragging around objects. Select By Area works with Selection mode for Objects, Faces, Edges, and Vertices, but not for Select Multi. By default, only items with external surfaces are selected. However you can con-
trol which objects to include or exclude from area selection based on material, object names, or object types. To do this: 1. Click Edit>Select By Area Filter to display this dialog:
2.
Check Material filters to enable the Include and Exclude radio buttons. Use the text field to specify filters by name, or use the ellipsis [...] button to display the Materials manager for selections. Check Object name filters to enable the Exclude and Include check boxes, and text fields in which you can specify object names. Check Object type filters to enable the check boxes for including Solids, Sheets, and/or lines. Check Hide unfiltered objects to make unfiltered objects transparent after selection. If you click Save As Default, the settings persist for the project until you change the settings and Save as Default again. Click OK to close the dialog.
3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Now when you left-click and drag around an area, those objects which meet the filter criteria are highlighted in the Modeler window, and those objects are shown as selected in the History tree. Related Topics Selecting Items in the 3D Modeler Window Selecting Several Objects
7-96 Drawing a Model
Selecting Objects by Name Selecting All Faces of an Object Creating an Object List
Selected objects are highlighted in the modeler window view area. Related Topics Selecting Several Objects Selecting Objects by Name Select By Area Selecting All Faces of an Object
Drawing a Model 7-97
Creating an Object List Setting the Default Color and Transparency of Selected Objects Setting the Default Color of Highlighted Objects Working with the History Tree
The object is reassigned to the selected list, replacing previous list members. The Objects Property in for the List shows the objects contained in the list. The object list will be treated as one volume when you are plotting and performing fields calculations. It will be listed in the Geometry window of the Fields Calculator, when you select Volume. Related Topics Creating an Object List Using or Viewing List Objects
To view the properties of the object list (including a list of the objects included): 1. 2.
3. 1. 2.
3. 4.
For example, you could select an object list and another object, and then specify one of the boolean commands (such as unite or subtract).
Selecting Faces
If the modeler is in face selection mode, click an object face in the view window to select it. To select multiple faces, hold the CTRL key as you click the faces. You also have the option to create face lists, which define a list of object faces, or you can make face selections from a Face ID list in the By Face dialog. Switch to face selection mode using one of the following methods:
Press the shortcut key F. Right-click in the view window, and then click Select Faces.
Click Edit>Select>Faces. Select Face from the pull-down list to the right of the select objects icon Modeler Selection toolbar. in the 3D
You can also select faces in the Select Multi mode. When the mouse hovers over a face in the view window, that face is highlighted, which indicates that it will be selected when you click. Selected faces become the color specified under the Display tab of the Modeler Options dialog box. All other objects and faces become relatively transparent. You can also use the By Face dialog to select from a list of faces associated with an object: 1. 2. To use the dialog, no objects should be selected to start. Click Edit>Select>By Face menu to the right of the or in the toolbar, select Face or Multi from the drop-down icon, and click the icon.
This displays the By Face dialog. This contains a list of the available objects. 3. 4. Select an object in the Object Name list. The Face ID list is then populated with the faces in that object. Selecting a face ID from the list highlights the face in the 3D window. Use Ctrl-click to select additional faces, or shift-click to select a range of faces.
Related Topics Selecting All Faces of an Object Selecting the Face or Object Behind Selecting Faces by Name Selecting Faces by Plane Creating a Face List Face Selection Toolbar Icons Select Edges. Select Vertices. Select Multi (a mode for selecting objects, faces, edges or vertices)
Alternatively, right-click in the view window, and then click All Object Faces on the shortcut menu. As another alternative, select use the face selection toolbar icons.
All the faces of the object are selected. If you selected multiple objects, all faces of those
Drawing a Model 7-101
objects are selected. Related Topics Selecting Faces Selecting the Face or Object Behind Creating a Face List Face Selection Toolbar Icons
Select face chain Select connected faces Select connected edges Select connected vertices You can use these icons to modify the selection:
Select face chain selects faces that touch each other. It allows faces that are part of a "protrusion" to be selected. Select connected faces selects faces connected to the current selection. Select connected edges selects the edges of the selected face or faces. Select vertices selects the vertices of the selected face or faces.
Related Topics Selecting All Faces of an Object Selecting the Face or Object Behind Selecting Faces by Name Selecting Faces by Plane Creating a Face List Select Edges. Select Vertices. Select Multi (a mode for selecting objects, faces, edges or vertices)
To create a face list: 1. 2. 3. Make sure that the modeler is in face selection mode by pressing the shortcut key F. Select the object faces you want to include in the face list. Click Modeler>List>Create>Face List. The face list is created. It is listed in the history tree under Lists. The default name is Facelistn. The lists appear in alphanumeric order. To change the name of a face list (for example, to a name describing the listed faces as ports or boundaries), select the list in the History Tree and Edit Properties. Editing the Name property changes the name. If necessary, the list order in the History tree changes for the new name. The face list will be treated as one selection of surfaces when you are plotting and performing fields calculations. The face list will be listed in the Geometry window of the Fields Calculator, when you select Surface. If you right-click on an existing face list and click Select Assignment from the shortcut menu, you can make boundary assignments or execute the Move Faces geometry operations for faces on the list. Related Topics Selecting Faces Radiated Fields Post Processing Setting Up a Near-Field Sphere Setting up a Far-Field Infinite Sphere
Selecting Edges
If the modeler is in edge selection mode, simply click an objects edge in the view window and it will be selected. To select multiple edges, hold the CTRL key as you click the edges. When the mouse hovers over an edge in the view window, that edge is highlighted, which indicates that it will be selected when you click. Selected edges become the color specified under the Display tab of the Modeler Options dialog box. All other objects become relatively transparent. Switch to edge selection mode using one of the following methods:
From the menu bar, click Edit>Select>Edges Press the E key to enter edge selection mode. Select Edge from the pull-down list in the 3D Modeler Selection toolbar.
Select edge chain Select connected faces Select connected edges Select connected vertices You can use these icons to modify the current selection.
Select edge chain selects the edges that touch the selected edge. Select connected faces selects faces touching to the current selection. Select connected edges selects the edges that touch the current selection. Select vertices selects the vertices of the selected edge or edges.
Related Topics Moving Edges Along the Normal Selecting All Faces of an Object Selecting the Face or Object Behind Selecting Faces by Name Selecting Faces by Plane Creating a Face List Select Edges Select Vertices Select Multi (a mode for selecting objects, faces, edges or vertices)
Alternatively, right-click in the view window, and then click All Object Edges or All Face Edges on the shortcut menu.
All the edges of the object or face are selected. If you selected multiple objects, all edges of those objects are selected. Related Topics Selecting Faces
Drawing a Model 7-105
Selecting the Face or Object Behind Creating a Face List Face Selection Toolbar Icons
Selecting Vertices
If the modeler is in vertex selection mode, simply click an objects vertex in the view window and it will be selected. To select multiple vertices, hold the CTRL key as you click the vertices. When the mouse hovers over a vertex in the view window, that vertex is highlighted, which indicates that it will be selected when you click. Selected vertices become the color specified under the Display tab of the Modeler Options dialog box. All other objects become relatively transparent. Switch to vertex selection mode using one of the following methods:
Click Edit > Select>Vertices. Press the V key to enter vertex selection mode. Select Vertex from the pull-down list in the 3D Modeler Selection toolbar.
Select connected faces Select connected edges Select connected vertices You can use these icons to modify the current selection.
Select connected faces selects faces touching to the current selection. Select connected edges selects the edges that touch the current selection. Select vertices selects the vertices of edges that touch the current selection.
Related Topics Selecting All Faces of an Object Selecting the Face or Object Behind Selecting Faces by Name Selecting Faces by Plane Creating a Face List Select Edges Select Vertices Select Multi (a mode for selecting objects, faces, edges or vertices)
7-106 Drawing a Model
Press the shortcut key M. Right-click in the view window, and then click Select Multi. Click Edit>Select>Multi. Select Multi from the pull-down list in the 3D Modeler Selection toolbar. To select a vertex, click near a vertex, within 10 pixel radius. To select an edge, click near an edge (and 10 pixels away from vertex). To select an object, click little farther from edge, between 10 and 20 pixels. To select a face, click anywhere else on the interior of face.
Tooltips, as you hover the cursor over an entity, indicate the type/ID of entity (object name in the case of objects, Face_id in the case of faces, and so on). This feature helps you distinguish between face-of-sheet-object pick versus sheet-object pick. By holding down the Ctrl key, you can make multiple selections. Related Topics Controlling the Selection in Multi Mode
You can also add the Mode selection menus from the Commands tab by selecting 3D Modeler Selection from the Category list, and dragging the icons to the toolbar. 3. When Multi is selected as the mode, you can enable or disable Object, Face, Edge, or Vertex selection by clicking the associated icon.
Drawing a Model 7-107
Related Topics Selecting All Faces of an Object Selecting the Face or Object Behind Selecting Faces by Name Selecting Faces by Plane Creating a Face List Select Edges Select Vertices Selecting the Face or Object Behind Clearing a Selection Measure Modes
Clearing a Selection
To clear an object, face, edge, or vertex selection, do one of the following:
Click the view window at a point where an object does not exist. To clear an object selection, click a point away from the object name in the history tree. Click Edit>Deselect All. Press Shift+Ctrl+A. The items are no longer selected.
Click Edit>Select>Next Behind. Right-click in the view window and click Next Behind. When there are multiple faces behind, the one selected is relatively close to where you rightclick.
Press the shortcut key B. When there are multiple faces behind, the one selected relatively close to the cursor. Press Ctrl+B.
This option is useful when you are trying to select a face, edge, vertex, or object that is in the interior of a model, or when you do not want to change the model view to select an item. Related Topics Selecting Objects and Surfaces that Lie Inside Other Objects
Use the Edit>Select>By Name command to select objects or surfaces inside the model. Use the Next Behind command on the shortcut menu. This selects the object that lies behind the one you initially selected. This command does nothing if no objects have previously been selected.
Right-click an object or surface, and use one of the Select commands on the shortcut menu. The following commands appear on the shortcut menu:
Select Objects Select Faces Next Behind: Use this command to select the object or face that lies behind the currently selected object or face. This command chooses objects or faces depending on the graphical pick mode. Next Behind does nothing if no object has previously been selected or if the object you select has nothing behind it. You can also use the keyboard shortcut B. All Object Faces
Faces on Plane The snap mode defines how items are selected by the mouse. By default, Grid and Vertex snaps are enabled.
2.
Select the variable of interest, and click OK. The dialog closes, and the object affected by the variable is highlighted in the Modeler window. The Message window contains a reference that you can select and use to go to the affected object.
If you execute the command again, without clearing the current selection(s), the additional object can be highlighted. You can resize and move the dialog. When you next open it, it uses that size and location.
Defining Cartesian Coordinates Defining Spherical Coordinates Defining Relative Coordinates Defining Absolute Coordinates
To change the reference point: 1. Select the drawing command to use. The Measure Data dialog opens. As you move the cursor over the modeler window, the top line in the measure dialog shows the coordinates of the current reference point. 2. Move the cursor to the desired reference point and press Ctrl+Click or right click and select Set Reference Point from the short cut menu. This moves the reference point marker to the new location. The Measure Data dialog updates. The coordinates boxes in the Status bar change to accept relative distance information. If you choose, rather than setting the reference point with the cursor, you can press Tab to activate a text cursor in the status bar fields, and enter coordinates directly. Related Topics Assigning Coordinates to New Objects Choosing the Movement Mode Choosing Snap Settings Drawing Objects
ing a second point, specify its distance from the previously selected point in the x, y, and z directions in the dX, dY, and dZ text boxes, respectively. 1. 2. 3. Select the desired drawing command. Select Cartesian from the pull-down list in the status bar. Type the points x-, y-, and z-coordinates in the X, Y, and Z text boxes. Hint Press Tab to move from one coordinate text box to the next. Press Ctrl+Tab to move to the previous coordinate text box. Alternatively, click the point in the view window.
4.
When drawing objects other than polylines and helices, the second point you select is relative to the first point. Type the second points distance from the previously selected point in the x, y, and z directions in the dX, dY, and dZ text boxes, respectively.
3.
When drawing objects other than polylines and helices, the second point you select is relative to the first point. Type the second points distance from the previously selected point in the dR, dTheta, and dZ text boxes.
Related Topics Defining Cartesian Coordinates Defining Spherical Coordinates Defining Relative Coordinates Defining Absolute Coordinates
Note
Even though you are inputting spherical coordinates, all data is internally stored in Cartesian coordinates.
To define a point in spherical coordinates. 1. 2. After clicking the desired drawing command, select Spherical from the pull-down list in the status bar. Type the points r-, theta-, and phi-coordinates in the Rho, Theta, and Phi text boxes in the status bar. Hint Press Tab to move from one coordinate text box to the next. Press Ctrl+Tab to move to the previous coordinate text box. Alternatively, click the point in the view window.
3.
When drawing objects other than polylines and helices, the second point you select is relative to the first point. Type the second points distance from the previously selected point in the dRho, dTheta, and dPhi text boxes.
Note
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the appropriate text boxes in the status bar. When drawing objects other than polylines and helices, by default, the second point you select is relative to the first point; Relative is automatically selected in the Absolute/ Relative pull-down list in the status bar. Be sure to select Absolute from the Absolute/ Relative pull-down list in the status bar if you want the second point to be relative to the working coordinate system.
3.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the appropriate text boxes in the status bar.
To change the reference point, move the cursor to the desired point and press Ctrl+Click. You can move the cursor to one of the following points:
In the same plane as the reference point (in-plane movement mode). Perpendicular to the reference point (out-of-plane movement mode). If an object is present to snap to a point in 3D space (3D movement mode). Along the x-axis. Along the y-axis. Along the z-axis.
Changes you make to the movement mode persist until you change them again.
Click 3D Model > Movement Mode>In Plane. Click In Plane in the movement mode pull-down list in the 3D Modeler Draw toolbar.
The next point you select will be on the same plane as the reference point.
The cursors location, displayed with a black diamond that indicates it has snapped to the grid, is on the same plane as the reference point.
After clicking the desired drawing command, click 3D Model > Movement Mode,>Out of Plane. A dashed line is displayed between the reference point and the cursors location, which is now perpendicular to the reference point.
The cursors location, displayed with a black diamond that indicates it has snapped to a grid point, is perpendicular to the reference point.
Click 3D Model > Movement Mode>3D. Click 3D in the movement mode pull-down list in the 3D Modeler Draw toolbar.
If one of an object's snapping centers is within snapping range, the cursor will snap to the nearest point in 3D space occupied by the object. If an object is not within snapping range, 3D movement mode is identical to the in-plane
movement mode.
The cursors location, displayed by a circle that indicates it has snapped to a face center, is (0.5, 0.5, 1.0), a point in 3D space relative to the reference point.
Click Modeler>Movement Mode>Along X Axis. Hold the shortcut key X. Click Along X Axis in the movement mode pull-down list in the 3D Modeler Draw toolbar:
The next point you select will be on the same plane as the reference point in the positive or negative x direction.
7-118 Drawing a Model
Click Modeler>Movement Mode>Along YAxis. Hold the shortcut key Y. Click Along Y Axis in the movement mode pull-down list in the 3D Modeler Draw toolbar:
The next point you select will be on the same plane as the reference point in the positive or negative y direction.
Click Modeler>Movement Mode>Along Z Axis. Hold the shortcut key Z. Click Along Z Axis in the movement mode pull-down list in the 3D Modeler Draw toolbar:
The next point you select will be on the same plane as the reference point in the positive or negative z direction.
When the cursor snaps to a point, it will change to one of the following snap mode shapes: Grid Vertex Edge Center Face Center Quadrant Arc Center
Note
By default, the mouse is set to snap to the grid, a vertex, an edge center, a face center, and the nearest quadrant. To modify the default snap settings for the active design and all new designs, modify the selections under the Drawing tab in the Modeler Options dialog box.
2.
Select Modeler>Measure. Right-click and select Measure from the short-cut menu.
After you select Measure, a cascading menu appears for Position, Edge, Face and Object. Select Position to obtain location and distance information between a specified reference point and the cursor location. The Measure Information dialog box appears. With Measure>Position selected, the information displayed includes:
Note
The location of the current reference point. (Position1) The current cursor location. (Position2) The distance between the Reference and Current location. The X distance. The Y distance. The Z distance. The angle between the current reference point and the current cursor location. As you move the cursor, the Measure Information dialog displays the current cursor location and measurement information from the reference. Clicking on a new vertex updates the reference to the new location.
With Measure>Edge, Face, or Object selected, the information displayed for each selected object is the name and:
The area and volume of a 3D object. The area of a face. The length of a polyline (in edge selection mode, you can still see this if you select the polyline in the History tree) The length of an edge The location of a vertex.
For more information on cursor and reference point behavior in this mode, see Measuring Position and Distance 3. To use Measure>Edge, Face, or Object to measure the distance and angle between two selected items:
Select two points. Click the first and Ctrl-click to select the second. The Measure Information dialog displays the coordinates of each point, the distance between the points and the angle between Origin-P1, Origin-P2 line.
4.
Select two faces, the Measure Information dialog displays the angle/distance between them. The function is similar when you select two edges and when you select an edge and a face. You can also measure distance between vertex/face, vertex/edge. In these cases, use the Select Multi mode.
To exit the Measure mode, click Close on the Measure Information dialog.
Related Topics Measuring Position and Distance Setting Coordinate Systems Modifying the Coordinate System Axes View Choosing Snap Settings Choosing Movement Mode (3D, in plane, X, Y, or Z) Select Multi (a mode for selecting objects, faces, edges or vertices)
Select Modeler>Measure>Position. This enables the Measure Position mode opens the Measure Data dialog. The dialog lists the coordinates of the current reference point (Position1)and the cursor location (Position2). If you click, it shows the last position as a red square, and the current position as a black cursor. It also lists the distance between those points, the X, Y, and Z distances, and the angle between them.
The shortcut menu displays the Hints item. When Hints are on (the default), a text display in the lower right of the 3D Modeler window, explaining how to set the reference point, and ways to control the movement mode.
The cursor leads a diamond-shape selection marker that snaps from grid point to grid point. The Measure Data dialog also provides a text identification of the current grid points. If you drag the cursor off design objects, by default, it moves in the xy-plane. You can restrict movement to in a specific plane, out of plane, or z,x, or y. Besides the context menu for movement, you can also use the X, Y, and Z keys to restrict movement. See Choosing a Movement Mode. for further details. If you drag the selection marker over an object, it follows the 3D surfaces of the object, dropping a dashed reference line to a point on the current plane. The cursor changes shape to provide information about the object at the corresponding coordinate.: Grid point Vertex Edge Center Face Center Quadrant
To measure the distance between two points: 1. 2. Select Modeler>Measure>Position to enter Measure Position mode. Ctrl-click to set the reference point. The reference point display moves to the selected point. This becomes the coordinate for Position1 in the Measure Data dialog. 3. Drag the cursor to the second point. The value of the Position2 dynamically changes as you drag the cursor. You do not need to click. The values shown include:
4.
To close the dialog box and exit Measure mode, click the Close button. You can also use the ESC key to exit Measure mode.
Related Topics Measure Modes for Objects Setting Coordinate Systems Modifying the Coordinate System Axes View Choosing Snap Settings Choosing Movement Mode (3D, in plane, X, Y, or Z) Select Multi (a mode for selecting objects, faces, edges or vertices)
Every coordinate system (CS) has an x-axis that lies at a right angle to a y-axis, and a z-axis that is perpendicular to the xy plane. The origin (0,0,0) of every CS is located at the intersection of the x-, y-, and z-axes. The global coordinate system (CS) is the fixed, default CS for each new project. It cannot be edited or deleted. A relative CS is user-defined. Its origin and orientation can be set relative to an existing CS. Relative CSs enable you to easily draw objects that are located relative to other objects. If you modify a relative CS, all objects drawn on that CS will be affected and change position accordingly. You can define a relative CS to be offset and/or rotated from an existing CS. This feature provides a way for objects made of the same anisotropic materials to have different orientations. When you set a new relative coordinate system, you specify whether to express the coordinates as Absolute or Relative Coordinates. Absolute uses the specified values in terms of the global coordinate system. Relative interprets the values as differences from the current working CS. You have choices for expressing the coordinates as Cartesian, Cylindrical, or Spherical. These are evaluated as cartesian for the coordinate system properties. A face CS is also user-defined. Its origin is specified on a planar object face. Face CSs enable you to easily draw objects that are located relative to an objects face. Switch between global, relative, and face CSs by changing the working CS. Simply click the CS you want to use in the history tree. The working CS is indicated by a red W that appears at the lower-left corner of the CS name in the history tree. The Properties dialog box lists the CS associated with an object as the Orientation. By default, this is Global, but if you have created the object under a different coordinate system, that will be the orientation. You can click on the current orientation to see a drop down list of other orientation that you can assign for an object. User-defined CSs are saved with the active project. When you open a project, it uses the CS designated as working CS when you last saved. Related Topics Creating a Relative Coordinate System Creating a Face Coordinate System Setting the Working Coordinate System Modifying the Coordinate System Axes View Assigning Material Property Types Change the Orientation of an object
You can create an offset relative CS, that is, a relative CS whose origin lies a specified distance from another CSs origin. By moving a CSs origin, you can enter coordinates relative to an existing object, without having to add or subtract the existing objects coordinates. You can create a rotated relative CS, that is, a relative CS whose axes are rotated away from another CSs axes. By rotating the axes of a CS, you can easily add an object that is turned at an angle relative to another object. You can also create a relative CS that is both offset and rotated.
Click the point. At the lower right of the modeler window, use the drop down menu to select the system for expressing coordinates (Cartesian, Cylindrical, or Spherical), select either relative or absolute coordinates, then select the units, and type the CS origin coordinates in boxes.
To select a point that does not lie in the current plane, use the Movement Mode commands on the shortcut menu. The new relative CS is created. Its origin has moved from the previous working CS, but its axes remain the same. It is listed in the history tree under Coordinate Systems. It automatiDrawing a Model 7-127
cally becomes the working CS; objects that you draw hereafter will be based on the coordinates of this relative CS. Default planes are created on its xy, yz, and xz planes. Related Topics Creating a Relative Coordinate System Creating an Offset and Rotated Relative CS
Click the point. At the lower right of the modeler window, use the drop down menu to select the system for expressing coordinates (Cartesian, Cylindrical, or Spherical), select either relative or absolute coordinates, then select the units, and type the CS origin coordinates in boxes.
To select a point that does not lie in the current plane, use the Movement Mode commands on the shortcut menu. 4. Specify the xy plane by selecting any point on it in one of the following ways:
Click the point. Type the coordinates of a point that is relative to the previously selected point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
You do not need to specify the z-axis. It is automatically calculated to be at a right angle to the y-axis. The new relative CS is created. It has the same origin as the previous working CS, but its axes are rotated. It is listed in the history tree under Coordinate Systems. It automatically becomes the working CS; objects that you draw hereafter will be based on the coordinates of this relative CS. Default planes are created on its xy, yz, and xz planes. Related Topics Creating a Relative Coordinate System Creating an Offset and Rotated Relative CS
Click the point. At the lower right of the modeler window, use the drop down menu to select the system for expressing coordinates (Cartesian, Cylindrical, or Spherical), select either relative or absolute coordinates, then select the units, and type the CS origin coordinates in boxes.
To select a point that does not lie in the current plane, use the Movement Mode commands on the shortcut menu. 5. Specify the x-axis by selecting a point on the axis in one of the following ways:
6.
Click the point. Type the coordinates of a point that is relative to the origin in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point. Click the point. Type the coordinates of a point that is relative to the previously selected point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes.
Specify the xy plane by selecting any point on it in one of the following ways:
You do not need to specify the z-axis. It is automatically calculated to be at a right angle to the y-axis. The new relative CS is created. It is listed in the history tree under Coordinate Systems. It automatically becomes the working CS; objects that you draw hereafter will be based on the coordinates of this relative CS. Default planes are created on its xy, yz, and xz planes. Related Topics Creating a Relative Coordinate System
4.
Click the point on the face. Type the points coordinates in the X, Y, and Z boxes. Click the point. Type the coordinates of a point that is relative to the previously selected point in the dX, dY, and dZ boxes, where d is the distance from the previously selected point.
Specify the x-axis by selecting a point on the object face in one of the following ways:
You do not need to specify the y- or z-axes. The modeler assumes that the z-axis is normal to the object face and the y-axis is automatically calculated to be at a right angle to the z-axis. The new face CS is listed in the history tree under Coordinate Systems. It automatically becomes the working CS; objects that you draw hereafter will be referenced to the coordinates
Drawing a Model 7-129
of this face CS. Default planes are created on its xy, yz, and xz planes. Only operations listed in the history tree before the face CSs creation will affect the face CS, and in turn, affect objects dependent upon that face CS. A face CS, or objects created on it, is not affected by operations that occur after it is created. For example, suppose you create a box, then a face CS on a face of the box, and then a cylinder on the face CS. If you then edit the boxs dimensions in the Properties dialog box, the cylinder will move accordingly. But if you rotate the box using the Edit>Arrange>Rotate command, the box will move, but the cylinder will not move because the operation occurs later in the history tree. Related Topics Automatically Creating Face Coordinate Systems Setting the Working Coordinate System Modifying Coordinate Systems Setting Coordinate Systems
Now, when you select a face, and then click a drawing command, a new face CS will be created on the face. The modeler automatically sets the new face CS as the working CS. The object you draw is oriented according to the new face CS. Note The modeler will not automatically create a new face CS if a face CS has already been assigned to the selected face.
All objects drawn on the CS. All CSs that were defined relative to that CS. All objects drawn on a CS that was defined relative to that CS.
There are two ways to modify a coordinate system: you can select the coordinate system in the history tree in the modeler window, and open its properties dialog. This approach does not also allow you to change whether the coordinate system is Absolute or Relative, or to change how you express the coordinates (as Cartesian, Cylindrical, or Spherical).
7-130 Drawing a Model
If you want to also modify the whether the coordinate system is Absolute or Relative, and to change how your express the coordinate, do the following: 1. 2. 3. Click Modeler>Coordinate System>Edit. The Select Working CS window appears. Click the CS you want to modify. Click Select. This selects that coordinate system and enables the editable fields at the lower right of the Modeler window. After you click the cursor in the first field, you can type in values, and tab to the next fields.
4.
You can select Absolute or Relative as the Coordinate system If you selected a relative CS, follow the directions for creating a relative CS. If you selected a face CS, follow the directions for creating a face CS. You select the coordinate system from the drop down menus as Cartesian, Cylindrical, or Spherical. Select the units from the drop down menu. The value you give here is translated to Cartesian coordinates in the Properties for the Coordinate system.
5. 6.
Related Topics Setting Coordinate Systems Creating a Relative Coordinate System Creating a Face Coordinate System Modifying the Coordinate System Axes View
Cartesian, that is the points distance from the origin in the x, y, and z directions in the X, Y, and Z text boxes.
Cylindrical, that is, the points radius, measured from the origin, in the R text box, the angle from the x-axis in the Theta text box, and the distance from the origin in the z direction in the Z text box.
Spherical, that is, in the points radius, measured from the origin, in the Rho text box, the angle from the x-axis in the Theta text box, and the angle from the origin in the z direction in the Phi text box.
Related Topics Defining Absolute Coordinates Defining Relative Coordinates Defining Cartesian Coordinates Defining Cylindrical Coordinates Defining Spherical Coordinates
The CS will be deleted and all objects drawn on it will be deleted. Further, any CS that was dependent upon the deleted CS will be deleted and any objects that were drawn on the dependent CS will also be deleted. Related Topics Setting Coordinate Systems Creating a Relative Coordinate System Creating a Face Coordinate System Modifying the Coordinate System Axes View
Select XY from the Drawing plane pull-down list on the Modeler Draw toolbar. Click Modeler>Grid Plane, and then select a grid plane: XY, YZ, or XZ.
8
Assigning Boundaries
Boundary conditions specify the field behavior at the edges of the problem region and object interfaces. HFSS and HFSS-IE designs have different menu options for boundaries. Click here for HFSS-IE boundaries. You may assign the following types of boundaries to an HFSS design: Perfect E Perfect H Impedance Radiation PML Finite Conductivity Symmetry Master Slave Represents a perfectly conducting surface. Represents a surface on which the tangential component of the H-field is the same on both sides. Represents a resistive surface. Represents an open boundary by means of an absorbing boundary condition (ABC) that absorbs outgoing waves. Represents an open boundary condition using several layers of specialized materials that absorb outgoing waves. Represents an imperfect conductor. Represents a perfect E or perfect H plane of symmetry. Represents a surface on which the E-field at each point is matched to another surface (the slave boundary) to within a phase difference. Represents a surface on which the E-field at each point has been forced to match the E-field of another surface (the master boundary) to within a phase difference.
Represents any combination of lumped resistor, inductor, and/or capacitor in parallel on a surface. Represents a boundary condition used to replace a surface a planar screen or grid with periodic geometry. Represents a structure with multiple layers as one impedance surface.
You may also choose to designate a perfect E, finite conductivity, or impedance boundary as an infinite ground plane if you want the surface to represent an electrically large ground plane when the radiated fields are calculated during post processing. Note Hiding boundaries also turns off a check for boundary overlaps during boundary assignment. In the case of very large models with many boundaries, hiding boundaries can prevent delays during boundary assignment. Full model validation will subsequently check for boundary overlaps.
For convenience, you can access the Edit Global Materials command from the Boundaries menu. Note By default, the history tree in the 3D modeler window groups sheet objects according to boundary assignment. To change this, select the Sheets icon and right-click to display the Group Sheets by Assignment checkbox.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Boundaries Zoom to Selected Boundary Setting Default Boundary Base Names Designating Infinite Ground Planes Modifying Boundaries Deleting Boundaries Reassigning Boundaries Reprioritizing Boundaries Edit Global Materials Environment Duplicating Boundaries and Excitations with Geometry Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations Reviewing Boundaries and Excitations in the Solver View Setting Default Values for Boundaries and Excitations Assigning HFSS-IE Boundaries
selected boundary. The current orientation does not change. This can be very useful checking the assigned geometry.
Related Topics Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations Modifying Boundaries Deleting Boundaries
2.
3.
Click OK to accept the changes or Cancel to close the dialog without accepting changes.
If you want to revert all or selected names to Ansoft defaults, use the Revert All or Revert Selected buttons. Related Topics Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations Modifying Boundaries Deleting Boundaries
2.
For HFSS projects, you can select Infinite Ground Plane if you want the surface to represent an electrically large ground plane when the radiated fields are calculated during post processing. For PEC boundaries only, multiple infinite ground planes are supported.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Perfect E Boundaries Setting Default Boundary/Excitation Base Names. Getting Started Guides: A Dielectric Resonator Antenna Getting Started Guides: Patch Antenna
2.
Related Topics Assigning Boundaries Technical Notes: Boundaries Zoom to Selected Boundary Setting Default Boundary Base Names Getting Started Guides: A Dielectric Resonator Antenna
2. 3.
Enter the Resistance and Reactance. For HFSS designs you can select Infinite Ground Plane if you want the surface to represent an electrically large ground plane when the radiated fields are calculated during post processing. HFSS-IE does not support infinte ground plane for impedance boundaries. Note that if you select Infinite Ground Plane, the effect of the impedance boundary will be incorporated into the field solution in the usual manner, but the radiated fields will be computed as if the lossy ground plane is perfectly conducting. Only one infinite ground plane is permitted in designs with impedance boundaries.
Note
You can assign a variable as the resistance and reactance values. Eigenmode designs cannot contain design parameters that depend on frequency, for example, a frequencydependent impedance boundary condition.
Related Topics Zoom to Selected Boundary Setting Default Boundary Base Names Technical Notes: Impedance Boundaries
Assigning Boundaries 8-7
To assign a radiation boundary: 1. Select a surface on which to assign the boundary and click HFSS >Boundaries>Assign>Radiation to bring up the Radiation Boundary dialog box.
2.
If your project uses a field solution from another source, your "target" project must have radiation boundaries with Advanced Options defined in order to specify where the fields from the "source" project enter. See the discussion here. Designate the boundary as either:
3.
Radiating Only - this refers to the original radiating surface properties (the default). If you select this option, the scattered field formulation is applied. (See Technical Notes). If you do not select this radio button the total field formulation is applied. (See Technical Notes). Incident Field - the incident field source patterns are projected on these surfaces and are
backed by ABC or PML. This is like a generalized space port. HFSS knows the incident field pattern, applies it to the port and expects a reflected field pattern which radiates back. In other words, it behaves as if you excited the project by a Norton or Thevenin generator using an impedance which is the free space wave impedance.
If you select Radiating Only or Incident Field, you can also specify whether the surface is used as Reference for FSS, that is, as a Frequency Selective Surface - this surface become the input surface for calculations of the reflection/transmission coefficients. The other radiating surface automatically becomes output. Only one FSS can be defined in a given model. Using the Incident Field option together with Reference for FSS is advantageous for highly reflective and resonant structures. Reflection/Transmission coefficients for FSS designs can be viewed in the solution data panel as S-parameters or you can create an S-parameter report. Enforced Field - this has the H tangential component of the incident field directly applied on these surfaces. It is an inhomogeneous Newmann BC. In other words, it behaves as if you excited the project by an ideal current source (enforced current). If you select Enforced Field, the Use IE Formulation option is grayed out. Model Exterior as HFSS-IE Domain- this uses integral equation formulation., which is is an exact transparent condition. The IE Boundary will be most effective and efficient for smaller radiating structures such as RFID antennas. It can be close to or on the structures, but for performance, 0.5 wavelength is recommended. If it is on a surface, you must turn off curvilinear elements. The IE boundary should enclose the entire structure by itself, or with an Infinite ground plane. Include for nearfield/far field calculation - If you select Radiation Only, the Include in near/far field calculation option is grayed out but checked. All Radiation Only surfaces are included in the near/far field calculation. When you select Incident Field or Enforced Field, you can designate that the surface is included in near/far field calculation by checking. If you do not include any surfaces in the near/far field calculation (whether as Radiating Only, or by checking), when you select default radiation surfaces at the near/far field calculation setup panel an error message states that No radiating surface has been selected.
Note
If you select either Enforced Field or Incident Field you should run a validation check in order to avoid an invalid setup. The setup is invalid if any of these surfaces are internal. If you select either Enforced Field or Incident Field in most cases, you should avoid internal surfaces. In order to do that, internal objects with Enforced/Incident Field BC should be substructed to become background, or PEC material should be assigned to these objects to become "NoSolveinside".
Note
Do not define a surface that cuts through an object to be a radiation boundary. In general, do not define the interface of two internal objects to be a radiation boundary. The only exception is when one object is a perfectly matched layer boundary (PML) and the other is the PML base object.
Related Topics Zoom to Selected Boundary Setting Default Boundary Base Names Assigning PML Boundaries Technical Notes: Radiation Boundaries Getting Started Guides: A Dielectric Resonator Antenna Getting Started Guides: UHF Probe Getting Started Guides: Patch Antenna
antenna, you may find it convenient to select the object and have a boundary applied to all faces of the object. You can select the faces of the PML base object to turn into PMLs. In these cases, select only external, planar faces and exclude faces defined as symmetry boundaries. 3. 4. Click HFSS > Boundaries>PML Setup Wizard. The PML Setup wizard appears. If you have selected a non-planar object for a PML or one that completely covers another object, you can select Use Selected Object objectName as PML Cover. If you have selected object faces, select Create PML Cover Objects on Selected Faces. Type the thickness of each layer in the Uniform Layer Thickness text box. You can assign a variable as the thickness value. The layer thickness cannot be modified directly after PML objects have been created. If you want to be able to modify the thickness, assign a variable as the thickness value.
5.
Note
If you do not assign a value, you can select Use Default Formula to have HFSS calculate a value for you based on geometrical analysis. 6. If the selected faces are on a box object. you can see the option to select Create joining corner and edge objects. Edge and corner PML objects will be created to join adjacent PML surfaces together, ensuring complete coverage. 7. Under Base Face Radiation Properties, click a radio button to specify one of the following:
Radiating Only - the radiation surface (default). Incident Field - the incident field source patterns are projected on these surfaces and are backed by ABC or PML. This is like a generalized space port. HFSS knows the incident field pattern, applies it to the port and expects a reflected field pattern which radiates back. In other words, it behaves as if you excited the project by a Norton or Thevenin generator using an impedance which is the free space wave impedance. For Radiating Only or Incident Field, you can also specify whether the surface is used as Reference for FSS, that is, as a Frequency Selective Surface - this surface becomes the input surface for calculations of the reflection/transmission coefficients. The other radiating surface automatically becomes output. Only one FSS can be defined in a given model. Using the Incident Field option together with Reference for FSS is advantageous for highly reflective and resonant structures. Reflection/Transmission coefficients for FSS designs can be viewed in the solution data panel as S-parameters or you can create an Sparameter report. If you check Reference for FSS, the PML objects will stay visible.
8.
Click Next. HFSS creates PMLs from the faces you selected. Names are automatically given to the layers. that start with PML, which is necessary for HFSS to recognize them as PMLs.
9.
Specify how the PMLs terminate by selecting one of the following: a. PML Objects Accept Free Radiation if the PMLs terminate in free space.
b.
Then enter the lowest frequency in the frequency range you are solving for in the Min Frequency text box. Then specify the propagation constant at the minimum frequency.
PML Objects Continue Guided Waves if the PMLs terminate in a transmission line.
10. Specify the minimum distance between the PMLs and any of the radiating bodies in the Minimum Radiating Distance text box. You may choose to have HFSS calculate the value by clicking Use Default Formula. The default distance is based on the extent of base object geometry. The PML material characteristics depend on the cumulative effect of their near fields at the location of the PML surfaces. 11. Click Next. HFSS calculates the appropriate PML materials based on the settings you specified and the material of the base object, and assigns these materials to the objects in the PML group. A summary dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the settings you specified. 12. Click Finish. Related Topics Creating PML Boundaries Manually Modifying PML Boundaries Guidelines for Assigning PML Boundaries Technical Notes: PML Boundaries Assigning Radiation Boundaries
value for you based on geometrical analysis. 7. 8. Select the orientation of the PML object, the direction of outward propagation, in the relative, or local, coordinate system. Under Base Face Radiation Properties, click a radio button to specify one of the following:
Radiating Only - the radiation surface (default). Incident Field - the incident field source patterns are projected on these surfaces and are backed by ABC or PML. This is like a generalized space port. HFSS knows the incident field pattern, applies it to the port and expects a reflected field pattern which radiates back. In other words, it behaves as if you excited the project by a Norton or Thevenin generator using an impedance which is the free space wave impedance. For Radiating Only or Incident Field, you can also specify whether the surface is used as Reference for FSS, that is, as a Frequency Selective Surface - this surface becomes the input surface for calculations of the reflection/transmission coefficients. The other radiating surface automatically becomes output. Only one FSS can be defined in a given model. Using the Incident Field option together with Reference for FSS is advantageous for highly reflective and resonant structures. Reflection/Transmission coefficients for FSS designs can be viewed in the solution data panel as S-parameters or you can create an Sparameter report. If you check Reference for Frequency Selective Surface (FSS), the PML objects will stay visible.
9.
Click Next. a. PML Objects Accept Free Radiation if the PML terminates in free space.
10. Specify how the PML terminates by selecting one of the following:
b.
Enter the lowest frequency in the frequency range you are solving for in the Min Frequency text box. Specify the propagation constant at the minimum frequency.
PML Objects Continue Guided Waves if the PML terminates in a transmission line.
11. Specify the minimum distance between the PML and the radiating body in the Minimum Radiating Distance text box. You may choose to let HFSS calculate the value by clicking Use Default Formula. The default distance is based on the extent of base object geometry. The PML material characteristics depend on the cumulative effect of their near fields at the location of the PML surfaces. 12. Click Next. HFSS calculates the appropriate PML material based on the settings you specified and the material of the base object, and assigns this material to the PML. A summary dialog box appears, enabling you to modify the settings you specified. 13. Click Finish. Related Topics Guidelines for Assigning PML Boundaries
8-14 Assigning Boundaries
Modifying PML Boundaries Technical Notes: PML Boundaries Assigning Radiation Boundaries Zoom to Selected Boundary Setting Default Boundary Base Names
When automatically creating PMLs, HFSS creates a new relative coordinate system for each PML object. This results in the z direction of the PML object coinciding with the normal direction of the base objects face. HFSS treats PMLs uniformly with regard to thickness. If the PMLs in your design vary in thickness, create a separate PML group for each thickness. The base object is curved. HFSS calculates the PML material properties using the normal vector at the center of the base objects face. If the face is curved, the normal vector changes with position. The PML materials will only be good approximations if the normal vector at each point on the face is close to the normal vector at the face center. It is a good idea to segment the curved surface of the base object for greater accuracy. Create separate PMLs for each segment. Note that each segments thickness is treated uniformly. The view angle of the segments should be no wider than 45 degrees. The smaller the angle of each segment, the greater the accuracy of the corresponding PML.
The material of the corresponding base object touching the PML is not homogenous. An example is a metal-shielded microstrip line with a substrate. One PML could be drawn to terminate the microstrip and another could correspond to the substrate. Create as many PML objects as there are subsections of material properties in the base object.
Related Topics Creating PML Boundaries Manually Technical Notes: PML Boundaries Assigning Radiation Boundaries
To modify dimension properties for the original PML object: 1. 2. 3. Go to the History tree and open the hierarchy under the original PML base object. Select the CreateBox command for each part of the geometry you want to modify. In the Properties dialog for that geometry command, edit the properties for XSize, YSize, or ZSize as required. The changes to the CreateBox parameters apply to the associated PML objects. Note that you can create variables to parameterize these properties. To modify PML parameters: 1. 2. Make sure that nothing is selected in the 3D Modeler window. Click HFSS>Boundaries>PML Setup Wizard. The Summary dialog box of the PML Setup wizard appears. By default the Show Objects in groups box is not checked. A table shows each PML Group, its thickness, and material status. Checking the box causes the table list the objects under each group. 3. 4. If more than one group of PMLs were defined, select the PML group you want to modify from the table. Modify the PML parameters. A Radio button lets you select either the Free Radiation minimum frequency and units, or the Guided Wave propagation constant at a minimum frequency. You can also specify a Minimum Radiating distance and units. 5. 6. If you make changes, click Update. This performs the update and enables the Recalculate Materials button. Click Recalculate Materials to apply the updates. HFSS automatically recalculates and assigns the appropriate PML materials to the objects in the PML group. 7. Click Finish. If objects are modified after PMLs are created, the PML materials will be invalid and must be recalculated in the PML Setup Wizard. For example, if the material of the PML base object is modified, the associated PML materials must be recalculated in the PML Setup Wizard.
Note
Related Topics Assigning PML Boundaries Assigning Radiation Boundaries Zoom to Selected Boundary Setting Default Boundary Base Names
2.
Enter the conductivity in inverse ohm-meters, and then enter the permeability. Select Use Material, click the default material name button , and then choose a material from the material editor. The conductivity and permeability values of the material you select will be used for the boundary. Note that selecting a perfectly conducting material for a finite conductivity boundary triggers a validation error.
3.
Select Infinite Ground Plane if you want the surface to represent an electrically large ground plane when the radiated fields are calculated during post processing. Note that if you select Infinite Ground Plane, the effect of the finite conductivity boundary will be incorporated into the field solution in the usual manner, but the radiated fields will be computed as if the lossy ground plane is perfectly conducting.
4.
To specify the roughness of surfaces such as the interface between the conductor and the substrate for a microstrip line, enter a value for Surface Roughness and select the units (default, microns) from the pull down menu. (This may be more intuitive than using a layered impedance boundary to model the effects.)
Assigning Boundaries 8-17
5.
To specify a layer thickness, click the checkbox to enable the Layer Thickness field, and enter a value and select units. You can assign a variable as the conductivity or permeability values.
Note
Related Topics Zoom to Selected Boundary Setting Default Boundary Base Names Technical Notes: Finite Conductivity Boundaries
2.
Enter the Conductivity and the Relative Permeability. Select Use Material, click the material name button, and then choose a material from the material editor. The conductivity and permeability values of the material you select will be used for the boundary. Note that selecting a perfectly conducting material for a finite conductivity boundary triggers a validation error.
3.
To specify the roughness of surfaces such as the interface between the conductor and the substrate for a microstrip line, enter a value for Surface Roughness and select the units (default, microns) from the pull down menu. (This may be more intuitive than using a layered impedance boundary to model the effects.) To specify a layer thickness, click the checkbox to enable the Layer Thickness field, and enter a value and select units.. You can assign a variable as the conductivity or permeability values.
4.
Note
Related Topics Zoom to Selected Boundary Setting Default Boundary Base Names Technical Notes: Finite Conductivity Boundaries Getting Started Guides: A 20 Ghz Waveguide Combiner
2. 3.
Select the type of symmetry plane the boundary represents: Perfect E or Perfect H. Click Impedance Multiplier. If the design includes a port, you must adjust the impedance multiplier or the computed impedances will not be for the full structure. The Port Impedance Multiplier dialog box appears.
4.
Type a value in the Impedance Multiplier box, and then click OK.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Symmetry Boundaries Setting the Impedance Multiplier Technical Notes: Impedance Multipliers Getting Started Guides: A Dielectric Resonator Antenna Getting Started Guides: A 20 Ghz Waveguide Combiner
2.
You must specify the coordinate system in the plane on which the boundary exists. First draw the U vector of the coordinate system. HFSS uses the U vector that you draw and the normal vector of the boundary face to calculate the Vvector. If necessary, you can reverse the direction of the V vector. a. b. Select New Vector from the U Vector pull-down list. The Master Boundary dialog box disappears while you draw the U vector. Select the U vectors origin, which must be on the boundarys surface, either by:
c.
Clicking the point for the vector origin. Typing the points coordinates in the X, Y, and Z boxes.
Select a point on the u-axis to indicate the U vector direction. The Master Boundary dialog box reappears and the model display shows the U vector and V vector as red and blue arrows respectively.
d.
If you need to reverse the direction of the V vector, select Reverse Direction.
HFSS will compute the E-field on this boundary and map it to the slave boundary using the transformation defined by the master and slave coordinate systems. Related Topics Technical Notes: Master and Slave Boundaries Assigning Slave Boundaries Getting Started Guides: Floquet Ports
2.
Select the corresponding master boundary from the Master Boundary pull-down list. If a master boundary has not yet been defined, return to make this selection when it has been defined.
3.
You must specify the coordinate system in the plane on which the boundary exists. First draw the U vector of the coordinate system. HFSS uses the U vector that you draw and the normal vector of the boundary face to calculate the Vvector. If necessary, you can reverse the direction of the V vector. a. b. Select New Vector from the U Vector pull-down list. The Slave Boundary dialog box disappears while you draw the U vector. Select the U vectors origin, which must be on the boundarys surface, in one of the following ways:
8-24 Assigning Boundaries
Click the point for the vector origin. Type the points coordinates in the X, Y, and Z boxes.
c.
Select a point on the u-axis to indicate the U vector direction. The Slave Boundary dialog box reappears and the model display shows the U vector and V vector as red and blue arrows respectively.
d. 4. 5.
If you need to reverse the direction of the V vector, select Reverse Direction.
Click Next. You have the option to relate the slave boundarys E-fields to the master boundarys E-fields in one of the following ways:
For driven designs, select Use Scan Angles to Calculate Phase Delay to enable the Scan Angle fields. Then enter Phi and Theta scan angles. These apply to whole model, in the global coordinate system. The phase delay is calculated from the scan angles; however, if you know the phase delay, you may enter it directly in the Phase Delay box below. For Eigenmode problems, the Use Scan Angles to Calculate Phase Delay fields are disabled. Select Field Radiation, and then enter the phase difference, or phase delay, between the boundaries E-fields in the Phase Delay box. The phase delay applies only to this boundary. You can assign a variable as the phi, theta, or phase delay values.
Note
Note
HFSS will compute the E-field on the master boundary and map it to this boundary using the transformation defined by the master and slave coordinate systems. Related Topics Technical Notes: Master and Slave Boundaries Assigning Master Boundaries Getting Started Guides: Floquet Ports
2. 3.
Select Resistance, Inductance, and Capacitance as needed and specify values and units for each selected element. Optionally, you can assign a variable to any of these values. To specify where on the surface the current and voltage will be controlled, define a Current Flow Line. The selection field initially appears as Undefined. Select New Line to define a vector line on the boundary surface. HFSS and HFSS-IE assume the lumped RLC is assigned to a rectangular face. If you assign a non-rectangular face, HFSS and HFSS-IE issue a warning, but proceed with the solution. Using a non-rectangular face can result in less accurate representation of the lumped RLC. See the technical notes on RLC boundaries for more information.
Note
Related Topics Technical Notes: Lumped RLC Boundaries Setting Default Boundary/Excitation Base Names.
8-26 Assigning Boundaries
Vector Line
To draw a vector line: 1. 2. Select New Line from the dialogs pull-down list. The dialog box disappears while you draw the vector line. Select the start point in one of the following ways:
3. 4.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the in the X, Y, and Z boxes.
Select the endpoint using the mouse or the keyboard. Once the line has been defined, you can edit it as follows: Select Swap End Points from the dialog pull-down list to switch the start and endpoints of the line, reversing the lines direction.
2.
If the boundary requires anisotropic impedance, click the check box. Checking the Anisotropic Impedance box enables the Coordinate System drop-down menu. This menu lists the Global Coordinate system and any relative coordinate systems if you have defined them in the design. Select the Coordinate System that defines the anisotropic characteristic of the impedance boundary. (See Creating a Relative Coordinate System.)
Note 3. 4.
Click Next or the Screening Impedance tab, depending on the general option setting. If you want to use an external design to define the screening impedance, click the Get Impedance from External Design checkbox to enable the Setup Link button. If you defining an anisotropic impedance, there will be two buttons: Setup X Direction Link and Setup Y Direction Link. If you have not selected Use External Design, the Resistance and Reactance fields are
5.
enabled. In these fields, you set the Resistance and Reactance. If Anisotropic Impedance is checked, the wizard shows Resistance and Reactance fields for X Axis alignment and Y axis alignment. Related Topics Setting Default Boundary/Excitation Base Names. Assigning Material Property Types Change the Orientation of an object Creating a Relative Coordinate System Creating a Face Coordinate System Setting the Working Coordinate System Modifying the Coordinate System Axes View Technical Notes: Screening Impedance
3. 4. 5.
6. 7.
Use the checkbox specify whether to Force source design to solve in the absence of linked data in the target design. Use the checkbox to specify whether to preserve the source design solution. Note that in Extractor mode, the source project will be saved upon exit. Extractor mode means that the software is opened during the link solely for the purpose of solving. Under the Variable Mapping tab, you can set the desired variable values in the source design. If the source and target designs contain same named variables, you can choose to Map Variable By Name. In this case, same named variables are mapped automatically. Click OK to close the Setup Link dialog and return to the Screening Impedance Boundary dialog.
8.
9.
2.
Enter the Surface Roughness for the layered structure. If the layered structure is internal to the design, enter the average surface roughness of the two outermost sides. You can assign a variable as this value.
3.
Select Infinite Ground Plane if you want the surface to represent an electrically large ground plane when the radiated fields are calculated during post processing. For designs with layered impedance boundaries, only one infinite ground plane can exist in the design.
4. 5.
Click Next or the Layers tab, depending on the general option setting.. If the layered structure is external to the design, do the following:
Assigning Boundaries 8-31
By default, HFSS assumes the layered structure is external to the design; the outermost layer of the structure is listed. Select whether this layer is an Infinite, Perfect E, or Perfect H layer from the Thickness/Type list. Select the Internal option. Enter a thickness for the first layer in the Thickness/Type column. You can assign a variable as this value.
To change the first layers material, click vacuum and follow the procedure for assigning a material. To add a new layer to the structure: a. b. c. Click New Layer. The new layer is added at the end of the list. Enter a thickness for the layer in the Thickness/Type column. You can assign a variable as this value. To change the layers material, click vacuum and follow the procedure for assigning a material.
8. 9.
Optionally, to reorder layers, click the first row square and drag the row to the desired position. Optionally, to view the impedance values that will be calculated based on the data provided, do the following: a. b. Enter the frequency at which the solution is being solved in the Test Frequency text box. Click Calculate. The real and imaginary components of the HFSS-calculated layered impedance value appear.
Note
A warning will be posted if a fast sweep is defined in a design that contains a layered impedance boundary, since the impedance may only be accurate for the center frequency.
Aperture boundary can only be assigned on sheet objects. This objected will be meshed as part of the solution process. Apertures can be assigned to any 2D objects (only objects: faces are not allowed). So if the 2D object touches the surface of 3D object, and you assign an aperture to the 2D object, you essentially create a hole on the 3D object. If the 2D object is touching ground plane, that means aperture is on ground plane. Create a 2D sheet object on the XY plane at the elevation of ground plane. Select the object and right-click on Boundaries>Assign>Aperature to display the Aperature dialog.
3.
Type the boundarys name in the Name text box or accept the default name. (To change the default base name to one of your choosing, see Setting Default Boundary/Excitation Base Names.)
Related Topics Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations Modifying Boundaries Deleting Boundaries HFSS-IE Feature
2. 3. 4. 5.
You can accept the default name, or specify one. Specify the Z location and the units. Set the surface roughness and units. A Select Material button displays the name of the default material. To change the material, click the button to display the materials dialog.
Related Topics Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations Modifying Boundaries Deleting Boundaries Assigning Materials HFSS-IE Feature
2.
Enter the Surface Roughness for the layered structure. If the layered structure is internal to the design, enter the average surface roughness of the two outermost sides. You can assign a variable as this value.
3. 4.
Click Next or the Layers tab, depending on the general option setting.. If the layered structure is external to the design, do the following:
By default, HFSS assumes the layered structure is external to the design; the outermost layer of the structure is listed. Select whether this layer is an Infinite, Perfect E, or Perfect H layer from the Thickness/Type list. Select the Internal option. Enter a thickness for the first layer in the Thickness/Type column. You can assign a variable as this value.
To change the first layers material, click vacuum and follow the procedure for assigning a material. To add a new layer to the structure:
Assigning Boundaries 8-35
a. b. c. 7. 8.
Click New Layer. The new layer is added at the end of the list. Enter a thickness for the layer in the Thickness/Type column. You can assign a variable as this value. To change the layers material, click vacuum and follow the procedure for assigning a material.
Optionally, to reorder layers, click the first row square and drag the row to the desired position. Optionally, to view the impedance values that will be calculated based on the data provided, do the following: a. b. Enter the frequency at which the solution is being solved in the Test Frequency text box. Click Calculate. The real and imaginary components of the HFSS-calculated layered impedance value appear.
Note
A warning will be posted if a fast sweep is defined in a design that contains a layered impedance boundary, since the impedance may only be accurate for the center frequency.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Layered Impedance Boundaries Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations Modifying Boundaries Deleting Boundaries Assigning Materials HFSS-IE Feature
Select the Infinite ground plane check box when setting up a perfect E, finite conductivity, or impedance boundary condition. For Impedance, Layered Impedance, and Finite Conductivity Boundary conditions, HFSS supports only one infinite boundary condition per design. For PEC, multiple antenna ground planes are supported.
This selection only affects the calculation of near- and far-field radiation during post processing. HFSS models the boundary as a finite portion of an infinite, perfectly conducting plane. If the infinite ground plane does not touch a radiation boundary, you will receive a warning. A finite sheet, which does not touch the radiation boundary condition cannot be an infinite ground plane. Related Topics Technical Notes: Infinite Ground Planes
Modifying Boundaries
To change the properties of a boundary, do one of the following:
Double-click the boundarys icon in the project tree. The boundarys dialog box appears, in which you can edit its properties. Right-click the boundary in the project tree, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu. The boundarys dialog box appears, in which you can edit its properties. Click HFSS>List. The Design List dialog box appears, in which you can modify the properties of one or more boundaries.
Related Topics Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations Deleting Boundaries
Deleting Boundaries
To delete one boundary: 1. 2. Select the boundary you want to delete by selecting its icon in the project tree. On the Edit menu, click Delete .
You can also delete one or more boundaries in the Design List dialog box: 1. 2. 3. Click HFSS menu, click List. The Design List dialog box appears. Under the Boundaries tab, click the row of the boundary you want to delete. Click Delete.
Related Topics Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations Modifying Boundaries
Reassigning Boundaries
You can reassign a boundary to another surface. This is useful when you have modified objects with assigned boundaries, invalidating the boundaries. For example, if you unite two objects with assigned boundaries, the second objects boundary will become invalid because united objects maintain the characteristics of the first object selected. In this case, you would need to reassign the boundary or delete it 1. 2. 3. Select the object or object face to which you want to assign an existing boundary. Click HFSS>Boundaries>Reassign. The Reassign Boundary window appears. Select an existing boundary from the list, and then click OK. The boundary is reassigned to the object or object face. Note When reassigning a boundary that includes vectors in its definition, HFSS attempts to preserve the vectors with the new assignment, but this is not always possible.
Alternatively, select the object or object face to which you want to assign an existing boundary. Right-click the existing boundary in the project tree, and then click Reassign on the shortcut menu. Related Topics Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations Modifying Boundaries Deleting Boundaries
Reprioritizing Boundaries
Each boundary you assign overwrites any existing boundary which it overlaps. You can change the priority of a previously assigned boundary to be greater than a more recently assigned boundary. The order of boundaries is important because, for any given triangle of the mesh, only one boundary or excitation can be visible to the solvers. When two boundary definitions overlap, the one with the higher priority is visible to the solvers. 1. Click HFSS>Boundaries>Reprioritize to reprioritize boundaries. The Reprioritize Boundaries window appears. The order the boundaries and excitations appear in the list indicates the order in which they were defined. The lowest priority assignment appears at the top of the list. Ports are automatically placed at the bottom (highest priority) of the list; you cannot move a boundary to a higher priority than a port. Magnetic Bias Excitations (if any) have the lowest priority. Other boundaries and excitations appear between these two extremes. 2. Drag the boundary you want to change to the desired order of priority. The order of boundaries and excitations in the project tree is alphabetical. The order does not correspond to the order of boundaries and excitations visible to the solvers.
Note
Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations in the Active View Window
1. On the View menu, click Active View Visibility icon in the toolbar. The Active View Visibility dialog box appears. 2. 3. 4. Select the tab for the objects you want to show or hide. The dialog contains tabs for 3D Modeler objects, Color Key objects, Boundaries, Excitations, and Fields Reporter objects. Under the tab you need, select the Visibility option for the objects you want to show in the active view window. Click the Boundaries tab if you want to show or hide boundaries. Hiding boundaries also turns off a check for boundary overlaps during boundary assignment. In the case of very large models with many boundaries, hiding boundaries can prevent delays during boundary assignment. Full model validation will subsequently check for boundary overlaps. or select the Active View Visibility
Note
For designs with large numbers of objects, you can resize the dialog for easier selection. By default, objects are listed in alphabetical order. You can invert the order by clicking the Name bar above the Name fields. A triangle in the bar indicates the direction of the listing. You can also use the Name field to type in an object name and apply the visibility via the Show and Hide buttons.
The objects you select and designate as Visible (by selecting the property or using Show) appear. 5. 6. Clear the Visibility selection of boundaries or excitations that you want to hide from view. The boundary or excitation will only be visible in the active view window if it is selected. Select the Visibility option for boundaries or excitations that you want to show in the active view window. The boundary or excitation will be visible in the active view window when it is selected or when it is not selected. You can also use the toolbar icons to Show/Hide selected objects in all views and Show/Hide
8-44 Assigning Boundaries
Show selected object in all views Show selected object in active view Hide selected object in all views Hide selected objects in active view Hide/Show overlaid visualization in the active view icon
3. 4.
Visible to Solver will appear in the Solver Visibility column for each boundary or excitation that is valid. Overridden will appear in the Solver Visibility column for each boundary or excitation that will be ignored by the solver as a result of it overlapping an existing boundary or excitation with a higher priority.
Verify that the boundaries or excitations you assigned to the model are being displayed as you intended for solving purposes. If the order of priority is not as you intended, reprioritize the boundaries and excitations.
Related Topics Showing and Hiding Boundaries and Excitations Modifying Boundaries Deleting Boundaries
9
Assigning Excitations
Excitations in HFSS, HFSS Transient, and HFSS-IE are used to specify the sources of electromagnetic fields and charges, currents, or voltages on objects or surfaces in the design. Available excitation differ for each.
After assigning an excitation, you can modify it in some of the following ways, if applicable to the excitation type:
Change its properties. Delete it. Reassign it to another surface. Reprioritize it. Hide it from view. Modify the impedance multiplier. Deembed the port. For HFSS Transient solutions, render it Active or Passive. Represents the surface through which a signal enters or exits the geometry, effectively a semi-infinite wavegyude attached to the model. Represents an internal surface through which a signal enters or exits the geometry, effectively, a small imedance pole for exiting the structure. Represents a terminal. You can assign terminals manually or automatically.
You may assign the following types of excitations to a Driven solution-type HFSS design: Wave Port Lumped Port Terminal...
Floquet Port
Used exclusively with planar-periodic structures. Chief examples are planar phased arrays and frequency selective surfaces when these may be idealized as infinitely large. Represents a propagating wave impacting the geometry. Represents a constant electric field across feed points. Represents a constant electric current across feed points. Used to define the net internal field that biases a saturated ferrite object.
You can assign the following types of excitation in an HFSS-IE design: Lumped Port Terminal... Plane Incident Wave Far Field Wave Near Field Wave Represents an internal surface through which a signal enters or exits the geometry. Represents a terminal. You can assign terminals manually or automatically. Represents a wave that propagates in one direction and is uniform in the directions perpendicular to its direction of propagation. A Far field wave is sufficiently far (that is, usually more than a wave length distance) from an antenna to approximate as a plane wave. A Near Field wave is close enough to the antenna source for near field effects to occur, typically within a wave length. Near field waves include evanescent field behavior.
You can assign the following types of excitation in an HFSS Transient design. For HFSS Transient designs, the Properties for each excitation includes a Transient tab, enabling you to designate each excitation as Active or Passive. Wave Port Lumped Port Terminal... Plane Wave Voltage Source Current Source Related Topics Technical Notes: Port Solution Theory Technical Notes: Excitations Technical Notes: Excitations in the Time Domain Zoom to Selected Excitation
9-2 Assigning Excitations
Represents the surface through which a signal enters or exits the geometry, effectively a semi-infinite wavegyude attached to the model. Represents an internal surface through which a signal enters or exits the geometry, effectively, a small imedance pole for exiting the structure. Represents a terminal. You can assign terminals manually or automatically. Represents a propagating wave impacting the geometry. Represents a constant electric field across feed points. Represents a constant electric current across feed points.
The setup of wave ports varies slightly depending on whether your solution is modal or terminal. (Also see Selecting the Solution Type). When you select an Assign>portType command, depending on your General Options Assignment options selection for Use wizards, you see either the Wave Port wizard, or a multitab properties dialog with the General tab selected. For each port, you type the ports name in the Name text box or accept the default name. (To change the default base name to one of your choosing, see Setting Default Boundary/Excitation Base Names.) Note A wave port can be placed internal to a model as long as it is backed by a PEC object.
Related Topics Assigning Wave Ports for Modal Solutions Assigning Wave Ports for Terminal Solutions Technical Notes: Wave Ports
9-4 Assigning Excitations
The mode table is updated to include the total number of modes. 3. To specify an integration line for a port mode, follow the directions for defining an integration line. For analytic port types, you can choose to Align modes analytically using coordinate systems.
Note
When you have defined an integration line, the table cell under the Integration line heading changes from "None" to "Defined." Clicking on the cell now shows a drop down list of options:
If you change an existing integration line, use the options for this line. If you need to define an integration line for one or more modes, repeat the process for each. If a solution exists adding or changing integration lines invalidates them, and issues a warning. The Characteristic Impedance (Zo) column shows the Zpi method usually used to calculate the characteristic impedance. However, if there are no conductors on the port and Zpi is near zero, HFSS uses Zpv. For definitions of how HFSS defines these values, see Calculating the PI Impedance,and Calculating the PV Impedance. 4. Choose whether to use analytic modes for polarization. The modes area contains three radio buttons:
None means that you dont want to align the E-field of the modes with the integration line. Align modes using integration lines causes polarization for non-analytic ports to align the E-field of the modes with the integration line. There is no restriction on the port geometry, materials, or integration lines. Align modes analytically using coordinate system requires that the port corresponds to an analytic port type. If so, you define the U Axis Line, which must split the port symmetrically. The V direction is computed automatically and can be reversed using the "Reverse V Direction" checkbox. The solver polarizes the fields by aligning them with analytic mode patterns that are generated on the U-V coordinate system.
5.
If desired, you can check the Filter Modes for Reporter checkbox. This adds a new column to the Mode table, which lets you use a checkbox to designate a mode For Reporter. For designs with multiple modes, this function will simplify your selections when you create traces for reports.
6.
Click Next or the Post Processing tab to display the Wave Port: Post Processing window.
Do Not Renormalize (the default). This disables the Renormalize mode selections here. Renormalize All Modes. This enables the Full Port Impedance text box. The default impedance for re-normalization of each mode is 50 ohms. If you want to enter a complex impedance, enter it in the following form:
<re> + <im>j
7.
If there are multiple modes, the Renormalize Specific Modes is enabled. Click this to enable the Edit Mode Impedances button. This opens a editable table with the impedances for each mode.
To deembed the port, select Deembed, and then type the deembedding distance to add and select the units to use. You can assign a variable as this value. After you enter the value, a blue arrow depicts the embedding distance in the graphics window when the port is selected. A positive distance value will de-embed into the port. A negative distance value will deembed out of the port. Alternatively, click Get Distance Graphically to draw a line with a length representing the de-embed distance. After you draw the line in the 3D window, the Distance field shows the specified distance. You can subsequently edit this value.
Note
Technical Notes: Wave Ports Technical Notes: Analytic Port Types Technical Notes: Calculating Characteristic Impedance Technical Notes: Deembedding Getting Started Guides
Associating Ports and Terminals HFSS can automatically associate terminal definitions if you define ports after defining terminals or if you define terminals on the Excitations level (in the Project tree) when ports already exist. In either case, a terminal is associated with the port containing the signal and reference conductors that define the terminal, and the terminal is represented in the project tree nested beneath its associated port. For this to occur automatically, you must check the Auto-assign terminals on ports option on the Tools>Options>HFSS Options dialog on the General tab. Setup for Ports and Terminals At either the port level or for all excitations, you can set the renormalizing impedance for all terminals. Editing Operations and Port/Terminal Associations Port and terminal definitions are synchronized, in the sense that if you operate on the geometries in their assignments, the associations between ports and terminals may change. With geometry copy/
9-8 Assigning Excitations
paste operations, if you have opted for boundary duplication, both ports and their associated terminals will duplicate, with modified assignments to match the pasted geometries. However, a terminal is defined on edge(s) or face(s) of object(s), which are not necessarily on the same objects as the port face(s). If the object(s) containing the terminal assignment are also copied and pasted along with the objects containing the port assignment, then the terminals are pasted in with the ports. However, because the location of the pasted object(s) may coincide with that of their source object(s), the assignment of terminals to ports is arbitrary, and likely the old ports will get the additional terminal assignments. If you, however, move the pasted objects to non overlapping locations, then the terminals will detach from the old port and attach instead to the new one. If you want to see this in one step, do your copy, but move the original objects out of range before pasting. Then you will see the proper port/terminal associations established right after the paste without requiring any action on your part. Related Topics Selecting the Solution Type Auto Assign Terminals Manually Assigning Terminals Manually Assigning a Wave Port Manually Assigning a Lump Port Set Renormalizing Impedance for Terminals HFSS Options: General Options Tab Technical Notes: Terminals Active and Passive Excitation in HFSS Transient
ances. The Set Renormalizing Impedance for Terminals dialog appears. It differs from the related command for all excitations by specifying that the Renormalizing Impedance is for terminals on the selected port. 2. In the field for Impedance, set the value, and select the units from the pull down. This value can be a variable. This variable can be dependent on the frequency, which allows use of a dataset for frequency dependent impedance. 3. Click the Apply button to close the dialog and apply the change. You can also set the Terminal Reference Impedance on a port by selecting the port and editing the value in the Properties dialog. In designs with at least one wave port, where you want to view un-renormalized Zo impedance in either the Matrix data or in a report, you can select the Do Not Renormalize Any Wave Port Terminals radio button.. Related Topics Auto Assign Terminals Manually Assigning Terminals Manually Assigning a Wave Port for Terminal Solutions Manually Assigning a Lump Port Plotting in the Time Domain Technical Notes: Terminals
able geometries that are Conducting Objects. The example shown includes four conductors.
If you check the Highlight selected conductors box, selecting any conductor in the table highlights it in the modeler window. Note Identification of conductors depends on a threshold conductivity value. The threshold is based on the material assignment or the boundary assignment if a conducting boundary is assigned to the object.
2.
Set the terminal naming by selecting Use conductor name or Use Port object name. Ports are named by appending the terminal name (the default name is T) to the specified conductor or port base name.
3. 4.
For each conductor, you can check the box in the Use as reference column to so designate it. All other conductors will be considered for terminal assignment. Select OK to close the Reference Conductors for Terminals dialog. All remaining conductors on each affected port will be used. HFSS will then generate terminal
assignments, create the terminals, and associate the terminals with the correct port. Note Multiple reference conductors touching a port must all be connected in the plane of the port. Existing terminals will not be affected or duplicated. 5. After you add new model objects or new port definitions, you can again Auto Assign Terminals to add new terminals where appropriate. When you execute Auto Assign Terminals, the conducting faces on a port that touch each other are recognized as defining a single terminal, as are conducting edges that touch each other. Note With complicated arrangement of conductors or geometry that has slight coordinate misalignments, auto assign may create either too few or too many terminals on a port, so you should review the result before solving.
Related Topics HFSS Options: General Options Tab Manually Assigning Terminals Manually Assigning a Wave Port for Terminal Solutions Manually Assigning a Lump Port Set Renormalizing Impedance for Terminals Technical Notes: Terminals Example Projects: Package (terminal) Active and Passive Excitation in HFSS Transient
Terminals should be completely contained inside or on the perimeter of their ports. Set up terminal definitions as long as they contact the port in some way. The solver uses a mesh based test to verify that the number of terminals on a port is equal to the number of distinct conductors minus one. 3. Unless the Post Processing tab selection for the Port is set to Do Not Renormalize, you can set a Resistance value and units for the Terminal Renormalizing Impedence. This value can also be set at the port level, or for all excitations by using the Set Terminal Renormalizing Impedance command.
Related Topics Auto Assign Terminals Manually Assigning a Wave Port for Terminal Solutions Manually Assigning a Lump Port Set Renormalizing Impedance for Terminals Technical Notes: Port Solution Theory Technical Notes: Terminals
tions>Assign>Wave Port.
2. 3. 4. 5.
Specify the convention for terminal naming as "Use conductor Name" or "Use port object name." Specify which conductors to Use as Reference. By option you can check Highlight selected conductors. Clicking OK adds the Wave port and terminal to the Project tree. Double click the wave port in the Project tree to display the Properties window for the wave
Values here affect S-Parameters only. The Port Renormalization choices include:
Do Not Renormalize (the default). Selecting this disables the Impedance fields for the port and terminals. Renormalize All Terminals. The default impedance for re-normalization of each port is 50 ohms. To specify a different impedance, you must open the Properties for the terminal and specify a value in the Terminal Renormalizing Impedance field. If you want to enter a complex impedance, enter it in the following form:
<re> + <im>j
6.
If there are multiple modes, Renormalizing Impedance for Specific Terminals is enabled. Click this to enable the Edit Terminal Impedances button. This opens a editable table with the impedances for each terminal.
To deembed the port, select Deembed, and then type the deembedding distance to add. You can assign a variable as this value. After you enter the value, a blue arrow depicts the embedding distance in the graphics window when the port is selected. A positive distance value will de-embed into the port. A negative distance value will deembed out of the port. Alternatively, click Get Distance Graphically to draw a line with a length representing the de-embed distance. After you draw the line in the 3D window, the Distance field shows the specified distance. You can subsequently edit this value.
Note
7.
For HFSS Transient solutions, you can designate a port as Active or Passive.
Assigning Excitations 9-15
Related Topics Auto Assign Terminals Manually Assigning Terminals Manually Assigning a Wave Port for Terminal Solutions Manually Assigning a Lump Port Set Renormalizing Impedance for Terminals Active and Passive Excitation in HFSS Transient Technical Notes: Port Solution Theory Technical Notes: Terminals Technical Notes: Deembedding
A lumped port can be defined as a rectangle from the edge of the trace to the ground or as a wave port. The default boundary is perfect H on all edges that do not come in contact with the metal or with another boundary condition. Their setup varies slightly depending on whether the solution is modal or terminal. Note Use wave ports to model exterior surfaces through which a signal enters or exits the geometry.
The complex full port impedance must be non-zero and the resistance must be non-negative. Only one port mode is allowed, or one terminal if it is a terminal solution. An integration line must be defined for driven ports. Each terminal that is identified by an edge selection must have each edge contained by some non port face. If this condition is not satisfied, an error message is issued. If you see the error message, you should abort the solve and correct the geometry.
The lumped ports in HFSS-IE ports are different than those in HFSS. The HFSS-IE lumped ports impress a one volt difference between the terminal and its reference while an HFSS lumped port impresses an electric field between the terminal and its reference. To ensure a valid port, the maximum distance from the terminal to the reference should be less than a twentieth of a wavelength. If this condition is violated, a warning occurs. For HFSS-IE:
For auto assignment to work you must enable Auto-assign terminals on ports on the HFSSIE Options: General Options Tab. Manually assign a terminal. Select any connected edge(s) and/or face(s) of conductors that touch the port. Select Excitations>Auto Assign Terminals. This will bring up a dialog box for you to select the objects used for reference conductors.
Related Topics Assigning Lumped Ports for Modal Solutions Assigning Lumped Ports for Terminal Solutions HFSS-IE Options: General Options Tab Technical Notes: Lumped Ports Technical Notes: Terminals Technical Notes: Calculating Characteristic Impedance
2.
Define the complex Full Port Impedance in the Resistance and the Reactance text boxes. You can assign a variable to these values. This variable can be dependent on the frequency, which allows use of a dataset for frequency dependent impedance.
3.
Click Next to display the Lumped Port: Modes window. The number of Modes is not edit-
able.
4.
Follow the directions for defining an integration line. The Characteristic Impedance (Zo) column shows the Zpi method usually used to calculate the characteristic impedance. However, if there are no conductors on the port and Zpi is near zero, HFSS uses Zpv. For definitions of how HFSS defines these values, see Calculating the PI Impedance,and Calculating the PV Impedance.
5.
Click Next or the Post Processing tab to display the Lumped Port: Post Processing window. Values here affect S-Parameters only. By default, lumped ports are renormalized to a 50 Ohm full port impedance. To specify a renormalization impedance, select Renormalize All Modes and type a value in the Full Port Impedance text box. Select the corresponding unit in the drop down menu. If you want to enter a complex impedance, enter it in the following form:
<re> + <im>j
If you do not want to renormalize the port impedance, select Do Not Renormalize. Related Topics Defining an Integration Line Technical Notes: Lumped Ports
<re> + <im>j
5. To specify a different full port impedance, type a value in the Full Port Impedance text box. Select the corresponding unit in the drop down menu.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Lumped Ports Auto Assign Terminals Manually Assigning Terminals Manually Assigning a Wave Port for Terminal Solutions Manually Assigning a Lump Port Set Renormalizing Impedance for Terminals Technical Notes: Terminals
This example illustrates a key requirement to keep in mind when setting up the unit cell--the perimeter of a Floquet port must be covered by Master and Slave boundaries. To set up a Floquet port: 1. Select the top face of the unit cell for the region above the plane, and right-button click Assign Excitation > Floquet Port. This displays the Floquet Port dialog with the General tab selected.
2.
Specify the A and B directions for the Lattice coordinate system. These define the periodicity of the planar lattice. The vector arrows must start and end at points on the face of the Floquet port and must have a common initial point. Click Next to display the Modes Setup window. This window displays a field for the Number of Modes, a button for access to the Modes Calculator, and a table
3.
In general, Floquet modes are specified by two modal indices and a polarization setting. These designations resemble the textbook notation for rectangular waveguide modes, such as ``TE10''. The default mode table specifies a pair of Floquet modes. The default modes both have modal indices equal to zero and are sometimes called the "specular" modes. Specular modes are always an essential part of the Floquet mode set, but sometimes one of the two polarizations may be omitted. For general frequency and scan conditions, other higher-order Floquet modes will be required. A modes calculator, invoked by selecting the Modes Calculator button, is available to set these up for the user. The final column of the mode table is labeled "Attenuation". The numbers in the this column are computed by the modes calculator to help you decide which modes to keep. The values represent the modal loss in amplitude along the direction normal to the Floquet port plane in model units of dB per model unit length. You should keep in mind that the displayed attenuation for a mode is a function of both the frequency and the scan angle set specified in the modes calculator. When the later includes more than one scan direction, the attenuation displayed is the "worst case" in that it is the least amount of attenuation experienced by the mode over all the specified scan directions. Thus when the table gives a value of 0 dB, at one or more scan directions specified in the modes calculator the particular mode propagates without attenuation. Similarly, when the table displays, say 60 dB, a 60 dB per unit length is the least amount of attenuation at all specified scan directions. At any given direction, only the same or larger attenuations (for example, 70 dB per length) will occur.
9-22 Assigning Excitations
4.
It is generally good policy in terms of simulation efficiency as well as ease of interpretation of results, to eliminate any modes that are not necessary. Do this by editing the Number of Nodes value in the Modes Setup tab. Note that the list is trimmed from the bottom up. To change the order of items in the final Modes list, drag each corresponding line by the square box at the left of each row. Click Next for the Post Processing tab. This panel contains settings which affect the fields once the field solution is complete. To enable the Deembed settings, click the checkbox. This enables the distance and units field for the positive distance to deembed into the port, or negative distance to deembed out of the port. To set the distance graphically, click the Get Distance Graphically button.
5. 6. 7.
8.
Click Next for the 3D Refinement tab. This panel contains Affects Refinement checkboxes which allow you to specify Floquet modes in the 3D adaptive refinement process. Typically, you select no modes or only one or both specular (TE00 or TM00) modes. Selecting more than this may reduce the efficiency and accuracy of the solution process. In 3D adaptive refinement the generated mesh is a compromise which simultaneously represents the 3D field patterns of every mode included in the adapt process. If the field patterns of certain modes represent the fields of interest and others do not, excluding the latter from the adapt process will result in a "targeted" mesh that better represents the excitation field pattern. With this in mind, general guidelines follow. For antenna array simulations in which the active impedance or embedded-element pattern is sought, the Wave or Lumped ports modeling the feed structure provide the fields of interest. In this case, no Floquet modes should be included in the adapt process. On the other hand, if the per-cell RCS is of interest, one or both specular Floquet modes provide the fields of interest and should be included in the 3D adapt process by checking the corresponding Affects Refinement boxes. Similarly for a FSS simulation with two Floquet ports, specular modes provide the fields of interest and should be selected to participate in the 3D adapt process.
In certain simulations (for example, a frequency-selective surface) you will set up a second Floquet port. Note that when you do this that HFSS automatically copies the lattice vectors, modes table, and 3D refinement settings from the first Floquet port to the second. Related Topics Technical Notes: Master and Slave Boundaries Assigning Slave Boundaries Assigning Master Boundaries Technical Notes: Deembedding Technical Notes: Floquet Ports Getting Started Guides: Floquet Ports
Assigning Excitations 9-23
3.
Number of modes - you can trim this value later, as you learn which modes are needed and which are not. Frequency - if the problem setup contains one or more frequency sweeps, you usually set this value to the highest frequency. Scan Angles -enter the values and select units for Phi and Theta, including Start, Stop, and Step size. The Mode Table Calculator calculates a set of Floquet modes on the basis of all the angles defined. These inputs constitute the information required to create a set of recommended modes for the Floquet port. The inputs are used by the mode selection algorithm but do not affect the problem setup.
2.
Click OK to leave the Mode Table Calculator and to compute the recommended list of modes. The new modes table appears on the Modes Setup tab of the Floquet Port properties/setup window. The attenuation associated with a listed mode represents the minimum (or worst case) for that mode over the range of scan angles.
A calibration line that specifies the direction of the excitation field pattern at a port. An line along which to integrate E.dl to compute a voltage for Zpv or Zvi impedance of a port.
To define an integration line: 1. Go to the Modes tab for the port. If you are defining an integration line for an existing port, select the port excitation in the project tree, open the properties dialog for the Wave Port or Lumped Port dialog, and click the Modes tab. If you are defining a new port, select the appropriate object face, and click HFSS>Assign>Excitation> and the appropriate wave or lumped port. This displays the Create Port dialog, where you click Next or tab to show the Modes page. On the Modes tab or page, select New Line from the modes Integration Line list. The port dialog box disappears. Depending on the Modeler Options: Drawing tab selection, the Measure Data dialog appears while you draw the vector. The Measure Data dialog displays data for the face area, and the Positions for the reference point (start point) and end point (end point) as you define them. 3. Select the start point of the vector in one of the following ways:
2.
Click the point. The cursor moves only in plane of the face for which you are defining the port and line. Type the points coordinates in the X, Y, and Z boxes.
4.
Select the endpoint of the vector using the mouse or the keyboard. The endpoint defines the direction and length of the integration line. The Wave Port or Lumped Port dialog box reappears.
Note
You can select a drawing plane (for example, XY or XZ) to constrain the mouse cursor movement when you define the end point.
Related Topics Guidelines for Defining Integration Lines Duplicating Integration Lines Modifying an Integration Line Technical Notes: Setting the Field Pattern Direction
A calibration line that specifies the direction of the excitation field pattern at a port. If you are analyzing more than one mode at a port, define a separate integration line for each mode; the orientation of the electric field differs from mode to mode. An line along which to integrate E.dl to compute a voltage for Zpv or Zvi impedance of a port. In this case, select two points at which the voltage differential is expected to be at a maximum. For example, on a microstrip port, place one point in the center of the microstrip, and the other directly underneath it on the ground plane. In a rectangular waveguide, place the two points in the center of the longer sides. For definitions of how HFSS defines these Zpv and Zvi values, see Calculating the PV Impedance, and Calculating the VI Impedance.
b.
Click the point. Type the points coordinates in the in the X, Y, and Z boxes.
Select a second point using the mouse or the keyboard. This point defines the direction and distance from the anchor point to duplicate the line.
Assigning Excitations 9-27
The Duplicate Port Line dialog box appears. 5. Type the total number of lines, including the original and duplicates, to make in the Number of Duplicates box. If you type a value that is greater than the number of assigned modes, the extra duplicates will appear as gray integration lines until they are assigned to a mode. 6. 7. Optionally, select Assign to existing modes. The duplicates will be assigned to the modes defined for the port, beginning with the mode after the one with the line that was duplicated. Click OK. The duplicates are pasted along the vector you specified.
Select Swap Endpoints from the modes Integration Line list. The lines direction will be reversed.
Select Copy from Moden from the modes Integration Line list. The new integration line will have the same start and endpoints as the selected modes integration line.
Because differential pairs can span ports or occur within a port, the Differential Pairs command is accessible at corresponding levels in the Project tree via the right click menu both at the Excitations level, and at the port name level. If a differential pair involves terminals from two different ports, the Differential Pairs command for those ports can only be accessed at the Excitations level. If an individual wave port has multiple terminals defined, the Differential Pairs command is enabled when you select that port and right click to display the shortcut menu. In order to combine differential pairs across ports, both ports must have the same renormalization setting; that is, either port ports have "Do not renormalize" on, or both have it off.
To set up a differential pair: 1. Click HFSS>Excitations>Differential Pairs, or right-click on Excitations in the Project tree and click Differential Pairs on the shortcut menu, or, for a multi terminal wave port, select that port in the Project tree and click Differential Pairs on the shortcut menu. This displays the Differential Pairs window. This contains table headers for the rows of values defined for each pair. It also contains a field for the Renormalizing impedance value and units.
2.
Click New Pair. This adds existing pairs to the Terminals list, and sets default values for the Differential Mode and Common mode. All values can be edited. It also lists which terminal is Positive, which is Negative. By selecting the dropdown menus in these fields, you can reassign these values. The table row shows the checkbox for the newly defined pair as Active. Unchecking the box disables the definition for that pair. This can be useful if you later want to redefine terminal normalization, without having to remove the defined pair altogether.
3. 4.
If other pairs can be created from the existing Terminals, the New Pair button remains enabled. Under Differential Mode headers in the table, do the following: a. If desired, type a new name for the differential mode in the Name text box. The default base name is Diff. To specify a new default see: Setting Default Boundary/Excitation Base Names. Unless the Post Processing tab selection for the Port is set to Do Not Renormalize, you can edit the renormalize impedance value here. You can either specify a real valued renormalizing impedance for the differential mode in the Ref. Z text box or use the Full Port Renormalizing Impedance text box and the Set All Diff. Zref. button or the Set All Zref
b.
button to set the values. Note 5. The value fields in the table support Ctrl/C to copy selected text from a cell, and Ctrl/V to paste text to a selected cell.
Under Common Mode headers in the table, do the following: a. If desired, type a name for the common mode in the Name text box. The default base name is Comm To specify a new default name, see Setting Default Boundary/Excitation Base Names. Either specify a real valued renormalizing impedance for the common mode in the Ref. Z text box, or use the Full Port Renormalizing Impedance text box and the Set All Comm. Zref. button or the Set All Zref button to set the values.
b.
6.
If the New Pair button is enabled, you can define additional differential pairs. You can use the command buttons in the Differential Pairs window to Remove Pair, or Remove All Pairs.
7.
After HFSS has generated a solution, view the common and differential quantities of the differential pair under the Matrix tab of the Solution Data window. When the design has differential pairs (link), the reporter can display quantities for the defined pairs or for the single-ended terminals upon which they are based. A pulldown will appear in the Context area of the Report creation dialog which allows the user to select which quantities will be displayed.
You can freely mix differential and single-ended terminal quantities. However, single ended quantities are computed as if no differential pairs existed. So, in the unlikely case of several terminals where only a subset are combined into pairs, the results may not be as expected.
Related Topics For plotting differential pairs, see Creating a New Report and specifically see Context Section for Reports. Technical Notes: Computing Differential Pairs
Note
Whenever additions/changes are made to incident waves that affect fields, it invalidates those solutions that can possibly have fields. Meshes are not invalidated.
Using Field Solutions from Other Simulations HFSS and HFSS-IE can use field solutions from other simulations as sources for new simulations. The other simulations can be done in HFSS, in SIwave or in Maxwell3D. Some examples are (1) a detailed and optimized design of a cell phone radiating in a larger environment (HFSS-HFSS), (2) a complicated printed circuit board causing EMC/EMI problems in and around its housing (SIwave HFSS) or (3) an electromechanical component causing EMC/EMI problems in a vehicle (Maxwell3D - HFSS). In all cases, radiated fields from the "source" project are imposed as an incident wave in the "target" project. These radiated fields can both be far fields and near fields, depending on your judgment of what fits a particular situation. In the "target" project, they are defined through Incident Wave / Far Field
Wave and Incident Wave / Near-Field Wave. There, the link to the "source" project can be established. Note The environment variable SIWAVE_INSTALL_DIR should be set before executing the parent application like HFSS/Designer because SIwave is launched from HFSS/ Designer and not separately.
Also, in the "target" project, radiation boundaries with Advanced Options must be defined in order to specify where the fields from the "source" project enter the "target" project.
6. a. b. c.
To define an incident wave traveling in the positive z direction, enter (0, 0, 1) as the k vector coordinates. The magnitude of the E0 vector cannot be zero. k must be orthogonal to E0.
If you selected Spherical, the Incident Wave Source: Spherical Vector Setup page appears. Under IWavePhi, enter Start and Stop points and the number of sweep Points. Click View Point List to see the values of . Under IWaveTheta, enter values for Start, Stop, and Points. Click View Point List to see the values of . Enter the and components of E0 in the Phi and Theta boxes. A spherical grid is created when is swept through each point. At each grid point, an incident wave is present traveling towards the origin of the coordinate system for the
Assigning Excitations 9-33
design. The number of incident waves and grid points can be calculated by multiplying the number of points by the points. Note 7. 8. Only a single incident wave angle can be defined for periodic structures which are defined with master and slave boundaries
Click Next for the Incident Wave Source: Plane Wave Options page. Select the Type of Plane Wave. a. b. c. If you select Regular/Propagating, no other fields are active. If you select Evanescent, the Propagation Constant fields become active. Enter the Real and Imaginary parts of the Propagation Constant. If you select Elliptically Polarized, the Polarization Angle and Polarization Ratio fields become active. (See Polarization of the Electric Field for a technical discussion of polarization angles, and a definition of Polarization Ratio.) To restore the default (Regular/Propagating), click the Use Defaults button.
d. 9.
Click Finish.The incident wave you defined is added to the Excitations list in the Project.
Related Topics Active and Passive Excitation in HFSS Transient Technical Notes: Incident Waves Technical Notes: Evanescent Plane Wave Equations
b. c.
Under IWaveTheta, enter values for Start, Stop, and Points. Click View Point List to see the values of . Enter the and components of the vector I*Dipole Length in the Phi and Theta boxes. I is the current amplitude (peak value). Units are Amp-meters (A*m). (For Magnetic Dipole, step 10 shows the vector definition.) A spherical grid is created when is swept through each point. At each grid point, an incident wave is present traveling towards the origin of the coordinate system for the design. The number of incident waves and grid points can be calculated by multiplying the number of points by the points.
Note 6. 7.
Only a single incident wave angle can be defined for periodic structures which are defined with master and slave boundaries
Click Next. the Incident Wave Source: Hertzian-Dipole Wave Options page appears. Select the Radius of Surrounding Sphere. Inside this sphere, the field magnitude will be made equal to the field magnitude calculated on the surface of the sphere. To restore the default (10 mm), click the Use Defaults button. Specify the type of Dipole as Electric Dipole [Magnetic current loop] or Magnetic Dipole [Electric current loop]. If you select Magnetic Dipole [Electric Current Loop], and click the back button to view the Vector Setup, notice that the text indicates that the vector is now defined as: Im*dl*normal(LoopSurface)
8.
9.
Click Finish.The incident wave you defined is added to the Excitations list in the Project.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Incident Waves Technical Notes: Spherical Wave (Electric Hertzian Dipole) Equations Technical Notes: Spherical Wave (Magnetic Hertzian Dipole) Equations
amplitude (peak value). Units are Amps (A). A single incident wave will be defined. Continue with Step 8 below. 6. If you selected Spherical, the Incident Wave Source: Spherical Vector Setup page appears. a. b. c. Under IWavePhi, enter Start and Stop points and the number of sweep Points.: Click View Point List to see the values of . Under IWaveTheta, enter values for Start, Stop, and Points. Click View Point List to see the values of . Enter the and components of the I Vector in the Phi and Theta boxes. I is the current amplitude (peak value). Units are Amps (A). A spherical grid is created when is swept through each point. At each grid point, an incident wave is present traveling towards the origin of the coordinate system for the design. The number of incident waves and grid points can be calculated by multiplying the number of points by the points.
Note 7. 8.
Only a single incident wave angle can be defined for periodic structures which are defined with master and slave boundaries
Click Next. the Incident Wave Source: Cylindrical Wave Options page appears. Select the Radius of Surrounding Cylinder. Inside this cylinder, the field magnitude will be made equal to the field magnitude calculated on the surface of the cylinder. To restore the default (10 mm), click the Use Defaults button. Click Finish.The incident wave you defined is added to the Excitations list in the Project.
9.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Incident Waves Technical Notes: Cylindrical Wave Equations
Note
When entering the propagation vector, k, and E-field polarization vector, E0, using Cartesian coordinates, keep the following guidelines in mind:
6. a. b. c.
To define an incident wave traveling in the positive z direction, enter (0, 0, 1) as the k vector coordinates. The magnitude of the E0 vector cannot be zero. k must be orthogonal to E0.
If you selected Spherical, the Incident Wave Source: Spherical Vector Setup page appears. Under IWavePhi, enter Start and Stop points and the number of sweep Points. Click View Point List to see the values of . Under IWaveTheta, enter values for Start, Stop, and Points. Click View Point List to see the values of . Enter the and components of E0 in the Phi and Theta boxes. A spherical grid is created when is swept through each point. At each grid point, an incident wave is present traveling towards the origin of the coordinate system for the design. The number of incident waves and grid points can be calculated by multiplying the number of points by the points.
Note 7. 8.
Only a single incident wave angle can be defined for periodic structures which are defined with master and slave boundaries
Click Next. The Incident Wave Source: Gaussian Beam Options page appears. Select the Beam Width at Focal Point. By definition, this refers to the radius (wo) of the beam waist (not the diameter), where the beam waist is the minimum width. To restore the default (10 mm), click the Use Defaults button. Click Finish.The incident wave you defined is added to the Excitations list in the Project.
9.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Incident Waves Technical Notes: Gaussian Beam Equations
2. 3. 4. 5.
Select the Vector Input Format as Cartesian or Spherical coordinates. Enter the X-, Y-, and Z-coordinates of the Excitation Location and/or Zero Phase Position (the origin for the incident wave). Click Next. If you selected Cartesian, the Incident Wave Source: Cartesian Vector Setup page appears. Enter the X-, Y-, and Z-components for the I Vector in the X, Y, and Z boxes. I is the antenna current amplitude (peak value). Units are Amps (A). A single incident wave will be defined. Continue with Step 8 below. If you selected Spherical, the Incident Wave Source: Spherical Vector Setup page appears. a. b. c. Under IWavePhi, enter Start and Stop points and the number of sweep Points.: Click View Point List to see the values of . Under IWaveTheta, enter values for Start, Stop, and Points. Click View Point List to see the values of . Enter the and components of the I Vector in the Phi and Theta boxes. I is the antenna current amplitude (peak value). Units are Amps (A). A spherical grid is created when is swept through each point. At each grid point, an
6.
incident wave is present traveling towards the origin of the coordinate system for the design. The number of incident waves and grid points can be calculated by multiplying the number of points by the points. Note 7. 8. 9. Only a single incident wave angle can be defined for periodic structures which are defined with master and slave boundaries
Click Next. The Incident Wave Source: Linear Antenna Wave Options page appears. Select the Length of the Antenna. Select the Radius of Surrounding Cylinder. Inside this cylinder, the field magnitude will be made equal to the field magnitude calculated on the surface of the cylinder.
10. To restore the defaults (10 mm), click the Use Defaults button. 11. Click Finish.The incident wave you defined is added to the Excitations list in the Project. Related Topics Technical Notes: Incident Waves Technical Notes: Linear Antenna Equations
3.
As the Source of Field Data, you can specify either: A Linked Design, for which you click the Setup Link button. An External Data file defining the incident wave, for which you select the ellipsis button to browse for the file.
Assigning Excitations 9-39
4. 5.
If necessary, specify the Translation of Source Origin Relative to this design. If needed check to show that Source Design is Fully Inside This Design. When a source project is totally inside the target project, it should not be included into the near/far field calculation. If it is totally outside, the far field calculation should integrate over the radiation surfaces of the source project, too.
6.
If needed check to Include Source Power in Antenna Parameters. The antenna parameters include power-related entries such as incident power, accepted power, radiated power. If you check Include Source Power in Antenna Parameters the antenna parameters in the design that receives the fields from a "source" design will be based on the power set for the excitations in the "source" design under HFSS>Fields >Edit Sources. For instance, this can be the power with which a port in a source antenna is excited. If the antenna in a source design is excited with 10 W, then the antenna parameters panel in the receiving design will show an incident power of 10 W. See Computing Antenna Parameters for a description of how to obtain antenna parameters during post processing.
7.
Click Finish to close the dialog. The Far Field wave source point and direction is highlighted in the modeler window, and the wave appears in the Excitations list in the Project.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Incident Waves Clear Linked Data Using Field Solutions from Other Simulators
1. 2.
Select the Product from the menu. Specify the Source Project for the design that is the source of the Far Field or Near Field wave. If you check Use This Project, the field for the project name is automatically filled in and editing is disabled. It also disables the radio button to specify whether to save the source path relative to The project directory of the source project or This project. If you clear Use This Project, you can type in a path, or use a browse button [...] to navigate your file system for a source project. When you specify a project, you can use the radio button to specify whether to save the source path relative to The project directory of the source project or This project.
3.
Specify the Design for the source of the Far Field or Near Field wave. If the source is in the current design, you can select this from a drop down menu. If you select the current model, the Project File is automatically filled in. The source design does not need to have ports. Specify the Solution to use. A drop down list lets you select from the available solutions. The "Default" solution is the product dependent solution of the first Setup. That is the setup listed first in the source design's project tree (alphanumerical order). A product specific solution of this setup becomes the default solution. In most products, it is Last-
4. 5. 6.
Adaptive. In a Transient solution type, it is "Transient." Note The solution in the source design must provide data for the target design's adaptive frequency as well as its sweeps. That is, the adaptive frequency for the target design must be included in the sweep in the source design. If necessary, you can open the source design and add an appropriate frequency point to an existing sweep. 7. 8. Use the checkbox specify whether to Force source design to solve in the absence of linked data in the target design. Use the checkbox to specify whether to preserve the source design solution. Note that in Extractor mode, the source project will be saved upon exit. Extractor mode means that the software is opened during the link solely for the purpose of solving. Under the Variable Mapping tab, you can set the desired variable values in the source design. If the source and target designs contain same named variables, you can choose to Map Variable By Name. In this case, same named variables are mapped automatically.
9.
10. Click OK to close the Setup Link window and return to the Far Field Incident Wave Source window or the Near Field Incident Wave Source window.
Repeat for all theta and phi sweep points If the file contains frequency-dependent far fields, the data is given in blocks. Keywords (shown in bold below) are used to identify the frequency information. After initial data for theta and phi, the file has a keyword and integer for the number of frequencies. Then there is a block for the far fields at each frequency. Each block starts with a keyword and double for the frequency, followed by the far field data, given exactly as shown for the constant case above.
ThetaStart ThetaStop ThetaNumPoints PhiStart PhiStop PhiNumPoints Frequencies Frequency E_theta_real E_theta_real E_theta_real NumFrequencies FrequencyValue E_theta_imag E_theta_imag E_theta_imag E_phi_real E_phi_real E_phi_real E_phi_imag E_phi_imag E_phi_imag
repeat for all theta and phi sweep points Frequency E_theta_real E_theta_real E_theta_real FrequencyValue E_theta_imag E_theta_imag E_theta_imag E_phi_real E_phi_real E_phi_real E_phi_imag E_phi_imag E_phi_imag
repeat for all theta and phi sweep points repeat for a total of NumFrequencies
11. Enter the X-, Y-, and Z-coordinates of the Excitation Location and/or Zero Phase Position (the origin for the incident wave). This represents the translation of the source designs origin with respect to the target designs origin. For instance, if the source designs origin is located in the target design at (-2, -2, 1), then the translation between the two coordinate systems is (-2, -2, 1). 12. You can define the Rotation of this Design Relative to the Source Design Euler Angles. Similarly to the definition of translation, these angles represent the three rotations that the source design must undergo to align with the target designs coordinate system. Enter the Euler angles in the respective text fields and use the pull-down menus to specify the units (degrees or radians):
Phi (+ or - rotation about the Z-axis). Theta (+ or - rotation about the X-axis). Psi (+ or - rotation about resultant Z-axis).
X,Y, Z Source Coordinate System X", Y", Z" Source Coordinate System After Rotation by [phi]
the linked design orientation relative to this design. 2. 3. After closing the Setup Link dialog, if necessary, specify the Translation of Source Origin Relative to this design. If needed check to show that Source Design is Fully Inside This Design. When a source project is totally inside the target project, it should not be included into the near/far field calculation. If it is totally outside, the far field calculation should integrate over the radiation surfaces of the source project, too. 4. If needed check to Include Source Power in Antenna Parameters. The antenna parameters include power-related entries such as incident power, accepted power, radiated power. If you check Include Source Power in Antenna Parameters the antenna parameters in the design that receives the fields from a "source" design will be based on the power set for the excitations in the "source" design under HFSS>Fields >Edit Sources. For instance, this can be the power with which a port in a source antenna is excited. If the antenna in a source design is excited with 10 W, then the antenna parameters panel in the receiving design will show an incident power of 10 W. See Computing Antenna Parameters for a description of how to obtain antenna parameters during post processing. 5. Click Finish to close the dialog. The Near Field wave source point and direction is highlighted in the modeler window, and the wave appears in the Excitations list in the Project.
Note
The Near field link uses a default mesh density on the surfaces that link to the other design. If this default mesh density is not sufficient to obtain a desired accuracy, you can select these surfaces and assign a surface mesh seeding. Once the Near Field link has obtained the near fields from the other design, it continues to work with this information regardless of later mesh changes that resulted from adaptive passes or mesh operations. To enforce the Dynamic Link to use a newly seeded mesh, clear the linked data by using Clear Linked Data.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Incident Waves Clear Linked Data Using Field Solutions from Other Simulators
HFSS-IE Link
You can link HFSS and HFSS-IE projects. This link is controlled with a "Near Field" or "Far-Field" Incident Wave source that is grouped with the Excitations.
2. 3.
Type the value of the source, in volts or amps, in the Magnitude box. You can assign a variable as this value. You can also specify the Phase. Specify the direction of the electric field by drawing a vector.
When the source is selected, an arrow indicates the direction and a letter v indicates the type of source. Related Topics Active and Passive Excitation in HFSS Transient
The start and endpoints of the E-field line are switched; the lines direction is reversed.
2. 3.
Type the value of the source, in volts or amps, in the Magnitude box. You can assign a variable as this value. You can also specify the Phase. Specify the current flow direction by drawing a vector:
When the source is selected, an arrow indicates the direction and a letter i indicates the type of source. Related Topics Active and Passive Excitation in HFSS Transient
Select Swap Endpoints from the Current Flow Direction pull-down list.
The start and endpoints of the current flow line are switched; the lines direction is reversed.
9-50 Assigning Excitations
If you selected Non-uniform, select the Setup Link... button to display the Setup Link dialog. Under the General tab, do the following: a. Select the radio button for Extractor Mode (the default) or Interactive Mode. Note that in Extractor mode, the source project will be saved upon exit. Extractor mode means that the software is opened during the link solely for the purpose of solving. Selecting Interactive Mode launches Maxwell. (If you open the Setup dialog for a pre-existing Magnetic Bias source, the General tab shows radio buttons for View Only and Edit Link. With View Only selected (the default), all of the link settings are grayed out. Selecting Edit Link enables the fields and changes the radio buttons to Extractor Mode and Interactive Mode.) b. Type the name of a Maxwell 3D Field Simulator project in the Project File box, or click the ellipsis [...] browse button display a file browser to select the project. HFSS uses the Maxwell 3D project as the source of the non-uniform magnetostatic field information during solution generation. Linking invokes a Maxwell 3D window to provide the solution for the targeted HFSS project. c. d. If there are multiple designs available for the project, you can select from the drop down menu. If there are multiple solutions available, you can select from the drop-down menu.
The "Default" solution is the product dependent solution of the first Setup. That is the setup listed first in the source design's project tree (alphanumerical order). A product specific solution of this setup becomes the default solution. In most products, it is LastAdaptive. In a Transient solution type, it is "Transient."
e. f.
Use the radio button to specify whether to save the source path relative to The project directory of the source project or This project. Use the checkbox specify whether to Force source design to solve in the absence of
Assigning Excitations 9-51
linked data in the target design. g. Use the checkbox to specify whether to preserve the source design solution. Note that in Extractor mode, the source project will be saved upon exit. Extractor mode means that the software is opened during the link solely for the purpose of solving.
The Setup Link dialog also contains a Variable Mapping tab. It lists variables available within the Maxwell 3D Field Simulator and the value can (and often will) be a variable in the HFSS Setup. You can edit the Value fields by typing, and the Units fields by selecting from a drop down list. You can choose to Map Variable By Name. In this case, same named variables have their values mapped automatically. Different named variables are unaffected. To accept the settings and close the Setup Link dialog, click OK 5. Click Finish to close the Magnetic Bias wizard. The magnetic bias source is assigned to the selected object. If you have set up a link, HFSS invokes a Maxwell 3D window to provide the solution for the targeted HFSS project. You can also access and edit the magnetic bias source information via the Properties dialog for the source. Magnetic bias sources always have the lowest priority compared to boundaries and other excitations in the solver view.
Note
The Tools>Options>HFSS Options dialog has a setting for Use wizards for data input when creating new boundaries that controls the appearance of the Next button.
Related Topics Reprioritizing Boundaries and Excitations. Technical Notes: Magnetic Bias Sources Technical Notes: Uniform Applied Bias Fields Technical Notes: Non-uniform Applied Bias Fields Technical Notes: Magnetic Saturation
Magnetic Bias source Near Field Wave source Far Field Wave source Initial Mesh source Screening Impedance Boundaries
Use the hypertext links above to see the procedure for setting the link of interest. You can link HFSS and HFSS-IE projects. This link is controlled with a "Near Field" or "Far-Field" Incident Wave source that is grouped with the Excitations. Related Topics Clear Linked Data Export Results to Thermal Link for ANSYS Mechanical
Modifying Excitations
To change the properties of an excitation, do one of the following:
Double-click the excitations icon under Excitations in the project tree. The excitations properties window appears, in which you can modify its properties. Right-click the excitation in the project tree, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu. The excitations dialog box appears, in which you can modify its properties. On the HFSS menu, click List. The Design List dialog box appears. Under the Excitations tab, you can modify the properties of one or more boundaries.
Deleting Excitations
To delete one excitation: 1. 2. Select the excitation you want to delete by clicking its icon in the project tree. Click Edit>Delete . The excitation is removed from the design and the project tree. For terminal solutions, if you delete a port with terminals associated with it, deleting the port also removes the associated terminals. To delete all excitations:
1. 2. 3.
Click HFSS>Excitations>Delete All. Click HFSS>List. The Design List dialog box appears. Under the Excitations tab, click the row of the excitation you want to delete. Click Delete.
You can also delete one or more excitations in the Design List dialog box:
Reassigning Excitations
You can reassign an excitation to another surface. This is useful when you have modified objects with assigned excitations, invalidating the excitations. For example, if you unite two objects with assigned excitations, the second objects excitation will become invalid because united objects maintain the characteristics of the first object selected. In this case, you would need to reassign the excitation or delete it. 1. 2. 3. Select the object or object face to which you want to assign an existing excitation. Click HFSS>Excitations>Reassign. The Reassign Excitation window appears. Select an existing excitation from the list, and then click OK. The excitation is reassigned to the object or object face. Note When reassigning an excitation that includes vectors in its definition, HFSS attempts to preserve the vectors with the new assignment, but this is not always possible.
Note 1. 2. 3.
Changing the impedance multiplier invalidates solutions in projects where lumped ports are defined. In such projects, you need to re-solve the project after the change.
Click HFSS>Excitations>Edit Impedance Multiplier. The Port Impedance Multiplier dialog box appears. Type a value in the Impedance Multiplier box. You can assign a variable as this value. Click OK.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Symmetry and Port Impedance Technical Notes: Impedance Multipliers
Renormalizing S-Matrices
You can renormalize an S-matrix to a specific port impedance when you set up a wave port. (It is the final step in the Wave Port wizard.) Or you can return to the Wave Port dialog box by doubleclicking the wave port icon in the project tree, and then clicking the Post Processing tab. For driven modal problems, you can also edit the renormalization settings and impedance value in the wave port Properties dialog. To renormalize an S-matrix to a specific port impedance: 1. If you have already set up the wave port on the desired object face, double-click the wave ports icon in the project tree. The Wave Port dialog box appears. 2. Click the Post Processing tab. The Port Renormalization choices include:
Do Not Renormalize (the default) Renormalize All Modes. This enables the Full Port Impedance text box. The default impedance for re-normalization of each port is 50 ohms.
For a driven modal solution, if you want to enter a complex impedance, enter it in the follow-
ing form:
<re> + <im>j
(For a driven terminal solution using a waveport, only the real part of the impedance is required.)
3.
If there are multiple modes, you can select Renormalize Specific Modes. This enables the Edit Mode Impedances button. This opens a editable table with the impedances for each mode.
For wave ports in driven modal problems, if you choose to edit the renormalize values through the Properties dialog: 1. 2. 3. Select the wave port to edit. The docked Properties dialog shows the properties for the wave port. Check the Renormalize All Modes box. This enables the Renorm Imped field. Set the Impedance value. You do not need to re-run a simulation in order to renormalize a port. Post-processing reports are automatically updated to reflect the renormalized S-matrix. If you export matrix data to Touchstone format, you can choose to override the renormalization impedances set here. See Exporting Matrix Data. Related Topics Exporting Matrix Data
9-60 Assigning Excitations
Note
De-embedding S-Matrices
To compute a de-embedded S-matrix: 1. If you have already set up the wave port on the desired object face, double-click the wave ports icon in the project tree. The Wave Port dialog box appears. 2. 3. Click the Post Processing tab. Select Deembed, and then, either:
Enter the length to be added in the Distance text box. A positive value de-embeds into the port. A negative value de-embeds out of the port. You can assign a variable as this value. Alternatively, click Get Distance Graphically to draw a line with a length representing the de-embed distance. After you draw the line in the 3D window, the Distance field shows the specified distance. You can edit this value.
After you enter the value, a blue arrow depicts the embedding distance in the model window while the port is selected. After you enter the value, a blue arrow depicts the de-embedding distance in the graphics window while the port is selected. In cases of a unit cell modelling equivalent screening impedance, the de-embedding distances should point to the nearest surfaces of the substrate even if there is a thickness between these surfaces. Note that a very thick substrate may lead to inaccurate results because HFSS replaces the composite material of the substrate with a sheet. Note Deembedding the reference plane of a port with a decaying propagation constant can result in nonphysical values due to numerical uncertainties. When some of the S parameters are below the noise floor of the numerical simulation, deembedding them into the object with a long distance and/or a high decaying factor can magnify the uncertain low values to non-physical ones. Hint: Avoid deembedding with long distances when the real part of the propagation constant is not small enough. 4. Click OK to assign that length to the selected port. You do not need to re-run a simulation in order to de-embed the S-matrix. Postprocessing reports are automatically updated to reflect the de-embedded S-matrix.
Note
10
Assigning Materials
You can add, remove, and edit materials in two main ways:
Using the Tools>Edit Configured Libraries>Materials menu command. Right-clicking Materials in the project tree and selecting Edit All Libraries.
Editing definitions from the project window does not modify the configured libraries for any particular design. To consider the current design, use the Tools>Edit Configured Libraries option. Doing so ensures that new libraries are added to the configured list for the current design. If you edit materials from this command for the current and then export them, they will also be available to assign to objects in other designs. To assign a material to an object, follow this general procedure: 1. 2. Select the object to which you want to assign a material. Click Modeler>Assign Material . The Select Definition window appears. When the Show all libraries checkbox is selected, the window lists all of the materials in Ansofts global material library as well as the projects local material library. You can also open the Select Definition window in one of the following ways:
In the Properties dialog box for the object, click the material name under the Attributes tab. A drop-down menu shows an Edit... button that opens the Select Definition window. The menu also lists materials included in the current project. Selecting one of these materials provides another way to assign materials to an object.
Right-click Model in the project tree, and then click Assign Material on the shortcut menu. Right-click the object in the history tree, and then click Assign Material on the shortcut menu.
3.
Select a material from the list. You can search the listed materials by name or property value.
Note
If the material you want to assign is not listed, add a new material to the global or local material library, and then select it. 4. Click OK. The material you chose is assigned to the object.
Note
For HFSS-IE, problems with dielectrics will generally run more slowly, so HFSS-IE issues a warning for this case. In HFSS-IE:
Only isotropic materials are allowed Frequency dependent materials are allowed. No spatial dependent materials are allowed. You cannot set background material in the solver. Solver assumes vacuum as background material.
Note
In the history tree, by default, HFSS groups objects by material. To change the default, select the object icon and right-click to display the Group Objects by Material checkbox.
Related Topics Solve Inside or On a Surface Assigning DC Thickness Searching for Materials Adding New Materials Assigning Material Property Types Defining Variable Material Properties Defining Frequency Dependent Material Properties Defining Material Properties as Expressions Defining Functional Material Properties Viewing and Modifying Material Attributes Validating Materials Copying Materials Removing Materials Export Materials to a Library
10-2 Assigning Materials
Sorting Materials Filtering Materials Working with Materials Libraries Setting the Temperature of Objects
HFSS implicitly places a finite conductivity boundary condition on the surfaces of an object that should not be solved inside based on the material properties of that object. You can also incorporate a DC Thickness for the implicit boundary condition by setting an appropriate thickness value as described in Assigning DC Thickness. Related Topics Assigning DC Thickness
Assigning DC Thickness
You can select the Assign DC Thickness option to more accurately compute DC resistance of a thin conducting object for which Solve Inside is not selected. Skin impedance of the object will be calculated using the defined finite thickness, which can be Automatic (the default), Manually assigned per object, or Infinite per object. This option also exists for finite conductivity boundaries. The Assign DC Thickness option on the HFSS>Boundaries menu is enabled if at least one object contains a good conducting isotropic material (such as copper), and the Solve Inside property is not selected. If the object meets these conditions, you can assign a DC thickness, either by enabling the automatic default, or by specifying a value for a selected object. To see the Assign DC Thickness dialog: 1. Select HFSS>Boundaries>Assign DC Thickness. This displays the Thickness of Objects for DC Resistance dialog with the DC Thickness tab selected. Objects to which the thickness can be applied are listed in the Object Name column.
2.
Select the objects to assign a value. You can select objects either by:
Clicking on the Object Name to highlight it. Use the Select By Name field to type the object name, and click the Search button. The first object to match the name is highlighted.
Selecting an object highlights the Thickness field and the Set Thickness button.
Assigning Materials 10-5
3.
In the Use Thickness column, you can specify that the value the object uses is Automatic, Infinite, or Manual. You can disable automatic assignment on the Defaults tab of the Assign DC Thickness dialog. The Automatic value is calculated as Thickness ~ 2* Volume / Surface Area It should be noted that this is a calculation for an "effective" DC thickness to be used by the correction calculation. For a "thin" object this will work well. For example, a rectangular microstrip trace described by a box with dimensions 100 by 10 by 1 the volume is 1000 and the surface area is 2022 resulting in an apparent thickness of .99891, close to the geometric thickness of "1". For arbitrary shapes of "thicker" objects, this calculation will not work as well. For example, a cube with sides of 1 will have volume of 1 and surface area of 6, and a resulting apparent thickness of .3333. Another example is the case of a cylindrical wire (e.g. bond wire). In this case, the automatic effective DC thickness will be about Ro, which gives us the best approximation of the DC resistance of a cylindrical wire. The intention is that the auto-thickness will provide an accurate representation the majority of the time and is superior to not using any DC thickness setting. When the automatic value is not appropriate, you can override it using the manual technique. DC thickness impedance is an approximation. It is accurate just for TE/TM waves when the widths are infinite which clearly never occurs in a "real" design. The fact that the object is finite causes an increase of the effective impedance due to current crowding/edge effects. Thus entering the exact geometrical thickness would actually underestimates the impedance. By returning a DC thickness smaller than the geometric thickness the automatic DC thickness compensates for this underestimation resulting in a slightly higher impedance as desired.
4.
To manually apply a value, enter a Thickness value, select the units and click the Set Thickness button. This applies the value to the selected object and changes the Use Thickness selection for that object to Manual.
Note 5.
If you enter a 0 for the thickness, HFSS gives a warning that this will cause infinite impedance that causes isolation.
To change the value, select the Clear Thickness button and then enter a different value. You can also manually select or deselect the box and manually enter or delete a thickness value in the table. When you have assigned the values you need, click OK to close the dialogue.
6.
1. 2.
Use the keyboards arrow keys to scroll up or down the list of materials. Type a new material name in the Search by Name text box. In the Search Criteria area of the Select Definition window, select by Property. Select a material property from the pull-down list: By default, not all of the available properties are displayed in the materials table. Only the properties commonly used by the product are displayed. To view the complete table of properties, see Filtering Materials.
Note
3.
In the Search Parameters area, type a value for the property in the Search by Property text box, and then click Search. The materials are sorted according to the value you entered. The material with the property value closest to the one you typed will be selected.
If the selected material is not the one you are searching for, do one of the following:
Use the keyboards arrow keys to scroll up or down the list of materials. Type a new value in the Search by Property text box.
Click Modeler>Assign Material. The Select Definition dialog box appears. Click Tools>Edit Configured Libraries>Materials. (In the project tree, you can also rightclick Materials, and select Edit All Libraries.) The Edit Libraries dialog box appears. From either the Select Definition dialog box or the Edit Libraries dialog box, click Add Material. The View/Edit Material dialog box appears. Type a name for the material in the Material Name text box, or accept the default. Select one of the following from the Material Coordinate System Type pull-down list:
2. 3.
4.
Use the radio buttons in the View/Edit section to specify whether the new materials apply to Active Design, This Product, or All Products.
Active Design to display properties used in the active design. This Product to display properties commonly used by this product. All Products to display all properties available. This enlarges the table of properties to show all properties possible. You can use the scroll bars or size the dialog to see all properties.
You can also enable the View/ Edit Modifier checkbox for Thermal Modifier. Checking this box causes the Thermal Column to display at the right side of the Properties of the Material table. Selecting Edit rather than None causes display of the Edit Thermal Modifier dialog. 5. 6. Type a new name for the material in the Material Name text box or accept the default. Select a material property type - Simple or Anisotropic - for each property from the Type
pull-down list. Note By default, not all of the available properties are displayed in the materials table. Only the properties commonly used by the product are displayed. To view the complete table of properties, see Filtering Materials.
7.
If the material is linear, enter values for the following material properties in the Value boxes:
Relative Permeability Relative Permittivity Bulk Conductivity Dielectric Loss Tangent, Magnetic Loss Tangent
If the material is a ferrite, enter a value greater than 0 in the Magnetic Saturation Value box. You may also choose to enter values in the Lande G Factor and Delta H Value boxes. Because Delta H values are measured at specific frequencies, you should also enter a - Measured Frequency value (default 9.4 Ghz). Note 8. 9. You may enter a variable name or mathematical expression in the Value box.
If one or more of the material properties are dependent on frequency, click Set Frequency Dependency, and then follow the directions for defining frequency dependent materials. To modify the units for a material property, double-click the Units box, and then select a new unit system. The new material is added to the material library.
10. Click OK. Related Topics Defining Variable Material Properties Assigning Material Property Types Defining Frequency-Dependent Material Properties Specifying Thermal Modifiers
If the material property is anisotropic, its characteristics are defined by its anisotropy tensor. You must define three diagonals for anisotropic permittivity, electric loss tangent, conductivity, permeability, and magnetic loss tangent. Each diagonal represents a tensor of your model along an axis.
These tensors are relative to the coordinate system specified as the objects Orientation property. By specifying different orientations, several objects can share the same anisotropic material but be oriented differently. Related Topics Setting Coordinate Systems Creating a Relative Coordinate System Change the Orientation of an object Defining Anisotropic Relative Permeability Tensors Defining Anisotropic Relative Permittivity Tensors Defining Anisotropic Conductivity Tensors Defining Anisotropic Dielectric Loss Tangent Tensors Defining Magnetic Loss Tangent Tensors
If the relative permeability is the same in all directions, use the same values for each axis. These values can also be defined as variables. Related Topics Technical Notes: Anisotropic Relative Permeability Tensors Setting Coordinate Systems Creating a Relative Coordinate System Change the Orientation of an object Defining Anisotropic Relative Permittivity Tensors Defining Anisotropic Conductivity Tensors
10-10 Assigning Materials
Defining Anisotropic Dielectric Loss Tangent Tensors Defining Magnetic Loss Tangent Tensors
If the relative permittivity is the same in all directions, use the same values for each axis. These values can also be defined as variables. Related Topics Technical Notes: Anisotropic Relative Permittivity Tensors Setting Coordinate Systems Creating a Relative Coordinate System Change the Orientation of an object Defining Anisotropic Relative Permeability Tensors Defining Anisotropic Conductivity Tensors Defining Anisotropic Dielectric Loss Tangent Tensors Defining Magnetic Loss Tangent Tensors
2. 3. 4.
Enter the conductivity along one axis of the materials conductivity tensor in the Value box of the T(1,1) row. Enter the conductivity along the second axis in the Value box of the T(2,2) row. Enter the conductivity along the third axis in the Value box of the T(3,3) row.
The values of the conductivity along the first and second axis apply to all axes that lie in the xy cross-section being modeled. The values of the conductivity along the third axis applies to the zcomponent. These values affect current flowing in dielectrics between the conductors. These values can also be defined as variables. Related Topics Technical Notes: Anisotropic Conductivity Tensors Setting Coordinate Systems Creating a Relative Coordinate System Change the Orientation of an object Defining Anisotropic Relative Permeability Tensors Defining Anisotropic Relative Permittivity Tensors Defining Anisotropic Dielectric Loss Tangent Tensors Defining Magnetic Loss Tangent Tensors
If the electric loss tangent is the same in all directions, use the same values for each direction. These values can also be defined as variables.
10-12 Assigning Materials
Related Topics Technical Notes: Anisotropic Dielectric Loss Tangent Tensors Setting Coordinate Systems Creating a Relative Coordinate System Change the Orientation of an object Defining Anisotropic Relative Permeability Tensors Defining Anisotropic Relative Permittivity Tensors Defining Anisotropic Conductivity Tensors Defining Magnetic Loss Tangent Tensors
If the magnetic loss tangent is the same in all directions, use the same values for each direction. These values can also be defined as variables. Related Topics Technical Notes: Anisotropic Magnetic Loss Tangent Tensors Setting Coordinate Systems Creating a Relative Coordinate System Change the Orientation of an object Defining Anisotropic Relative Permeability Tensors Defining Anisotropic Relative Permittivity Tensors Defining Anisotropic Conductivity Tensors Defining Anisotropic Dielectric Loss Tangent Tensors
Assigning Materials 10-13
Related Topics Working with Variables Assigning Material Property Types Defining Frequency-Dependent Material Properties Specifying Thermal Modifiers
2.
In the Frequency Dependent Material Setup Option window, do one of the following:
Select Piecewise Linear Input. This defines the material property values as a restricted form of piecewise linear model with exactly 3 segments (flat, linear, flat). You will specify the property's values at an upper and lower corner frequency. Between these corner frequencies, HFSS linearly interpolates the material properties; above and below the corner frequencies, HFSS extrapolates the property values as constants. This dataset can be modified with additional points if desired. Select Debye Model Input. This is a single-pole model for the frequency response of a lossy dielectric material. In some materials, up to about a 10-GHz limit, ion and dipole polarization dominate and a single pole Debye model is adequate. HFSS allows you to specify an upper and lower measurement frequency, and the loss tangent and relative permittivity values at these frequencies. You may optionally enter the permittivity at optical frequency, the DC conductivity, and a constant relative permeability. Select Multipole Debye Model Input. This lets you provide the data of relative permittivity and loss tangent versus frequency. Based on this data the software dynamically generates frequency dependent expressions for relative permittivity and loss tangent through the Multipole Debye Model. The input dialog plots these expressions together with your input data through the linear interpolations.
The generated expressions provide the new value for the material properties of relative permittivity and loss tangent. Both the expressions and data triples can be saved and reloaded.
Select Djordjevic-Sarkar Model Input. This model was developed for low-loss dielecAssigning Materials 10-15
tric materials (particularly FR-4) commonly used in printed circuit boards and packages. In effect, it uses an infinite distribution of poles to model the frequency response, and in particular the nearly constant loss tangent, of these materials. HFSS allows you to enter the relative permittivity and loss tangent at a single measurement frequency. You may optionally enter the relative permittivity and conductivity at DC. If you try to enter invalid values for the Djordjevic-Sarkar model, you receive error messages.
3.
Select Enter Frequency Dependent Data Points. This allows you to enter, import or edit frequency dependent data sets for each material property. Any number of data points may be entered. This is an arbitrary piecewise linear model.
Click OK. A dialog appears, based on your selection. Piecewise Linear Input Debye Model Input Multipole Debye Model Input Djordjevic-Sarkar Enter Frequency Dependent Data Points After you have entered the data for your selection, you return to the View/Edit Material window. New default function names appear in the material property text boxes. HFSS automatically created a dataset for each material property. Based on a varying propertys dataset, HFSS can interpolate the propertys values at the desired frequencies during solution generation. To modify the dataset with additional points, see Modifying Datasets.
Note
Neither the piecewise or the loss models ask for frequency dependent conductivity because there the constant sigma represents the DC loss and the frequency dependent loss tangent represents the polarization losses.
Related Topics Piecewise Linear Input Debye Model Input Multipole Debye Model Input Djordjevic-Sarkar Enter Frequency Dependent Data Points Technical Notes: Frequency-Dependent Material Properties Modifying Datasets
HFSS assumes that the materials property values remain constant between these frequencies. 2. Enter the Upper and Lower Relative Permittivity of the material. If the permittivity of the material does not vary with frequency, enter the same value you entered for the permittivitys lower frequency.
3.
Follow the same procedure for entering values for permeability, dielectric loss tangent, and magnetic loss tangent. After you have entered the data for your selection, you return to the View/Edit Material window. New default function names appear in the material property text boxes. HFSS automatically created a dataset for each material property. Based on a varying propertys dataset, HFSS can interpolate the propertys values at the desired frequencies during solution generation. To modify the dataset with additional points, see Modifying Datasets.
Note
Neither the piecewise or the loss models ask for frequency dependent conductivity because there the constant sigma represents the DC loss and the frequency dependent loss tangent represents the polarization losses.
Related Topics Piecewise Linear Input Debye Model Input Multipole Debye Model Input Djordjevic-Sarkar
Assigning Materials 10-17
Enter Frequency Dependent Data Points Technical Notes: Frequency-Dependent Material Properties Modifying Datasets
HFSS assumes that the materials property values remain constant between these frequencies. 2. Enter the Upper and Lower Relative Permittivity of the material. If the permittivity of the material does not vary with frequency, enter the same value you entered for the permittivitys lower frequency
3. 4.
If you need to specify a value for a High/Optical Frequency, check the box to enable the value field. For Conductivity or Dielectric Loss Tangent, select the radio button for either At DC or for
After you have entered the data for your selection, you return to the View/Edit Material window. New default function names appear in the material property text boxes. HFSS automatically created a dataset for each material property. Based on a varying propertys dataset, HFSS can interpolate the propertys values at the desired frequencies during solution generation. To modify the dataset with additional points, see Modifying Datasets. Note Neither the piecewise or the loss models ask for frequency dependent conductivity because there the constant sigma represents the DC loss and the frequency dependent loss tangent represents the polarization losses.
Related Topics Piecewise Linear Input Multipole Debye Model Input Djordjevic-Sarkar Enter Frequency Dependent Data Points Technical Notes: Frequency-Dependent Material Properties Modifying Datasets
the good results, you should provide more than 5 frequency points.,
You can also import the data from a tab format text file.
The import data will be shown in the data table, and then can be modified. You can export current input data to a file. The file is a tab file with extension .tab (same as dataset import/export file). Below is an example of the file format. Each row provides Frequency (GHz), Permittivity, and Loss Tangent. 0.00001 0.00010 0.00100 0.01000 0.10000 1.00000 2.15444 3.17000 4.64160 10.0000 21.5444
10-20 Assigning Materials
3.8136 3.7914 3.7500 3.7119 3.6742 3.6354 3.6346 3.6325 3.6186 3.5777 3.5458
0.00128 0.00520 0.00700 0.00700 0.00700 0.00700 0.00702 0.01073 0.01500 0.01750 0.01750
During the data input, the frequency dependent expressions for permittivity or loss tangent are calculated using Multipole Debye model, and are plotted for reference. The input data are also linearly interpolated and drawn on the plot for comparison. .
2.
Based on this data the software dynamically generates frequency dependent expressions for relative permittivity and loss tangent through the Multipole Debye Model. The input dialog plots these expressions together with your input data through the linear interpolations.
The generated expressions provide the new value for the material properties of relative permittivity and loss tangent. Both the expressions and data triples can be exported and re-imported.
After you have entered the data for your selection, you return to the View/Edit Material winAssigning Materials 10-21
dow. New default function names appear in the material property text boxes. HFSS automatically created a dataset for each material property. Based on a varying propertys dataset, HFSS can interpolate the propertys values at the desired frequencies during solution generation. Piecewise Linear Input Debye Model Input Djordjevic-Sarkar Technical Notes: Frequency-Dependent Material Properties
2.
Enter the Properties at DC. This includes Conductivity and can include relative permittivity.
After you have entered the data for your selection, you return to the View/Edit Material window. New default function names appear in the material property text boxes. HFSS automatically created a dataset for each material property. Based on a varying propertys dataset, HFSS can interpolate the propertys values at the desired frequencies during solution generation. . Related Topics Piecewise Linear Input Debye Model Input
10-22 Assigning Materials
Multipole Debye Model Input Technical Notes: Frequency-Dependent Material Properties Modifying Datasets
Name: the name of the selected material property. Freq Dependent: Check the box to indicate if the property is expressed as frequencydependent dataset. If a property can not be set as frequency-dependent dataset, the cell is disabled. Dataset column: this is disabled unless Freq Dependent is checked or the property cannot be set as frequency dependent. When enabled, it contains a dropdown menu with a list
of existing datasets and the Add/Import dataset...to add or import new dataset.
2.
Freq As: after a dataset is successfully imported or added, there are two choices available: "X datapoint" or "Y datapoint".
If you select Add/Import dataset, the Add Dataset dialog appears. This contains the following fields:
The name field for the current dataset. The default is ds1. The Import from File button. This opens a file browser for you to select an existing dataset. The Coordinates table. This contains X and Y text fields in which you can enter data points. The values you add are interactively displayed on the graph to the right of the table. You can also Add rows above or below a selected row, Delete rows, or Append a specified number rows.
3. 4.
After you have specified or imported the data points, and OK the dialog, the Enter Frequency Data Points dialog shows the Dataset Name and the Freq As value. After you OK the Enter Frequency Dependent Data Points dialog shows the new values. After you have entered the data for your selection, you return to the View/Edit Material window. New default function names appear in the material property text boxes. HFSS automatically created a dataset for each material property. Based on a varying propertys dataset, HFSS can interpolate the propertys values at the desired frequencies during solution generation. To modify the dataset with additional points, see Modifying Datasets.
Note
Neither the piecewise or the loss models ask for frequency dependent conductivity because there the constant sigma represents the DC loss and the frequency dependent loss tangent represents the polarization losses.
Related Topics Piecewise Linear Input Debye Model Input Multipole Debye Model Input Djordjevic-Sarkar Technical Notes: Frequency-Dependent Material Properties Modifying Datasets
With the Quadratic radio button selected, in the Basic Coefficient tab, you can edit fields for the TempRef and units, and fields for C1 and C2 for the following equation: P(Temp) = Pref[1+ C1(Temp - TempRef) + C2(Temp - TempRef)^2]
Assigning Materials 10-25
With the Quadratic radio button selected, in the Advanced Coefficient Set tab, you can edit fields for lower and upper temperature limits (TL and TU respectively) and select their units from the drop down. You can also edit the constant value limit for the thermal modifier values outside the limits. By default, these are automatically calculated. Uncheck the Auto Calculate TML and TMU to specify new values for thermal modifier lower (TML) and thermal modifier upper (TMU).
4.
Click OK to accept the edits and return to the View/ Edit materials dialog.
2.
3.
Active Design to display properties used in the active design. This Product to display properties commonly used by this product. All Products to display all properties available. This enlarges the table of properties to show all properties possible. You can use the scroll bars or size the dialog to see all properties. Provide a new name for the material in the Material Name text box. Under Type, specify whether a material property is Simple, Anisotropic, Vector and Vector Mag, or for Relative Permeability, Non-linear, as required for that property. For Simple, you provide a value or variable. For Anisotropic, you provide tensor values. For Vector, you provide a Vector Mag. For Non-Linear, you provide a Data Set.
c. d. 4.
Provide new material property values in the Value boxes. Change the units for a material property.
Note: Materials stored in Ansofts global material library cannot be modified. Click OK to save the changes and return to the Select Definition window. If you modify a material that is assigned in the active project after generating a solution, the solution will be invalid.
Warning
Related Topics Validating Materials Defining Variable Material Properties Copying Materials Removing Materials Export Materials to a Library
10-28 Assigning Materials
Validating Materials
HFSS can validate a materials property parameters for an Ansoft software product. For example, it will check if the range of values specified for each material property is reasonable. If a materials property parameters are invalid, an error message will appear in the lower-right corner of the View/Edit Material window. If the parameters are valid, a green check mark will appear there. To validate the material attributes listed in the View/Edit Material window:
Select a product from the Select Ansoft Product area, and then click Validate Now.
Related Topics Copying Materials Removing Materials Export Materials to a Library Sorting Materials Filtering Materials Working with Materials Libraries
Copying Materials
1. 2. 3. In the Select Definition window, select the material you want to copy, and then click Clone Material. To modify the materials attributes, follow the directions for modifying materials. Click OK to save the copy in the active projects material library.
Related Topics Validating Materials Copying Materials Removing Materials Export Materials to a Library Sorting Materials Filtering Materials Working with Materials Libraries
Removing Materials
1. 2. In the Select Definition window, select a material you want to remove from the active projects material library. Click Remove Material. The material is deleted from the project material library. Note The following materials cannot be deleted:
Materials stored in Ansofts global material library. Materials that have been assigned to objects in the active project.
In a project library, you may want to use the Project>Remove Unused Definitions command to remove selected materials definitions that your project does not require. Related Topics Validating Materials Copying Materials Export Materials to a Library Sorting Materials Filtering Materials Working with Materials Libraries
Sorting Materials
You can change the order of the materials listed in the Select Definition window. You can sort the list of materials by name, library location, or material property value. To change the order of the listed materials:
Click the column heading by which you want to order the materials. If the arrow in the column heading points up, the material data will be listed in ascending order (1 to 9, A to Z) based on the values in the column you chose. If you want the material data to be listed in descending order (9 to 1, Z to A), click the column heading again. The arrow will point down. Note By default, not all of the available properties are displayed in the materials table. Only the properties commonly used by the product are displayed. To view the complete table of properties, see Filtering Materials.
Related Topics Validating Materials Copying Materials Removing Materials Export Materials to a Library Filtering Materials Working with Materials Libraries
Filtering Materials
If you want to remove certain materials or material properties from the list in the Select Definition window, use the filter options under the Material Filters tab. You can filter out materials based on the product or library with which they are associated. You can also filter out material properties and types of material properties. And you can remove the filtering in order to see all available material properties. To filter materials or material properties listed in the Select Definition window, using the choices in the Materials tab: 1. 2. The text field under Libraries lists the libraries for the project. Selecting the listed library highlights it and cause the table to display the materials in that library. Above the Libraries area, you can check or uncheck boxes to show or hide Project Definitions and All Libraries.
With both unchecked, nothing appears in the materials table. With both checked, the table shows all materials and highlights those used in the project. With only Project Definitions checked, the materials table shows only the materials used in the project. With All Libraries checked, the table displays all materials, but may not show all available properties.
To filter out or show additional material properties in the Materials tab: 1. 2. Click the Material Filters tab. Under Filter Materials and Properties for, select one of the radio buttons:
3.
Click Select All to select all of the products listed. Click Clear to clear all product selections. Active Design to display properties used in the active design. This Product to display properties commonly used by this product. All Products to display all properties available. Selecting this enlarges the table of properties shown under the Materials tab to show all properties possible. You can use the scroll bars or size the dialog to see all properties.
Click the Materials tab to save your selections. Click Cancel to revert back to the last saved selections.
Related Topics Validating Materials Copying Materials Removing Materials Export Materials to a Library Sorting Materials Working with Materials Libraries
Assigning Materials 10-35
Editing Libraries
There are two different methods of editing libraries.
Using right-click on Materials in the project window to display the Edit All Libraries shortcut menu. Clicking displays the Edit Libraries window. Editing definitions from the project window does not modify the configured libraries for any particular design, since this is editing in general.
Using Tools>Edit Configured Libraries>Materials from the menu bar takes the current design into account and adds any new libraries to the configured list for the design.
Configuring Libraries
Use Tools>Configure Libraries to display the Configure Design Libraries window. From this window you can view the available libraries for System, User, and Project, and which of these libraries has been configured. Set of selection arrows allows you to move a highlighted library to the Configured list. A checkbox permits you to specify a configured library as default. Related Topics Exporting Materials to a Library.
11
Modifying the Model View
You can modify the view of contents in the 3D Modeler window without changing their actual dimensions or positions. What do you want to do?
Set the View Options Rotate the view. Pan the view. Zoom in or out. Fit contents in the view window. Show or hide objects. Show or hide boundaries or excitations. Render objects as wireframes, flat-shaded, or smooth-shaded solids. Set the Surface Visualization Modify the view orientation. Modify the lighting. Set the projection view. Set the background color. Modify the appearance of the coordinate system axes. Modify the appearance of the grid. Use Clip Planes
Stereo Mode (default, disabled) Drag Optimization (default, disabled) Show Ansoft Logo in Prints (default, disabled) Default Color Key Height (the maximum number of values displayed) Selection always visible (default, enabled) Set transparency of selected objects Set transparency of non-selected objects. Model Center Current Axis Screen Center (default)
When you select one of these as the default, the View>Rotate selection menu changes to show that the Alt-Drag combination attaches to your selection. Related Topics Modeler options Rotate the view.
1.
Hold down the ALT key as you drag the mouse. Right-click in the view window, and then click View>Rotate on the shortcut menu.
To rotate the view around the current axis: Click View>Rotate>Rotate Current Axis.
2. 3. 4.
Alternatively, right-click in the view window, and then click View>Spin. Or, click the spin icon on the toolbar
Drag the mouse left or right at the speed you want to spin the view. The view spins continually in the direction and at the speed you dragged the mouse. To stop spinning the view, click in the view window. To end Spin mode, click Spin again on the View menu or press ESC.
To rotate the view around the screen center: 1. 2. 3. Click View>Rotate>Rotate Screen Center or click the rotate icon Drag the mouse up and down at the speed you want to rotate the view. To end Rotate mode, click View>Rotate>Rotate Screen Center, or click the icon again or press ESC. on the toolbar.
Hold down the SHIFT key as you drag the mouse. Right-click in the view window, and then click View>Pan on the shortcut menu.
Press the plus sign (+) or (=) keys or press Ctrl-E keys. The view zooms in 5 percent.
Press the minus sign (-) key or press the Ctrl-F keys. The view zooms out 5 percent.
To zoom using the mouse. 1. 2. Click View>Zoom . To zoom in, drag the mouse towards the top of the view window. The objects in view expand as you drag. To zoom out, drag the mouse towards the bottom of the view window. The objects in view decrease in size as you drag. When zooming on a view of model objects the absolute size of the model does not change. When zooming on a 2D report, axis labels and ticks will adjust automatically during the zoom operation and will rescale to their final value after the zoom operation is complete. 3. To end Zoom mode, click View>Zoom again or press ESC. Hint Alternatively, zoom in or out on the view using one of the following methods:
Hold down the ALT+SHIFT keys as you drag the mouse. Right-click in the view window, and then click View>Zoom on the shortcut menu.
Related Topics Zooming In or Out on a Rectangular Area Fitting Objects in the View Window
2.
Alternatively, right-click in the view window, and then click View>Zoom In or View>Zoom Out on the shortcut menu.
Use the mouse to draw a rectangle (or square) by selecting two diagonally opposite corners. This is the area of magnification that will be increased or decreased. The rectangular area is magnified or decreases in size.
When zooming on a view of model objects, the absolute size of the model does not change. When zooming on a 2D report, axis labels and ticks will adjust after the zoom operation is complete. 3. To end Zoom mode, click View>Zoom In or View>Zoom Out or press ESC. Related Topics Zooming In and Out Fitting Objects in the View Window
Fit all objects or traces in a view window. Fit selected objects in a view window.
Press CTRL+D. Right-click in the view window, and then click View>Fit All on the shortcut menu.
When Fit All is used in a report view, the window is automatically rescaled to fit all traces in the window and the axis label and ticks are rescaled. Related Topics Fitting a Selection in a View Window
All Views to hide the selected object in every open view window. Active View to hide the selected object in the active view window.
You can also use the Hide icons in the toolbar to hide selected objects in all views or the active view.
Hide selected objects in all views Hide selected objects in active view Hide/Show overlaid visualization in the active view icon The objects you selected are hidden. If there are many objects, you may find it easier to hide objects using the Active View Visibility dialog. Note Hiding boundaries also turns off a check for boundary overlaps during boundary assignment. In the case of very large models with many boundaries, hiding boundaries can prevent delays during boundary assignment. Full model validation will subsequently check for boundary overlaps.
Object visibility is saved with the project. Related Topics Showing Objects Active View Visibility
Showing Objects
To show one or more objects that are currently hidden: 1. 2. 3. Click View>Active View Visibility . The Active View Visibility dialog box appears. Select the tab for the objects you want to show or hide. The dialog contains tabs for 3D Modeler objects, Color Key objects, Boundaries, Excitations, and Fields Reporter objects. Under the tab you need, select the Visibility option for the objects you want to show in the active view window.
For designs with large numbers of objects, you can resize the dialog for easier selection. By default, objects are listed in alphabetical order. You can invert the order by clicking the Name bar above the Name fields. A triangle in the bar indicates the direction of the listing. You can also use the Name field to type in an object name and apply the visibility via the Show and Hide buttons.
The objects you select and designate as Visible (by selecting the property or using Show) reappear. Note Hiding boundaries also turns off a check for boundary overlaps during boundary assignment. In the case of very large models with many boundaries, hiding boundaries can prevent delays during boundary assignment. Full model validation will subsequently check for boundary overlaps.
To show all objects that are currently hidden: 1. Click View>Show All. and one of the following commands:
All Views to show all objects in every open view window Active Views to show all objects in the active view window.
The selected objects reappear. To show selected objects that are currently hidden: 1. 2. Select the object. Hidden items are selected once the node corresponding to them is clicked in the history tree. Click View>Show Selection and one of the following.
All Views to show selected objects in every open view window Active Views to show selected objects in the active view window.
You can also use the toolbar icons to Show selected objects in all views and Show selected
Show selected object in all views Show selected object in active view Hide/Show overlaid visualization in the active view icon The selected objects reappear. Object visibility is saved with the project. Related Topics Hiding Objects Active View Visibility
3.
For designs with large numbers of objects, you can resize the dialog for easier selection. By default, objects are listed in alphabetical order. You can invert the order by clicking the Name bar above the Name fields. A triangle in the bar indicates the direction of the listing. You can also use the Name field to type in an object name and apply the visibility via the Show and Hide buttons.
Under the tab, clear the Visibility option for the objects you want to hide in the active view window. The objects you designate are hidden.
Note
Hiding boundaries also turns off a check for boundary overlaps during boundary assignment. In the case of very large models with many boundaries, hiding boundaries can prevent delays during boundary assignment. Full model validation will subsequently check for boundary overlaps.
Object visibility is saved with the project. Related Topics Showing Objects Hiding Objects
Wireframe. The objects in the view window are displayed as skeletal structures, enabling you to see all sides of the objects at one time. You can also use the F6 key or the shade icon to toggle the display to wireframe.
Smooth Shaded. The objects in the view window are displayed as shaded objects with smooth edges. You can also use the F7 key or the shade icon to toggle the display to smooth shaded.
To render a single object in the view window as a wireframe outline: 1. 2. Select the object you want to render as a wireframe: In the Properties dialog box, under the Attribute tab, select Display Wireframe. Hint You can also press F6 (Wire Frame) and F7 (Smooth Shaded) to toggle between these two views.
Related Topics Setting the Default View Rendering Mode Setting the Surface Visualization
Wireframe. The objects in the view window will be displayed as skeletal structures, enabling you to see all sides of the objects at one time.
4.
Smooth Shaded. The objects in the view window will be displayed as shaded objects with smooth edges.
Click OK. The rendering mode will be applied to all new objects you create.
Note
5. 6.
The Save As Default button lets you Save any values you change to the drop down menus for the fields. The Restore Defaults button lets you return to the original values. Any values you provided through Save As Default remain on the drop down menus for the fields for surface and normal
deviations 7. Click Apply to apply the current values to the active modeler window, and Close or Cancel to close the dialog without changing settings.
2.
The Add button contains a drop down menu with choices for Specify center, normal, and Use selection. Of you want to use selection, you must first select a face or a cut plane.
If you first select a face or cut plane, and then click Add>Use Selection, the clip plane is
a.
If you select Add>Specify center, normal, this launches a Measure dialog and enters a mode for you click to first define the start location, shown as a triad. When you move the cursor, a rectangle represents the clip plane, and a vector the current direction.
b.
After the second click, the clip plane is active. The handle is visible as a circle with a sphere at the center, and an arrow pointing the normal for the plane. The Clip Planes dialog shows the clip plane name, that it is enabled, shows the cap (which is the plane surface), and shows the handle.The Flip selection lets you reverse the direction of the clip plane. If you uncheck Show cap and/or show handle, they disappear from the display.
3.
With Show Handle enabled, you can use the handle to manipulate the location and orientation of the clip plane. The handle changes appearance and function relative to the position of the
4.
The Options tab for the Clip Planes dialog contains four options.
Force opaque for the unclipped portion. Disable clip plane when drawing a new clip plane. Plane handle color The button shows the current color. Click the button to display a color selection dialog. Select a default or custom color and click OK.
Plane handle radius. This slider lets you resize the radius of the handle to the most convenient size. The radius resizes dynamically. When you close and reopen the modeler window, the last selected size persists.
You can save your choices as new defaults. Related Topics Copy Image Exporting Graphics Files
3. 4. 5. 6.
To modify the selected orientations vector components, select Input vector components under Add Orientation to List, and then modify the values in the Vx, Vy, or Vz text boxes, and the Up vector boxes for Ux, Uy, and Uz. To modify the selected orientations input angles, select Input angles under Add Orientation to List, and then modify the values in the psi, phi and theta text boxes.
Type a name for the new orientation in the Name text box. Click Add/Edit. The new orientation is added to the list of viewing directions. Click Make Default if you want the new viewing direction to be the initial viewing direction when a 3D Modeler window is opened in the current project or future projects. Click Close.
Removing an Orientation
To remove a viewing direction from the list in the orientation settings dialog box: 1. 2. 3. Click View>Modify Attributes >Orientation. A dialog box with orientation settings appears. Click the viewing direction you want to delete from the list of names. Click Remove. The viewing direction is removed from the list. This operation cannot be undone. Related Topics Applying a Default View Orientation Applying a New Orientation
Ambient lighting surrounds the model evenly with light. All objects are lit evenly in every direction by a color of light that you specify. Distant lighting directs a ray of light at the model in a direction you specify. By default, two distant light vectors are in effect for every new view window. Click View>Modify Attributes>Lighting. The Lighting Properties dialog box appears. Select Do Not Use Lighting to turn off ambient and distant lighting. Clear this option to activate ambient and distant lighting. To surround the model with light, click the Ambient Light Properties color button, and then select a color for the surrounding light from the Color palette. To modify the distant light on a model, do one of the following: a. b. c. Add a new distant light by clicking Add. Copy an existing distant light that you intend to modify by first selecting it in the Distant Light Vectors table, and then clicking Clone. Select a default distant light to modify by selecting it in the Distant Light Vectors table. To modify the direction by specifying Cartesian coordinates, do one of the following:
5.
For the selected distant light vector, specify the vector direction: a.
b.
Enter the new Cartesian coordinates in the X, Y, and Z boxes. Use the Vx, Vy, and Vz sliders to specify the Cartesian coordinates dynamically. Enter the new spherical coordinates in the and boxes. Use the and sliders to specify the spherical coordinates dynamically.
To modify the direction by specifying the spherical coordinates, do one of the following:
6. 7. 8.
To revert to the default ambient and distant light settings, click Reset. Click Save As Default if you want the new lighting settings to be the defaults for all 3D Modeler windows, either in the current project or future projects. Click OK to dismiss the dialog box.
The lighting settings will be saved with the design. New lighting applied to other designs after this point, including new default settings, will not affect these lighting settings.
2.
Move the slider to the right to increase the proximity, or widen, the view. Move the slider to the left to decrease the proximity, or flatten, the view.
Objects that are closer appear larger relative than objects that are farther away. 3. 4. 5. Select Orthographic to view the model without distortion. The slider is disabled because a distortion scale is no longer applicable. Click Reset to return the model to its original view. Click Close to accept the projection setting and dismiss the window. The Select Projection Type window closes. The last view you specified in the projection window remains visible in the view window. The projection view you set will be saved with the design. New projection views assigned to other designs after this point will not affect this projection setting.
3.
Click the Background Color button and then select a color from the Color palette. Use the RGB sliders under Change View Color Dynamically to specify the colors red, green, and blue values.
To assign a background color that gradually changes from one color to another, do the following: a. b. Select Gradient Background. Specify the background color at the top and bottom of the view window in one of the following ways:
4. 5. 6.
Under Select Background Type, click the Top Color button and select a color from the Color palette. Then click the Bottom Color button and select a color from the Color palette. Under Change View Color Dynamically, click Top Color or Bottom Color and use the RGB sliders to specify the colors red, green, and blue values.
Click Reset to revert to the default background colors. Click Save As Default if you want the new background color to be the background color for all 3D Modeler windows in either the current project or future project. Click OK.
The background color you set will be saved with the design. New background color settings assigned to other designs after this point, including new default settings, will not affect this design.
1.
Show or hide the coordinate system axes. Show the coordinate system axes for selected objects. Enlarge or shrink the size of the coordinate system axes. Show or hide the triad axes. Click View>Coordinate System, then click one of the following:
Hide to hide the triad x-, y-, and z-axes at the lower right of the active view window. Show to display the triad x-, y-, and z-axes in the lower right active view window. Auto to generally hide the triad axes.
1. 2.
Type (rectangular or circular) Style (dots or lines) Density Spacing Visibility Snap settings Grid plane Click View>Grid Settings. The Grid Settings window appears. Select a grid type for the active view window: Cartesian for a rectangular grid or Polar for a circular grid. The grid in the active view window is centered at the origin of the working coordinate system.
For Cartesian grids, you will define a coordinate by specifying its distance from the origin along each axis in the X, Y, and Z text boxes or its relative distance from the previously selected point in the dX, dY, and dZ text boxes. For polar grids, you will define a coordinate by specifying its radius from the origin in the R text box and its angle from the x-axis in the Theta text box or its relative distance from the previously selected point in the dR and dTheta text boxes.
2.
Select one of the following grid styles for the active view window: Dot Line Displays each grid point as a dot. Displays lines between grid points.
Setting the Grids Visibility To hide the grid, click the Grid toolbar icon:
Alternatively: 1. 2. Click View>Grid Settings. The Grid Settings window appears.
Select Grid Visible to make the grid visible in the active 3D Modeler window. Clear the selection to make the grid invisible.
Click Modeler>Grid Plane, and then select a grid plane: XY, YZ, or XZ. Click a grid plane on the pull-down list on the 3D Modeler Draw toolbar:
12
Defining Mesh Operations
In HFSS, mesh operations are optional mesh refinement settings that provide HFSS with mesh construction guidance. This technique of guiding HFSSs mesh construction is referred to as "seeding" the mesh. Seeding is performed using the Mesh Operations commands on the HFSS menu. You can instruct HFSS to reduce the maximum size of tetrahedral elements on a surface or within a volume until they are below a certain value (length-based mesh refinement) or you can instruct HFSS to refine the surface triangle length of all tetrahedral elements on a surface or volume to within a specified value (skin depth-based mesh refinement). These types of mesh operations are performed on the current mesh, that is, the most recently generated mesh. In a few circumstances, you may also want to create a mesh operation that modifies HFSSs surface approximation settings for one or more faces. Surface approximation settings are only applied to the initial mesh, that is, the mesh that is generated the first time a design variation is solved. You can also choose to override automatic choice of which mesher HFSS uses, by using the HFSS>Mesh Operations>Initial Mesh Settings command. See the technical notes for more details about HFSSs application of mesh operations. What do you want to do?
Perform length-based mesh refinement on object faces. Perform length-based mesh refinement inside objects. Perform skin depth-based mesh refinement on object faces. Modify surface approximation settings for one or more faces. Specify automatic or specified model resolution for a selection. Specify the initial mesh settings
Related Topics Plotting the Mesh Technical Notes: The Mesh Generation Process
Defining Mesh Operations 12-1
Technical Notes: Seeding the Mesh Technical Notes: Guidelines for Seeding the Mesh Technical Notes: Surface Approximation Settings Getting Started Guides: A Spiral Inductor
When the mesh is generated, the refinement criterion you specified is used. If the maximum number of elements is reached, some elements may exceed the requested maximum element length. Related Topics Plotting the Mesh Technical Notes: Length-Based Mesh Refinement Technical Notes: Seeding the Mesh Technical Notes: Guidelines for Seeding the Mesh Assigning Length-Based Mesh Refinement Inside Objects Applying Mesh Operations without Solving Technical Notes: The Mesh Generation Process
When the mesh is generated, the refinement criterion you specified will be used.If the maximum number of elements are reached, it may result in some elements exceeding the requested maximum element length. Related Topics Plotting the Mesh Technical Notes: Length-Based Mesh Refinement Technical Notes: Seeding the Mesh Technical Notes: Guidelines for Seeding the Mesh Assigning Length-Based Mesh Refinement on Object Faces Applying Mesh Operations without Solving Technical Notes: The Mesh Generation Process
When the mesh is generated, the refinement criteria you specified will be used. This operation will be approximately the same as having slabs of tetrahedra, but it is not guaranteed to prevent tetrahedra from crossing slab interfaces. Caution should be used with this mesh operation, as very thin layers may cause a reduction in mesh quality or unnecessarily cause the generation of a very large mesh. Related Topics Plotting the Mesh Technical Notes: Skin Depth-Based Mesh Refinement
Defining Mesh Operations 12-5
Technical Notes: Seeding the Mesh Technical Notes: Guidelines for Seeding the Mesh Applying Mesh Operations without Solving Technical Notes: The Mesh Generation Process
2. 3. 4.
Alternatively, select an object if you want to modify the surface approximation settings of every face on the object.
Click HFSS>Mesh Operations>Assign>Surface Approximation. The Surface Approximation dialog box appears with the Surface Approximation tab select.. Type a name for the group of settings in the Name text box or accept the default name. Under Maximum Surface Deviation, do one of the following:
5.
Select Ignore if you do not want to use surface deviation settings for the selected faces. Select Set maximum surface deviation (length), and then type the distance between the true surfaces of the selected faces and the meshed faces in the text box. Select Use defaults if you want to use HFSSs default normal deviation setting for the selected faces, which is 22.5 degrees. Select Set maximum normal deviation (angle), and then type the angular distance between the normal of the true surface and the corresponding mesh surface in the text box. Select Use defaults if you want to use HFSSs default aspect ratio settings for the selected faces, which are 10 for curved surfaces and 200 for planar surfaces. A ratio of 200 corresponds roughly to a triangle with an interior angle of one half degree. Select Set aspect ratio, and then type a value in the text box. This value determines the shape of the triangles. The higher the value, the thinner the triangles. Values close to 1 will result in equilateral triangles.
6.
7.
Select the Surface Representation Priority for Tau Mesh: In most cases, meshing is done by Tau Mesh. (See Initial Mesh Settings.) You can set the surface representation as normal or high.
8.
Normal - use for normal situations for the Tau Mesh, allowing loose tolerances. High - Use only on critical surfaces. (For example,a very small port in a large model.) The choice of "High" can help to mesh some difficult or small surfaces, but it can also be very expensive and can cause the mesher to fail.
Click OK. The settings will be applied to the initial mesh generated on the selected surface. The group of settings is listed in the project tree under Mesh Operations.
Defining Mesh Operations 12-7
Related Topics Plotting the Mesh Technical Notes: Surface Approximation Settings Technical Notes: Guidelines for Modifying Surface Approximation Settings Technical Notes: The Mesh Generation Process
The Model Resolution Mesh Operation dialog contains text fields for the mesh operation Name and radio buttons with choices for the following
Auto Simplify Using Effective Thickness The mesher calculates the resolution length based on each objects effective thickness. One mesh operation can be assigned to many objects, and each will be simplified based on its own dimensions. Use the Auto Simplify selection:
To remove many details while retaining an objects overall shape and size. For objects of generally uniform thickness. To assign one mesh operation to many objects.
Use Model Resolution length This enables fields for you to specify the resolution value and units. Use this selection for:
Tighter control of mesh accuracy. Objects of non-uniform thickness. For example, the thin section of the object shown
Defining Mesh Operations 12-9
3.
After defining the operation, click OK. This adds the named Model Resolution operation under the Mesh Operations icon in the Project Tree.
Note
Setting Model Resolution will invalidate any existing solutions. When two objects in contact have different model resolution lengths, the smaller length will apply for the common regions.
Related Topics Plotting the Mesh Setting the Healing Options Technical Notes: Model Resolution
Reverting to the initial mesh is useful when you want to evaluate how a different solution frequency affects the mesh generated during an adaptive analysis. You lose all solution data for a solve setup and all of its sweeps when you revert to the initial mesh for that setup. You can do this for all solve setups at once by selecting the command through Analysis in the menu system or project tree, or for a specific solve setup via its right mouse click menu in the project tree. Related Topics Plotting the Mesh Technical Notes: The Mesh Generation Process
Click HFSS>Analysis Setup>Apply Mesh Operations, or right click on the Analysis or Setup icon in the Project window to display the shortcut menu and click Apply Mesh Operations.
The same solve machine rules that apply to solving any other setup also apply here. The mesh operation will be sent to the default solve machine, or the HFSS Server Setup dialog may appear to allow you to interactively specify a solve machine if "Prompt for analysis machine when launching analysis" is selected under Tools>Options>General Options>Analysis Options tab.
If a current mesh has been generated, HFSS will refine it using the defined mesh operations. If a current mesh has not been generated, HFSS will apply the mesh operations to the initial mesh. If an initial mesh has not been generated, HFSS will generate it and apply the mesh operations to the initial mesh. If the defined mesh operations have been applied to the selected face or object, the current mesh will not be altered. Hint Define a new mesh operation rather than modify an existing mesh operation. HFSS will not re-apply a modified mesh operation.
Applying mesh operations without solving enables you to experiment with mesh refinement in specific problem regions without losing design solutions. You cannot undo the applied mesh operations, but you can discard them by closing the project without saving them, or by reverting to the initial mesh. Related Topics Technical Notes: The Mesh Generation Process Plotting the Mesh Specifying the Analysis Options General Options: Analysis Options Tab Remote Analysis
4.
Select Ignore if you do not want to use surface deviation settings for the selected faces. Select Set maximum surface deviation (length), and then type the distance between the true surfaces of the selected faces and the meshed faces in the text box. Select Use defaults if you want to use HFSSs default normal deviation setting for the selected faces, which is 22.5 degrees. Select Set maximum normal deviation (angle), and then type the angular distance between the normal of the true surface and the corresponding mesh surface in the text box. Select Use defaults if you want to use HFSSs default aspect ratio settings for the selected faces, which are 10 for curved surfaces and 200 for planar surfaces. Select Set aspect ratio, and then type a value in the text box. This value determines the shape of the triangles. The higher the value, the thinner the triangles. Values close to 1 will result in well-formed, wide triangles.
5.
6.
You can also uncheck or check Apply curvilinear elements. For models with curved surfaces, this increases accuracy, though it costs more memory. In some situations, you may choose to uncheck the setting. See Rectilinear Elements and Curvilinear Elements. To make your choice the default, use the Save as default checkbox. Select to the Meshing Method tab. It contains radio buttons for:
7. 8.
Auto (the default)-- HFSS automatically selects the mesher. In most cases, this will be Ansoft TAU mesh. Ansoft TAU Mesh--this includes Surface representation choices for Strict or Tolerant. Strict performs stitching, resolves surfaces and contacts more accurately, but takes more
Defining Mesh Operations 12-13
time and may cause issues for dirty models. Tolerant uses a looser tolerance for surface representation, which may be better for dirty or very complex geometry.
9.
To make your choice the default, use the Save as default checkbox. The settings will be applied to the initial mesh generated on the selected surface.
Note
This will not alter any existing meshes that have already made use of one or more mesh refinement operations. However, deleted mesh operations will not be used again after reverting to the initial mesh.
To view the objects to which a mesh operation is assigned: 1. 2. 3. In the Project tree, select the mesh operation. Right-click the mesh refinement you had previously completed. A shortcut menu appears. Select Show Assignment from the shortcut menu. The objects to which the operation is assigned are selected. Related Topics Defining Mesh Operations
13
Specifying Solution Settings
Specify how HFSS or HFSS-IE will compute a solution by adding a solution setup to the design. You can define more than one solution setup per design. Each solution setup includes the following information:
General data about the solutions generation. Adaptive mesh refinement parameters, if you want the mesh to be refined iteratively in areas of highest error. If you want to solve of a range of frequencies, you can add a frequency sweep.
Related Topics Adding a Solution Setup to an HFSS Design Adding an Solution Setup to an HFSS-IE Design
Alternatively, right click Analysis in the project tree, and then click Add Solution Setup on the shortcut menu. If you have an existing setup, you can Copy and Paste it, and then edit parameters. If you have already created a solution and you want to use an existing mesh, you can click Add Dependent Solve Setup. Includes general solution settings. Includes settings for lambda refinement, adaptive analysis and solution options, the Order of Basis setting, and whether to enable the use of solver domains. Includes settings for mesh linking, absorbing boundaries on ports, and waveport adapt options, and Thermal Feedback from Ansys Mechanical. Includes a list of expressions (including post processing variables) that you can use for convergence for adaptive analysis. If your design contains variables, they are listed here. HFSS can calculate derivatives for your variables. Enables you to save the current settings as the defaults for future solution setups or revert the current settings to HFSSs standard settings.
The Solution Setup dialog box appears. It is divided among the following tabs: General Options
Click the General tab. Enter a Setup Name or accept the default. The Enabled checkbox on General tab permits to you to disable a setup so that it does not run when you select Analyze All.
5.
For Driven solution types, do the following: a. b. a. b. Enter the Solution Frequency and select the frequency units from the pull down list. Optionally, select Solve Ports Only. Enter the Minimum Frequency and the frequency units. Enter the Number of Modes. The number must be greater than 0 and less than 20.
6.
If you are performing an adaptive analysis, enter 2 or more passes in the Maximum Number of Passes box, and then specify the remaining adaptive analysis parameters for HFSS. For Eigenmode solutions, if you are not performing an adaptive analysis, entering 0 will enable
you to bypass the adaptive analysis process and just perform a frequency sweep. For driven problems HFSS always requires at least one adaptive pass. Entering 1 will also bypass adaptive analysis, generating a solution only at the solution frequency you specified. 7. 8. Click OK. Optionally, add a frequency sweep to the solution setup.
Related Topics Add Dependent Solve Setup Setting Adaptive Analysis Parameters for HFSS Technical Notes: The HFSS Solution Process Copying a Solution Setup Renaming a Solution Setup
You can also rename the solution setup by changing the text in the Name text box of the appropriate Solve Setup dialog box. Related Topics: Copying a Solution Setup
Under the General tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, enter a value for Solution Frequency and select the frequency units from the pull down list. Note For Fast sweeps, HFSS uses the solution frequency as the center frequency if it is within the frequency range (greater than the start frequency and less than the stop frequency.) Otherwise the middle of the frequency range is used as the center frequency.
Under the General tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, select Solve Ports Only. This disables the remaining settings for Maximum number of passes and Convergence per pass.
HFSS calculates the natural field patterns (or modes) that can exist inside a transmission structure with the same cross-section as the port. These 2D field patterns serve as boundary conditions for the full 3D problem. Related Topics Port Field Display Technical Notes: Port Solutions
Under the General tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, type a Minimum Frequency and the frequency units. You can set the Minimum frequency as a variable by typing a name in the field and pressing Enter. This displays the Add Variable dialog for you to enter the value and units. Click OK to close the dialog. The variable is listed in the Setup and in the Design Properties. Warning Because the minimum frequency is used to normalize some matrices, if the frequency is set too low, HFSS tries to solve a nearly-singular matrix, which may erode the accuracy of the calculations. As a general rule, do not enter a frequency less than 0.01 times the suggested, or default, value for Minimum Frequency.
Under the General tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, enter a value for Number of Modes.
Maximum Number of Passes Maximum Delta S or Use Matrix convergence (for designs with ports). Here you can set matrix values for convergence, including maximum delta for Mag S and Phase S. Maximum Delta Energy for convergence per pass (for designs with voltage sources, current sources, incident waves, or magnetic bias). For Eigenmode solutions, specify Maximum Delta Frequency Per Pass and, if desired, Converge on Real Frequency Only. Lambda Refinement Maximum Refinement Per Pass Maximum Refinement Minimum Number of Passes Minimum Number of Converged Passes Order of Basis functions Enable Iterative Solver and associated Relative Residual Setting Enable Use of Solver Domains
Under the Options tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, you can edit the following settings:
Under the Advanced tab of the Solution Setup, depending on the solution type, you can edit the following settings.
Initial Mesh Options for mesh linking Port options (Maximum Delta Zo, whether to Use Radiation Boundary on Ports and Min/Max Port Triangle settings) Linked Solve options, including no Link. Enable Thermal Feedback from ANSYS Mechanical
Under the Expression Cache tab of the Solution Setup, you can create and manage expressions to use for adaptive convergence. Under the Derivatives tab of the Solution Setup, you can:
ber of passes has not been completed, the adaptive analysis will continue unless the convergence criteria are reached. To set the maximum number of passes for an adaptive analysis:
Under the General tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, enter a value for Maximum Number of Passes.
For driven problems HFSS always requiring at least one adaptive pass. Entering 1 will bypass adaptive analysis, generating a solution only at the solution frequency you specified.
Note
The size of the finite element mesh and the amount of memory required to generate a solution increases with each adaptive refinement of the mesh. Setting the maximum number of passes too high can result in HFSS requesting more memory than is available or taking excessive time to compute solutions.
Related Topics Adding a Solution Setup to an HFSS Design Adding an Solution Setup to an HFSS-IE Design
Under the General tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, enter a value for Maximum Delta S.
Delta S data is available only after HFSS completes two iterations of the adaptive analysis process. Note Delta S is computed on the appropriate S-parameters - modal or terminal - after the Sparameters have been de-embedded and renormalized.
Related Topics Adding a Solution Setup to an HFSS Design Adding an Solution Setup to an HFSS-IE Design Viewing the Maximum Magnitude of Delta S Between Passes Technical Notes: Maximum Delta S
The delta Energy is the difference in the relative energy error from one adaptive solution to the next. The value you set for Maximum Delta Energy is a stopping criterion for the adaptive solution. If the delta Energy falls below this value, the adaptive analysis stops. Otherwise, it continues until the convergence criteria are reached. To set the maximum delta Energy per adaptive pass:
Under the General tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, enter a value for Maximum Delta Energy.
Delta Energy data is available only after HFSS completes two iterations of the adaptive analysis process. Related Topics Viewing the Delta Magnitude Energy Technical Notes: Maximum Delta Energy
Under the General tab of the Solution Setup dialog, enter a value for Maximum Delta Frequency Per Pass. Delta Frequency data is available only after HFSS completes two iterations of the adaptive analysis.
Under the General tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, select Converge on Real Frequency Only.
value of the expression between consecutive passes is less than the Max Delta or the Max Percent Delta value this part of the convergence criteria is satisfied.
For driven solutions, if the Maximum Delta S, Maximum Delta E, or alternate matrix convergence criteria are achieved in addition to any specified expression convergence criteria, the adaptive analysis stops. Otherwise, the solution continues until the requested number of passes is completed. For eigenmode solutions, if the Maximum Delta Frequency Per Pass criteria is achieved in addition to any specified expression convergence criteria, the adaptive analysis stops. Otherwise, the solution continues until the requested number of passes is completed. Double-click on the setup icon in the Project tree to open the Solution Setup dialog. Click the Expression Cache tab in the Solution Setup and click the Add... button to open the Add to Expression Cache dialog.
3.
Specify the context for the expression you define. For Modal Solution Data, you do not need context other than the Solution. Other selections require more context:
4.
Emission Test also requires a digital signal. Far Field field also requires a geometry such as an infinite sphere. Fields or Near Fields also require a geometry such as a polyline.
Under the Trace tab, select from the Category, Quantity and Function lists to create expressions. Selecting a listed category lists the Quantities and Functions available for each category. If you have defined one or more output variables, you can see them listed as Quantities by selecting the Output Variables Category. The Output Variables button opens a dialog that lets you define additional output variables. When you have created an expression, it appears in the Expression field of the Trace tab. If desired, you can use the Range Function button to select range functions to apply to the expres-
sion. Under the Calculation Range tab, you can view the values of available sweep variables. Clicking the ellipsis [...] button in the Edit column opens a list of values. 5. When you have created an expression that you want to add to the cache, click the Add Calculation button. This adds the selected expression and the associated context to a table in the Expression Cache tab. You can select any additional expressions with contexts and add them in the same way. 6. When you have added the expressions you want, click Done to close the Add to Expression Cache dialog. The Expression Cache tab of the Solution Setup lists the expressions you have added as a table.
The Title field is editable, by default showing the name as built from the expression, but removing underscores. The Expression field shows the full expression. If necessary, you can resize the Solution Setup dialog. You can also resize each column in the table. The Context column shows None for Modal solutions, or the appropriate geometry for Fields calculations. The PP Variables column contains a checkbox that lets you designate post processing variables, such as for renormalization or deembedding. You can also use this feature to assign variables to non-model objects (for example, the properties of a solid, sheet or lines used for field calculations). You can also assign a PP Variable to a coordinate system (CS) that is not associated with model objects. To excite particular sources for particular output variables, you can assign a post process variable to the magnitude of sources you might want to edit, and assign the expression value in the Expression Cache. With PP Variables, you can control convergence based on several combinations of active sources.
The Intrinsics column shows a clickable button that opens an Edit Calculation Range dialog. If the column button shows None you cannot edit the value. If the button shows variables, click the ellipsis [...] in the Edit column to display a list of the variable values
Specifying Solution Settings 13-15
that you can select. Click OK to close the Edit Calculation Range dialog and apply your selections to the Expression Cache. 7. To designate one or more expressions for convergence, click the field for the Convergence column for each expression. This opens an Adaptive Convergence dialog.
Check Use this expression for convergence to enable the radio buttons. You can then specify the Max Delta between passes or the Max Percent Delta criteria. The Max Delta solves a potential issue if your expression is essentially zero and the numeric noise from pass to pass causes the maximum percentage delta to remain high. In that case adaptive refinement continues until you get to the maximum number of passes. 8. Click OK to close the Solution Setup dialog. Related Topics Viewing Convergence Data Viewing the Output Variable Convergence Specifying Output Variables
You can use the checkbox to Open as read only. Use the radio buttons to specify whether to save the source path relative to The project directory of the selected project or This project. When you select a Project File, the Design field and the Solution field are filled in with default values, and the drop down menus contain any available Projects and solutions. The "Default" solution is the product dependent solution of the first Setup. That is the setup listed first in the source design's project tree (alphanumerical order). A product specific solution of this setup becomes the default solution. In most products, it is LastAdaptive. In a Transient solution type, it is "Transient." Note The solution in the source design must provide data for the target design's adaptive frequency as well as its sweeps. That is, the adaptive frequency for the target design must be included in the sweep in the source design. If necessary, you can open the source design and add an appropriate frequency point to an existing sweep. 3. 4. 5. 6. For the Source Design, if you leave Use This Project checked, you can uncheck Use This Design to enable the a dropdown menu for to select from other available designs. For the Source Solution field, you can use the dropdown menu to select from other possible solutions. Use the checkbox specify whether to Force source design to solve in the absence of linked data in the target design. Use the checkbox to specify whether to preserve the source design solution. Note that in the Extractor mode, the source project will be saved upon exit. Extractor mode means that the software is opened during the link solely for the purpose of solving. The second tab, Variable Mapping, lets you view any variables contained in the Project you select. When there are variables in the source design, you can choose to "map" these variables to constant values, expressions or variables in the target designs. Variable mapping becomes more important when the datalink type requires source and target design to be geometrically identi-
7.
When a variable in the target design has the same name of a source design variable but the 2 variables are not mapped, the Parameter tab will become the active tab with the following message box popped. You can exit the Setup Link dialog directly by selecting "Accept Setup and Exit Dialog" or reexamine the parameter mapping by selecting "Return to Setup Dialog". In the Setup Link dialog, for linked designs with variables of the same name, you can click Map Variables by Name to automatically map same named variables. In this example the variables height and weight are mapped to the Source, whereas the variable does not have a same named counterpart, and retains its value in the source design.
8.
You can select the Additional mesh refinements tab to specify the following:
9.
For Mesh Operations, you can select radio buttons to either Apply mesh operation in target design on the imported mesh, or Ignore mesh operations in target design (default). For Port Adapt, you can check Perform port adapt in target solve setup.
Click OK to accept the setup and close the Setup dialog box.
in the Solution setups as follows. Zero order: First order: Second order: Mixed order 3. driven 0.1, driven 0.3333, driven 0.6667, driven 0.6667 eigenmode 0.1 eigenmode 0.2 (as is) eigenmode 0.4 eigenmode 0.6667
If you want the initial mesh to be refined based on the wavelength in free space, select Use free space lambda. Material-dependent lambda refinement will be deactivated. Changing the Lambda refinement target invalidates any solutions that were performed with the previous lambda refinement.
Note
Related Topics Setting the Max Order of Solution Basis Specifying a Source for the Initial Mesh
Related Topics Adding a Solution Setup to an HFSS Design Adding an Solution Setup to an HFSS-IE Design
Under the Options tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, enter a value for percent Maximum Refinement Per Pass.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Percent of Tetrahedra Refined Per Pass Adding a Solution Setup to an HFSS Design Adding an Solution Setup to an HFSS-IE Design
Under the Options tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, enter a value for Minimum Number of Passes. Note For a solve setup with zero passes, no sweeps, and that is not ports only, validation produces a warning message.
Related Topics Adding a Solution Setup to an HFSS Design Adding an Solution Setup to an HFSS-IE Design
Under the Options tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, enter a value for Minimum Converged Passes. The convergence criteria must be met for at least this number of passes before the adaptive analysis will stop.
Specifying Solution Settings 13-21
For the selection All, enter the convergence criteria for the Maximum Delta (Mag S) and the Maximum Delta (Phase S) in the fields to the right. For the selection Diagonal/Off-Diagonal, first check Diagonal Entries, Off-Diagonal Entries, or both, to enable the convergence criteria field or fields. Then enter the convergence criteria for the Maximum Delta (Mag S) and the Maximum Delta (Phase S) in the fields to the right. For both of these Entry Selections, you can set the Ignore Phase when Mag is less than value. See the note on technical issues under step 4 c. 4. If you chose Selected Entries, the Matrix Convergence dialog displays some new fields:
a. b. c.
a table showing columns for Matrix Entry 1, Matrix Entry 2, and the Delta Mag and Delta Phase. Entry 1 and Entry 2 fields which contain drop down lists of ports and associated modes (or terminals). an Insert button with which to move selections from the port list selections to the table Select Entry 1 and Entry 2 from their drop down lists. In the Magnitude box, enter the maximum change in magnitude from pass to pass from the Entry 1 to Entry 2. In the Phase box, enter the maximum change in phase, in degrees, from pass to pass from Entry 1 to Entry 2.
To select the desired ports and mode (or terminal) pairs, do the following:
Note: When the Mag S becomes small (near to zero) its phase becomes indefinite and insignificant due to mathematical issues. In HFSS 10 and 11 there was a 0.05 magnitude threshold that caused that Phase Margin to be discarded. However, some users may want to continue running additional passes to stabilize phase margins even when the S-parameter magnitude is below this threshold. For this reason, the magnitude threshold has been removed. This calls for caution if you want to see a good phase convergence for S12 which is near to 1. If you set a small delta_phi with small delta_s, after a couple of passes, S12 will converge, but S11 never, since S11 ~0 and its phase changes with the mesh noise because the phase is indefinite. In other words, under these conditions the adaptive process never stops, so you should abort it. d. Click Insert. The entries appear in the table above. If you have selected multiple entries, all combinations of matrix entry1 and matrix entry2 populate the table. Selecting a Row in the table enables the Delete button, if you need to remove a row from the table. Clicking in the Delta Mag and Delta Row fields of the selected row enables editing in those fields. 5. Click OK to close apply the values and close the dialog. Related Topics Viewing the Magnitude Margin Viewing the Phase Margin Viewing Delta (Mag S) Viewing Delta (Phase S)
Under the Options tab of the Solution Setup dialog box, select Order of Basis. This can be First Order (the default), Zero Order, Second Order, or Mixed order. Setting the Order of Basis functions affects the default value of the Lambda Refinement in the Solution setups as follows. Zero order: First order: Second order: Mixed order driven 0.1, driven 0.3333, driven 0.6667, driven 0.6667 eigenmode 0.1 eigenmode 0.2 (as is) eigenmode 0.4 eigenmode 0.6667
The Zero order option is useful when a model requires a mesh that produces more than 100,000 tetrahedra, but the model size is small compared to wavelength. The higher order options solve pro-
gressively more unknowns for each tetrahedra. Mixed order uses higher order where more accuracy is required, and lower order where fields are weaker. Warning If you select Zero Order Solution Basis, all tetrahedra in the model must have edge lengths less than 1/20th wavelength. Thus, this option is usually selected in combination with a specific lambda refinement setting.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Basis Functions Setting Lambda Refinement Enable Iterative Solver
Note
The Iterative Solver is not available for zero order basis solutions.
The Enable Use of Solver Domains check box under the Solution Setup Options tab is
checked.
You have provided at least three distributed machines in the pool The solver determines that the problem is large enough (the mesh has enough tets) to bother with domains. The design cannot contain master and slave boundaries. Eigenmode solution type. Mixed order basis. Fast frequency sweeps.
Restrictions on solver domains are that the design and analysis setup cannot include:
If any condition is not met, the problem is solved with the non-domain solver defined under the solution options. When these conditions are met:
The solver chooses the number of domains to use, based on the machines available. The number of domains chosen will likely be close to the maximum. The maximum is one less than the total because the first machine in the pool is used to control domain iterations. The solver creates the domain meshes of roughly the same size Domain meshes are created every time the global mesh changes (before each adaptive pass)
Note
You provide resources for the distributed solve by adding machines to the distributed machine pool. A machine can appear in the pool more than once. You should use this capability to maintain a balanced load. Because the domains should be roughly the same size, you should provide balanced resources.
Related Topics HFSS Options: Solver Tab General Options: Analysis Options tab Configuring Distributed Analysis Selecting an Optimal Configuration for Distributed Analysis Balancing Resources for Solver Domains Technical Notes: Domain Decomposition Method
Under HFSS Options, you should set the Desired RAM Limit (Mem_Limit_Soft) to the memory desired for each individual domain. In the example above, a good choice for Mem_Limit_Soft would be 64 GB. Remember:
A machine can appear in the pool more than once. The user should use this capability to maintain a balanced load. The first machine in the pool is used to control domain iterations. Under HFSS Options, the Number of Processors is also set per domain.
In the example above, a machine named Patriot has 16 processors and a machine named Cutlass has 8 processors. Four domains will go on Patriot, so Number of Processors should be set to 4. Four processors on Cutlass will be unused. Recommendation: it is more important to use memory efficiently than to use all the processors. Related Topics HFSS Options: Solver Tab General Options: Analysis Options tab Configuring Distributed Analysis Selecting an Optimal Configuration for Distributed Analysis Technical Notes: Domain Decomposition Method
If you select this setting, edges which are assigned to ABC and touch a port have an radiation boundary condition applied during the port solution. If you do not select the setting, a perfect conducting boundary condition is used during the port calculations.
In most cases this setting has a limited effect on the overall fields or post processed quantities.
Port Options
If the design includes waveports, the Port Options options appear under the Advanced options tab of the Solution Setup dialog box. These options include:
Maximum Delta Zo - change to Zo specified as a target percentage. The default is 2%. Use Radiation Boundaries on Ports Set Triangles for Wave Port - unchecked by default. If you check Set Triangles for Wave Port, the Minimum and Maximum fields are enabled. You can edit the default values of 100 for the minimum and 500 for the maximum. For designs with lumped ports, this option is not active. Higher numbers of triangles would not benefit a solution setup in this case.
Before the first HFSS or Maxwell solve, for this kind of project, you set an initial value for temperature dependent objects..
If you check Enable Thermal feedback from ANSYS Mechanical, a .THM subdirectory to the solution directory for the Project involved will be created will be created when Workbench imports the results from HFSS or Maxwell. Within that directory, a new file centroid.xml is written, to be used
for later mapping. The ANSYS Workbench 12 subsequently exports the temperature information to a file named mechanical.ths in the same Project subdirectory.
Related Topics Export Transfer File for ANSYS Re-solving After ANSYS Thermal Link Feedback
These derivatives can be used by the Derivative Tuning feature (the Results menu Tune Reports command) in relation to quantities like S-parameters. They cannot be used for frequencies and local quantities like fields. Related Topics Setting Adaptive Analysis Parameters Derivative Tuning for Reports
4.
Sweep type - Discrete, Fast, or Interpolating (the default). Frequencies to solve. Whether you want to save the fields (not available for interpolating, which is default) For Fast Sweeps only, whether to Generate fields (All frequencies).
If you plan to perform a Full-Wave SPICE analysis, click Time Domain Calculation tool to obtain assistance determining a suitable frequency sweep range for the solutions. Also see the Requirements for Full-Wave SPICE. If you expect to use the same settings often, you can click the Set Defaults button. To use previously saved settings, click the Use Defaults button. Click OK. Once you have created a sweep, an icon for the sweep appears in the Project tree under the associated setup. Selecting the sweep icon causes the docked properties dialog to show the name, start, stop, step size, and sweep type. It also includes an Enabled checkbox.
5. 6.
You can select an existing sweep, use the Edit commands to Copy it, and then and Paste the sweep into the Project tree. (By default, the copy is named Sweepn, where n increments with each new sweep.) You can edit the new copies of the sweep to make desired changes. For example, you can change a specific parameter, or for a distributed solve, you could assign different start and end points for each copy of the setup. The Paste command for sweeps is design sensitive (that is, you cannot paste between Driven and Eigenmode designs) and context sensitive (for example, a sweeps can only be pasted in a setup.)
Dependent setups are pasted along with the copied setup. You are warned if the dependent setup is already in the design and setup is not pasted again. Note For a solve setup with zero passes, no sweeps, and that is not ports only, validation produces a warning message.
Discrete
Interpolating (default)
Sweep Name Frequency Setup Whether to Save Fields (for all Frequencies). By default, all frequencies are saved. (This field is disabled under a Solve Ports Only setup. You can view port fields for the discrete frequencies under the port field display in the project tree.)
If you expect to use the same settings often, you can click the Set Defaults button. To use previously saved settings, click the Use Defaults button.
Sweep Name Frequency Setup Whether to Save Fields. By default, all fields are saved. Whether to Generate Fields (All Frequencies). By default, fields are not generated. If you have more than 100 frequencies, checking the box generates a warning that disk space use may be excessive. If you select this option, HFSS solves the fast sweep and then computes the fields at each freq in the sweep, and saves them. This has two advantages: (a) It is much faster. (b) So post processing is much faster. Since this option is exercised at solve time, it doesn't apply to existing solutions. Enabling this option for a previously solved sweep and re-solving will access the previously solved data and generate the requested fields.
DC Extrapolation options 1. 2. Select Extrapolate to DC to enable the DC Extrapolation options. Enter a value for the Minimum Solved Frequency. This value represents the smallest frequency in the sweep for which a full solution is generated. The default is 100 Mhz.
If you expect to use the same settings often, you can click the Set Defaults button. To use previously saved settings, click the Use Defaults button.
Sweep Name Max Solutions Error Tolerance Frequency Setup Interpolation Convergence
Specifying Solution Settings 13-33
Click the Advanced Options... button to open the Interpolating Sweep Advanced Options dialog.
DC Extrapolation options 1. 2. Select Extrapolate to DC to enable the DC Extrapolation options. Enter a value for the Minimum Solved Frequency. This value represents the a recommendation for the smallest frequency in the sweep for which a full solution is generated. The default is 100 Mhz. The Minimum Solved Frequency that you enter is a recommendation, not a requirement. If the step size is greater than that value, it won't go below the step size (assuming the stop frequency is a multiple of step size).
Note
If you expect to use the same settings often, you can click the Set Defaults button. To use previously saved settings, click the Use Defaults button.
The Minimum Solutions value is the minimum number of converged solutions that will be solved for the frequency range. For example, if this value is three, then once the sweep reaches convergence it simulates at two extra frequencies. This resembles the minimum number of converged adaptive passes in a regular simulation. Setting a minimum number of solutions can eliminate non-physical Sparameter spikes and oscillations. For interpolating sweeps the default is 0. To change the value:
Specify a Minimum Number of Sub Ranges. This number acts as an initial condition on the sweep to force initial even breakup of the null range into subranges. The end points and middle of each subrange will be solved. This controls the points at which the interpolating sweep is broken up
and prevents redundant effort caused by neighboring interpolating sweeps solving the same point. For example, the 1GHz to 4GHz and the 4GHz to 9 GHz sweeps do not both solve the 4 GHz data point.
Whether to use all or selected entries in the matrix of data types for the convergence. To choose, click the Select Entries button to display the Interpolation Basis Convergence dialog. The Data Types for Convergence. You can select Use All Entries (the default), to Use Selected Entries, and, if the design contains them, Derivatives. If you select Use Selected, only the check box for S-Matrix is enabled. The default selections are: For Driven modal, 3D Solution Interpolating sweeps:
S-Matrix - checked T-Matrix - unchecked. Port Impedance - unchecked. Propagation constants - checked.
S-Matrix - checked T-Matrix - checked. Port Impedance - checked. Propagation constants - checked. S-Matrix - unchecked T-Matrix - unchecked Port impedance - checked Propagation constants - checked S-Matrix - unchecked T-Matrix - unchecked Port impedance - unchecked Propagation constants - checked
If you select Derivatives, you can also set the Error Tolerance, overriding the tolerance specified in the Edit Sweep dialog.
Note
If a driven setups ports-only setup changes and then the problem type switches between driven modal and driven terminal, HFSS resets the interpolation basis data types for the interpolating sweep.
If you expect to use the same settings often, you can click the Set Defaults button. To use previously saved settings, click the Use Defaults button.
The Max Solutions value is the maximum number of solutions that will be solved for the frequency range. For fast sweeps and for interpolating sweeps the default is 250. To change the value: 1. 2. Open the Edit Sweep dialog box (by either viewing the properties of an existing Sweep or by Adding a Frequency sweep to an existing Setup). Type a value in the Max Solutions box and click OK.
If you expect to use the same settings often, you can click the Set Defaults button. To use previously saved settings, click the Use Defaults button.
Note
HFSS automatically subdivides the interpolating sweep range so that no single subrange gets too many basis elements. The effect is that you can now (if appropriate) request hundreds of basis elements in the Max Solutions box for interpolating sweep setup, without incurring any basis seeding performance penalty.
If you chose All, Diagonal, or Off-Diagonal, you may fine-tune the matrix entry selection process by selecting one of the following options from the Mode Selection pull-down list: All Dominant Only Higher Order Only Selects all of the mode matrix entries. Select in conjunction with All, Diagonal, or Off-Diagonal entry selections. Selects only the dominant mode matrix entries. Select in conjunction with All, Diagonal, or Off-Diagonal entry selections. Selects only the higher-order mode matrix entries. Select in conjunction with All, Diagonal, or Off-Diagonal entry selections.
As you select the waveports for convergence, you use the Set, Clear, and Clear All buttons in connection with the Entry Selection and Mode Selection settings. These buttons are enabled when the waveport matrix state and selection settings permit them do something. For example, The Clear button is not enabled until there are entries in the waveport matrix to clear and those selections are permitted by the entry selection. The Set button is not enabled unless the available mode selections permit entries to be set. You can also select individual entries in the waveport matrix by clicking on grid cells. This action displays a dropdown menu that lets you select ON or "-".
13-36 Specifying Solution Settings
3.
Specify Entry Selections and Mode Selections as desired and click SET, or click individual waveport cells and select ON. In the table location corresponding to the selection, the dash in the display is replaced by ON. For example, selecting the first element in the row list and the fourth element in the column list, and then Set Selection places an ON in the first row, fourth column. You can select one entry at a time via the dropdown in the matrix cell, or clear the entire table with the Clear All button. You can also Clear only the entries specified by the Entry and Mode selection settings (such as off-diagonal, higher order).
4.
Select the type of frequency point entry from the Type pull-down list The Edit Sweep dialog contains a Time Domain Calculation tool that you can use to help calculate frequency step sizes and maximum frequencies, particularly if you intend to perform Full-Wave Spice analysis. For Discrete sweeps, HFSS always solves the frequencies from highest to lowest. Related Topics Change the Value of an Existing Frequency Point Specifying Single Frequency Points Deleting Frequency Points Insert Frequency Points Specifying Frequency Points to Solve
4.
In the Step Size box, type the difference between frequency points. HFSS will solve the frequency point at each step in the specified frequency range, including the start and stop frequencies. For example, specifying 10 for the start frequency, 20 for the stop frequency, and 2.5 for the step size for a Discrete sweep instructs HFSS to compute a solution for frequencies of 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, and 20. To view a table of the frequencies and count, click the Display button. If the list of frequencies is longer than the visible display, you can use a scroll bar to view the list to the end of the count.
5.
For Fast sweeps, select Save Fields if you want to save the calculated 3D field solutions associated with all port modes at the chosen frequencies. For Discrete sweeps, select Save Fields (All Frequencies) if you want to save the calculated 3D field solutions associated with all port modes at the chosen frequencies. If want to save the fields for just one or a few Discrete sweep frequencies, click the Display button to show a table of frequencies, and select Single Points from the Type pull-down list. This disables the Save Fields checkbox for the entire sweep, and adds a Save Fields column with a checkbox for each frequency. You can select the Save Fields check box for the desired frequency, or click the Save Fields column header to check or uncheck all frequencies.
For Discrete sweeps, HFSS always solves the frequencies from highest to lowest. Related Topics Specifying Frequency Points to Solve Specifying Single Frequency Points Deleting Frequency Points Insert Frequency Points Change the Value of an Existing Frequency Point Specifying Frequency Points to Solve
To view a table of the frequencies and count, click the Display button. If the list of frequencies is longer than the visible display, you can use a scroll bar to view the list to the end of the count. 5. For Fast sweeps, select Save Fields if you want to save the calculated 3D field solutions associated with all port modes at the chosen frequencies. For Discrete sweeps, select Save Fields (All Frequencies) if you want to save the calculated 3D field solutions associated with all port modes at the chosen frequencies. If want to save the fields for just one or a few Discrete sweep frequencies, click the Display button to show a table of frequencies, and select Single Points from the Type pull-down list. This disables the Save Fields checkbox for the entire sweep, and adds a Save Fields column with a checkbox for each frequency. You can select the Save Fields check box for the desired frequency, or click the Save Fields column header to check or uncheck all frequencies. For Discrete sweeps, HFSS always solves the frequencies from highest to lowest. Related Topics Specifying Frequency Points to Solve Specifying Single Frequency Points Deleting Frequency Points Insert Frequency Points Change the Value of an Existing Frequency Point Specifying Frequency Points to Solve
For Discrete sweeps, HFSS always solves the frequencies from highest to lowest.
Specifying Solution Settings 13-39
Related Topics Specifying Frequency Points to Solve Specifying Single Frequency Points Deleting Frequency Points Insert Frequency Points Change the Value of an Existing Frequency Point Specifying Frequency Points to Solve
2.
3.
Either select the text field in the Frequency column and edit an existing value field directly, or: a. b. c. Edit the value in the Single Text box. Select the Frequency row that you want to change. This enables the Change button. Click the Change button to replace the selected Frequency row value with the Single Text box value.
4. 5.
Select Save Fields if you want to save the calculated 3D field solutions associated with all port modes at that frequency. Repeat for changing additional points.
Related Topics Specifying Single Frequency Points Deleting Frequency Points Insert Frequency Points Specifying Frequency Points to Solve
the Display button to list the count and frequency of those points as a table. For longer frequency tables, you can use a slider bar to scroll to through the complete list to see counts and values. 2. Select Single Points from the Type pull-down list. The Frequency setup changes to single point mode. If you previously specified a range of frequency points, and clicked the Display button, the frequency table retains those points. This selection also enables the Insert button between the Frequency setup and the frequency table. The frequency points table now includes another column that contains a Save Field checkbox for each row. Note that selecting a row highlights it and enables the Delete button under the Insert button. Clicking the cursor in the Frequency columns of the frequency points table makes their values editable. 3. 4. In the Single text box, type a desired frequency point in the frequency units. This enables the Insert and Change button. Click Insert. This inserts the new point in ascending order for the list and the count for each row adjusts. Clicking Change would replace the frequency value in the selected row. 5. Select the Save Fields column header if you want to save the calculated 3D field solutions associated with all port modes at that frequency. You can also select, or deselect the checkbox to specify individual frequencies. Add or edit additional frequency points, and then click OK to save the sweep.
6.
For Discrete sweeps, HFSS always solves the frequencies from highest to lowest. Related Topics Specifying Single Frequency Points Deleting Frequency Points Change the Value of an Existing Frequency Point Specifying Frequency Points to Solve
3.
Type a value in the Time Steps Per Rise Time box. The time sampling increment for the entire signal is calculated using
t = ----N
where
4.
t is the time sampling increment. is the signal rise time. N is the number of time steps per signal rise time.
Type a value in the Number of Time Points box. Note that the input time signal duration is determined using time points.
5.
Click Calculate.
Click OK to transfer the data to the frequency sweep fields in the Edit Sweep dialog box.
F max ----------- . N
The maximum frequency should be at least five times the inverse of the rise and fall times. If the specified frequency band is too wide, an HFSS frequency sweep may have convergence problems. If this happens, try to decrease the maximum frequency until the solution converges. It is recommended, though not required, that the minimum frequency be less than the maximum frequency divided by the number of frequency steps. It is usually recommended to have at least 500 frequency steps. A higher number will slightly improve the full-wave SPICE solution accuracy, but will also increase CPU and memory requirements to solve the problem. For most cases, using 1000 frequency steps provides a good trade-off
between the accuracy and computational requirements. Warning Occasionally, HFSS can fail to solve for the minimum frequency during a Discrete or Interpolating frequency sweep due to a failure of the port solver to converge. If this happens, try to increase the minimum frequency until the solution process completes successfully. However, the minimum frequency should be as low as possible because the low-frequency response determines the steady-state time response.
The suggested frequency sweep ranges are estimates. You may have a pulse with a wider frequency content and HFSSs recommended frequency sweep range may miss some of the high frequencies.
b. c.
Regardless of this setting, processes are limited to 2GB of address space (3GB with appropriate operating system and boot settings) on 32 bit operating systems and 4TB of address space on 64 bit operating systems - no matter how much physical memory is installed. See Increasing PC RAM. Note Regardless of the Desired RAM Limit setting, if allocation fails, the HFSS solver will automatically switch to off-core mode.
In case you receive an error message regarding insufficient memory on a 64-bit operating system, you may have reached a point where the sum of physical RAM plus available swap space exceeds the minimum amount of RAM needed by the off-core solver. Even for the off-core solver, the RAM usage cannot be made arbitrarily small. In that case you can consider increasing the swap space (the virtual memory) in the settings of your system. To specify the Desired RAM Limit of the machine on which HFSS is installed: 1. 2. 3. 4. Click Tools>Options HFSS Options. Click the Solver tab. Select Desired RAM Limit (MB). Type a value for the amount of available memory, in megabytes, in the text box. This setting affects all HFSS projects for the current user and machine.
Note
Allocation of greater than 2 GB of RAM on 32-bit hardware platforms is only possible with the appropriate operating system and boot settings, even if more than 2 GB are physically installed. See Increasing PC RAM.
14
Running Simulations
After you specify how HFSS is to compute the solution, you need to begin the solution process. In general, the Analyze command applies to the selected setup and associated sweeps, if any, or to a select sweep. To use this command, right-click on a setup or sweep in the Project tree, and click the command on the context menu. The Analyze All command applies to all enabled setups, dependent setups, and sweeps at or below the level invoked in the Project tree. To use this command, either click HFSS>Analyze All or right-click on the Analysis icon in the Project tree and select Analyze All from the popup menu. What do you want to do?
Solve a single setup with or without sweeps Solve a specific sweep Enable a queue so that multiple simulations can run sequentially as resources become available. Run more than one simulation, whether multiple setups, or multiple sweeps under a single setup, or setups with dependencies. Monitor queued simulations Configure and run remote analysis Configure and run distributed analysis Monitor the solution process Change a solution priority for system resources Abort an analysis Re-solve after modifying a design Re-solve after ANSYS Thermal Link Feedback
HFSS computes the 3D field solution inside the structure for a solution, and for a select sweep, does so for the sweep variables. To run more than one analysis at a time, follow the same procedure while a simulation is running. If you have enabled queuing, the next solution setup will be solved when the previous solution is complete. Note If a linked dependency in the setup is already simulating (for example, due to setup links to the same external source for a near or far field wave, or a magnetic bias), HFSS will not allow another dependent simulation to start until the first use of the source has completed.
Each enabled solution setup is solved in the order it appears in the project tree.
Running Simulations14-3
The example here show an analysis invoked from the Project tree popup menu with three setups, one disabled, two enabled. The first setup has one sweep enabled, and one disabled (greyed icon).The second setup is disabled, and the third is enabled, with a disabled sweep.
Note
The General tab for the Setup includes an Enabled checkbox. By default, this is checked. Unchecking the Enabled checkbox excludes a setup from running
To solve two or more sweeps or two or more parametric analyses under a setup: 1. 2. In the project tree, under the design you want to solve, right-click the setup icon that includes the sweeps of interest. Click Analyze on the shortcut menu. Each solution sweep under that setup is solved in the order it appears in the project tree, using the available machines. The example below shows a setup with two enabled sweeps.
Related Topics Technical Notes: The Solution Process Technical Notes: Handling Complicated Models Solving a Single Setup Specifying the Analysis Options Remote Analysis Monitoring the Solution Process Aborting Analysis Running an Optimetrics Analysis
Running Simulations14-5
Remote Analysis
It is possible to solve a project on a different machine from the one on which you are running HFSS. This is particularly useful when you want to take advantage of a more powerful machine but it is not convenient to access that machine. This process involves configuring the machine that is to perform the solving (the remote machine), as well as the machine from which the simulation is to be launched (the local machine). This can also be extended into distributed analysis, where a specified analysis, if supported, is concurrently solved on multiple machines.
Local Machine Remote Machine
Note
Communication between machines in remote analysis and distributed analysis can drastically affect performance. Use of a high-speed network system, like Gigabit or Infiniband, is recommended for optimal performance.
1.
Prerequisites for Remote and Distributed Analysis Configuring the Local Machine to Solve Remotely Remote Analysis Options Running Remote Analysis You must have Ansofts Remote Simulation Manager (RSM) or a supported High Performance Computing (HPC) management software program. (See High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration). The list of currently-supported HPC software includes
Platforms Load Sharing Facility or LSF Altairs PBS Sun GridEngine Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 Microsoft Windows HPC Server 2008
Running Simulations14-7
2. 3.
HFSS must be accessible from all remote machines as well as accessible on the local machine. If you use RSM, it must be accessible from all remote machines. In addition, the HFSS engines must be registered with each initialization of RSM. To do this, on each remote machine:
On Windows on the local and remote machines, click Start>Programs>Ansoft>product >Register with RSM. You can also run RegisterEnginesWith RSM.exe, located in the product subdirectory (for example, C:\Program Files\Ansoft\hfss13\RegisterEnginesWithRSM.exe). In each case, you see a dialog confirming the registration. OK the dialog. On Linux, run RegisterEnginesWithRSM.pl, located in the product installation directory. (for example, /apps/ansoft/hfss13/RegisterEnginesWithRSM.pl).
If the RSM service cannot run due to permission issues for the configuration file, it issues an error message and exits. If your product is not registered with RSM, the analysis will run locally. Configuring the Local Machine to Solve Remotely 1. Set the Analysis options in HFSS by clicking Tools>Options>General Options to display the General options dialog, and select the Analysis Options tab.
2.
Local: Run analysis on the local machine. Remote: Run analysis on a different machine. Selecting Remote enables fields for you to the machines IP address, DNS name, or UNC name. RMS must be able to determine the IP address for simulation to run. You also receive warnings if there are multiple IP addresses for a machine. RMS looks for the IP address at addr[0].
Distributed: This option allows you to specify a machine list. See Configuring Distributed Analysis
To override the machine that you use on a per analysis basis, check Prompt for analysis machine when launching analysis.
Checking this selection displays the following dialog when you run a simulation.
You select either the local machine, or specify a machine name. You can Save Settings as Default. Remote Analysis Options You also set the Remote Analysis Options in the General options dialog, RSM Service Options tab.
Select whether to run simulation processes as the user running RSM (Service User), or a Specified User. If you select Specified user, you must provide the User Name, Password, and any Domain/ Workgroup on which this user is defined. If the name or password is incorrect, the Message window issues a warning message, and the solver attempts to perform the analysis as the Service User.
Running Simulations14-9
Running Remote Analysis When you run a simulation remotely, you should see a message in the Progress window identifying the design name, and the specified remote machine. You will see Progress messages as the simulations continues. When the simulation is complete, you will see a message in the Message window. Related Topics: General Options: Analysis Options Tab Distributed Analysis Troubleshooting Running from a Windows Remote Terminal
Troubleshooting
Problem: When you try to solve from local to remote machine, an HFSSCOMENGINE process starts on the remote machine, but the HFSS user interface hangs indefinitely. This occurs if the remote solve option is enabled after the COM daemon is started, or when the option "Don't allow exceptions" is selected for the Windows firewall. Resolution: Remote solve needs either firewall exceptions to be ON or firewall to be completely turned off. Problem: When you try to solve from a local to a remote machine, you receive the following error message: [error] Unable to locate or start COM engine on 'nomachine' : Unable to reach AnsoftRSMService. Check if the service is running and if the firewall allows communication. (10:57:13 PM Aug 13, 2009) Resolution: This message can happen if the machine is not present, the network connection is down, if there are firewall issues or if the service is not running. Remote Solve Node = Windows Error: "Unable to locate or start COM engine on <remote node> : Unable to reach AnsoftRSMService. Check if the service is running and if the firewall allows communication." 1. 2. Try disabling the firewall. If this fixes the problem, please contact at hfqa@ansoft.com Confirm that you have not changed the Ansoft Service Port in Tools > Options > General Options > Remote Analysis Options from the default 32958. If you have, change it back to 32958, restart HFSS, and try to solve again. Make sure that the local machine is able to contact the RSM port on the remote node. Open a command prompt on the local machine and type telnet <remote node name> 32958. If the terminal appears to be hanging then the connection was successful. Check to make sure the Ansoft Communication Service is running. To do this, go to the Windows Control Panel and choose Administrative Tools > Services. Find the Ansoft RSM Service and make sure its status says Started. If it is not running, try to start it by right-clicking on
3.
4.
the service and choosing Start. If it still does not start, then check the username/password combination listed in the Log On tab of the service properties. 5. 6. Make sure the user listed in the service is an administrator. Make sure the COM engine is registered with the Ansoft RSM Service. From the Windows menu, choose Start>All Programs >Ansoft>HFSS 13>Register with RSM to register the engines.
Error: "Unable to locate or start COM engine on <remote node>: Engine is not registered with the Ansoft RSM service which is running on this machine." a. To register the engine, from the Windows menu, select Start >All Programs >Ansoft > HFSS 13 > Register with RSM
Remote Solve Node = Linux Error: "Unable to locate or start COM engine on <remote node>: Unable to reach AnsoftRSMService. Check if the service is running and if the firewall allows communication." 1. 2. Try disabling the firewall. If this fixes the problem, please contact at hfqa@ansoft.com Confirm that you have not changed the Ansoft Service Port in Tools >Options >General Options >Remote Analysis Options from the default 32958. If you have, change it back to 32958, restart the Ansoft product, and try to solve again. Make sure that the local machine is able to contact the RSM port on the remote node. Open a command prompt on the local machine and type telnet <remote node name> 32958. If the terminal appears to be hanging then the connection was successful. Check to make sure Remote Simulation Manager is running. To do this: a. b. c. 5. Go to the 'rsm' subdirectory of the Ansoft Remote Simulation Manager installation directory, <RSM installdir>/rsm. Type ./ansoftrsmservice status. If the status query indicates that the service is stopped, type ./ansoftrsmservice start.
3.
4.
Make sure the COM engine is registered with RSM. Type ./RegisterEnginesWithRSM.pl status from within the HFSS installation directory. If the status query indicates "Not registered", type: ./RegisterEnginesWithRSM.pl add.
Error: "Unable to locate or start COM engine on <remote node>: Engine is not registered with the Ansoft RSM service which is running on this machine." 1. To register the engine, go to the Ansoft product installation directory and type: ./RegisterEnginesWithRSM.pl add.
Running Simulations14-11
Distributed Analysis
Distributed analysis allows users to split certain types of analyses and solve each portion of an analysis simultaneously on multiple machines. Simulation times can be greatly decreased by using this feature. HFSS and HFSS-IE support three forms of distributed analysis:
Distributing rows of a parametric table. Distributing domain solves Distributing a single or discrete interpolating sweep.
Note
Communication between machines in remote analysis and distributed analysis can drastically affect performance. Use of a high-speed network system, like Gigabit or Infiniband, is recommended for optimal performance.
Related Topics Configuring Distributed Analysis Editing Distributed Machine Configurations HFSS Options: Solver Tab Selecting an Optimal Configuration for Distributed Analysis
When you have made a selection, the lower field shows the enab led machines in the configuration.
3.
Related Topics Editing Distributed Machine Configurations HFSS Options: Solver Tab Selecting an Optimal Configuration for Distributed Analysis
Running Simulations14-13
3.
This displays the Distibuted Machines Configurations dialog. This lists existing configurations, and shows all machines in the selected configuration, enabled or not. Here you can Add a new configuration, Edit an existing configuration, Delete a selected configuration, or Clone an existing configuration, typically to edit the name and contents for other purposes. 4. To create a new configuration, click Add configuration. This opens the Distributed Analysis Machines dialog. Clicking Edit or Delete also open the Distributed Analysis Machines dialog, but include the entries for the selected configuration. Here you can edit the configuration name, view, add, remove, order, test, and enable machines on the list. 5. 6. Specify the name of the configuration. It cannot be empty and cannot be a previously used name or a reserved word. For each machine to manually add to the list, under Remote Machine details, specify an IP address, a DNS name, or a UNC name. You can also use Import Machines from File... to use a text file to simplify the process.
Control buttons let you Add machine to list (see figure above) or Remove (see figure below) machines from the list. Each machine on the current list has an Enabled checkbox. Here you can enable or disable the listed machines according to circumstance. Above the table, the dialog gives a count of the
In general, HFSS and HFSS-IE use machines in the distributed analysis machines list in the order in which they appear. If Distributed is selected and you launch multiple analyses from the same UI, HFSS and HFSS-IE select the machines that are running the fewest number of engines in the order in which the machines appear in the list. For example, if the list contains 4 machines, and you launch a simulation that requires one machine, HFSS chooses the first machine in the list. If another simulation is launched while the previous one is running, and this simulation requires two machines, HFSS chooses machines 2 and 3 from the list. If the first simulation then terminates and we launch another simulation requiring three machines, HFSS chooses 1, 4, and 2 (in that order). The displayed list always shows the order in which you entered them irrespective of the load on the machines. To control the list order, select one or more machines, and use the Move up or Move down buttons. Move up and Move down are enabled when you select one or more adjacent machine names. Also, when you select one or more machine names, you will see a text field underneath the grid control showing the first machine name, the number of times it
Running Simulations14-15
7.
Test Machines- When multiple users on a network are using distributed solve or remote solve, they should check the status of their machines before launching a simulation to ensure no other Ansoft processes are running on the machine. To do this, you can select one or more machines and click the Test Machines button. A Test Machines dialog opens. The test goes through the current machine list and gives a report on the status of each machine. A progress bar shows how far testing has gone. An Abort button lets you cancel a test. When the test is complete, you can OK to close the dialog. If you need to disable or Enable machines from the list based on the report, you can do so in the Distributed Analysis Machines dialog. Click OK to accept the changes and close the Distributed Analysis Machines dialog. Only machines checked as Enabled appear on the distributed machines list in the Analysis tab. Regardless of the machine(s) on which the analysis is actually run, the number of processors and Desired RAM Limit settings, and the default process priority settings are now read from the machine from which you launch the analysis. See HFSS Options: Solver Tab. For more information, see distributed analysis. Once configured, you can also control these selections via toolbar icons for:
8.
Note
The option is only active if there are multiple rows listed in the parametric table, there are multiple frequency sweeps listed under a given analysis setup, and the number of distributed analysis machines is two or greater.
Related Topics Related Topics Configuring Distributed Analysis Editing Distributed Machine Configurations Selecting an Optimal Configuration for Distributed Analysis HFSS Options: Solver Tab General Options: Analysis Options Tab
Running Simulations14-17
1. 2.
The convergence data: The matrices computed for the S-parameters, impedances, and propagation constants. A profile of status of the adaptive analysis, including the number of valid passes completed. Right-click the solution Setup in the project tree. A shortcut menu appears. Select Convergence, Matrix Data or Profile from the shortcut menu. The Solutions window appears with the corresponding tab selected and the current data displayed.
For out of core problems, quite different amounts of memory may be used for factorization and for solution. So if the amount for factorization is displayed under the progress bar and the amount used is calculated for the profile at the end of the solution, they may be quite different numbers. To view the status of the adaptive analysis:
Click HFSS>Results>Browse Solutions. The Solutions dialog box appears with the Browse tab selected. It displays data about the number of valid passes completed. It contains a tree structure showing the solutions listed according to Setup, Solution, and Variation. A table lists the Setup, the solution, the sweep variable, and the state of the solution. You can use the Properties button to display a dialog that lets you change the way the Setup, Solution, and Variation are listed in the tree structure of the Solutions dialog. The Statistics tab of the Solutions dialog displays path information, as well as format, number of files, and size. You can delete one or more solutions by selecting from the table and clicking Delete. Click on a solution to select it, and use Ctrl-click to select multiple solutions, or Shift-click to select a range of solutions. You can also select all solutions using the Select All button. Note If HFSS loses its license, it waits for the license to be regained, checking every 2 minutes or until you abort.
Related Topics Aborting Analysis Deleting Solution Data Post Processing and Generating Reports
14-18 Running Simulations
Creating Reports Modifying Reports Creating a Quick Report Plotting the Mesh Plotting Field Overlays
Running Simulations14-19
Platforms Load Sharing Facility (LSF) Microsoft Windows HPC Server 2008 PBS Professional from Altair Engineering Sun Grid Engine (SGE)
You can also do custom integration. Related Topics Scheduler Terminology What a Scheduler Does Installation of Ansoft Tools Ansoft Jobs Submitting and Monitoring Ansoft HPC Jobs
Scheduler Terminology Core: unit of processing Processor: consists of one or more cores Machine/Host/Node: consists of one or more processors, memory, disk, etc. Resource: Machines, licenses, etc. that are used by a Job Job: Application (also called: program, executable), with command line options, that uses
resources to produce useful results. For example, hfss.exe ng BatchSolve
Serial Job: job that runs on a single core Parallel Job: job that runs on multiple cores (belonging to same or different machines) Compute Cluster: network of machines on which Jobs run. Typically, consists of head node(s) and many compute nodes Service: Program that runs in the background (E.g. Ansoft RSM Service). Listens on a port. OS provides programming interface by which Applications communicate with service, once machine and port number are known. Launching an executable on remote machine, requires a service to run on remote machine. Desktop: The main application used to accomplish a task, such as hfss. The desktop may run as a GUI or it may run as a batch command. Engine: Application (aka: executable) that is launched during analysis commands, to generate analysis results Multi-processing: A single engine uses multiple cores on the same machine
Ansoft Terminology
Distributed-processing: Multiple engines are launched simultaneously (on same machine or different machines). Uses ansoft_distrib (and related) license.
Related Topic What a Scheduler Does Command Line Enhancements for Ansoft Desktop Products High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration
What a Scheduler Does Enables effective/efficient utilization of clusters resources consistent with organizations
goals
Maintains queue(s) of jobs Maximizes throughput of the jobs by processing all jobs as fast as possible Typically, one job per cpu policy Allows choice of various scheduling policies (e.g. First Come First Serve, Priority Based, Preemption) Provides a suite of tools or utilities (graphical or command line) for end user to submit jobs, monitor jobs, abort jobs, suspend jobs, Manages a compute cluster by running various interacting services on head nodes and compute nodes Provides a programming interface to access services
Running Simulations14-21
Head node(s) typically maintains queues. Compute nodes are typically on a high speed network, to improve scalability of parallel jobs. Services running on nodes interact with each other to manage resources. End user tools communicate with services to submit/abort/suspend/etc. jobs. Related Topic High Performace Computing (HPC) Integration Command Line Enhancements for Ansoft Desktop Products
On LINUX platform, Ansoft tools may be installed on a shared drive, that is accessible to all machines in the cluster. On Windows platform, Ansoft tools must be installed separately on each host of the cluster.
The Ansoft tools must be accessible using the same path on each host. All cluster users running Ansoft jobs must have permission to read and execute the files in the Ansoft installation directory and its subdirectories. The Temp directory selected during installation must be readable and writable by all user accounts used to run the Ansoft tools. This temp directory path should be the same on all machines of the cluster and should be local to every machine. For example, c:\temp on Windows, /tmp on LINUX
Because HPC is offered as a direct integration, you need only install the Ansoft software programs. No additional configuration is required. Example Install the Ansoft tools in directory C:\Program Files (x86)\Ansoft\HFSS13.0 on each node of the cluster. The same directory pathname must be used on all hosts. Related Topics High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration Firewall Configuration Installation Directory Examples
Firewall Configuration
If firewall is turned OFF between the machines of the cluster, there is no need for any configuration. If firewall is turned ON, you, or a system administrator, should perform the steps below.
Windows cluster: Configure firewall by adding exceptions that allow Ansoft programs and services to communicate with each other. If you are using standard Windows Firewall, this is automatically done for you, by the Ansoft installation program. On the other hand, if you are using a 3rd-party firewall software, it needs to be configured in a similar manner. LINUX cluster: Open up the firewall for range of ports denoting ephemeral (or dynamic) ports. Check with your system administrator on how this can be done on each machine of cluster.
Related Topics High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration Installation Directory Examples
Ansoft Jobs
For most cluster environments, an Ansoft job will consist of an Ansoft Desktop running in nongraphical mode, performing a batch solve. The user will submit the job to the scheduler, specifying an Ansoft Desktop command line to be executed on the cluster. For some schedulers, the user may
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or must specify a script to run instead of specifying the Ansoft Desktop command line; in these cases, the script will contain the corresponding Ansoft Desktop command line. When the resources requested for the job are available to the job, the scheduler will start the job. In many cases, the user submitting the job will not know which host or hosts are allocated to the job. With direct integration, if the Ansoft job is a distributed job, the Ansoft Desktop will query the scheduler for the hosts allocated to the job, and it will use the scheduler facilities to launch the distributed engines. Related Topics High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration Running HFSS from a Command Line
Selecting Computation Resource Units (Job Unit Type) How to Select the Windows HPC Job Unit Type Windows HPC Job Credentials High Performance Computing (Windows HPC) Integration
Job Name - text string that may be used to identify or describe the job Job Template - Template that controls job property defaults and allowed values. (See Windows HPC Job Templates) Priority - one of five levels: Lowest, BelowNormal, Normal, AboveNormal, and Highest Job Unit Type - computing resource unit granularity: core, node, or socket (See Selecting Computation Resource Units (Job Unit Type). Minimum and maximum number of computing resource units for the job. (See Specifying the Number of Compute Resource Units for Windows HPC Jobs). Exclusive - if true, no other jobs will be scheduled on nodes allocated to this job Node group names - run the job on nodes belonging to these node groups Node list - if specified, runs the job only on the nodes in this list
Set the minimum/maximum number of computing resource units to the number of units the jobs needs. For example, set the number of units to sixteen, to be able to run four distributed engines, each requiring four cores for multi-processing. The Priority property controls which jobs are run by the scheduler when several jobs are ready to run. The Exclusive property allows the user additional control on the resources used by a job. For example, a job may be scheduled which requires all memory on a host, but only some of the cores on the host; the Exclusive property would prevent other jobs from being scheduled on the unused cores on the host. Node groups are created by cluster administrator to group together a set of similar nodes. For example, a node group '32GB Nodes' could be created to consist of all nodes, which have 32GB of available memory. Jobs that are memory intensive are run on nodes that belong to this node group. There are other job properties that further limit which nodes may be allocated to a job:
Minimum and/or maximum number of cores per node Minimum and/or maximum memory per node: generally expressed in megabytes (MB)
The minimum limits may be used to ensure that the nodes allocated to this job have sufficient resources (nodes or memory) to efficiently run the job. The maximum limits may be used to optimize use of the cluster resources. For example, a maximum memory limit may be used to ensure that nodes having a large amount of memory are only used for jobs that actually need a large amount of memory and are not allocated to jobs that only require a limited amount of memory. Setting these limits acts as a filter on the nodes which may be allocated to a job; they do not ensure that the resources will be available to the current job. For example, setting a minimum memory per
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node of 2000 MB ensures that nodes allocated to the current job have at least 2000 MB of memory. A node with 2000 MB of memory may be allocated to the current job, even if another job running on the node is using 1500 MB of memory, however. There are several other job properties that are not described here. See the Microsoft documentation for more details. Related Topics Integration With Microsoft Windows HPC Scheduler Windows HPC Job Properties Windows HPC Task Properties Windows HPC Job Templates Selecting Computation Resource Units (Job Unit Type) How to Select the Windows HPC Job Unit Type Windows HPC Job Credentials High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration
Task Name - text string that may be used to identify or describe the task Working Directory - Working directory where the task is started Command Line - The command line executed to start the task Minimum and maximum number of computing resource units for the task (The unit type is the same is the job unit type.)
Of these properties, the Command Line is particularly important. We recommend using the Ansoft Submit HPC Job dialog to submit jobs because this dialog will assist you in creating a valid task Command Line. If you use one of the other methods, you must specify the complete command line for the Desktop task. See Setting the Command Line discussion below. For Ansoft Jobs, all the compute resource requirements are specified at the job level. At the task level, the minimum and maximum computing resource units should be set to one if the resource unit is 'Node'. For any other resource unit, set the minimum/maximum resources units to the amount of multi-processing per distributed engine, i.e. "Number of Processors, Distributed". The Desktop task will start additional tasks and child process, if needed, to complete the analysis. Setting the Command Line The examples in this section use the HFSS product. The command lines for other products are similar.
The task executable should be specified as described in the Installation of Ansoft Tools examples. The project file should be the last argument in the command line, and it should be specified as described in the Ansoft Project File and Project Directory examples. The other command line arguments should be selected to start the analysis as a batch job. For Ansoft Jobs, all the compute resource requirements are specified at the job level. At the task level, the minimum and maximum computing resource units should be set to one, if the resource unit is 'Node'. For any other resource unit, set the minimum/maximum resources units to the amount of multi-processing per distributed engine i.e. "Number of Processors, Distributed". The Desktop task will start additional tasks and child process, if needed, to complete the analysis. Example Command Lines: Command Line that analyzes an HFSS project serially: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Ansoft\HFSS13\hfss.exe" -ng -local _ -batchsolve \\shared_drive\projs\OptimTee12.hfss Command Line that analyzes HFSS project serially and monitors analysis progress that is printed to stdout/stderr: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Ansoft\HFSS13\hfss.exe"_ -ng -monitor -local -batchsolve _ \\shared_drive\projs\OptimTee12.hfss Command Line that uses four cores for multi-processing of analysis: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Ansoft\HFSS13\hfss.exe" -ng -monitor _ -local -batchoptions _ "'Hfss/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors'=4" _ -batchsolve \\shared_drive\projs\OptimTee12.hfss Command Line that runs four distributed engines, on compute units allocated by the HPC Scheduler: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Ansoft\HFSS13\hfss.exe" -ng _ -monitor -distributed -machinelist num=4 _ -batchsolve \\shared_drive\projs\OptimTee12.hfss Command Line that runs four distributed engines, with each engine using four cores for multi-processing: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Ansoft\HFSS13\hfss.exe" -ng -monitor_ -distributed -machinelist num=4 -batchoptions _ " 'Hfss/Preferences/NumberOfProcessorsDistributed'=4 _ 'Hfss/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors'=4" -batchsolve _ \\shared_drive\projs\OptimTee12.hfss Related Topics Integration With Microsoft Windows HPC Scheduler Windows HPC Job Properties
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Windows HPC Task Properties Windows HPC Job Templates Selecting Computation Resource Units (Job Unit Type) How to Select the Windows HPC Job Unit Type Windows HPC Job Credentials High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration Running HFSS From a Command Line
Windows HPC Job Templates Selecting Computation Resource Units (Job Unit Type) How to Select the Windows HPC Job Unit Type Windows HPC Job Credentials High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration
Cores: Jobs are scheduled in units of cores, which may be also described as a CPU cores, logical processors, or CPUs. This is the smallest unit of granularity available. This selection allows the scheduler to start multiple tasks on a processor, if the total number of cores needed by the tasks is less than or equal to the number of cores on the processor. This selection may also allow the scheduler to distribute more of the computational load to processors with more cores than to processors with fewer cores. Nodes: Jobs are scheduled in units of nodes, hosts or machines. This is the coarsest level of granularity that may be selected. When this option is selected, only one task will run on any give node at any given time. This is useful in cases where it is not desirable to run multiple tasks on a single host. For example, if each task is multi-threaded, running multiple tasks on the same node may not be needed to fully utilize the computing resources on the node. This may also be preferred if the tasks are memory intensive, and multiple tasks would be competing for the limited memory resources. Sockets: A socket (which may also be called a NUMA node) is a collection of cores sharing a direct connection to memory. A socket will contain at least one core, and it may contain several cores. The socket concept may not necessarily correspond to a physical socket. Scheduling at the socket level may be useful in cases in which each task requires extensive use of the memory bus, and scheduling multiple tasks on the same socket would result in excessive bus contention.
Related Topics Integration With Microsoft Windows HPC Scheduler Windows HPC Job Properties Windows HPC Task Properties Windows HPC Job Templates Selecting Computation Resource Units (Job Unit Type) How to Select the Windows HPC Job Unit Type Windows HPC Job Credentials High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration
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Each task requires all of the memory available on the node, and running multiple tasks results in excessive paging or swapping Each task is limited by bandwidth of the disk connection Each task is limited by network bandwidth MSDN: ISchedulerJob::UnitType Property The Windows HPC Team Blog: How that Node/Socket/Core thing works
References
Related Topics Integration With Microsoft Windows HPC Scheduler Windows HPC Job Properties Windows HPC Task Properties Windows HPC Job Templates Selecting Computation Resource Units (Job Unit Type) How to Select the Windows HPC Job Unit Type Windows HPC Job Credentials High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration
user. Here is a cluscfg command that may be used to set the user credentials in the credentials cache: cluscfg setcreds /password:* /scheduler:cluster_name _ /user:domain\user_name Here:
cluster_name = the name of the cluster (hostname of the head node) domain = optional domain name; if omitted, the following \ should also be omitted user = user name
When this form of the command is used, the user is prompted for the password and also asked if the password should be remembered (cached). See the following web page for more information on the cluscfg setcreds command: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc947669(WS.10).aspx Related Topics Integration With Microsoft Windows HPC Scheduler Windows HPC Job Properties Windows HPC Task Properties Windows HPC Job Templates Selecting Computation Resource Units (Job Unit Type) How to Select the Windows HPC Job Unit Type Windows HPC Job Credentials High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration
Using the Ansoft Submit HPC Job dialog Using the Windows HPC Job Manager GUI Using the Windows HPC Command Line Tools Using the Windows PowerShell
Client Utilities from the Microsoft HPC Pack, must be installed on the submit host to use any of these methods to submit a job to a cluster. The Ansoft Submit HPC Job dialog will be unable to contact the cluster head node if the client utilities are not installed. This document covers the first method. See the Microsoft documentation for information on the other three methods.
Submitting and Monitoring Jobs Using the Ansoft Submit HPC Job Dialog The Ansoft Submit HPC Job Dialog Specifying the Number of Compute Resource Units for HPC Jobs
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Submitting and Monitoring Jobs Using the Ansoft Submit HPC Job Dialog
In order to submit jobs using the Ansoft Submit HPC Job dialog, the cluster head node hostname must be set. Selecting the Tools>Windows HPC>Select Head Node... menu item brings up the Select Head Node dialog.
You can enter the cluster head node name into the dialog. Alternatively, you can click the ellipsis [...] button to browse the network for the cluster had node. After setting the cluster head node hostname, select Tools>Windows HPC>Submit HPC Job...
You can select which setups are analyzed in the Analyze Setups section of this dialog. There are radio buttons to select:
All setups in a specified design: you selects the design from the dropdown list Specify setups: You add one or more setups using the Add Setups... dialog
If you specify multiple setups, they will be processed sequentially in the order displayed in the edit box. The Resource Requirements group box controls how compute resources are used. The Distributed Analysis settings control resource usage for the portion of the analysis that may be distributed to different hosts. The Non-Distributed Analysis settings control the initial portion of analysis that runs before the start of any distributed analysis --this initial portion cannot be distributed to separate hosts, and must be run on a single host. There are two Distributed Analysis settings. The Number of engines is the number of analysis engines that are started in parallel; the engines can run on separate hosts. The Number of cores per engine setting controls the degree of parallel processing within each engine; these parallel threads of execution must be on the same host. In the case of HFSS, each distributed engine represents one domain of a large model, portion of a frequency sweep analysis or portion of an Optimetrics setup analysis. There is only one setting for the non distributed analysis because this part of the analysis must occur on a single host. The Number of cores controls the degree of parallelism used for this part of the analysis. Check Log Analysis Progress to log analysis progress to a <projname.progress> file. A Progress file contains error/warning/info messages and progress text. Progress text is added every two seconds. Pressing the Next button accepts the current settings, and advances to the Submit HPC Job: Properties dialog. Pressing the Cancel button dismisses the dialog without submitting the job. Related Topics Submitting and Monitoring Ansoft HPC Jobs The Ansoft Submit HPC Job Dialog Specifying the Number of Compute Resource Units for HPC Jobs
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Job name (required) Job template (required, but may be set to Default)
Job description file (optional) Job priority (optional) Compute resource granularity: Core, Socket or Node (required) Minimum/Maximum number of compute resource units: Set both the minimum and maximum to the same number. (see Specifying the Number of Compute Resource Units for HPC Jobs) Node exclusivity: true or false (optional) Minimum memory per node (optional) Maximum memory per node (optional) Minimum number or cores per node (optional) Maximum number or cores per node (optional)
A Job description file is created using Windows HPC Job Manager. If a job description file is specified, the settings in this file will be used to obtain the following job properties:
Project (this is different from Ansoft project) Job run options Node groups that filter the nodes available to run the job Node list that limits the nodes on which the job can run Job Licenses Node prioritization: given the nodes available for the job, this property allows you to determine the node preferences
See the Windows HPC Job Manager for documentation of above properties. Pressing the Finish button submits the job. Pressing the Back button returns to the Submit HPC Job: Tasks dialog. Pressing the Cancel button dismisses the dialog without submitting the job. Related Topics Submitting and Monitoring Ansoft HPC Jobs Submitting and Monitoring Jobs Using the Ansoft Submit HPC Job Dialog Specifying the Number of Compute Resource Units for HPC Jobs
Set Compute resource granularity to core or socket (see Selecting Computation Resource Units (Job Unit Type)). Set Number of compute resource units to the 'Number of engines'.
For a job that is memory intensive. Run a fixed number of engines on each node:
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Set Compute resource granularity to core or socket (see How to Select the HPC Job Unit Type). Set Node exclusivity to true. Set Number of compute resource units to the number of units that are for exclusive use by this job. Specify an appropriate node list or the node groups via the Job description file.
Example: Suppose the job is run on nodes with 32GB of memory and 8 cores per node. Suppose each engine requires 8GB memory and that 4 engines can run on each machine. Suppose the Number of engines specified for this job is 10. Since four engines are run per node, we need three nodes to run 10 engines. So, 'Number of compute resource units' should be set to 24 cores (3 nodes times 8 cores). The Number of cores per engine should be set to 2.The Number of cores should be set to 8 (or a smaller number, if using 8 cores slows down the analysis) For a job that is memory intensive. Run one engine per node:
Set Compute resource granularity to Node Set Number of compute resource units to Number of engines. Specify appropriate node list or node groups via the Job description file.
Example: Suppose the job is run on nodes with 16GB of memory and 4 cores per node. Suppose each engine requires 16GB memory, that is, 1 engine can run on each machine. Suppose the Number of engines specified for this job is 10. So, the Number of compute resource units should be set to 10 nodes. The Number of cores per engine should be set to 4 (or a smaller number, if using 4 cores slows down the analysis). The Number of cores should be set to 4 (or a smaller number, if using 4 cores slows down the analysis) Related Topics Submitting and Monitoring Ansoft HPC Jobs Submitting and Monitoring Jobs Using the Ansoft Submit HPC Job Dialog The Ansoft Submit HPC Job Dialog Specifying the Number of Compute Resource Units for HPC Jobs
LSF Job Submission Guidelines LSF Command Used to Launch Remote Engine Processes Submitting Ansoft LSF Batch Jobs Current Working Directory with LSF Quoting Ansoft Command or Arguments for LSF Monitoring Ansoft LSF Batch Jobs Terminating Ansoft LSF Batch Jobs Known Issues for LSF Troubleshooting for LSF Command Line Enhancements for Ansoft Desktop Products
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Desktop talks to Scheduler Proxy which in turn uses Scheduler commands. It is possible to add a proxy dll to support new schedulers without changing Desktop. Related Topic Integration with Platforms Load Sharing Facility (LSF) General Terminology for LSF What a Scheduler Does Integration of Ansoft Products with LSF LSF Job Submission Guidelines Known Issues for LSF Troubleshooting for LSF Workarounds for LSF Command Line Enhancements for Ansoft Desktop Products
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Ansoft Project should be available in a shared drive that is accessible to all machines in the cluster Ansoft Project should be available using the same path on all machines of cluster Ensure sufficient space in project directory and temp directories Ensure sufficient memory per engine Choose the number of compute resources (Distributed Analysis machines and Multi Processing cores) so as to achieve desired scale factor and effective resource utilization bkill s TERM <jobid>.
Stop an HFSS job cleanly - ensures that the results obtained until now are preserved Stop an HFSS job abruptly results are most likely lost. You have to manually remove the project lock file bkill <jobid> Related Topics Integration with Platforms Load Sharing Facility (LSF) General Terminology
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What a Scheduler Does Installation of Ansoft Tools on LSF Cluster Integration of Ansoft Products with LSF Known Issues for LSF Troubleshooting for LSF Command Line Enhancements for Ansoft Desktop Products Aborting an Analysis
bsub_args are the options of the bsub command, ansoft_exe is the pathname of the Ansoft Desktop executable to launch, and ansoft_args are the arguments to the Ansoft Desktop executable.
bsub Arguments
The LSF bsub command has a large number of options that may be used to control the submission process. Only a few options which are often used with Ansoft jobs are mentioned here. The following options may be used to submit serial or parallel LSF jobs. -n min_proc, max_proc or -n min_proc Submits a parallel job, specifying the number of processors (or slots) required for the job. Here, min_proc is the minimum number of processors, and max_proc is the maximum number of processors. If no maximum is specified, then exactly min_proc processors are requested. If PARALLEL_SCHED_BY_SLOT=Y in lsb.params, this option specifies the number of slots required to run the job, not the number of processors. If the -n command line option is not specified, then the job is submitted as a serial batch job. -R "span[ptile=n]" There are many ways to use the -R "res_req" option to the bsub command. We only cover -R "span[ptile=n]" here, because this option is very useful for Ansoft jobs. When this option is specified, the LSF scheduler will allocate n processors (or slots) on each host to this job, even if more processors are available on the host. -x All hosts running this job operate in exclusive execution mode. The job will only run on a host having no other jobs running on that host. No other batch jobs will be started on a host while this job is running on that host. The -m host_name option of the lsrun or lsgrun commands may be used to force an interactive job to run on a host in exclusive mode. The -m host_name option of the brun command may be used to force a batch job to run on a host in exclusive mode. See the LSF documentation for a complete list of options for the bsub command.
LSF bpeek Command The LSF bpeek command may be used to monitor job progress. The command pbeek [ -f ] job_id displays the standard output and standard error produced by the job with id job_id from the job start to the current time (the time when the command is executed). This command is only valid for jobs that have not yet finished. When used with the -f option on Linux, the output of the job is displayed using the command tail -f, so that ongoing progress may be monitored. In order to display messages to standard output and standard error, specify the -monitor command line option on the Ansoft tool command line. Then, these messages can be seen using the LSF bpeek command.
Some engine processes are not shut down, and continue to run LSF job is not fully removed Project lock file is not removed Linux only: MainWin core service processes (watchdog, mwrpcss and/or regss) are not stopped
Some of these may interfere with submission of additional Ansoft LSF batch jobs. For example, it may be necessary to manually remove the project lock file to submit another batch job for the same project. On Linux, MainWin core service processes may also interfere with starting subsequent Ansoft batch jobs. Normally, these processes should timeout and end 15 seconds after the Ansoft product shuts down. Any MainWin core service processes (watchdog, mwrpcss and/or regss) that continue to run for more than 15 seconds after the product has stopped may be hung. The hung processes may need to be manually killed, after ensuring that these processes are associated with an Ansoft job that has finished or terminated.
script pathname is placed in the bsub command line. Then, the hfss command is only processed by the command processor when the job is started. When using this approach, the shell script should be accessible from all of the cluster hosts. Serial job: bsub -n 1 /opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss -ng -BatchSolve _ ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss The -n 1 option indicates that this job runs on one core. Serial job that needs a minimum of 4GB: bsub -n 1 -R "select[mem>4000]" _ /opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss -ng _ -BatchSolve ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss The -R "select[mem>4000]" option indicates that this needs a minimum of 4 GB memory. Multi-processing job using 4 cores: bsub -n 4 -R "span[ptile=4]" _ "/opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss -ng -BatchSolve _ -batchoptions "\""'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors'=4"\""_ ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss"
The -R "span[ptile=4]" option indicates that the four cores need to be on the same machine. The -batchoptions option indicates that HFSS should use four cores for multi-processing. The entire hfss command is in double quotes, and the double quotes enclosing the -batchoptions value are escaped. Each of these double quotes is replaced by the sequence "\"". bsub -n 4 /opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss -ng -BatchSolve Distributed ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss
The -n 4 option indicates that the four cores are needed for the job. The -Distributed option indicates that this is a DSO job, so that multiple engines will be started. Because 4 cores are allocated to the job, the job will run 4 engines.
Distributed processing and multi-processing job using 4 cores, with 2 cores for multi-processing: bsub -n 4 -R "span[ptile=2]" ~/projects/OptimTee.csh Shell script (~/projects/OptimTee.csh): #!/bin/csh /opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss -ng -BatchSolve _ -Distributed -machinelist num=2 -batchoptions _ "'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessorsDistributed'=2_
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The -n 4 option indicates that the four cores are needed for the job. The -R "span[ptile=2]" option indicates that the cores must be allocated in groups of two cores on the same machine. The -machinelist num=2 option indicates that this is a DSO job and that a total of two engines will be started. The 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessorsDistributed=2 batchoption indicates that the distributed analysis engines should use two cores for multi-processing. The 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors=2 batchoption indicates that the portion of the analysis that is not distributed should use two cores for multi-processing. The hfss command is placed in the shell script (~/projects/OptimTee.csh). In the bsub command line, the hfss command is replaced by the shell script pathname.
Windows Examples for LSF If the hfss command is included in the bsub command line, then the entire hfss command will be processed by the command processor cmd.exe two times. The hfss command is processed when the bsub command is processed by the command processor. It will be processed again when the hfss command is started by the scheduler. The first three examples show the entire hfss command line enclosed in double quotes ("), while the double quote (") characters within the hfss command line are replaced by escaped double quotes (\"). This ensures that the quoted arguments of the hfss command are processed correctly. The remaining examples show how to use a batch file so that the hfss command line will be processed by the command processor only once. The hfss command is placed in a batch file, and then the batch file pathname is placed in the bsub command line. Then, the hfss command is only processed by the command processor when the job is started. When using this approach, the batch file should be accessible from all of the cluster hosts. Serial job: bsub -n 1 "\"C:\Program Files\Ansoft\HFSS13\hfss.exe\" _ -Ng -BatchSolve \\host\share\projects\OptimTee.hfss"
The -n 1 option indicates that this job runs on one core. The entire hfss command is in double quotes, and the double quotes enclosing the hfss pathname are escaped. Each of these double quotes is replaced by the sequence \". bsub -n 1 -R "select[mem>4000]" _ "\"C:\Program Files\Ansoft\HFSS13\hfss.exe\" _ -Ng -BatchSolve \\host\share\projects\OptimTee.hfss"
The -R "select[mem>4000]" option indicates that this needs a minimum of 4 GB memory. The entire hfss command is in double quotes, and the double quotes enclosing the hfss path-
name are escaped. Each of these double quotes is replaced by the sequence \". Multi-processing job using 4 cores: bsub -n 4 -R "span[ptile=4]" _ "\"C:\Program Files\Ansoft\HFSS13\hfss.exe\"_ -Ng -BatchSolve -batchoptions _ \"'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors'=4\" _ \\host\share\projects\OptimTee.hfss"
The -R "span[ptile=4]" option indicates that the four cores need to be on the same machine. The -batchoptions option indicates that HFSS should use four cores for multi-processing. The entire hfss command is in double quotes, and the double quotes enclosing the hfss pathname and the -batchoptions value are escaped. Each of these double quotes is replaced by the sequence \". bsub -n 4 \\host\share\projects\OptimTee.bat
Distributed processing job using 4 engines: Batch File (\\host\share\projects\OptimTee.bat) Contents: "C:\Program Files\Ansoft\HFSS13\hfss.exe" _ -Ng -BatchSolve _ -Distributed \\host\share\projects\OptimTee.hfss
The -n 4 option indicates that the four cores are needed for the job. The -Distributed option indicates that this is a DSO job, so that multiple engines will be started. Because 4 cores are allocated to the job, the job will run 4 engines. The hfss command is placed in the batch file \\host\share\projects\OptimTee.bat. In the bsub command line, the hfss command is replaced by the batch file pathname.
Distributed processing and multi-processing job using 4 cores, with 2 cores for multi-processing: bsub -n 4 -R "span[ptile=2]" \\host\share\projects\OptimTee.bat Batch File (\\host\share\projects\OptimTee.bat) Contents: "C:\Program Files\Ansoft\HFSS13\hfss.exe" -Ng _ -BatchSolve -Distributed -machinelist num=2 -batchoptions_ "'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessorsDistributed'=2 _ 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors'=2" _ \\host\share\projects\OptimTee.hfss
The -n 4 option indicates that the four cores are needed for the job. The -R "span[ptile=2]" option indicates that the cores must be allocated in groups of two cores on the same machine.
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The -machinelist num=2 option indicates that this is a DSO job and that a total of two engines will be started. The 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessorsDistributed=2 batchoption indicates that the distributed analysis engines should use two cores for multi-processing. The 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors=2 batchoption indicates that the portion of the analysis that is not distributed should use two cores for multi-processing. The hfss command is placed in the batch file \\host\share\projects\OptimTee.bat. In the bsub command line, the hfss command is replaced by the batch file pathname. Desktop or remote machine has multiple IP addresses, which we dont support. HFSS 12.1 is able to perform DSO on 2 machines or lesser. Fails to DSO to 3 or more machines There are core dump files at the end of jobs running. Results are computed correctly though HFSS 12.1 doesnt work with LSF versions 7.0.2 and 7.0.3 On Windows, HFSS should be installed on every machine of cluster Firewall should be turned off on the machines in the cluster UAC should be disabled on Vista (only Windows) Sometimes LSF kills an HFSS job (for e.g. job gets preempted due to a high priority job). HFSS doesn't handle such a situation gracefully resulting in the presence of .lock file in the project directory. User needs to manually delete the lock file before continuing with further analysis. When an LSF job is killed, the MainWin services (watchdog, regss, and mwrcpss) could keep running. The result is that later jobs cannot start on the machine. The fix is to kill off these processes before starting a new job Statistics monitoring: HFSS 12.0: In the case of DSO job, LSF doesn't report the job statistics correctly. The statistics reported correspond to the machine on which HFSS is launched and doesn't take into account the resources consumed on other machines. (will be fixed in HFSS 12.1) HFSS 12.1: (LINUX only): Statistics are reported correctly even for DSO jobs (as long as the LSF installation supports blaunch command)
Analysis fails abruptly when running out of resources (cpu/memory/disk) The major reason for job failure is due to insufficient resources given to job Issue is addressed (via graceful failure) in the next release of Ansoft products
Related Topics Integration with Platforms Load Sharing Facility (LSF) General Terminology for LSF What a Scheduler Does Installation of Ansoft Tools on LSF Cluster
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Integration of Ansoft Products with LSF LSF Job Submission Guidelines Troubleshooting for LSF Command Line Enhancements for Ansoft Desktop Products
Use correct path to HFSS and full path to project Ensure sufficient resources (cpu/memory/disk) are allocated to job: check space in temp directory, space in project directory (consider quotas) Ansoft project to be available on the execution host Ensure job submitter has permissions to read/write to project directory and read/execute permissions to installation directory Check for locked project Run HFSS interactively on the machine, outside of the scheduler, and see if it comes up and analyzes.
Output of LSF batch job corresponding to the analysis of Ansoft project: You can obtain this using LSF commands: use bacct if jobs output is not redirected to a file. For example, bacct l <jobid> Batch log generated by Ansoft product (typically, projectname.log, in the same directory as the Ansoft project file) Debug logs generated by Ansoft product, during the running of LSF job. Set ANSOFT_DEBUG_MODE to 1 It is good to collect another set of logs with above value set to 7 Create \\shared_drive\ansdebug directory that is accessible by all machines in the cluster Set ANSOFT_DEBUG_LOG to a file in \\shared_drive\ansdebug directory, for example, \\shared_drive\ansdebug\anslog Set ANSOFT_DEBUG_LOG_SEPARATE to 1. Set ANSOFT_LSF_LOG to a distinct file in \\shared_drive\ansdebug directory, for example, \\shared_drive\ansdebug\lsf.log
For each pair of the machines, between which the remote analysis fails, run "ping remotemachine" and note the output
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For each machine in the network, dump the network interfaces (for e.g. run "ifconfig -a") and note the output Email all 5 logs to development - Jobs log generated by LSF - Log generated by Ansoft product - Entire \\shared_drive\ansdebug folder - Output from ping command - Output related to compute nodes network interfaces
Related Topics Workarounds for LSF Integration with Platforms Load Sharing Facility (LSF) General Terminology for LSF What a Scheduler Does Installation of Ansoft Tools on LSF Cluster Integration of Ansoft Products with LSF LSF Job Submission Guidelines Known Issues for LSF Command Line Enhancements for Ansoft Desktop Products Aborting an Analysis
Some users reported core dumps during HFSS analysis, though analysis results are fine. Workaround: Limit size of core dumps to 0 through the following job submit option: bsub -C 0 -n <number-of-cores> -q <queue-name> Note Letter C must be upper-case
HFSS 12.1 is able to perform DSO on 2 machines or lesser. Fails to DSO to 3 or more machines. Workaround: Set per-thread stacksize to 10MB HFSS 12.1 doesnt work with LSF versions 7.0.2 and 7.0.3. Workaround: Copy scheduler dll from HFSS12 (LSF 7.0.3, LSF 7.0.2 issue) Check if latest 12.1 patch has the fixes for the above issues.
Engineering
Submitting Ansoft PBS Batch Jobs The PBS qsub command may be used to submit Ansoft batch jobs. The typical command format is: qsub qsub_args script where:
qsub_args are the options of the qsub command, script is the pathname of the job script.
The job script is a shell script containing the Ansoft batch command or commands to be run. If a batch command line contains any characters that are special to the shell running the script, then these special characters should be quoted, as needed. The job script may also contain PBS directives on lines before the first executable line of the script. Any qsub options on the command line will take precedence over the PBS directives in the job script. When a PBS batch job is started, the job script runs as the job user in a new shell. In this shell environment, the path must include the directory containing the PBS commands. You should ensure that the path set in the shell startup script, i.e., .cshrc, .profile, .bashrc, etc. includes the directory containing the PBS commands. Serial PBS Batch Jobs In the PBS documentation, serial batch jobs are also called single-node jobs. In general, any job submitted without specifying the -l nodes=value command line argument, will run as a serial or single-node job. See the section on Monitoring Ansoft PBS Batch Jobs for options that can facilitate monitoring of Ansoft batch jobs. Parallel PBS Batch Jobs In the PBS documentation, parallel batch jobs are also called multi-node jobs. When an Ansoft batch job is run as an PBS parallel job, the PBS scheduler will select the hosts for the distributed analysis job based on the qsub command line arguments, the PBS resource directives from the job script, and the status of the hosts when the job is run. The desktop process will be started on one of these hosts. The desktop process will obtain the list of hosts allocated to the job from the PBS scheduler, and start analysis processes on these hosts, as needed, using the PBS scheduler facilities. To run a PBS parallel job, the job must be submitted with a -l nodes=value qsub command line argument or with a -l nodes=value PBS directive in the job script. See the section on Monitoring Ansoft PBS Batch Jobs for options that can facilitate monitoring of Ansoft batch jobs. Related Topics Monitoring Ansoft PBS Batch Jobs Example PBS qsub Command Lines Example PBS qsub Command Lines What a Scheduler Does
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qsub Arguments
The PBS qsub command has a large number of options for control of the submission process. In this section, we review the -l nodes=value command line option with Ansoft parallel batch jobs. This option or directive has the following format: -l nodes=node_spec [+node_spec...][#suffix] where node_spec is one of the following nodename[:pc_spec[:pc_spec...]] Host name of the specified node, followed by optional ppn or cpp specifiers. [N][:property[:property...]][:pc_spec[:pc_spec...]] Optional number of nodes, followed by optional node properties, followed by optional ppn or cpp specifiers. If the number N is omitted, then the default value of 1 host is used. Here, the optional ppn or cpp specifiers pc_spec are of form: ppn=X Number of processes (tasks) per node. Default is 1 if not specified. cpp=Y Number of CPUs (threads) per process. Default is 1 if not specified. The optional global suffix, #suffix, which applies to all hosts has one of the following values: #excl This suffix requests exclusive access to the allocated nodes. #shared This suffix requests shared (i.e., non-exclusive) access to the allocated nodes. The total number of requested processes is determined by adding up the product of the number of nodes and the number of processes per node for each node_spec. In general, this should match the number of distributed engines specified in the Ansoft desktop -Machinelist num=num_distributed_engines command line option. The number of CPUs per process (cpp) specified in the PBS qsub command line or in the PBS directives in the script file should generally match the number of processors per engine specified in the Desktop -batchoptions value. Both the NumberOfProcessors and NumberOfProcessorsDistributed should match the PBS cpp value. See the PBS documentation for a complete list of options for the bsub command, and further information on running multi-node jobs. Related Topics Integration with PBS (Portable Batch System) Professional from Altair Engineering Monitoring Ansoft PBS Batch Jobs Example PBS qsub Command Lines Example PBS qsub Command Lines
"Single-node jobs." The last example is a PBS "multi-node jobs"; this examples demonstrate how to specify the allocation of threads, tasks and nodes to a job. Serial job: qsub ~/pbs_scripts/OptimTee.sh Job Script File: #!/bin/sh /opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss -ng -BatchSolve _ ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss Serial job that needs a minimum of 4GB memory and two hours of real (wallclock) time: qsub ~/pbs_scripts/OptimTee.sh Job Script File: #!/bin/sh #PBS -l walltime=2:00:00 #PBS -l mem=4gb /opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss -ng -BatchSolve _ ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss Multi-processing job using 4 cores: qsub ~/pbs_scripts/OptimTee.sh Job Script File: #!/bin/sh #PBS -l ncpus=4 /opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss -ng -BatchSolve -batchoptions "'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors'=4" _ ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss
The #PBS -l ncpus=4 directive indicates that four cores or CPUs are allocated to this job. The -batchoptions option indicates that HFSS should use four cores for multi-processing. qsub ~/pbs_scripts/OptimTee.sh
Distributed processing job using 4 engines on a single host: Job Script File: #!/bin/sh #PBS -l ncpus=4 /opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss -ng -BatchSolve -Distributed _ ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss
The #PBS -l ncpus=4 directive indicates that four cores or CPUs are allocated to this job.
The -Distributed option indicates that this is a DSO job, so that multiple engines will be started. Because 4 cores are allocated to the job, the job will run 4 engines.
Distributed processing and multi-processing job using 8 cores on two nodes, running 4 engines (two per node) with 2 cores for multi-processing: qsub ~/pbs_scripts/OptimTee.sh Job Script File: #!/bin/sh #PBS -l nodes=2:ppn=2:cpp=2#excl /opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss -ng -BatchSolve -Distributed _ -machinelist num=4 -batchoptions _ "'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessorsDistributed'=2 _ 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors'=2" _ ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss
The PBS directive #PBS -l nodes=2:ppn=1:cpp=2#shared indicates that two nodes are requested [2], two processes (engines) run on each node [ppn=2], and each process will use two cores [cpp=2]. The hosts allocated to this job may not be used for any other jobs while this job is running [#excl]. The -machinelist num=4 option indicates that this is a DSO job and that a total of four engines will be started. The 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessorsDistributed=2 batchoption indicates that the distributed analysis engines should use two cores for multi-processing. The 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors=2 batchoption indicates that the portion of the analysis that is not distributed should use two cores for multi-processing.
Related Topics Integration with PBS (Portable Batch System) Professional from Altair Engineering qsub Arguments Monitoring Ansoft PBS Batch Jobs Example PBS qsub Command Lines
qsub_args are the options of the qsub command, ansoft_exe is the pathname of the Ansoft tool executable to launch,
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ansoft_args are the arguments to the Ansoft tool command, and job_script is a shell script containing the Ansoft desktop command to run.
In the first format, the Ansoft desktop command and its arguments are specified on the qsub command line. In the second format, the pathname of a shell script containing the Ansoft desktop command and its arguments is specified on the qsub command line. In the third format, the command is omitted or replaced with a hyphen; this indicates that the command or script will be taken from stdin. Quoting Ansoft Command or Arguments for SGE If the Ansoft tool executable pathname (ansoft_exe) or any of the arguments of the Ansoft tool command (ansoft_args) contain characters which are interpreted by the command shell, then these special characters must be properly quoted to ensure that the correct command is launched by SGE. This is especially important when using the first form of the qsub command, as the Ansoft desktop command is processed by the shell twice in this case. It is processed by the shell when the qsub command is processed, and again when the job is started. Serial SGE Batch Jobs In general, Ansoft batch jobs may be submitted as SGE serial jobs without any special considerations. See Monitoring Ansoft SGE Batch Jobs for options for monitoring Ansoft batch jobs. Parallel SGE Batch Jobs When an Ansoft batch job is run as an SGE parallel job, the SGE scheduler will select the hosts for the distributed analysis job, and start the desktop process on one of these hosts. The desktop process will obtain the list of hosts from the SGE scheduler, and start analysis processes, as needed, using the SGE scheduler facilities. To run an SGE parallel job, the job must be submitted to an SGE parallel environment (PE). If the qmaster tcp port is not configured as a service, but rather via the environment variable SGE_QMASTER_PORT, this variable must be set in the Ansoft batch job environment. This is needed because the Ansoft desktop uses the "qrsh -inherit" command to launch engine processes. See Monitoring Ansoft SGE Batch Jobs for options for monitoring Ansoft batch jobs. Setting Up an SGE Parallel Environment (PE) To allow Ansoft batch jobs to distribute analysis engines to multiple hosts, the job must be run in a parallel environment (PE) in which the the control_slaves parameter is set to TRUE. This setting is required to allow the Ansoft desktop to start analysis engines on hosts other than the local host, i.e., the host where the Ansoft desktop is running. Here is a sample parallel environment configuration: pe_name slots user_lists xuser_lists
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accounting_summary TRUE The user_lists and xuser_lists parameters are ACLs (access control lists) used to control which users have permission to use the parallel environment. The user_lists setting gives permission to use the PE. The xuser_lists setting denys permission to use the parallel environment. The xuser_lists settings override the user_lists settings. The start_proc_args and stop_proc_args parameters contain the pathname and arguments for the parallel environment startup and shutdown scripts. No startup or shutdown scripts are needed for parallel Ansoft batch jobs. The setting /bin/true may be used as the value for these scripts; this utility does nothing and returns an exit code indicating success (0). The parallel environment allocation_rule parameter will affect how the analysis engine tasks are distributed across the hosts allocated to the job. The $round_robin setting distributes the tasks across the hosts in a round robin fashion, resulting in the load being relatively evenly distributed over all of the hosts. The $fill_up setting allocates all slots on a host before distributing the tasks to another host; the result is that most hosts are either fully utilized or completely unused. See the sge_pe man page for other settings for this parameter. The control_slaves parameter must be set to TRUE, as described above. The job_is_first_task parameter also affects how tasks are allocated. When submitting a job to run in a parallel environment, the number of parallel tasks, n, is specified on the command line. If this setting is TRUE, then the job process is considered one of the tasks, and only (n-1) additional tasks are allocated to the job. If the setting is FALSE, then the job process is not considered to be one of the tasks, and n additional tasks are allocated for the job. See the sge_pe man page for more information about these and other PE parameters. A parallel environment does not run tasks directly. Instead, the tasks are distributed to queues associated with the parallel environment. In order to complete the setup of a parallel environment, one or more queues need to be associated with the parallel environment. The queue pe_list parameter is used to specify the parallel environments (PEs) supported by the queue. This is an important step; if no queues support a given PE, then jobs submitted to that PE will not run. Parallel Batch Job Command Line Considerations The number of engines run on a host will depend on the total number of distributed engines, and the number of hosts allocated to the job. The memory required on a host depends on the number of engines running on the host and on the memory needed for each engine. The qsub command -l resource=value,... or -q queue_list command line options specify that the parallel batch job run on machines with sufficient memory and other resources. Related Topics
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Monitoring Ansoft SGE Batch Jobs Ansoft Desktop -monitor Command Line Option for SGE Example SGE qsub Command Lines Issue with qrsh (SGE) Issue with MainWin Core Services for SGE What a Scheduler Does
You can monitor the progress of a job by checking the standard output file for progress, info and warning messages, and checking the standard error file for error and fatal messages. Related Topics Integration with Sun Grid Engine (SGE) Monitoring Ansoft SGE Batch Jobs Example SGE qsub Command Lines Issue with qrsh (SGE) Issue with MainWin Core Services for SGE
The -b y option indicates that hfss is launched directly from the command line, instead of using a script. No queue is specified, so the default queue will be used qsub -b y -l h_rt=00:15:00 /opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss _ -ng -BatchSolve ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss
The -l h_rt=00:15:00 option indicates that this job has a "hard" runtime limit of 15 minutes. qsub ~/sge/scripts/OptimTee.csh
Serial job using a script, with a runtime limit specified in the script:
The -b y option is absent, so the script ~/sge/scripts/OptimTee.csh will be run when the job starts. The script file OptimTee.csh may contain SGE directives in addition to the command(s) to run. In this example, a directive with a hard runtime limit if 15 minutes is included in the script. #!/bin/csh #$ -l h_rt=00:15:00 /opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss -ng -BatchSolve _ ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss
The SGE directive #$ -l h_rt=00:15:00 is equivalent to including -l h_rt=00:15:00 on the qsub command line.
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Distributed processing job using 4 engines: qsub -b y -pe pe1 4 /opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss _ -ng -BatchSolve -Distributed ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss
The -b y option indicates that hfss is launched directly from the command line, instead of using a script. The -pe pe1 4 command_line option indicates that this is a parallel job running under the pe1 parallel environment, and that 4 cores or processors are allocated to this parallel job. The -Distributed option indicates that this is a DSO job, so that multiple engines will be started. Because 4 cores are allocated to the job, the job will run 4 engines.
Distributed processing and multi-processing job using 8 cores on two nodes, running 4 engines (two per node) with 2 cores for multi-processing: qsub -b y -l "num_proc=4" -pe pe1 8 "/opt/Ansoft/HFSS13/hfss13/hfss -ng -BatchSolve -Distributed -machinelist num=4 -batchoptions "\"" 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessorsDistributed'=2 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors'=2"\"" ~/projects/OptimTee.hfss"
The -b y option indicates that hfss is launched directly from the command line, instead of using a script. The -l "num_proc=4" option indicates that each host must have 4 processors or cores. The -pe pe1 8 command_line option indicates that this is a parallel job running under the pe1 parallel environment, and that 8 cores or processors are allocated to this parallel job. The -Distributed option indicates that this is a DSO job, so that multiple engines will be started. The -machinelist num=4 option indicates that a total of four engines will be started. The 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessorsDistributed'=2 batchoption indicates that the distributed analysis engines should use two cores for multi-processing. The 'HFSS/Preferences/NumberOfProcessors'=2 batchoption indicates that the portion of the analysis that is not distributed should use two cores for multi-processing. The entire hfss command is in double quotes, and the double quotes enclosing the -batchoptions value are escaped. Each of these double quotes is replaced by the sequence "\"".
Related Topics Integration with Sun Grid Engine (SGE) Monitoring Ansoft SGE Batch Jobs Ansoft Desktop -monitor Command Line Option for SGE Issue with qrsh (SGE) Issue with MainWin Core Services for SGE
If these parameter settings are removed, then the SGE built-in mechanisms are used for qrsh, rsh, and rlogin. No problems with the built-in versions have been reported. The SGE qconf -sconf global command may be used to view these parameter settings. The SGE qconf -mconf global command may be used to modify or remove these parameter settings.
Workaround for Issue with MainWin Core Services One way to avoid this problem is to modify the environment in which the Ansoft desktop runs so that the TMP and TMPDIR environment variables do not point to the directory which will be immediately removed by SGE when the job finishes. This can be done by copying the value of the
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TMPDIR environment variable to the ANS_SGE_TMPDIR environment variable, and unsetting the TMPDIR and TMP environment variables. The servcies ignore the ANS_SGE_TMPDIR environment variable, but if this variable is set, then it will be used as the temporary directory for the rest of the Ansoft software. Here is an example bash wrapper script that may be used to work around this issue. In this example, the product is hfss, but the same approach will work for any Ansoft product. In this example, the script is named sge_hfss and is in the Ansoft software installation directory. When an Ansoft desktop job is submitted to the SGE scheduler, the script (sge_hfss, in this example) should be submitted instead of hfss. The script will modify the environment, as needed, then start hfss. When the analysis finishes, the script returns the exit status of hfss. An alternative is to place the script in an arbitrary directory, and modify the script to include an absolute path to the product (hfss in this example). Script contents: #! /bin/bash # This script will not correctly process arguments containing # spaces or other characters special to the shell. # Create hfss command line # In this example, sge_hfss and hfss are in the same directory # An alternative is to use an absolute path for the hfss command cmd0=$0 cmd="${cmd0/%sge_hfss/hfss} $@" # Fix environment variables export ANS_SGE_TMPDIR=${TMPDIR} unset TMPDIR unset TMP # Run the hfss command and return the exit status ${cmd} exit $? Related Topics Integration with Sun Grid Engine (SGE) Monitoring Ansoft SGE Batch Jobs Ansoft Desktop -monitor Command Line Option for SGE Example SGE qsub Command Lines
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The -Distributed option should be present, and the -Local option should be absent. When running as a batch job under one of the schedulers with direct integration, this option is a directive to the job to 1) obtain the list of hosts allocated to the job, directly from the scheduler, and to 2) use the scheduler to launch the analysis engines on the hosts allocated to the job. The -Machinelist num=num_distributed_engines option should be included, where num_distributed_engines is the total number of analysis engines to be started on the hosts assigned to the job. Serial Job on a Single Processor Distributed Job using Four Processors Multiprocessing Job Using Four Cores
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Other examples:
Serial Job on a Single Processor Suppose HFSS is installed at c:\HFSS13 and you are using Ansoft RSM for remote-analysis/ DSO: C:\ HFSS13\HFSS.exe ng BatchSolve User is using LSF for remote-analysis/DSO bsub n 1 C:\ HFSS13\HFSS.exe ng BatchSolve -monitor local_ \\shared_drive\projs\OptimTee.hfss Distributed Job using Four Processors Ansoft RSM C:\ HFSS13\HFSS.exeng Batchsolve -monitor Distributed _ machinelist list=10.1.1.221, 10.1.1.222, 10.1.1.223,_ 10.1.1.224 \\shared_drive\projs\OptimTee.hfss LSF bsub n 4 C:\ HFSS13\HFSS.exe ng Batchsolve monitor _ Distributed machinelist num=4 _ \\shared_drive\projs\OptimTee.hfss Multiprocessing Job Using Four Cores Multi-processing job using 4 cores bsub n 4 R span[ptile=4] C:\ HFSS13\HFSS.exe ng -monitor _ Local BatchSolve batchoptions \\shared_drive\registry.txt _ \\shared_drive\projs\OptimTee.hfss This requests 4 cores to come from the same machine, as multi-processing needs cores to be on the same machine Distributed Analysis and Multi-Processing in the Same Job Distributed-processing using 4 engines and multi-processing using 4 cores, using a total of 16 cores bsub n 16 R span[ptile=4] c:\hfss13\hfss.exe BatchSolve Distributed machinelist num=4 _ batchoptions \\shared_drive\registry.txt _ \\shared_drive\projs\OptimTee.hfss Related Topics Running HFSS from a Command Line Integration with Platforms Load Sharing Facility (LSF) General Terminology for LSF
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remote 10.1.1.221 _
monitor \\shared_drive\projs\OptimTee.hfss
ng _
What a Scheduler Does Installation of Ansoft Tools on LSF Cluster Integration of Ansoft Products with LSF LSF Job Submission Guidelines Known Issues for LSF Troubleshooting for LSF Aborting an Analysis
Character Set: Use Multi-Byte Character Set [/D "_MBCS"] Runtime Library: Multi-threaded DLL [/MD] Calling Convention: __cdecl [/Gd (default)] Linker Options: Create a DLL [/DLL] 32 bit code [MACHINE:X86]
Linux The proxy library should be compiled and linked as shared library (*.so) file. The following compiler and linker options are recommended when building using gcc/g++: Compiler Options
Generate 32 bit code: [-m32] Generate position independent code, suitable for use in a shared library: [-fpic] Generate code compatible with pthreads library: [-pthread] Create a shared object file: [-shared] Generate 32 bit code: [-m32] Generate position independent code, suitable for use in a shared library: [-fpic] Generate code compatible with pthreads library: [-pthread]
Linker Options:
IsProductLaunchedInYourEnvironment
Purpose Determine if the program is running in the context of the scheduler for which this library was written.
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Signature extern "C" bool FN_PREFIX_IsProductLaunchedInYourEnvironment(); Arguments None. Return Value Returns true if the current process is running as a job of the scheduler. Otherwise, false is returned. Notes For many schedulers, the presence of certain environment variables or their values may be checked to determine if the current process is running as a job of the scheduler.
GetTempDirectory
Purpose Get the pathname of the temporary directory provided by the scheduler for the current job. The pathname is an empty string if the scheduler does not provide a temporary directory for the current job. Signature extern "C" bool FN_PREFIX_GetTempDirectory(char * buffer, unsigned int* length); Arguments buffer: Pointer to a character buffer to contain the temporary directory path name or NULL. length: Pointer to a location to contain the length of the buffer. Must be a valid pointer to an unsigned int. Return Value If argument buffer is NULL, then then required length of the buffer is stored in the location to which argument length points, and true is returned. If argument buffer is not NULL, then the value to which argument length points (the buffer length) is checked. If it is large enough to contain the pathname of the temporary directory, including the terminal null byte, then the pathname is copied to the buffer and true is returned. If the buffer length is insufficient for the pathname of the temporary directory, then the buffer is unchanged, and false is returned. Notes To get the pathname of the temporary directory, the infrastructure first calls this function with a NULL buffer, and obtains the required length of the buffer for the pathname. After creating a buffer of the appropriate size, the infrastructure calls this function again, passing the pointer to the buffer in the buffer argument and a pointer to the size of the buffer in the length argument.
GetMachineListAvailableForDistribution
Purpose Get the list of hosts allocated to the current job. A host will appear in the list multiple times if
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the scheduler has allocated multiple processors or cores on the host to the job. The number of times the host appears in the list is equal to the number of processors or cores of the host that are allocated to the current job. The list is a text string containing a space separated list of hostnames. Signature extern "C" bool FN_PREFIX_GetMachineListAvailableForDistribution(char * buffer, unsigned int* length); Arguments buffer: Pointer to a character buffer to contain the list of machines available for distribution or NULL. length: Pointer to a location to contain the length of the buffer. Must be a valid pointer to an unsigned int. Return Value If argument buffer is NULL, then then required length of the buffer is stored in the location to which argument length points, and true is returned. If argument buffer is not NULL, then the value to which argument length points (the buffer length) is checked. If it is large enough to contain the lists of hosts, including the terminal null byte, then the list is copied to the buffer and true is returned. If the buffer length is insufficient for the list of hosts, then the buffer is unchanged, and false is returned. Notes To get the list of hosts for distribution, the infrastructure first calls this function with a NULL buffer, and obtains the required length of the buffer for the list. After creating a buffer of the appropriate size, the infrastructure calls this function again, passing the pointer to the buffer in the buffer argument and a pointer to the size of the buffer in the length argument. The hostnames in the list provided by this function shall be used in calls to LaunchProcess(). These host names must be in a format that is accepted by that function. See the section below on LaunchProcess.
LaunchProcess
Purpose Launch a local or remote process to run an analysis engine. This function is called by the Ansoft desktop application to launch an engine process on a specified host. The hostname is one of the names in the list provided by the GetMachineListAvailableForDistribution function. See the GetMachineListAvailableForDistribution section above. If the hostname does not refer to the local host, then this function shall use the scheduler to launch the engine on the specified host. If the hostname refers to the local host, then the engine may be started as a child process, or it may be started using the scheduler. Signature
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extern "C" int FN_PREFIX_LaunchProcess(const char* hostName, const char* exePathName, const char* arg1, const char* arg2); Arguments hostName: The name of the host where the process is to be launched. exePathName: The pathname of the analysis engine executable to be started. arg1: The first argument of the analysis engine command line. arg2: The second argument of the analysis engine command line. Return Value Returns 0 on success. Returns a non-zero value if an error occurs. Notes The hostName argument will be one of the hostnames provided by the function GetMachineListAvailableForDistribution(). If the hostName argument is the same as the current host, then the analysis engine process may be started as a child process. If the hostName argument is not the same as the current host, then the analysis engine process will be started on the remote host using the facilities available in the scheduler environment. The command line of the analysis engine process is exePathName arg1 arg2. The command line arguments arg1 and arg2 may contain newlines, tabs, spaces or other characters that are interpreted by the command processor, such as single quote (') or double quote (") characters, or dollar signs ($). Newlines or tabs may be replaced by spaces, if the newline or tab characters cannot be easily handled. If the analysis engine command is processed by a shell, then it may be necessary to quote any special characters in the exePathName or in the arguments so that the special meaning is removed. If a scheduler command is used to request the scheduler to launch the command to start the engine process, the analysis engine command may be processed by the shell twice: once when the scheduler command is processed, and a second time when the analysis engine process is started. If this is the case, then the quoting of special characters needs to account for two passes through the command processor.
GetUseRsmForEngineLaunch
Purpose This function is optional. If this feature is not needed, then the function need not be implemented. Most schedulers should not need this feature. For some schedulers, it may be desirable for the Ansoft RSM service to launch the engine processes instead of using the scheduler proxy library. For example, if the scheduler proxy library is limited to launching one process per host, then the scheduler proxy library may be used to launch one Ansoft RSM service executable per host, and the Ansoft RSM executable will launch all of the engine processes. If the Ansoft RSM service should be used to launch engine processes for this scheduler, then this function shall be implemented and it shall return true. If the Ansoft RSM service should not be used to launch engine processes for this scheduler, then this function is not required. If it is implemented, it should return false. If it is not implemented, it will be treated the same as if it was implemented and returns false.
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Signature extern "C" bool FN_PREFIX_GetUseRsmForEngineLaunch(void) Arguments None. Return Value Returns true if the Ansoft RSM service should be used to launch engine processes for this scheduler. Returns false if the Ansoft RSM service should not be used to launch engine processes for this scheduler. Notes This function is optional. If not implemented, then it is treated the same as if it was implemented and returns false.
GetThisJobID
Purpose Get a string identifying the job currently running in the scheduler environment. This string is displayed to the end user to identify the job. Signature extern "C" bool FN_PREFIX_GetThisJobID(char * buffer, unsigned int* length); Arguments buffer: Pointer to a character buffer to contain the Job ID or NULL. length: Pointer to a location to contain the length of the buffer. Must be a valid pointer to an unsigned int. Return Value If argument buffer is NULL, then then required length of the buffer is stored in the location to which argument length points, and true is returned. If argument buffer is not NULL, then the value to which argument length points (the buffer length) is checked. If it is large enough to contain the string identifying the current job, including the terminal null byte, then the job ID is copied to the buffer and true is returned. If the buffer length is insufficient for the job ID, then the buffer is unchanged, and false is returned. Notes To get the job ID, the infrastructure first calls this function with a NULL buffer, and obtains the required length of the buffer for the job ID. After creating a buffer of the appropriate size, the infrastructure calls this function again, passing the pointer to the buffer in the buffer argument and a pointer to the size of the buffer in the length argument. For many schedulers, the job ID may be obtained from the value of an environment variable.
GetSchedulerDisplayName
Purpose
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Get a string identifying the scheduler associated with the current scheduler proxy library. This string is displayed to the end user to identify the scheduler. Signature extern "C" bool FN_PREFIX_GetSchedulerDisplayName(char * buffer, unsigned int* length); Arguments buffer: Pointer to a character buffer to contain the scheduler display name or NULL. length: Pointer to a location to contain the length of the buffer. Must be a valid pointer to an unsigned int. Return Value If argument buffer is NULL, then then required length of the buffer is stored in the location to which argument length points, and true is returned. If argument buffer is not NULL, then the value to which argument length points (the buffer length) is checked. If it is large enough to contain the scheduler display name, including the terminal null byte, then the scheduler display name is copied to the buffer and true is returned. If the buffer length is insufficient for the scheduler display name, then the buffer is unchanged, and false is returned. Notes To get the scheduler display name, the infrastructure first calls this function with a NULL buffer, and obtains the required length of the buffer for the scheduler display name. After creating a buffer of the appropriate size, the infrastructure calls this function again, passing the pointer to the buffer in the buffer argument and a pointer to the size of the buffer in the length argument. The scheduler display name is generally a fixed string.
Testing IsProductLaunchedInYourEnvironment Testing GetSchedulerDisplayName and GetThisJobID Testing GetTempDirectory Testing GetMachineListAvailableForDistribution Testing LaunchProcess Testing GetUseRsmForEngineLaunch
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Testing IsProductLaunchedInYourEnvironment
This function should be tested first. If the Ansoft application is not able to load and run this function, or if it returns false, then none of the other functions will be called. If the batch analysis is running in a scheduler environment, and this function returns true, then there will be an "info" message near the beginning of the batch log indicating that the analysis is running as a scheduler job. This message will include the scheduler display name returned by the function GetSchedulerDisplayName, and it will also include the job ID returned by the function GetThisJobID. If the batch analysis is not running in a scheduler environment, then none of the messages will include a scheduler display name or job ID. If this message does not appear when running in a scheduler environment, ensure that the scheduler proxy library is named correctly, that it is built correctly, that it is installed in the correct directory, and that the function name prefix is the same is the library prefix converted to upper case.
Testing GetTempDirectory
Unfinished. The temp directory displayed in the batch log is the default installation setting, not the one from the scheduler. The scheduler temp directory is set in AnsoftCOMApplication::MainFunction(), so it happens for COM engines, but not for the desktop.
Testing GetMachineListAvailableForDistribution
This function is used for distributed analysis. The analysis may be distributed across several machines if portions of the analysis are independent. For example, frequency sweeps, parametric analysis and domain decomposition allow different portions of the analysis to be distributed across machines. The analysis in a batch job will be distributed to multiple processors or hosts if the the analysis includes a setup that may be distributed (e.g., a frequency sweep or parametric analysis) and the -Distributed option is included in the desktop command line. The list of machines is displayed in an "info" message near the beginning of the batch log. The list in the info message can be directly compared to the expected list of machines. To verify that the machine list is constructed correctly for a variety of cases, it may be necessary to test several jobs with different resource requirements and verify that the machine list is correct in each case. For example, one may run batch analyses with the following resource requirements:
One processor on one host Several processors on one host One processor on each of several hosts Several processors on each of several hosts
Testing LaunchProcess
This function is used to launch analysis engines in the case where the analysis is distributed across multiple hosts. The analysis may be distributed across several machines if portions of the analysis are independent. For example, frequency sweeps, parametric analysis and domain decomposition allow different portions of the analysis to be distributed across machines. The analysis in a batch job will be distributed to multiple processors or hosts if the the analysis includes a setup that may be distributed (e.g., a frequency sweep or parametric analysis) and the -Distributed option is included in the desktop command line. The list of machines is displayed in an "info" message near the beginning of the batch log. The batch log may also contain info messages when portions of the analysis distributed to different machines start or finish. These messages usually include the name of the host when the analysis ran or will run. One can verify that the analysis is actually running on the expected host or hosts using the Linux ps command or the Windows Task Manager. In general, one analysis engine is started for each occurrence of each host in the list of machines available for distribution. For example, if the list of hosts is "hostA hostA hostA hostB hostB", then a total of 5 engines would be started, three on hostA and two on hostB. In some cases, an additional engine is started to perform the portion of the analysis which is not distributed; if this is the case, the non-distributed engine is idle during the portion of the analysis which is distributed. If this occurs in the case where the list of hosts is "hostA hostA hostA hostB hostB", then a total of 6 engines would be started, but at most 5 engines would be active at any given time. When each analysis engine is running, it may start additional child processes to do a portion of the analysis, but these are not counted as additional analysis engines because the parent of the sub-engine is inactive (waiting for the sub-engine results) when the sub-engine is active. Testing should be sufficient to demonstrate that the scheduler proxy library can start multiple engine processes on the desktop host, and can also start multiple engine processes on other hosts.
Testing GetUseRsmForEngineLaunch
In most cases, this function will not be implemented or tested. If this function is implemented and returns true, then the Ansoft desktop application will not start the analysis engines using the LaunchProcess function directly. Instead, the Ansoft desktop application will start one AnsoftRSMService process on each host using the LaunchProcess function, and the engine processes will be started by these AnsoftRSMService processes. One may check for these processes using the Linux ps command or the Windows Task Manager. One AnsoftRSMService process should run on each host. These processes will be named ansoftrsmservice.exe or AnsoftRSMService.exe. These processes will be started on each host before any analysis engine is started on the host, and will remain running until the job is complete.
Troubleshooting Custom Scheduler Integration None of the Proxy Functions are Called Troubleshooting IsProductLaunchedInYourEnvironment Function Troubleshooting GetSchedulerDisplayName Troubleshooting GetThisJobID Troubleshooting GetTempDirectory
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Troubleshooting GetSchedulerDisplayName
Verify that the IsProductLaunchedInYourEnvironment function returns true when running in the scheduler environment. Verify that the scheduler display name is a valid ASCII string. Verify that, if argument buffer is NULL, then the required length of the buffer is stored in the location to which argument length points, and true is returned. The required buffer length must include space for the string null terminator. Verify that, if argument buffer is not NULL and the value to which argument length points (the buffer length) is large enough to contain the display name, including the terminal null byte, then the display name is copied to the buffer and true is returned.
14-74 Running Simulations
Troubleshooting GetThisJobID
Verify that the IsProductLaunchedInYourEnvironment function returns true when running in the scheduler environment. Verify that the job ID is a valid ASCII string. Verify that, if argument buffer is NULL, then the required length of the buffer is stored in the location to which argument length points, and true is returned. The required buffer length must include space for the string null terminator. Verify that, if argument buffer is not NULL and the value to which argument length points (the buffer length) is large enough to contain the job ID, including the terminal null byte, then the job ID is copied to the buffer and true is returned.
Troubleshooting GetTempDirectory
Verify that the IsProductLaunchedInYourEnvironment function returns true when running in the scheduler environment. Verify that the temporary directory name is a valid ASCII string. Verify that, if argument buffer is NULL, then the required length of the buffer is stored in the location to which argument length points, and true is returned. The required buffer length must include space for the string null terminator. Verify that, if argument buffer is not NULL and the value to which argument length points (the buffer length) is large enough to contain the temporary directory pathname, including the terminal null byte, then the temporary directory pathname is copied to the buffer and true is returned.
Troubleshooting GetMachineListAvailableForDistribution
Verify that the IsProductLaunchedInYourEnvironment function returns true when running in the scheduler environment. Verify that the list of hosts is a valid ASCII string containing a space separated list of host names. A host name will appear in the list a number of times equal to the number of processors or cores available to the job on that host. Verify that, if argument buffer is NULL, then the required length of the buffer is stored in the location to which argument length points, and true is returned. The required buffer length must include space for the string null terminator. Verify that, if argument buffer is not NULL and the value to which argument length points (the buffer length) is large enough to contain the list of hosts, including the terminal null byte, then the list of hosts is copied to the buffer and true is returned.
Troubleshooting LaunchProcess
Verify that the IsProductLaunchedInYourEnvironment function returns true when running in the scheduler environment. The hostName argument is a host name from the list returned by the GetMachineListAvailableForDistribution function. Verify that the LaunchProcess function can accept host names in the format returned by the GetMachineListAvailableForDistribution function.
Running Simulations14-75
The exePathName argument is the pathname of the analysis engine executable to be started. This pathname may contain spaces or other characters special to the shell. Ensure that the LaunchProcess function is able to handle such cases. The arg1 and arg2 arguments may contain newlines, tabs, single quotes, spaces, dollar signs, and other characters which may be special to the shell. Ensure that the LaunchProcess function is able to handle such cases. If needed, the newline characters may be replaced by other whitespace characters. One or both of these arguments could also be an empty string; verify that the empty string is correctly passed to the engine process command line. If a scheduler command is used to launch the engine process on a remote machine, the engine command line may be processed by the shell twice, once when the scheduler command is processed by the shell, and again when the engine command is processed by the shell. In such cases, the quoting of characters special to the shell will need to be take these two passes through the shell into account. In some implementations, it may be necessary or convenient to use different approaches for launching engine processes on the local machine and on remote machines; if this is done, verify that the approach used to determine whether the hostName argument represents the local machine is correct.
Troubleshooting GetUseRsmForEngineLaunch
In most cases, this function will not be implemented. If it is implemented, then follow the suggestions below. Verify that the IsProductLaunchedInYourEnvironment function returns true when running in the scheduler environment. If the RSM should be used for launching engines, verify that this function returns true. Otherwise, verify that this function returns false.
To change the priority of simulations for the systems resources: 1. While a solution is running, right-click the Progress window, and click Change Priority on the shortcut menu.
2.
To affect priority for future simulation runs, click the Tools>Options> HFSS Options to open the HFSS Options dialog box, and click the Solver tab.
From the Change Priority menu (or the Default Process Priority pull-down menu), select one of the following priorities: Lowest Priority Below Normal Normal Above Normal Highest The default.
3.
Click OK.
Running Simulations14-77
Aborting an Analysis
To end the solution process before it is complete:
Right-click In the Progress window and click Abort. HFSS ends the analysis immediately.
The data for the currently solving pass or frequency point is deleted. All previously solved solutions are retained. For example, if you abort between the third and fourth adaptive pass, the solutions for the third pass will be available, and any solutions for the fourth pass are discarded. To abort the solution process after the current adaptive pass or solved frequency point is complete:
Right-click the Progress window, and click Clean Stop on the shortcut menu. HFSS ends the analysis after the next solved pass or frequency point.
If you request a clean stop between the third and fourth adaptive pass, the solutions for the third and fourth pass will be available once the fourth pass has finished solving. Ansoft Application as an LSF Job If you have an Ansoft application running as an LSF job, you can use the command bkill s SIGTERM jobid to terminate an Ansoft application. Here jobid is the LSF job id. The response will be Job <jobid> is being signaled. The response is the same whether the job is actually being signaled or not. This works correctly on a 32 bit version of Windows XP, using a 32 bit version of LSF. In cases where the SIGTERM parameter is ignored, the command kills the LSF job, but does not clean the lock files, and other files may not be in a consistent state. See http://www.vital-it.ch/support/LSF/programmer/advanced.html for a detailed description under Signal Handling in Windows. Unix/Linux For UNIX/Linux, you can use TERM commands. Sigterm handling for Unix is done in Desktop library. You can abort a running batchsolve on Unix by sending a TERM signal to hfss.exe Related Topics Integration with Platforms Load Sharing Facility (LSF)
Running Simulations14-79
You dont need to make any additional changes to the HFSS or Maxwell Setup. Simply choose Analyze. HFSS or Maxwell know they need to re-solve using the updated temperature information. The updated HFSS or Maxwell results, based on the new temperature distribution, can be imported by the ANSYS Workbench 12 via the pre-existing ANSYS Thermal Link. To do this, do the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. Close the HFSS or Maxwell project In ANSYS Workbench 12, Clean the previously imported data Import the new results from HFSS or Maxwell Run the thermal simulation again.
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After an analysis that includes thermal feedback from ANSYS Workbench 12, you can see temperature changes expressed in Temperature field overlays (both visually in the overlay and in the color key) as well as in the Solution data.
In the Solution data Profile tab you will see a new entry for Maximum Delta T, for the change in temperature from the previous simulation. The first appearance shows an N/A value, as shown here:
This simulation feedback loop from Ansoft to ANSYS Workbench 12 and back can continue until you decide that Temperature delta reported in the Solution Report low and stable for the designs. Related Topics Export Transfer File for ANSYS Enable Thermal Feedback from ANSYS Mechanical
Running Simulations14-83
15
Optimetrics
Optimetrics enables you to determine the best design variation among a model's possible variations. You create the original model, the nominal design, and then define the design parameters that vary, which can be nearly any design parameter assigned a numeric value in HFSS. For example, you can parameterize the model geometry or material properties. You can then perform the following types of analyses on your nominal HFSS design: Parametric In a parametric analysis, you define one or more variable sweep definitions, each specifying a series of variable values within a range. For example, you can parameterize component values. (See Variables in HFSS for more information.) Optimetrics solves the design at each variation. You can then compare the results to determine how each design variation affects the performance of the design. Parametric analyses are often used as precursors to optimization solutions because they help to determine a reasonable range of variable values for the optimization analysis.
Optimization For an optimization analysis, you identify the cost function and the optimization goal. Optimetrics changes the design parameter values to meet that goal. The cost function can be based on any solution quantity that HFSS can compute.
Optimetrics 15-1
Sensitivity
In a sensitivity analysis, you use Optimetrics to explore the vicinity of the design point to determine the sensitivity of the design to small changes in variables. Tuning allows you to change variable values interactively while monitoring the performance of the design. If you want to ensure that tuning does not resolve variations already solved by parametric setup, you must check Save Fields Mesh in the Options tab of the optimetrics setup. In a statistical analysis, you use Optimetrics to determine the distribution of a design's performance, which is caused by a statistical distribution of variable values.
Tuning
Statistical
Note
Sweeping or using a complex variable is not allowed in any optimetrics setup, including optimization, statistical, sensitivity, and tuning setups.
You can also Link to ANSYS Design Xplorer. This permits you to manage an HFSS Optimetrics simulation from the ANSYS Workbench. Related Topics Getting Started Guide: Optimizing Waveguide T-Junction Setting up a Parametric Analysis Setting up an Optimization Analysis Setting up a Sensitivity Analysis Tuning a Variable Setting up a Statistical Analysis Parametric Overview Optimization Overview Sensitivity Analysis Overview Statistical Analysis Overview Tuning Overview Using Distributed Analysis
15-2 Optimetrics
HFSSOnline Help
Parametric Overview
Running a parametric analysis enables you to simulate several design variations using a single model. You define a series of variable values within a range, or a variable sweep definition, and HFSS generates a solution for each design variation. You can then compare the results to determine how each design variation affects the performance of the design. You can vary design parameters that are assigned a quantity, such as geometry dimensions, material properties, and boundary and excitation properties. (See the online help topic for the specific parameter you want to vary.) The number of variations that can be defined in a parametric sweep setup is limited only by your computing resources. To perform a parametric analysis, you first create a nominal design. A nominal design is created like any other design, except that variables are assigned to those aspects of the model you want to change. All variables must be defined before you start the parametric analysis. Although you are not required to solve the nominal design before performing a parametric analysis, doing so helps ensure that the model is set up and operates as intended. Alternatively, you can perform a validation check on the nominal design before performing a parametric analysis. Parametric analyses are often used as precursors to optimization analyses because they enable you to determine a reasonable range of variable values for an optimization analysis. Related Topics Setting up a Parametric Analysis
Optimetrics 15-3
To add a parametric setup to a design: 1. Click HFSS or HFSS>Optimetrics Analysis> Add Parametric .
Alternatively, right-click Optimetrics in the project tree, and then click Add>Parametric on the shortcut menu.
The Setup Sweep Analysis dialog box appears. 2. Add a variable sweep definition. After you define a parametric sweep, a shortcut menu becomes available when you right-click the setup name. Note Sweeping or using a complex variable is not allowed in any optimetrics setup, including optimization, statistical, sensitivity, and tuning setups.
Related Topics Adding a Variable Sweep Definition Specifying a Solution Setup for a Parametric Setup Using Distributed Analysis Parametric Overview Adding a Parametric Sweep from a File
15-4 Optimetrics
Alternatively, right-click Optimetrics in the project tree, and then click Add>Parametric on the shortcut menu.
HFSSOnline Help
The Setup Sweep Analysis dialog box appears. 2. Under the Sweep Definitions tab, click Add. The Add/Edit Sweep dialog box appears. All the independent variables associated with the design are listed in the Variable pull-down list. 3. Click the variable for which you are defining the sweep definition from the Variable pulldown list. If you do not define a sweep definition for a variable in the list, the variable's current value in the nominal design is used in the parametric analysis. 4. 5. Specify the variable values to be included in the sweep. Click Add, and then click OK. You return to the Setup Sweep Analysis dialog box. The variable sweep is listed in the top half of the window. 6. View the design variations that are to be solved in table format under the Table tab. Viewing the sweep definition in table format enables you to visualize the design variations that are to be solved and manually adjust sweep points if necessary. Click OK.
7.
Related Topics Specifying Variable Values for a Sweep Definitions Synchronizing Variable Sweep Definitions Modifying a Variable Sweep Definition Manually Overriding a Variables Current Value in a Parametric Setup Adding a Parametric Sweep from a File
Optimetrics 15-5
Exponential count Specify an exponential (base e) series of values, and the number of values to calculate. 2. If you selected Single value, type the value of the sweep definition in the Value box. If you selected another sweep type, do the following: a. b. Type the starting value of the variable range in the Start text box. Type the final value of the variable range in the Stop text box. Variable values must be single real numbers, or expressions that evaluate to single real numbers. Complex numbers cannot be used as the values of variables in any optimetric analysis.
Warning
3.
If you selected Linear step as the sweep type, type the step size in the Step box. The step size is the difference between variable values in the sweep definition. The step size determines the number of design variations between the start and stop values. HFSS will solve the model at each step in the specified range, including the start and stop values. The step size can be negative, when the Stop value is less than the Start value If you selected another sweep type, type the number of points, or variable values, in the sweep definition in the Count text box. For Decade count and Octave count, the Count value specifies the number of points to calculate in every decade or octave. For Exponential count, the Count value is the total number of points. The total number of points includes the start and stop values.
HFSSOnline Help
For example, if you synchronize a sweep definition that includes values of 1, 2, and 3 inches with a second sweep definition that includes values of 4, 5, and 6 inches, HFSS will solve 3 design variations. The first variation is solved at the variable values of 1 and 4; the second variation is solved at the variable values 2 and 5; and the third variation is solved at the final variable values 3 and 6. To synchronize variable sweep definitions: 1. 2. Under the Sweep Definitions tab of the Setup Sweep Analysis dialog box, select the rows containing the sweep definitions you want to synchronize. Click Sync. The synchronized sweeps are given a group number, which is listed in the Sync # column. Optionally, view the design variations that are to be solved in table format under the Table tab. Related Topics Specifying Variable Values for a Sweep Definitions
To modify a variable value, click a value text box in the table and type a new value. To delete a variable value from the sweep definition, click the row you want to delete, and then click Delete. To add a new variable value to the sweep definition, click Add. Then click in the value text box and type a new value. Variable values must be single real numbers, or expressions that evaluate to single real numbers. Complex numbers cannot be used as the values of variables in any optimetric analysis.
Warning
Your modifications are tracked and available for viewing at the bottom of the Setup Sweep Analysis dialog box under the Sweep Definitions tab. The operations you performed are listed with descriptions. Warning If you modify an original sweep definition using the Add/Edit Sweep dialog box after you have manually modified its table of design variations, your manual modifications become invalid and are removed. A warning is displayed to inform you that your manual values are about to become invalid, so you can decide whether or not to proceed.
Optimetrics 15-7
Related Topics Adding a Variable Sweep Definition Overriding a Variables Current Value in a Parametric Setup Adding a Parametric Sweep from a File
To revert to the current variable value, clear the Override option. Warning Variable values must be single real numbers, or expressions that evaluate to single real numbers. Complex numbers cannot be used as the values of variables in any optimetric analysis.
Related Topics Adding a Variable Sweep Definition Modifying a Variable Sweep Definition Manually
15-8 Optimetrics
HFSSOnline Help
Related Topics Specifying the Solution Quantity to Evaluate for Parametric Analysis Specifying a Solution Quantitys Calculation Range
Related Topics Specifying a Solution Quantitys Calculation Range Specifying Output Variables Setup Calculations for Optimetrics.
Optimetrics 15-9
To setup an Optimetrics calculation: 1. 2. Click the Setup Calculations button to open the Add/Edit/Calculation dialog. In the Report Type text field in the Context pane, select from the drop down list of available types. Selecting Fields as the Report type causes the Geometry field to display. 3. 4. 5. In the Solution text box, select from the drop down list of available solutions. If the Geometry field is available, select from the drop down list. In the Trace tab, specify the solution Category, a Quantity, and Functions. The resulting expression will be displayed in the Calculation Expression field. a. Select the Category from the list. The selection appears in the Calculation Expression field, and the Quantity and Function fields list what is available for the corresponding selection. b. Select the Quantity from the list. The selected quantity appears in the Calculation Expression field. If the Quantity list is long, you can filter it for easier selection by typing in the text filter field. Only quantities that contain those alphanumeric characters anywhere in their name will remain visible in the list. If you want to create an output variable that represents the solution quantity, do the following:
Note
Click the Output Variables button. The Output Variables dialog box appears. Add the expression you want to evaluate, and then click Done. The recently created output variable appears in the Quantity list. Click a new output variable in the Quantity pull-down list.
The calculation you specify must be able to be evaluated into a single, real number. The selected Quantity appears in the Calculation Expression field.
c. 6. 7. 8.
Select the Function from the list. The selected function is applied to the Quantity in the Calculation Expression field.
To apply a Range function to the Calculation Expression, see Setting a Range function. Click Add Calculation to add the expression in the Add/Edit Calculation dialog Calculation Expression field to the Calculations tab of the Setup Sweep Analysis dialog. Click Done to close the Add/Edit Calculation dialog box.
HFSSOnline Help
variables that were swept during the parametric analysis remain constant. Optionally, to modify the constant values of other swept variables, do the following: a. b. Click Set Other Sweep Variables Value. The Setup Plot dialog box appears. All of the other solved variable values are listed. Click the row with the variable value you want to use as the constant value in the plot, and then click OK.
10. Select the solution quantity results you want to plot on the y-axis from the Y pull-down list. The x -y plot appears in the view window. You can modify the display by right-clicking in the graph area. See Creating Reports for details on these operations. 11. To view profile information about the analysis, click the Profile tab on the Post Analysis Display dialog. 12. When more than one parametric analysis has been run, use the left and right arrows to select a profile. 13. Click Close to close the Post Analysis Display dialog. Related Topics Plotting Solution Quantity Results vs. a Swept Variable Viewing Solution Data for an Optimetrics Design Variation
Note
While the analysis is running, you can access parent and child progress bars. By default, only the main progress bar is displayed, while the child progress bars (or subtasks) remain hidden. You can toggle between showing and hiding the child progress bars. To show the child progress bars:
15-12 Optimetrics
Right-click the progress window, and select Show Subtask Progress Bars.
HFSSOnline Help
Right-click the progress window, and select Hide Subtask Progress Bars.
Related Topics: General Options: Analysis Options Tab: Solving Remotely (Windows Only) Setting Up Distributed Analysis with Licensing
Optimetrics 15-13
15-14 Optimetrics
Optimization Overview
Optimetrics interfaces with Ansofts products to enable the optimization of a wide variety of design parameters based on variable geometry, materials, excitations, component values, etc. Optimization is the process of locating the minimum of a user-defined cost function. Optimetrics modifies the variable values until the minimum is reached with acceptable accuracy. Related Topics Setting Up an Optimization Analysis Choosing an Optimizer
Choosing an Optimizer
Conducting an optimization analysis allows you to determine an optimum solution for your problem. In HFSS optimization analyses, you have five choices of optimizer, though in most cases, the Sequential Nonlinear Programming optimizer is recommended.
Sequential Nonlinear Programming (SNLP) Sequential Mixed Integer NonLinear Programming (SMINLP) Quasi Newton Pattern Search Genetic Algorithm
All five optimizers assume that the nominal problem you are analyzing is close to the optimal solution; therefore, you must specify a domain that contains the region in which you expect to reach the optimum value. All five optimizers allow you to define a maximum limit to the number of iterations to be executed. This prevents you from consuming your remaining computing resources and allows you to analyze the obtained solutions. From this reduced range, you can further narrow the domain of the problem and regenerate the solutions. All optimizers also allow you to enter a coefficient in the Add Constraints window to define the linear relationship between the selected variables and the entered constraint value. For the SNLP and SMINLP optimizers, the relationship can be linear or nonlinear. For the Quasi Newton and Pattern Search optimizers, the relationship must be linear.
Quasi Newton
If the Sequential Non Linear Programming Optimizer has difficulty, and if the numerical noise is insignificant during the solution process, use the Quasi Newton optimizer to obtain the results. The Quasi Newton optimizer works on the basis of finding a minimum or maximum of a cost function which relates variables in the model or circuit to overall simulation goals. The user marks one or more variables in the project and defines a cost function in the optimization setup. The cost function relates the variable values to field quantities, design parameters like force or torque, power loss, etc. The optimizer can then maximize or minimize the value of the design parameter by varying the problem variables.
Sir Isaac Newton first showed that the maximum or minimum of any function can be determined by setting the derivative of a function with respect to a variable (x) to zero and solving for the variable. This approach leads to the exact solution for quadratic functions. However, for higher order functions or numerical analysis, an iterative approach is commonly taken. The function is approximated locally by a quadratic and the approximation is solved for the value of x. This value is placed back into the original function and used to calculate a gradient which provides a step direction and size for determining the next best value of x in the iteration process. In the Quasi-Newton optimization procedure, the gradients and Hessian are calculated numerically. Essentially, the change in x and the change in the gradient are used to estimate the Hessian for the next iteration. The ratio of the change in cost to the change in the values of x provides the gradient, whereas, the ratio of the change in the gradients to the change in the values of x provides the Hessian for the next step and is know as the quasi-Newton condition. In order to perform the QuasiNewton optimization, at least three solutions are required for each parameter being varied. This can have a significant computational cost depending upon the type of analysis being performed. There are numerous methods described in the literature for solving for the Hessian and the details of the method used by Optimetrics are beyond the scope of this document. However, as the QuasiNewton method is, at its heart, a gradient method, it suffers from two fundamental problems common to optimization. The first is the possible presence of local minima. The figure below illustrates the problem of local minima. In this scenario, you can see that in order to find the minimum of the
function over the domain, a number of factors will determine the overall success including the initial starting point, the initial set of gradients calculated, the allowable step size, etc. Once the optimizer has located a minimum, the Quasi-Newton approach will locate the bottom and will not search further for other possible minima. In the example shown, when the optimizer begins at the point labeled "Starting Point 1" the minima it finds is a local minima and not a good global solution to the problem. The second basic issue with Quasi-Newton optimization is numerical noise. In gradient optimization, the derivatives are assumed to be smooth, well behaved functions. However, when the gradients are calculated numerically, the calculation involves taking the differences of numbers that get progressively smaller. At some point, the numerical imprecision in the parameter calculations becomes greater than the differences calculated in the gradients and the solution will oscillate and may never reach convergence. To illustrate this, consider the figure shown below. In this scenario,
the optimizer is looking for the point labeled "minimum". Three possible solutions are labeled A, B and C, with each arrow indicating the direction of the derivative of the function at that point. If points A and B represent the last two solution points for the parameter, then it is easy to see that the changes in the magnitude and the consistent direction of the derivatives will serve to push the solution closer to the desired minimum. If, however, points A and C are the last two solution points respectively, the magnitude indicates the proper direction of movement, but the derivatives are opposite, possibly causing the solution to move away from the minimum, back in the direction of point A.
Setting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-17
In order to use the Quasi-Newton optimizer effectively, the cost function should be based on parameters that exhibit a smooth characteristic (little numerical noise) and a starting point of the optimization should be chosen somewhat close to the expected minimum based on an understanding of the physical problem being optimized. This becomes increasingly difficult, however, when multiple parameters are being varied or when multiple parameters are to be optimized. In addition, the computational burden of multivariate optimization with QuasiNewton increases geometrically with the number of variables being optimized. As a result, this method should only be attempted when 1 or 2 variables are being optimized as a time. For more information regarding Quasi-Newton optimization methods, see the following reference: Schoenberg, Ronald. Optimization with the Quasi-Newton Method. Aptech Systems, Inc. 2001. Related Topics Optimization Setup for Quasi Newton Optimizer
Pattern Search
If the noise is significant in the nominal project, use the Pattern Search optimizer to obtain the results. It performs a grid-based simplex search, which makes use of simplices: triangles in 2D space or tetrahedra in 3D space. A simplex is a Euclidean geometric spatial element having the minimum number of boundary points, such as a line segment in one-dimensional space, a triangle in two-dimensional space, or a tetrahedron in three-dimensional space. The cost value is calculated at the vertices of the simplex. The optimizer mirrors the simplex across one of its faces based on mathematical guidelines and determines if the new simplex provides better results. If it does not produce a better result, the next face is used for mirroring and the pattern continues. If no improvement occurs, the grid is refined. If improvement occurs, the step is accepted and the new simplex is generated to replace the original one. The figures below illustrate a triangular simplex mirrored several times to demonstrate the pattern search approach in two vari-
ables and the simplices superimposed on a 2D cost function to demonstrate the convergence toward a minimum in the cost function.
The Pattern Search algorithms are extensible to three variable optimization by using tetrahedral simplices, however, they are not easily represented in graphical form. Generally, Pattern Search algorithms are not used when more than three variables are used in the optimization. When there is no improvement in the cost function regardless of the direction the simplex is mirrored, then the simplex is subdivided into smaller simplices and the process restarted. Pattern Search algorithms have several advantages over Quasi-Newton algorithms. First, they are less sensitive to noise because the cost function is evaluated at all node points on the simplex and the numerical noise averages out over the simplex. The second advantage is that the number of initial solutions is generally smaller. However, since the pattern search does not use gradient information to locate the minimum the process converges more slowly toward the true minimum, taking more steps to successively divide the simplices as the minimum is approached. Related Topics Optimization Setup for Pattern Search Optimizer
Like Quasi Newton, the SNLP optimizer assumes that the noise is not significant. It does reduce the effect of the noise, but the noise filtering is not strong. The SNLP optimizer approximates the FEA characterization with Response Surfaces (RS). With the FEA-approximation and with light evaluation of the cost function, SNLP has a good approximation of the cost function in terms of the optimization variables. This approximation allows the SNLP optimizer to estimate the location of improving points. The overall cost approximations are more accurate. This allows the SNLP optimizer a faster practical convergence speed than that of quasi Newton. The SNLP Optimizer creates the response surface using a polynomial approximation from the FEA simulation results available from past solutions. The response surface is most accurate in the local vicinity. The response surface is used in the optimization loop to determine the gradients and calculate the next step direction and distance. The response surface acts as a surrogate for the FEA simulation, reducing the number of FEA simulations required and greatly speeding the problem. Convergence improves as more FEA solutions are created and the response surface approximation improves. The SNLP method is similar to the Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) method in two ways: Both are sequential, updating the optimizer state to the current optimal values and iterating. Sequential optimization can be thought of as walking a path, step by step, toward an optimal goal. SNLP and SQP optimizers are also similar in that both use local and inexpensive surrogates. However, in the SNLP case, the surrogate can be of a higher order and is more generally constrained. The goal is to achieve a surrogate model that is accurate enough on a wider scale, so that the search procedures are well lead by the surrogate, even for relatively large steps. All functions calculated by the supporting finite element product (for example, Maxwell 3D or HFSS) is assumed to be expensive, while the rest of the cost calculation (for example, an extra user-defined expression) which is implemented in Optimetrics is assumed to be inexpensive. For this reason, it makes sense to remove inexpensive evaluations from the finite element problem and, instead, implement them in Optimetrics. This optimizer holds several advantages over the Quasi Newton and Pattern Search optimizers. Most importantly, due to the separation of expensive and inexpensive evaluations in the cost calculation, the SNLP optimizer is more tightly integrated with the supporting FEA tools. This tight integration provides more insight into the optimization problem, resulting in a significantly faster optimization process. A second advantage is that the SNLP optimizer does not require cost-derivatives to be approximated, protecting against uncertainties (noise) in cost evaluations. In addition to derivative-free state of the RS-based SNLP, the RS technique also proves to have noise suppression properties. Finally, this optimizer allows you to use nonlinear constraints, making this approach much more general than either of the other two optimizers. Related Topics Optimization Setup for SNLP Optimizer
ues. One example might be to optimize on the number of turns in a coil. To be able to optimize on number of turns or quarter turns, the optimizer must handle discrete optimization variables. The SMINLP optimizer can mix continuous variables among the integers, or can have only integers, and works if all variables are continuous. The setup resembles the setup for SNLP, except that you must flag the integer variables.supporting integer variables. You can set up internal variables based on the integer optimization variable. For example, consider N to be an integer optimization variable. By definition it can only assume integer values. You can establish another variable, which further depends on this one: K = 2.345 * N, or K = sin(30 * N). This way K has a discrete value, but is not necessarily integer. Or, one can use N directly as a design parameter. Related Topics Optimization Setup for SMINLP Optimizer
Genetic Algorithm
Genetic Algorithm (GA) optimizers are part of a class of optimization techniques called stochastic optimizers. They do not use the information from the experiment or the cost function to determine where to further explore the design space. Instead, they use a type of random selection and apply it in a structured manner. The random selection of evaluations to proceed to the next generation has the advantage of allowing the optimizer to jump out of a local minima at the expense of many random solutions which do not provide improvement toward the optimization goal. As a result, the GA optimizer will run many more iterations and may be prohibitively slow. The Genetic Algorithm search is an iterative process that goes through a number of generations (see picture below). In each generation some new individuals (Children / Number of Individuals) are created and the grown population participates in a selection (natural-selection) process that in turn reduces the size of the population to a desired level (Next Generation / Number of Individuals).
When a smaller set of individuals must be created from a bigger set, the GA selects individuals from the original set. During this process, better fit (in relation to the cost function) individuals are preferred. In the elitist selection, simply the best so many individuals are selected, but if you turn on the roulette selection, then the selection process gets relaxed. An iterative process starts selecting the individuals and fills up the resulting set, but instead of selecting the best so many, we use a roulette wheel that has for each selection-candidate divisions made proportional to the fitness level (relative to the cost function) of the candidate. This means that the fitter the individual is, the larger the probability of his survival will be. Related Topics Optimization Setup for Genetic Algorithm Optimizer Optimization Variables in Design Space Cost Function Advanced Genetic Algorithm Optimizer Options
You can define more than one optimization analysis setup per design. Once you have created an optimization analysis setup, you can copy and paste it, and then make changes to the copy, rather than redoing the whole process for minor changes.
To provide a broad range of capability, Optimetrics incorporates the following types of numerical optimizers:
Sequential Nonlinear Programming (SNLP) Sequential Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming (SMINLP) Quasi Newton Pattern Search Genetic Algorithm
Click on the links above to view the setup procedure for each optimizer. Options for the analysis are listed in the table. The following optional optimization solution setup options can also be used:
Note
Modify the starting variable value. Modify the minimum and maximum values of variables that will be optimized. Exclude variables from optimization. Modify the values of fixed variables that are not being optimized. Set the minimum and maximum step size between solved design variations (For the Quasi Newton and Patterns Search optimizers, Variables tab). Set the minimum and maximum focus size. (For the SNLP and SMINLP optimizers, Variables tab). Set Linear constraints. Request that Optimetrics solve a parametric sweep before an optimization analysis. Request that Optimetrics solve a parametric sweep during an optimization analysis. Automatically update optimized variables to the optimal values during an optimization or after an optimization analysis is completed. Change the norm used for the cost function calculation (Advanced Option)
Sweeping or using a complex variable is not allowed in any optimetrics setup, including optimization, statistical, sensitivity, and tuning setups.
Check the Show Advanced Option check box. The Cost Function Norm Type pull-down list appears. Select L1, L2, or Maximum. A norm is a function that assigns a positive value to the cost function. For L1 norm the actual cost function uses the sum of absolute weighted values of the individual goal errors. For L2 norm (the default) the actual cost function uses the weighted sum of squared values of the individual goal error. For the Maximum norm the cost function uses the maximum among all the weighted goal errors. (For further details, see Explanation of the L1, L2, and Max Norms in Optimization.) The norm type doesnt impact goal setting that use as condition the minimize or maximize scenarios.
9.
In the Variables tab, specify the Min/Max values for variables included in the optimization, and the Min/Max Step Size for the analysis. You may also override the variable starting values by clicking the Override checkbox and entering the desired value in the Starting Value field.
10. In the General tab, specify whether Optimetrics should use the results of a previous Parametric analysis or perform one as part of the optimization process. Enabling the Update design parameters value after optimization checkbox will cause OptiSetting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-25
metrics to modify the variable values in the nominal design to match the final values from the optimization analysis. 11. Under the Options tab, if you want to save the field solution data for every solved design variations in the optimization analysis, select Save Fields And Mesh. Note Do not select this option when requesting a large number of iterations as the data generated will be very large and the system may become slow due to the large I/O requirements.
You may also select Copy geometrically equivalent meshes to reuse the mesh when geometry changes are not required, for example when optimizing on a material property or source excitation.This will provide some speed improvement in the overall optimization process.
Check the Show Advanced Option check box. The Cost Function Norm Type pull-down list appears. Select L1, L2, or Maximum. A norm is a function that assigns a positive value to the cost function. For L1 norm the actual cost function uses the sum of absolute weighted values of the individual goal errors. For L2 norm (the default) the actual cost function uses the weighted sum of squared values of the individual goal error. For the Maximum norm the cost function uses the maximum among all the weighted goal errors. (For further details, see Explanation of the L1, L2, and Max Norms in Optimization.) The norm type doesnt impact goal setting that use as condition the minimize or maxi-
mize scenarios. 9. In the Variables tab, specify the Min/Max values for variables included in the optimization, and the Min/Max Step Size for the analysis. You may also override the variable starting values by clicking the Override checkbox and entering the desired value in the Starting Value field. 10. In the General tab, specify whether Optimetrics should use the results of a previous Parametric analysis or perform one as part of the optimization process. Enabling the Update design parameters value after optimization checkbox will cause Optimetrics to modify the variable values in the nominal design to match the final values from the optimization analysis. 11. Under the Options tab, if you want to save the field solution data for every solved design variations in the optimization analysis, select Save Fields And Mesh. Note Do not select this option when requesting a large number of iterations as the data generated will be very large and the system may become slow due to the large I/O requirements.
You may also select Copy geometrically equivalent meshes to reuse the mesh when geometry changes are not required, for example when optimizing on a material property or source excitation.This will provide some speed improvement in the overall optimization process.
Check the Show Advanced Option check box. The Cost Function Norm Type pull-down list appears. Select L1, L2, or Maximum. A norm is a function that assigns a positive value to the cost function. For L1 norm the actual cost function uses the sum of absolute weighted values of the indiSetting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-27
vidual goal errors. For L2 norm (the default) the actual cost function uses the weighted sum of squared values of the individual goal error. For the Maximum norm the cost function uses the maximum among all the weighted goal errors. (For further details, see Explanation of the L1, L2, and Max Norms in Optimization.) The norm type doesnt impact goal setting that use as condition the minimize or maximize scenarios. 7. In the Variables tab, specify the Min/Max values for variables included in the optimization, and the Min/Max Focus for the analysis. You may also override the variable starting values by clicking the Override checkbox and entering the desired value in the Starting Value field. 8. In the General tab, specify whether Optimetrics should use the results of a previous Parametric analysis or perform one as part of the optimization process. Enabling the Update design parameters value after optimization checkbox will cause Optimetrics to modify the variable values in the nominal design to match the final values from the optimization analysis. 9. Under the Options tab, if you want to save the field solution data for every solved design variations in the optimization analysis, select Save Fields And Mesh. Do not select this option when requesting a large number of iterations as the data generated will be very large and the system may become slow due to the large I/O requirements.
Note
You may also select Copy geometrically equivalent meshes to reuse the mesh when geometry changes are not required, for example when optimizing on a material property or source excitation.This will provide some speed improvement in the overall optimization process.
Check the Show Advanced Option check box. The Cost Function Norm Type pull-down list appears. Select L1, L2, or Maximum. A norm is a function that assigns a positive value to the cost function. For L1 norm the actual cost function uses the sum of absolute weighted values of the individual goal errors. For L2 norm (the default) the actual cost function uses the weighted sum of squared values of the individual goal error. For the Maximum norm the cost function uses the maximum among all the weighted goal errors. (For further details, see Explanation of the L1, L2, and Max Norms in Optimization.) The norm type doesnt impact goal setting that use as condition the minimize or maximize scenarios.
7.
In the Variables tab, specify the Min/Max values for variables included in the optimization, and the Min/Max Focus for the analysis. Check the Integer box for integer variables. You may also override the variable starting values by clicking the Override checkbox and entering the desired value in the Starting Value field.
8.
In the General tab, specify whether Optimetrics should use the results of a previous Parametric analysis or perform one as part of the optimization process. Enabling the Update design parameters value after optimization checkbox will cause Optimetrics to modify the variable values in the nominal design to match the final values from the optimization analysis.
9.
Under the Options tab, if you want to save the field solution data for every solved design variations in the optimization analysis, select Save Fields And Mesh. Do not select this option when requesting a large number of iterations as the data generated will be very large and the system may become slow due to the large I/O requirements.
Note
You may also select Copy geometrically equivalent meshes to reuse the mesh when geometry changes are not required, for example when optimizing on a material property or source excitation.This will provide some speed improvement in the overall optimization process.
4. 5. 6.
Click the Setup... button to modify the Advanced Genetic Algorithm Optimizer Options. Under Cost Function, add a cost function by selecting the Setup Calculations button to open the Add/Edit Calculation dialog. If you want to select a Cost Function Norm Type:
Check the Show Advanced Option check box. The Cost Function Norm Type pull-down list appears. Select L1, L2, or Maximum. A norm is a function that assigns a positive value to the cost function. For L1 norm the actual cost function uses the sum of absolute weighted values of the individual goal errors. For L2 norm (the default) the actual cost function uses the weighted sum of squared values of the individual goal error. For the Maximum norm the cost function uses the maximum among all the weighted goal errors. (For further details, see Explanation of the L1, L2, and Max Norms in Optimization.) The norm type doesnt impact goal setting that use as condition the minimize or maximize scenarios.
7.
In the Variables tab, specify the Min/Max values for variables included in the optimization, and the Min/Max Focus for the analysis. You may also override the variable starting values by clicking the Override checkbox and entering the desired value in the Starting Value field.
8.
In the General tab, specify whether Optimetrics should use the results of a previous Parametric analysis or perform one as part of the optimization process. Enabling the Update design parameters value after optimization checkbox will cause Optimetrics to modify the variable values in the nominal design to match the final values from the optimization analysis.
9.
Under the Options tab, if you want to save the field solution data for every solved design variations in the optimization analysis, select Save Fields And Mesh. Do not select this option when requesting a large number of iterations as the data generated will be very large and the system may become slow due to the large I/O requirements.
Note
You may also select Copy geometrically equivalent meshes to reuse the mesh when geometry changes are not required, for example when optimizing on a material property or source excitation.This will provide some speed improvement in the overall optimization process.
pleted, the optimization continues by performing another iteration, that is, by solving another design variation. If the maximum number of iterations has not been reached, the optimizer performs iterations until the acceptable cost function is reached or until the optimizer cannot proceed as a result of other optimization setup constraints, such as when it searches for a variable value with a step size smaller than the minimum step size. Note The Genetic Algorithm optimizer does not use the Max. No. of Iterations criteria.
Under the Goals tab of the Setup Optimization dialog box, type a value in the Max. No. of Iterations text box.
Cost Function
Optimetrics manipulates the model's design variable values to find the minimum location of the cost function; therefore, you should define the cost function so that a minimum location is also the optimum location. For example, if you vary a design to find the maximum transmission from Wave Port 1 to Wave Port 2 (S21=>1), define the cost function to be -mag(S(WavePort2,WavePort1)). When using the Quasi Newton optimizer, which is appropriate for designs that are not sensitive to noise, the best cost function is a smooth, second-order function that can be approximated well by quadratics in the vicinity of the minimum; the slope of the cost function should decrease as Optimetrics approaches the optimum value. The preferred cost function takes values between 0 and 1. In practice, most functions that are smooth around the minimum are acceptable as cost functions. Most importantly, the cost function should not have a sharp dip or pole at the minimum. A well designed cost function can significantly reduce the optimization process time. The cost function is defined in the Setup Optimization dialog box when you set up an optimization analysis. If you know the exact syntax of the solution quantity on which you want to base the cost function, you can type it directly in the Calculation text box. You can also use Setup Calculations to add a solution quantity via the Add/Edit Calculation dialog box, or to create an output variable that represents the solution quantity in the Output Output Variables dialog box. Related Topics Adding a Cost Function Acceptable Cost Cost Function Noise Linear Constraints Goal Weight Step Size Explanation of L1, L1, Norm Costs in Optimization
Setting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-31
Acceptable Cost
The acceptable cost is the value of the cost function at which the optimization process should stop; otherwise known as the stopping criterion.The cost function value must be equal to or below the acceptable cost value for the optimization analysis to stop. The acceptable cost may be a negative value. Related Topics Cost Function Adding a Cost Function
c = 10000 S 11
where |S11| is the magnitude of the reflection coefficient, at the minimum, |S11| is expected to be very small, S 11 0 . From the solution setup, the error in |S11| is expected to be tion is therefore
Following is the general procedure for adding a cost function with a single goal: 1. 2. Under the Goals tab of the Setup Optimization dialog box, click Setup Calculations... The Add/Edit Calculation dialog box is displayed. In the Add/Edit Calculation dialog box, follow these general steps to set up a cost function. a. b. c. d. e. f. 3. 4. 5. Set the Context for the calculation. Choose the Category of available data type depending upon the Solution type of the design being optimized. Select the Quantity to add to the Calculated Expression field. Available quantities depend upon the Category selection. You may optionally make a selection from the function list to apply to the calculated expression. When the Calculation Expression has the desired equation, click Add Calculation to add the expression to the cost function table. Repeat to add additional calculations to the cost function or click Done to exit the Add/ Edit Calculation dialog box and return to Setup Optimization.
To modify the Solution on which the calculation is based, click in the Solution column and select the solution from which the cost function is to be extracted from the pull-down list. To edit the calculation on which to base the cost function goal, select Edit from the pull-down list. In the Condition text box, click one of the following conditions from the pull-down list: <= = >= Less than or equal to Equal to Greater than or equal to
Minimize Reduce the cost function to a minimum value Maximize Identify a maximized condition 6. In the Goal text box, type the value of the solution quantity that you want to be achieved during the optimization analysis. If the solution quantity is a complex calculation, the goal value must be complex; two goal values must be specified. The Minimize and Maximize options do not require you to specify a Goal value. Optionally, if you have multiple goals and want to assign higher or lower priority to a goal, type a different value for the goal's weight in the Weight text box. The goal with the greater weight is given more importance. If the goal is a complex value, the weight value must be complex; two weight values must be specified. The weight value cannot be variable dependent. Click the Edit Goal/Weight button to open the Edit Goal Value/Weight dialog box where you can modify weights for all goals simultaneously; as well as, set the Goal Values to expressions.
7.
Note
8.
Specify other options (such as acceptable cost, noise, and number of passes), and then click OK.
The optimization stops when the solution quantity meets the acceptable cost criterion. Related Topics Setting a Goal Value Cost Function Acceptable Cost Goal Weight
2. 3.
Select the Report Type with a pull-down selection list containing the available types for this design. Select the Solution from the drop down selection list. This lists the available setups and sweeps. As a minimum, the LastAdaptive solution is available. Select the Geometry from the drop down selection list or select none (the default). This modifies the list of quantities available to the ones that apply to the specific geometry.
The Output Variables button opens the Output Variables dialog box allowing you to create special output variables to be used in the cost function. The Calculated Expression field in the Trace tab is used to enter the equation to be used for the cost function. To enter an expression, you may type it directly into the field or use the Category, Quantity, and Function lists as follows:
4. 5.
Select the Category, these depend on the Solution type and the design. This lets you specify the category of information to be used in the cost function. Select a Quantity from the list. Available quantities depend upon the Solution type, as well as the Geometry and Category selection. Selecting a Quantity automatically enters it into the Calculated Expression field. Select a Function to apply to the value in the calculated expression. For swept variables, the RangeFunction button opens the Set Range Function dialog to apply functions to the expression that apply over the sweep range.
The Calculation Range tab applies to swept variables and allows you to specify the range of the sweep over which to apply the calculation. When the desired Calculated Expression has been obtained, click the Add Calculation button to add the entry to the cost function table. You may add multiple entries to the table simply by changing the Calculated Expression and using the Add Calculation button. To update or edit a selected cost function, enter the desired Calculated Expression and click the
6.
Update Calculation button. 7. Click Done to return to the Setup Calculations dialog box.
If you know the syntax of the mathematical expression or the output variable's name, type it in the Calculation text box. If you want to create an output variable that represents the solution quantity, do the following: a. b. c. Click Edit Calculation. The Output Variables dialog box appears. Add the expression you want to evaluate, click Done. Click Done to close the Output Variables dialog box. In the Setup Optimization dialog box, the most recently created output variable appears in the Calculation text box. d. To specify a different defined output variable, click the Calculation text box. It becomes a pull-down list that displays all of the defined output variables. Click an output variable from the pull-down list.
3.
After you select a variable from the Variable pull-down list, you can select a range of values for the calculation range as follows: a. b. c. Select Range. In the Start text box, type the starting value of the range. In the Stop text box, type the final value of the range. Select Single Value. In the Value text box, type the value of the variable at which the cost function goal is to be extracted.
4.
5.
Warning
5. 6. 7. 8.
Type a corresponding goal value for that variable value in the text box below the Goal Value heading. Click Add to add another row to the reference curve. Repeat steps 4, 5, and 6 until you have specified the reference curve. Click OK. The goal value is listed as being variable dependent in the Goal text box.
Goal Weight
If an optimization setup has a cost function made up of multiple goals, you can assign a different weight to each goal. The goal with the greater weight is given more importance during the cost calculation.
The error function value is a weighted sum of the sub-goal errors. Each sub-goal, at each frequency at which it is evaluated, gives rise to a (positive) error value that represents the discrepancy between the simulated response and the goal value limit. If the response satisfies the goal value limit, then the error value is 0. Otherwise, the error value depends on the differences between the simulated response and the respective goal limit. The error function may be defined as follows:
G Wj ----Nj
Nj
ei
j
where
G is the number of sub-goals. Wj is the weight factor associated with the jth sub-goal. Nj is the number of frequencies for the jth sub-goal. ei is the error contribution from the jth sub-goal at the ith frequency. The value of ei is determined by the band characteristics, target value, and the simulated response
value. The choices for band characteristics are <=, =, and >=. Band Characteristics (Condition) <= ei evaluation where si is the simulated response and gi is the desired limit.
0 ei = si gi ei = si gi 0 ei = gi si
si gi si > gi
>=
si gi si < gi
If the total error value is within the acceptable cost, the optimization stops. Related Topics Adding a Cost Function Cost Function
1. 2.
In the Setup Optimization dialog box, click the Variables tab. All of the variables that were selected for the optimization analysis are listed. Type a new value in the Starting Value text box for the value you want to override, and then press Enter. The Override option is now selected. This indicates that the value you entered is used for this optimization analysis, and the current value set for the nominal model is ignored.
3.
Alternatively, you can select the Override option first, and then type a new variable value in the Starting Value text box.
Optionally, click a new unit system in one of the Units text boxes. To revert to the default starting value, clear the Override checkbox.
Note
Related Topics Setting the Min. and Max. Variable Values for Optimization Step Size Setting the Min and Max Focus Modifying the Starting Variable Value for Sensitivity Analysis Modifying the Starting Variable Value for Statistical Analysis
Related Topics Override the default min and max variable values for a single optimization setup.
Setting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-39
Change the default min and max variable values for every optimization setup.
Overriding the Min. and Max. Variable Values for a Single Optimization Setup
1. 2. In the Setup Optimization dialog box, click the Variables tab. All of the variables that were selected for optimization analysis are listed. Type a new value in the Min or Max text box for the value you want to override, and then press Enter. The Override option is now selected. This indicates that the value you entered is used for this optimization analysis; the variable's current Min or Max value in the nominal design is ignored.
3.
Alternatively, you can select the Override option first, and then type a new value in the Min or Max text box.
Optionally, click a new unit system in one of the Units text boxes.
To revert to the default minimum and maximum values, clear the Override option.
Changing the Min. and Max. Variable Values for Every Optimization Setup
1. 2. Make sure that the variable's minimum and maximum values are not being overridden in any single optimization setup. If the variable is a design variable, do the following: Click HFSS>Design Properties. If the variable is a project variable, do the following: Click Project>Project Variables. The Properties dialog box appears. 3. 4. 5. Select Optimization. Type a new value in the Min or Max text box for the value you want to override, and then press Enter. Click OK. When Optimetrics solves an optimization setup, it does not consider variable values that lie outside of this range.
Step Size
To make the search for the minimum cost value reasonable, the search algorithm is limited in two ways. First, you do not want the optimizer to continue the search if the step size becomes irrelevant or small. This limitation impacts the accuracy of the final optimum. Second, in some cases you do not want the optimizer to take large steps either. In case the cost function is suspected to possess large variations in a relatively small vicinity of the design space, large steps may result in too many trial steps, which do not improve the cost value. In these cases, it is safer to proceed with limited size steps and have more frequent improvements. For these two limitations, the optimizer uses two independent distance measures. Both are based on user-defined quantities: the minimum and maximum step limits for individual optimization variables. Since the particular step is in a general direction, these measures are combined together in order to derive the limitation for that particular direction.
The step vector between the ith and (i+1)th iterate is as follows:
si = xi + 1 xi
The natural distance measure is,
si =
which is the Euclidean norm.
si si
A more general distance measure incorporates some "stretching" of the design space:,
si
s i D Ds i
T T
where the matrix D incorporates the linear operation of the stretching of design space. The simplest case is when the D matrix is diagonal, meaning that the design space is stretched along the orthogonal direction of the base vectors. The optimizer stops the search if,
si
D min
<1
where Dmin consists of diagonal elements equal to the inverse of the Min. Step value assigned to the corresponding optimization variable. Similarly the optimizer truncates steps for which
si
D max
>1
where Dmax has diagonal elements equal to the inverse of Max. Step values of the corresponding optimization variables. Related Topics Setting the Min. and Max. Step Sizes Cost Function Adding a Cost Function
Setting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-41
The domain limits the search. The domain = physical limits. The focus box does not limit the search. Rather, the Focus box = an initial guess of optimum search domain. The starting point is the center of the focus box, but the search does extend beyond the box. This focus must be inside the domain limits. Consequently, it has to be equal or smaller size. An error message is generated if you specify a focus outside the domain. The focus box must be at least one hundredth of the domain size. Otherwise, an error message
is sent.
In the Min. Focus text box, type the minimum value of the focus range. Optionally, modify the unit system in the Units text box. In the Max. Focus text box, type the maximum value of the focus range. Optionally, modify the unit system in the Units text box. Click OK.
Note 3.
If the parametric setup has not yet been solved, Optimetrics solves it. Optimetrics uses the cost value evaluated at each parametric design variation to determine the next step in the optimization analysis. This enables you to guide the direction in which the optimizer searches for the optimal design variation.
Related Topics Explanation of L1, L2 and Max Norms in Optimization Cost Function
Cost =
wi i
1
For L2 norm the actual cost function uses the weighted sum of absolute values of the individual
Cost =
2 wi i
For the Maximum norm the cost function uses the maximum among all the weighted goal errors:
Cost =
N Max W i i 1
For all the above situations N is the number of individual goals wi i are individual weighting factors and residual error respectively. A minimization of the cost function is performed during optimization since it makes sense to minimize the error in the sense of the chosen norm type.
The graphical representation of the error is possible and depends upon the actual condition being used. If a < condition is used, the error can be represented as below:
The norm type doesnt impact goal setting that use as condition the minimize or maximize scenarios. Note that when using minimize or maximize settings for the condition there should be a single goal setting which in this case coincides with the cost function. Related Topics Cost Function
The cost function given here concentrates only on a signal sent into port in_1. Suppose the specifications to be met are: reflection, backward cross talk and forward cross talk all smaller than or equal to -20 dB, of which the forward cross talk is the most important. The first three entries in the cost function enforce those specifications, with the weight for the forward cross talk being a larger number than the other weights. The actual values for the weights are somewhat arbitrary and serve as examples only. For this cost function, as long as specifications are not met, the optimizer puts the most effort in getting the forward cross talk close to its specification. Once the three specifications have been satisfied, their contributions to the cost function become zero, and only the fourth entry remains. Remember that the connector has more than four ports, so satisfying the given specs does not guarantee maximum transmission. The fourth line tries to maximize the transmission by asking for S(out_1, in_1) to be 0 dB. That will never be reached, but its presence forces the optimizer to improve the connector a bit beyond the specifications. The cost function norm type specifies how the four lines are combined into one cost function with one value. With L1 and L2, all four contribute simultaneously, rather than only the largest of the four at any one time. Related Topics Cost Function Adding a Cost Function
Setting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-47
3.
Maximum number of generations. If checked, this enables a value field. Elapsed time. If checked, this enables a drop down menu with times ranging from five minutes to two weeks. Slow convergence.
Specify the Parents. The first step towards mating is a selection process that determines the participating individuals. Potential parents are selected from the Current Generation. This is a set of individuals that is always a subset of the current generation.
Number of individuals value field -- specify the number of parents for the optimizer to use. You can set the Number of Individuals to less than or equal to the size of the "Current Generation". One reason to consider fewer parents than the possible maximum is to steer the GA towards improvement by selecting the better portion of the current generation to be able to mate. Roulette selection checkbox -- if checked, this enables the Selection pressure value field. This number defines how many times more probable is the selection of the best individual over the worst individual in an elementary spin of the roulette wheel.
4.
Specify the Mating pool. The Mating pool is created by selecting randomly from the parents, but with each selection, the parent gets "cloned" so it can be selected again and again.
5.
Number of individuals field -- specify the number individuals to include in the mating pool. Reproduction setup-- this button opens the Genetic Algorithm Optimizer Reproduction Setup dialog.
Click the Reproduction setup button for the dialog to specify the Crossover setup, and the Mutation setup. The crossover and mutation operator have different roles: Crossover mixes "features" of the parents in a new combination, while mutation slightly alters the "features" of the individuals. Both need to be present in a GA. The crossover is a way to discover new combinations while the mutation acts as a local search or fine-tuning step. Mutation also keeps diversity in a popu-
lation, which is a must for GA. The crossover operator has two steps. It first alters the variable values of the parents according to a distribution. This tends to produce one child that looks a lot like one parent, and one child that looks a lot like the other parent. Next, some of the variable values of the two children can be exchanged in order to achieve more variation. For crossover there are four possible parameters. a. Individual Crossover Probability determines, for each pair in the mating pool, the probability that their features will be mixed. Usually, this probability should be close or equal to one. If you set it to less than one, some parents will produce two children which are exact clones of the parents. This means that some children inherit all the features of their parents unchanged. Parents often have multiple variables. If the parent is a candidate for mixing, the Variable Crossover Probability determines, for each variable, the probability of mixing. This is usually set high to ensure that most or all variables mix. Variable Exchange Probability: After the slight change in the variable values has been made, the crossover operation is also able to exchange the values of the variables between the two children that are being constructed. The Variable Exchange Probability governs the likelihood of exchange of any variable. Mu is a general parameter defining the sharpness of the distribution that might be used for the Variable Crossover Probability. Mu should be greater than one. There is no theoretical upper limit, but we recommend not exceeding 30.
b.
c.
d.
6.
Select one of the four Crossover types from the drop-down menu. The crossover type selected affects the options available. Uniform One point Two point Simulated binary crossover Individual crossover probability Variable crossover probability Individual crossover probability Individual crossover probability Individual crossover probability Variable crossover probability Variable exchange probability Mu
7.
Select the Mutation type--this can be one of three types, which you select from a drop-down menu.
8.
9.
Uniform Mutation Probability: If this is more than zero (recommendation is to have still a small probability here), then there will be some children whose features are simply a completely random design (design variables randomly selected over the domain). Individual Mutation Probability controls, for each child, the likelihood of a mild mutation. Variable Mutation Probability. If the child will be mutated, this probability controls at the variable level the likelihood of a mutation of the variables. Standard Deviation is the standard deviation of the selected distribution that is being used for the mutation and it is measured relatively to the optimization-domain.
When you have completed the Reproduction setup in the Genetic Algorithm Optimizer Reproduction Setup dialog, click OK to close it and return to the Advanced Genetic Algorithm Optimizer Options dialog.
10. In the Advanced Genetic Algorithm Optimizer Options dialog, specify the children as a Number of Individuals. 11. Set the Pareto Front value. This is the number of the very best individuals (identified relative to the cost function) to keep for future generations. 12. Set the Next Generation parameters. The Next Generation is selected from the Parents, the children, and the Pareto front.
Number of individuals value field -- specify the number of individuals to survive to form the next generation for the optimizer to use. Roulette selection checkbox -- if checked, this enables the Selection pressure value field. This number defines how many times more probable is the selection of the best individual over the worst individual in an elementary spin of the roulette wheel.
13. Click OK to accept the settings for the Genetic Algorithm and to close the dialog. Related Topics Setting up an Optimization Analysis Adding a cost function Optimization Overview Acceptable Cost Explanation of L1, L2, and Max Norms in Optimization Choosing an Optimizer
Regression value at the current variable value. First derivative of the regression. Second derivative of the regression.
Note
You may also select Copy geometrically equivalent meshes to reuse the mesh when geometry changes are not required, for example when optimizing on a material property or source excitation.This will provide some speed improvement in the overall optimization process. The following optional sensitivity analysis setup options can also be used:
Modify the starting variable value. Modify the minimum and maximum values of variables that will be solved. Exclude variables from the sensitivity analysis. Set the initial displacement. Modify the values of fixed variables that are not being modified during the sensitivity analysis. Set linear constraints. Request that Optimetrics solve a parametric sweep before a sensitivity analysis.
You can also request that Optimetrics solve a parametric sweep during a sensitivity analysis.
Note
Sweeping or using a complex variable is not allowed in any optimetrics setup, including optimization, statistical, sensitivity, and tuning setups.
Related Topics Sensitivity Analysis Overview Setting the Maximum Iteration Per Variable
Under the Calculations tab of the Setup Sensitivity Analysis dialog box, type a value in the Max. No. of Iterations/Sensitivity Variable text box.
use the output parameter to base its selection of solved design variations. Note During a sensitivity analysis, the design variations that Optimetrics selects to solve are close to the design point, but not so close that numerical noise (from the finite element mesh) affects the analysis. The algorithm that Optimetrics uses to determine the design variations to solve must be based on only one output parameter and that output parameters numerical noise. If you have defined more than one output parameter, be sure to select Master Output for the output variable on which you want the selection of design variations to be based.
2. 3.
Select the Report Type with a pull-down selection list containing the available types for this design. Select the Solution from the drop down selection list. This lists the available setups and sweeps. As a minimum, the LastAdaptive solution is available. Select the Geometry from the drop down selection list or select none (the default). This modifies the list of quantities available to the ones that apply to the specific geometry. When selecting a geometry, you may also be required to specify a point within the geometry where the calculation is to be performed.
The Output Variables button opens the Output Variables dialog box allowing you to create special output variables to be used in the output parameter. The Calculation Expression field in the Trace tab is used to enter the equation to be used for the output parameter. To enter an expression, you may type it directly into the field or use the Category, Quantity, and Function lists as follows:
Select the Category, these depend on the Solution type and the design. This lets you specify the category of information to be used in the output parameter. Select a Quantity from the list. Available quantities depend upon the Solution type, as well as the Geometry and Category selection. Selecting a Quantity automatically enters it into the Calculation Expression field. Select a Function to apply to the value in the calculated expression. For swept variables, the RangeFunction button opens the Set Range Function dialog to apply functions to the expression that apply over the sweep range.
4. 5.
The Calculation Range tab applies to swept variables and allows you to specify the range of the sweep over which to apply the calculation. When the desired Calculation Expression has been obtained, click the Add Calculation button to add the entry to the calculation table in the Setup Sensitivity Analysis dialog box. You may add multiple entries to the table simply by changing the Calculation Expression and using the Add Calculation button. To update or edit a selected cost function, enter the desired Calculation Expression and click the Update Calculation button. Click Done to return to the Setup Sensitivity Analysis dialog box. The solution quantity you specify must be able to be evaluated to a single, real number.
6. 7.
Note
able to be the current value set for the nominal design. You can modify the design point for each sensitivity setup. Warning Variable values must be single real numbers, or expressions that evaluate to single real numbers. Complex numbers cannot be used as the values of variables in any optimetric analysis.
1. 2.
In the Setup Sensitivity Analysis dialog box, click the Variables tab. All of the variables that were selected for the sensitivity analysis are listed. Type a new value in the Starting Value text box for the value you want to override, and then press Enter. The Override option is now selected. This indicates that the value you entered is to be used for this sensitivity analysis; the current value set for the nominal model will be ignored.
3.
Alternatively, you can select the Override option first, and then type a new variable value in the Starting Value text box.
Optionally, click a new unit system in one of the Units text boxes.
To revert to the default starting value, clear the Override option. Related Topics Setting Up a Sensitivity Analysis
Related Topics Override the default minimum and maximum variable values for a single sensitivity setup. Change the default minimum and maximum variable values for every sensitivity setup.
Overriding the Min. and Max. Variable Values for a Single Sensitivity Setup
1. 2. In the Setup Sensitivity Analysis dialog box, click the Variables tab. All of the variables that were selected for sensitivity analysis are listed. Type a new value in the Min or Max text box for the value you want to override, and then press Enter.
The Override option is now selected. This indicates that the value you entered is to be used for this sensitivity analysis; the variable's current Min or Max value set in the nominal design is ignored.
3.
Alternatively, you can select the Override option first, and then type a new value in the Min or Max text box.
Optionally, click a new unit system in one of the Units text boxes.
To revert to the default minimum and maximum values, clear the Override option. Related Topics Setting Up a Sensitivity Analysis
Changing the Min. and Max. Variable Values for Every Sensitivity Setup
1. 2. Make sure the variable's minimum and maximum values are not being overridden in any sensitivity setup. If the variable is a design variable, do the following: Click HFSS>Design Properties. If the variable is a project variable, do the following: Click Project>Project Variables. The Properties dialog box appears. 3. 4. Select Sensitivity. Type a new value in the Min or Max text box for the value you want to override, and then press Enter. When Optimetrics solves a sensitivity setup, it does not consider variable values that lie outside of this range. Related Topics Setting Up a Sensitivity Analysis
To solve a parametric setup before a sensitivity setup: 1. 2. In the Setup Sensitivity Analysis dialog box, click the General tab. Click the parametric setup you want Optimetrics to solve before the sensitivity setup from the Parametric Analysis pull-down list. The parametric setup must include sweep definitions for the sensitivity variables.
Note 3.
If the parametric setup has not yet been solved, Optimetrics solves it. Optimetrics uses the results (of the solution calculation you requested under the Goals tab of the Setup Sensitivity dialog box) to determine the next design variation to solve for the sensitivity analysis. Related Topics Setting Up a Sensitivity Analysis
Note 9.
Modify the starting variable value. Exclude variables from the statistical analysis. Modify the values of fixed variables that are not being modified during the statistical analysis. Request that Optimetrics solve a parametric sweep during a statistical analysis. Sweeping or using a complex variable is not allowed in any optimetrics setup, including optimization, statistical, sensitivity, and tuning setups.
If you want to save the field solution data for the design variations solved during analysis, select Save Fields.
Under the Calculations tab of the Setup Sensitivity Analysis dialog box, type a value in the Maximum Iterations text box.
3. 4.
Select the Report Type with a pull-down selection list containing the available types for this design. Select the Solution from the drop down selection list. This lists the available setups and sweeps. As a minimum, the LastAdaptive solution is available. Select the Geometry from the drop down selection list or select none (the default). This modifies the list of quantities available to the ones that apply to the specific geometry. When selecting a geometry, you may also be required to specify a point within the geometry where the calculation is to be performed.
The Output Variables button opens the Output Variables dialog box allowing you to create special output variables to be used in the output parameter. The Calculation Expression field in the Trace tab is used to enter the equation to be used for the solution quantities. To enter an expression, you may type it directly into the field or use the Category, Quantity, and Function lists as follows:
5. 6.
Select the Category, these depend on the Solution type and the design. This lets you specify the category of information to be used in the output parameter. Select a Quantity from the list. Available quantities depend upon the Solution type, as well as the Geometry and Category selection. Selecting a Quantity automatically enters it into the Calculation Expression field. Select a Function to apply to the value in the calculated expression. For swept variables, the RangeFunction button opens the Set Range Function dialog to apply functions to the expression that apply over the sweep range.
The Calculation Range tab applies to swept variables and allows you to specify the range of the sweep over which to apply the calculation. When the desired Calculation Expression has been obtained, click the Add Calculation button to add the entry to the calculation table in the Setup Statistical Analysis dialog box. You may add multiple entries to the table simply by changing the Calculated Expression and using the Add Calculation button. To update or edit a selected cost function, enter the desired Calculation Expression and click
Setting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-61
7.
the Update Calculation button. 8. Click Done to return to the Setup Statistical Analysis dialog box. The solution quantity you specify must be able to be evaluated to a single, real number.
Note
Related Topics Setting up a Statistical Analysis Setting the Maximum Iterations for a Statistical Analysis
4.
Alternatively, you can select the Override option first, and then select a different distribution type in the Distribution text box.
Optionally, if you want to change the distribution criteria, click in Distribution Criteria column for the variable you want to override. The Edit Distribution dialog box appears. If the distribution type is Gaussian, do the following: a. b. c. Type the lower limit of the distribution in the Cutoff Probability text box. This is a value =>0 and < 0.1. Type the mean value of the distribution in the Mean text box. Type the standard deviation of the distribution in the Std Dev text box. HFSS solves design variations using a Gaussian distribution within the specified mean and standard deviation values.
5.
6.
Enter a tolerance value in the text box. HFSS will solve design variations within the tolerance range of the starting value, using an even distribution.
7.
If the distribution type is Lognormal, do the following: a. b. Enter the cutoff probability in the Cutoff Probability text box. Enter the sigma value of the distribution in the Sigma text box and select a unit from the pull-down.
Setting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-63
c. d. 8. a. b. 9.
Enter the m value of the distribution in the M text box. Enter the theta value in the Theta text box and select a unit from the pull-down. Enter the cutoff probability in the Cutoff Probability text box. Click Edit XY Data to open the Edit Datasets dialog box in which you can select an existing dataset, or create a new one.
By default, all variables are set to sample using Latin Hypercube sampling. This sampling method provides for greater variability than random sampling by keeping track of chosen samples and guaranteeing that samples cannot be repeated. You may revert to random sampling by clearing the checkbox in the Latin Hypercube column for any desired variable.
10. Click OK. To revert to the default distribution settings, clear the Override option. Related Topics Statistical Cutoffs
7.
If the distribution type is Uniform, do the following: a. b. Type a cutoff probability value in the Cutoff Probability text box. Type mean and tolerance values in the corresponding text boxes. HFSS will solve design variations within the tolerance range of the starting value, using an even distribution.
8.
If the distribution type is Lognormal, do the following: a. b. Type a cutoff probability value in the Cutoff Probability text box. Type values for Sigma, M, and Theta in the corresponding text boxes. Type a cutoff probability value in the Cutoff Probability text box. Click Edit XY Data to open the Edit Dataset dialog. Either type or import the X and Y data values for the distribution in the Edit Dataset dialog.
9.
Uniform distributions such as variable length above use only the Tolerance value, and do not have a cutoff probability.
Edit Distribution
When setting the distribution type for a variable, you have the option of changing the distribution parameters from the default values. 1. If the distribution type is Gaussian, do the following: a. b. c. Type the lower limit of the distribution in the Cutoff Probability text box. This is a value =>0 and < 0.1. Type the mean value of the distribution in the Mean text box. Type the standard deviation of the distribution in the Std Dev text box. HFSS solves design variations using a Gaussian distribution within the specified mean and standard deviation values.
2.
If the distribution type is Uniform, do the following: a. b. c. Type the lower limit of the distribution in the Cutoff Probability text box. Type the mean value of the distribution in the Mean text box. Enter the tolerance in the Tolerance text box. HFSS solves design variations within the tolerance range of the starting value, using an even distribution.
3.
If the distribution type is Lognormal, do the following: a. b. c. d. Type the lower limit of the distribution in the Cutoff Probability text box. Enter the shape parameter of the distribution in the Sigma text box. Enter the scale parameter in the M text box. The scale parameter should be set to 1 for the standard lognormal distribution. Enter the location parameter value for Theta in the text box. The value for a standard lognormal distribution is 0. HFSS solves design variations with a logarithmic distribution using the shape, scale and location parameters provided..
4.
If the distribution type is User Defined, do the following: a. b. Type the lower limit of the distribution in the Cutoff Probability text box. Select the Edit XY Data button to manually define the data distribution using datasets.
Related Topics Adding Datasets Changing the Distribution Criteria for Every Statistical Setup Overriding the Distribution Criteria for a Single Statistical Setup
1. 2.
In the Setup Statistical Analysis dialog box, click the Variables tab. All of the variables selected for the statistical analysis are listed. Type a new value in the Starting Value text box for the value you want to override, and then press Enter. The Override option is now selected. This indicates that the value you entered is to be used for this statistical analysis; the current value set for the nominal model will be ignored.
Alternatively, you can select the Override option first, and then type a new variable value
Setting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-67
in the Starting Value text box. 3. Optionally, click a new unit system in one of the Units text boxes. To revert to the default starting value, clear the Override option. Related Topics Setting up a Statistical Analysis
Tuning Overview
Tuning a variable is useful when you want to manually modify its value and immediately perform an analysis of the design. For example, it is useful after performing an optimization analysis, in which Optimetrics has determined an optimal variable value, and you want to fine tune the value to see how the design results (for example, traces in a report) are affected. A design can be updated after a tuning analysis to reflect a design variation solved during a tuning analysis and the results, including field solutions if you select Save Fields and Mesh on the Options tab of the setup. Related Topics Tuning a Variable
Tuning a Variable
If you want to ensure that tuning does not resolve variations already solved by an optimization setup, you must check Save Fields and Mesh in the Options tab of that setup. 1. 2. Before a variable can be tuned, you must specify that you intend for it to be used during a tuning analysis in a Project or Design Properties dialog box. After running the simulation, click HFSS >Optimetrics>Tune . The Tune dialog box appears., listing the variables which have been included for tuning.
3.
Clear the Real Time option. Clearing the Real Time option enables the Tune button. If this option is selected, a simulation begins immediately after you move the slider. Otherwise, you use the Tune button to apply the current values to a simulation.
4.
If you want to see updates to an open Report plot while tuning a post processing variable, you must select the Browse available variations checkbox. Selecting Browse available variations disables the sweep checkbox, and the fields for minimum and maximum variable values. This feature lets you see the effect of changes to the post processing variables on plotted results. Clearing Browse available variations enables the Sweep checkbox, the minimum and maximum fields, and changes the Nominal field to Step. See step 6.
5.
In the Sim. Setups column, select the solution setup you want HFSS to use when it solves the specified design variation. HFSS solves the analysis using the solution setup you select. If you select more than one, results are generated for all selected solution setups. Checking the Tune box for a Sim Setup enables the Real Time checkbox, the Browse available variations checkbox, and the Snap radio buttons. Clearing the Tune box disables those selections.
6.
In the Nominal text box for the variable you want to tune, type the value of the variable you want HFSS to solve, or drag the slider to increase or decrease its value. Variable values must be single real numbers, or expressions that evaluate to single real numbers. Complex numbers cannot be used as the values of variables in any optimetric analysis.
Warning
Alternatively, if you want HFSS to solve a range of values, specify a linear range of values with a constant step size: a. b. c. Select the Sweep check box. (You must have cleared the Browse available variations checkbox). In the text box below the Step value, type the starting value in the variable range. Type the step size, or difference between variable values in the sweep definition, in the Step text box. The step size determines the number of design variations between the start and stop values. HFSS solves the model at each step in the specified range, including the start and stop values. In the text box just below the variable name, type a stopping value in the variable range.
d. 7.
If you have cleared the Real Time checkbox, click Tune to apply the changes you have made to the variable values. Sweeping or using a complex variable is not allowed in any optimetrics setup, including optimization, statistical, sensitivity, and tuning setups.
Note 8.
Changing a variable value with the sliders of by typing in the text field enables the Save and Reset buttons. Clicking Save opens a Save As dialog with a name field, and an Apply tuned values to design checkbox. Clicking Reset changes the variable values back to what they were originally.
9.
If you have changed one or more included variables, clicking Close on the Tuning dialog opens the Apply Tuned Variation dialog. This lists the included variables and the values for each tuning. If you have tried multiple values, they are listed, and the current value is highlighted. Select another value to change the highlight. Click OK to apply the highlighted values to the design, or Dont Apply to ignore the changes from the original variable values. If you have applied variant values, you should see the new values listed in the relevant Design
Setting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-71
or Project Properties lists of variables and values, and if the changes affect plots or physical features of a model, those changes should also appear. Click Cancel to close the dialog and go back to the Tune dialog. Related Topics Applying a Tuned State to a Design Tuning Overview Resetting Variable Values after Tuning
When closing the Tune dialog box: 1. 2. Click Close to exit the Tune dialog box. The Apply Tuned Variation dialog box appears. Click the design variation you want to apply, and then click OK. The variable values from the solved design variation become the current variable values for the nominal design. If you have applied variant values, you should see the new values listed in the relevant Design or Project Properties lists of variables and values, and if the changes affect plots or physical features of a model, those changes should also be apparent.
2. 3.
Type a name for the tuned state in the text box. Select Apply tuned values to design if you want to update the model to the new variable val-
ues. 4. Click OK to return to the Tune dialog box. Related Topics Reverting to a Saved Tuned State
After tuning a variable, click Reset in the Tune dialog box. Solutions for the design variations solved during tuning analyses remain available for post processing.
when an adaptive analysis is specified in the solution setup or when you request that fields be saved for each solved point in a frequency sweep. If the nominal design is not included in the optimization analysis, all field solutions are deleted. To save the fields for all design variations solved during an optimization analysis: 1. 2. 3. Open an Edit Sweep dialog by either adding a sweep or right-click on a an existing sweep to view the short cut menu and selecting Properties. Select the Options tab. Click the Save Fields And Mesh check box. Optionally, select Copy geometrically equivalent mashes. HFSS will save the field solution data for every solved design variation in the optimization setup. Related Topics Saving Field Solutions for Optimetrics Analyses
In the Tuning dialog box, select Save Fields. HFSS will save the field solution data for every solved design variation in a tuning analysis.
Setting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-75
The Copy geometrically equivalent mesh option is not recommended for use when the frequency is varying, since meshing is frequency-dependent. You may wish to turn this option off when the first geometrically equivalent variation requires numerous passes after the initial mesh, but the other geometrically-equivalent variations require fewer additional passes, so that it is cheaper to start with the initial mesh each time.
You can also type numbers or expression by hand directly into the Expression area.
2.
In the Setup Optimization dialog box, click the Variables tab. In the Setup Sensitivity Analysis dialog box, click the Variables tab. In the Setup Statistical Analysis dialog box, click the Variables tab.
All of the independent variables that were selected for the optimization analysis are listed. Clear the Include option for the variable you want to exclude from the analysis. The Override option is now selected. This indicates that, for this optimization analysis, the variable is not included. Note 3. Alternatively, you can select the Override option first, and then clear the Include option for the variable you want to exclude.
Click OK.
2.
In the Setup Optimization dialog box, click the Variables tab. In the Setup Sensitivity Analysis dialog box, click the Variables tab. In the Setup Statistical Analysis dialog box, click the Variables tab.
Click Set Fixed Variables. The Setup Fixed Variables dialog box appears. Under Fixed Variables, all of the current independent variable values are listed.
3. 4.
Click the Value text box of the variable with the value you want to override. Type a new value in the Value text box, and then press Enter. The Override option is now selected. This indicates that the value you entered is used for this Optimetrics setup; the current variable value set for the nominal design is ignored.
Note 5. 6.
Alternatively, you can select the Override option first, and then type a new value in the Value text box.
Optionally, click a new unit system in the Units text box. Click OK.
Linear Constraints
Once the optimization variables are specified, the optimizer handles each of them as an n-dimensional vector x. Any point in the design space corresponds to a particular x-vector and to a design instance. Each design instance may be evaluated via Finite Element Analysis and assigned a cost value; therefore, the cost function is defined over the design space (cost(x): RnR), where n is the number of optimization variables. In practice, a solution of the minimization problem is sought only on a bounded subset of the Rn space. This subset is called the feasible domain and is defined via linear constraints. You may constrain the feasible domain of a design variable by defining linear constraints for the optimization process. The feasible domain is defined as the domain of all design variables that satisfy all upper and lower bounds and constraints. Linear constraints are defined by the following inequalities:
ij xi < cj j
i
where
ij are coefficients.
cj is a comparison value for the jth linear constraint. xi is the ith designer parameter.
2. 3. 4.
If you are setting up an optimization analysis: In the Setup Optimization dialog box, click the Variables tab. If you are setting up a sensitivity analysis: In the Setup Sensitivity Analysis dialog box, click the Variables tab.
Click Linear Constraint. The Linear Constraint dialog box appears. Click Add. The Edit Linear Constraint dialog box appears. Click a Coeff text box and type a positive or negative coefficient value.
Setting up an Optimetrics Analysis 15-81
5. 6. 7.
Click a condition, < (less than) or > (greater than), from the pull-down list. Type the inequality value, which should be a constant value, in the text box to the right of the condition. Click OK. You return to the Linear Constraint dialog box. The left-hand side of the constraint appears in the LHS (left-hand side) column. The condition is listed in the Condition column, and the inequality value is listed in the RHS (right-hand side) column.
Related Topics Modifying a Linear Constraint Deleting a Linear Constraint Linear Constraints
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
If you are setting up an optimization analysis: In the Setup Optimization dialog box, click the Variables tab. If you are setting up a sensitivity analysis: In the Setup Sensitivity Analysis dialog box, click the Variables tab.
Click Linear Constraint. The Linear Constraint dialog box appears. Click the row listing the constraint you want to modify, and then click Edit. The Edit Linear Constraint dialog box appears. Optionally, click a Coeff text box and type a new coefficient value. Optionally, click a different condition, < (less than) or > (greater than), in the pull-down list. Optionally, type a different inequality value in the text box to the right of the condition, and then click OK. You return to the Linear Constraint dialog box. The new coefficient value, the condition, and the inequality value appear in the LHS (left-hand side), Condition, and RHS (right-hand side) columns, respectively.
2.
If you are setting up an optimization analysis: In the Setup Optimization dialog box, click the Variables tab. If you are setting up a sensitivity analysis: In the Setup Sensitivity Analysis dialog box, click the Variables tab.
3.
Click the row listing the constraint you want to delete, and then click Delete. The constraint is deleted.
To use the Analyze All command at the Project or design level to simulate the nominal problem and subsequently run all Optimetrics setups, do the following: 1. 2. In the Project Manager window, right-click on the project or design name. Click Analyze All from the shortcut menu.
To use the Analyze All command from the Optimetrics menu to simulate only the Optimetrics based setups, do the following: 1. 2. In the Project Manager window, right-click on Optimetrics. Click Analyze>All from the shortcut menu.
You can choose to analyze only the setups related to a specific Optimetrics type of analysis. In order to simulate setups of a specific type, do the following: 1. 2. In the Project Manager window, right-click on Optimetrics. Click Analyze>All {TYPE} from the shortcut menu where TYPE is the specific analysis type of interest, Parametric, Optimization, Sensitivity, or Statistical.
In the project tree, right-click the Optimetrics setup for which you want to view the results, and then click View Analysis Result on the shortcut menu. The Post Analysis Display dialog box appears. Select from available setups by using the dropdown selection menu. Select the Results tab to view results in plot or table form. When you view results in Table form you can resort the results based on each column. Click the Iteration column head to invert the sort from lowest to highest setup number. Click the variable name column to resort the results by step value. Click the Cost column head to sort the results from lowest cost to highest cost. Clicking a column again inverts the current sort. Select the Profile tab to view start, stop, and elapsed times for each variable, and the analysis machine for each variation. You can click the column heads to sort the table by variation number,variable value, start, stop, or elapsed time, or (if you have run a distributed analysis) machine.
See the help topics in this section for more details about viewing Optimetrics analysis results. Related Topics Viewing Solution Data for an Optimetrics Design Variation Viewing an Optimetrics Solutions Profile Data Viewing Results for Parametric Solution Quantities Viewing Cost Results for an Optimization Analysis Viewing Output Parameter Results for Sensitivity Analysis Viewing Distribution Results for Statistical Analysis
The Solutions dialog box appears with the profile data for the selected design variation. The profile line for the matrix solver is in the following format: Solver 123 where:
1 is the precision type: M (mixed) or D (double) 2 is the matrix data type: R (real) or C (complex) 3 is the symmetry type: S (symmetric), A (asymmetric), H (hermitian)
Related Topics Viewing a Solution's Profile Viewing Solution Data for an Optimetrics Design Variation
header inverts the order. Clicking other headers sorts the entries by value, and clicking again inverts the order. 4. Optionally, select Show complete output name. The complete name of the solution for which the results are being displayed will be listed in the column headings. 5. Optionally, click a design variation in the table, and then click Apply (at the far right side of the dialog box). The design displayed in the 3D Modeler window is changed to represent the selected design variation. Related Topics Plotting Solution Quantity Results vs. a Swept Variable
Select the solution quantity results you want to plot on the y-axis from the Y pull-down list. The xy plot appears in the view window. Right-click in the plot area to get the shortcut menu where you can set modify the plots display properties, print, copy to the clipboard, or export the data to a file.
3.
Optionally, click a design variation in the table, and then click Apply. HFSS now points to the selected design variation as the nominal solution and as a result, the design displayed in the Modeler window is changed to represent the selected design variation. Click Revert to return the design in the view window to the original value.
Related Topics Plotting Cost Data for an Optimization Analysis Viewing Solution Data for an Optimetrics Design Variation
3.
The regression value of the output parameter at the design point is listed in the Func. Value column. The first derivative of the regression is listed in the 1st D column. The second derivative of the regression is listed in the 2nd D column.
Click Apply. HFSS now points to the selected design variation as the nominal solution and as a result, the design displayed in the Modeler window is changed to represent the selected design variation. Click Revert to return the design in the view window to the original value.
Related Topics Plotting Output Parameter Results for a Sensitivity Analysis Viewing Solution Data for an Optimetrics Design Variation
parameter results, and then click View Analysis Result on the shortcut menu. The Post Analysis Display dialog box appears. 2. 3. 4. Under the Result tab, select Plot as the view type. Select the sensitivity variable with the sweep values you want to plot on the x-axis from the X pull-down list. Select the output parameter results you want to plot on the y-axis from the Y pull-down list. The xy plot appears in the Post Analysis Display dialog box. The plot displays actual output parameter results for each solved design variation. It also displays a parabola that best fits these results. The parabola is a more accurate representation of sensitivity around the design point than any individual solved design variation.
2. 3.
Check Include for the simulation setups you want to use. Check the Design variables to use. You can also chose to Override the value of a design variable. You can edit the Value and Units fields. Unchecking Override returns the values to their original state. To setup any output calculations, click the Calculation tab and click the Setup Calculations button. This opens the Add/Edit Calculation dialog. Here you can define the simulation results of interest. The dialog box contains distinct panes and tabs to set the Context, the Calculation Expression, and the Calculation Range. See Setup Calculations for Optimetrics for details. Use the Add Calculation button to add expressions to the Calculations table of the Design
4.
5.
When you have added the calculations of interest, click OK to save the setup. An icon for the Design Xplorer setup appears under Optimization in the Project tree.
6. 7.
To create a .xml file with the setup information for Design Xplorer, first Save your project. Then right-click on the setup and select Export External Connector Addin Configuration.
This displays a browser dialog that you can use to navigate your file system, and name and saves the .xml file. The .xml file contains information regarding the HFSS path along with the setup, variables, and simulation results that you specified. 8. If you have an ANSYS Workbench installation you can perform additional steps. You should have provided a path to the Workbench installation in the Tools>General Options dialog Miscellaneous tab, to provide a path. Then click Create Workbench Project. This lets you name a Workbench project containing the information in the setup. The ANSYS Workbench will be launched with the connection to the HFSS project established. To this con15-92 Setting up an Optimetrics Analysis
9.
nection, you can add a Design Xplorer Setup. See the documentation of Ansys Workbench for details on Design Xplorer.
16
Post Processing and Generating Reports
When HFSS has completed a solution, you can display and analyze the results in the following ways:
View solution data including the following: convergence information, computing resources that were used during the solution process, mesh statistics, and matrices computed for the Sparameters, impedances, and propagation constants during each adaptive, non-adaptive, or sweep solution. For eigenmode solutions, you can view the real and imaginary parts of the frequency and quality factor Q computed for each eigenmode. Solution data can also be viewed while HFSS is generating a solution. View analysis results for Optimetrics solutions. Plot field overlays - representations of basic or derived field quantities - on surfaces or objects. Create 2D or 3D reports of S-parameters, basic and derived field quantities, and radiated field data. Plot the finite element mesh on surfaces or within 3D objects. Create animations of field quantities, the finite element mesh, and defined project variables. Scale an excitations magnitude and modify its phase. Export Transfer File for ANSYS
Note
Except in the case of non-model boxes drawn in the global coordinate system (CS), nonmodel objects cannot be used for any fields post processing operation You can use nonmodel boxes drawn in the global CS for post processing operations, including integration and solution domaining.
Convergence information. Computing resources, or profile information, that were used during the solution process. Matrices computed for the S-parameters, impedances, and propagation constants during each adaptive, non-adaptive, or sweep solution. Mesh statistics For eigenmode solutions, view the real and imaginary parts of the frequency and quality factor Q computed for each eigenmode. The state of solved solutions. For transient solutions, Transient Data..
To access the Solution Data window, in which the information above can be accessed, do one of the following:
Right-click Results in the project tree, and then click Solution Data on the shortcut menu.
Whether the solution is converged or not converged. Number of adaptive passes completed and remaining. The number of tetrahedra created at each adaptive pass. Maximum magnitude of delta S between two passes. Maximum delta Energy between two passes. Magnitude margin between passes. Phase margin (deg) between passes.
If for the Solution Setup, you elected to Use Matrix Convergence, and selected specific table entries for the Magnitude and Phase, the Convergence tab also shows the following values with the Magnitude Margin and Phase Margin:
4.
Select Table to display the convergence data in table format or Plot to plot the convergence data on a rectangular (X - Y) plot.
Note
If you receive a message that the eigenmodes have not converged, it may indicate that the existing mesh is too coarse. You may need to refine the mesh.
In the project tree, right-click the solution setup of interest, and then click Convergence on the shortcut menu. The Solution Data window appears. The Convergence tab is selected. The number of completed and remaining passes is listed in the Number of Passes area.
In the project tree, right-click the solution setup of interest, and then click Convergence on the shortcut menu. The Solution Data window appears. The Convergence tab is selected. The Max. Mag. Delta S column lists the maximum magnitude of delta S from one pass to the next.
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The Max. Mag. Delta S area lists the target change in magnitude of delta S and the change in magnitude of delta S between the last two solved passes. Note Delta S is computed on the appropriate S-parameters - modal or terminal - after the Sparameters have been de-embedded and renormalized.
Note
You can renormalize mathematically, without having to re-solve, by accessing the postprocessing tab on the port definition panel and de-selecting the Deembed selection box.
Related Topics Setting the Maximum Delta S Per Pass Technical Notes: Maximum Delta S
In the project tree, right-click the solution setup of interest, and then click Convergence on the shortcut menu. The Solution Data window appears. The Convergence tab is selected. The Delta Mag. Energy column lists the delta energy from one pass to the next. The Delta Mag. Energy area lists the target change in delta energy and the change in delta Energy between the last two solved passes.
Related Topics Setting the Maximum Delta Energy Per Pass Technical Notes: Maximum Delta Energy
In the project tree, right-click the solution setup of interest, and then click Convergence on the shortcut menu. The Solution Data window appears. The Convergence tab is selected. The Magnitude Margin column lists the magnitude margin from one pass to the next.
Related Topics Setting Matrix Convergence Criteria Technical Notes: Magnitude Margin
In the project tree, right-click the solution setup of interest, and then click Convergence on the shortcut menu. The Solution Data window appears. The Convergence tab is selected. The Phase Margin column lists the phase margin from one pass to the next.
Note
When the Mag S becomes small (near to zero) its phase becomes indefinite and insignificant due to mathematical issues so that Phase Margin will be discarded.
Related Topics Setting Matrix Convergence Criteria Technical Notes: Phase Margin
In the project tree, right-click the solution setup of interest, and then click Convergence on the shortcut menu. The Solution Data window appears. The Convergence tab is selected. The Max Delta (Mag S) column lists the Max Delta (Mag S) from one pass to the next.
Related Topics Setting Matrix Convergence Criteria Technical Notes: Max Delta (Mag S)
In the project tree, right-click the solution setup of interest, and then click Convergence on the shortcut menu. The Solution Data window appears. The Convergence tab is selected. The Max Delta (Phase S) column lists the Max Delta (Phase S) from one pass to the next.
Related Topics Setting Matrix Convergence Criteria Technical Notes: Max Delta (Phase S)
In the project tree, right-click the solution setup of interest, and then click Convergence on the shortcut menu. The Solution Data window appears. The Convergence tab is selected. The Max Delta Freq. % column lists the maximum delta frequency from one pass to the next. The Max Delta Freq. % area lists the target maximum delta frequency and the maximum delta frequency between the last two solved passes.
Information
The matrix solver writes specific information in some of these fields as outlined below: Task The matrix solver task reports the type of solution performed by the solver, based on the physics of the problem. It is always of the form "Solver pdsn" (e.g. Solver MRS2), where
p, the precision type is: M (mixed) or D (double) d, the matrix data type is: R (real) or C (complex) s, the symmetry type is: S (symmetric), A (asymmetric), or H (hermitian) n, the number of processors used. You specify the number of available processors on the local machine in the HFSS or HFSS-IE options. If a solve does not use all available processors (local or distributed), the number reported may be less than the number available.
Information:
The matrix solver information line includes three sets of information (for example, 960885 matrix, 3030MB disk offcore)
# matrix: The size of the matrix that was solved (the number of unknowns) # disk: The amount of hard disk space used during the calculation of the matrix solution "offcore": After the disk information, the word "offcore" may appear. This means that the solver could not place all of the data it needs to calculate the matrix solution in physical memory. If this word does not appear, then the solver was able to fit the necessary data into physical memory (known as "in-core"). If the matrix solver must solve off-core, smaller blocks of the data to be solved are created on disk, each block is then solved in physical memory, and then the matrix solution is reassembled. As a result of this additional processing, the time required to calculate a solution is higher.
To Export the Profile data: 1. 2. 3. Open the Solution Data dialog with the Profile tab selected. Click the Export Profile button. This opens a file save dialog that lets you provide a file name and location. Click Save. The data is saved in a text file with a .prof extension. Related Topics Viewing an Optimetrics Solutions Profile Data
6.
To display the matrix entries for all solved frequencies, select Display All Freqs. If Display All Freqs is enabled, the drop-down frequency select list is disabled. To show the matrix entries for a selected solved frequency, ensure that Display All Freqs unchecked and use the dropdown list to select the solved frequency for which you want to view matrix entries. You can use a scroll bar for selecting from long frequency lists. For adaptive passes, only the solution frequency specified in the Solution Setup dialog box is available. For frequency sweeps, the entire frequency range is available.
To insert or delete one or more displayed frequencies, click Edit Freqs. Note: This command is only available if the sweep type is Fast or Interpolating. Clicking Edit Freqs displays the Edit Sweep dialog. It contains Generate New Values fields for specifying the Start Value, the End Value, and the Number of Values. The current values are displayed in a table. When you specify a New value, click Update Values to refresh the table. Note: Changes to the Start Value and End Value cannot be outside of the initial range. No message is issued: rather the range is implicitly restricted. Use the Insert button to add a new frequency to the table above the currently selected value. If no value, or the start value is selected, the new frequency repeats the current Start value and increments the count in the Number of Values field. If you select any other value for the insertion point, Insert adds a new value halfway between the selected value
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and the previous value, and increments the Number of Values field. Incrementing or deincrementing the Number of Values fields, and the clicking Update Values updates the table based in the current Start and End value fields (given the range restriction within the initial range). The Delete button enabled only if a value is selected. Delete removes the selected value and decrements the Number of Values field. Click OK to apply the changes to the Solutions dialog Matrix Data tab and close the Edit Sweep dialog, or Cancel to close the dialog without applying the changes. If you choose to export the matrix data for the Fast or Interpolating sweep after modifying the frequencies in the Edit Sweep dialog box, only those frequencies displayed under the Matrix Data tab will be exported. The data is displayed in the table. By default, Waveports are listed in alphabetical, then numerical order, just as they appear in the excitation tree. To change the port order, change setting for Default Matrix sort order in the HFSS or HFSS-IE General options. You may also want see how you can Reorder Matrix Data. 7. Optionally, Check Passivity. This passivity check tests whether the S-parameter data from HFSS is passive or not. If the SMatrix is not passive at one or more frequencies, this check displays a dialog that identifies the worst frequency violation and identifies the passivity in that case. Related Topics Selecting the Matrix Display Format Viewing Solution Data for an Optimetrics Design Variation Exporting Matrix Data Renaming Matrix Data Reordering Matrix Data Exporting Equivalent Circuit Data Technical Notes: Passivity
The available formats depend on the matrix type being displayed. When selected, dB formatting only applies to S -matrix data, even if other matrix types are displayed. The column heads in the display identify the format for the matrix type.You can display matrix data in the following formats. Magnitude, Phase (deg) Real, Imaginary dB, Phase (deg) Magnitude Phase (deg) Real Imaginary dB Related Topics Renaming Matrix Data Reordering Matrix Data Displays the magnitude and phase (in degrees) of the matrix type. Displays the real and imaginary parts of the matrix type. Displays the magnitude in decibels and phase in degrees of the matrix type. Displays the magnitude of the matrix type. Displays the phase in degrees of the matrix type. Displays the real parts of the matrix type. Displays the imaginary parts of the matrix type. Displays the magnitude in decibels of the matrix type.
5.
Select one of the following file formats from the Save as type pull-down list: Format (spreadsheet) *.tab Type data table Description A text file in which the elements of the S-matrix are arranged in a series of columns that are tabseparated and include a first row of headings. The file may be imported into a spreadsheet or similar utility. A Touchstone S-parameter file in which the number of ports is indicated by n. For example, a Touchstone file with one port would have the file extension .s1p. When you export this format, you are presented with a dialogue where your can specify:
*.sNp
Touchstone/Libra
Number of Digits Precision (Default 15) Override Solution Renormalization. This refers to overriding the renormalization impedances that may have been asked for in the port setup. if so, the export renormalizing impedance Do Not Override Solution Renormalization. This leaves any port setup renormalization options in place, and greys out the Impedance setting on the dialog. whether to include Gamma and Impedance Comments
If you want to export raw S-Parameter data for later use, you may choose to not renormalize the solution. If all ports and associated modes/terminals are normalized to the same impedance and you choose Do Not Override Solution Renormalization during export, the Touchstone file header will indicate the normalized impedance. The comment header in the Touchstone file lists the port and mode numbers to show which column
contains which port name (in case of confusion between alphabetical and force repriority ordering of ports and associated modes).
*.nmf
Neutral file format defined by the MAFET Consortium. When you save to this format, you are presented a dialog that lets you specify the number of digits precision for the renormalizing impedance. The Mathworks MATLAB file in which the elements of the S-, Y-, or Z-matrix are arranged in a series of rows. Common Instrumentation Transfer and Interchange file format. It is an ASCII format defined by instrument and CAE designers.
*.m
MATLAB
*.cit
Citifile
6.
For Touchstone files, you see a Combine Sweeps option on the Export Network Data solution dialog. This lets you combine sweeps into a single output file if:
a. b. 7.
You can combine any combination of discrete, interpolating, and fast sweeps, as long as the ranges dont overlap except possibly at the endpoints. (Note that the interpolated sweeps incorporate pre-solved data.) The files must not have overlaps in the frequencies. (They can meet at a single frequency. For example, you can combine sweeps from 8 to 10 GHz with sweeps from 10 to 12 GHz, and 8-10 GHz and 11-13GHz, but not sweeps from 9 to 11 GHz and 10 to 11 GHz.) Select the Combine Sweeps button to display a Combine Interpolating Sweeps For Export dialog with a list of sweeps. Select the sweeps to combine and click Combine. This closes the Combine Interpolating Sweeps for Export dialog.
By default, wave ports are listed in alphabetical, then numerical order, just as they appear in the excitation tree. You can change this order to creation order and back without invalidating the solution on the HFSS Options dialog. If you select Touchstone format, you are first presented with a dialog in which you can specify the Number of Digits precision, and Override the Solution Renormalization. If so, you co specify the export renormalizing impedance (an integer value). Here you also can specify and whether to include Gamma and Impedance Comments, and Number of Digits Precision (Default 15). If you select Neutral File Format, you are presented with a Specify Export Renormalizing Impedance dialog that lets you specify the Number of digits precision for the save file. If you modify the display of solved frequencies in an Interpolating or Fast sweep under the Matrix Data tab (by clicking Edit Freqs and then modifying the values in the Edit Sweep dialog box,) only those frequencies listed will be exported to the file.
Note
3.
Related Topics HFSS: General Options Viewing Matrix Data Renaming Matrix Data
will enable you to include wave effects in the circuit simulations. You can also export a W-Element model for a port. Note You must have a frequency sweep solution and five or more frequency points to successfully export an equivalent circuit data file. See the Choosing Frequencies for Full-Wave SPICE topic of the online help for suggestions about the frequency range of the sweep. The GUI lets you export full-wave Spice for a model that contains differential pairs, but it will silently export the data in its original single-ended form. The full-wave Spice model is a "broadband" equivalent circuit (that is, its S-parameters match those of the HFSS solution across the whole frequency sweep range.) Certain discrete sweeps permit Full-Wave SPICE exports. It is allowed if the discrete data is evenly spaced, includes DC, and has at least 500 frequency points. 1. In the project tree, right-click the solution setup of interest, and then click Matrix Data on the shortcut menu. The Solution Data window appears. The Matrix Data tab is selected. 2. 3. Click Equivalent Circuit Export. The Equivalent Circuit Export Options dialog box appears. Type the name or browse to the directory in which you want to store the data.
4.
Click one of the following formats in the Format list: PSpice (*.lib) Nexxim State Spalce (.sss) Simplorer (.sml) Star HSpice (*.sp) Spectre (*.cir) Your format selection affects the options available under Full Wave Spice Export. When Simplorer format is requested, both *.sml and *.png are created. The latter contains the image in GIF format.
5.
If the Full-Wave Spice Export checkbox is enabled, you can select it. Checking the box
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enables the text field for the file name, and depending on the format selection, other options may be enabled.
HFSS supports Full Wave Spice Export from a driven modal design as long as all ports have exactly one mode each. However, HFSS does not support definition of differential pairs in a driven modal design. 6. 7. Optionally, select Use Common Ground to combine the negative reference nodes for all of the ports into a single reference node. Optionally, select Enforce Passivity. Selecting this enforces passivity in the output file. Passive devices can only dissipate or temporarily store energy, but never generate it. (You can also check passivity from the Matrix Data tab using the Check Passivity button.) This option is useful in cases where the transient simulation fails due to passivity violations in the circuit model. This circuit model is based on fitting a rational function to the S-parameter data computed by the field solver. Small errors in the data fitting can result in non-passive behavior. Selecting the Enforce Passivity option will take more CPU time, but ensures that the resulting model will be passive. The passivity check tests whether the S-parameter data from HFSS is passive or not. For more information see Passivity. 8. Optionally, select Lumped Element Export (Low Bandwidth) if you want to save the data as a low-frequency circuit model using simple lumped elements (resistors, capacitors, inductors, and dependent current sources). The low-bandwidth model is only going to be accurate in a limited frequency range around the adaptive solution frequency This option is not enabled for Spectre export. 9. Optionally, select Partial Fraction Expansion for Matlab if you want to specify a file that expands the partial fractions for use in Matlab. The partial fractions involved describe the frequency response of the low-bandwidth model from the previous step.
10. You can also select Combine Sweeps to select and combine available sweeps into a single output file. By option you can Export W-Element Data. 11. Click OK. The S-matrices are written to the data file that you specified in the equivalent circuit data format. Related Topics Exporting W-Element Data
In the Model name field, provide a model name. Either select the port from the Port Name pull down, or, to export a W-element model for all ports, select the Export for All Ports radio button. Click OK. The W-element model is written to the data file that you specified. Related Topics Technical Notes: Calculating the W-Elements
area information instead of tet volume information. If mesh repairs have been performed, two additional columns appear in the table; Recovered %, Repaired %. These columns indicate the fraction of an object that was successfully recovered and the fraction that needed some repair. To toggle the mesh statistics display from low to high values or visa versa: 1. Click on the column header. This displays a shadowed triangle pointing down to indicate a list ordered from highest to lowest, and a triangle pointing up to indicate a list ordered from lowest to highest. Clicking again inverts the current order. Click on blank cell above the object list to invert the order of objects, though in this case, the cell does not display a directional triangle. Related topics Technical Notes: The Finite Element Method Technical Notes: The Mesh Generation Process
4.
Select All Except Current Variation to delete all solution data that do not correspond to the current project and design variable values for the current design. Select All Variations to delete all solution data for the current design. Select Select to specify the variations you wish to delete. Click Variations to select the variations for deletion.
Click Do Deletions. The solution data you selected are deleted. Any post processing reports or field overlays you created that included data you deleted will be marked with an X in the project tree. They will be invalid until new solution data are generated.
Deleting Reports
To use Delete All Reports: 1. Click HFSS>Results>Delete All Reports. You can also rightclick on the Results folder in the Project tree to display the shortcut menu, and click Delete All reports. All items under the Results folder in the Project tree are removed. To use Delete for a selected report: 1. 2. Select a report icon in the Project tree, and right-click to display the shortcut menu. Click Delete on the shortcut menu or the X icon on the toolbar to delete the selected report.
Warning
Export the model geometry to a file in the desired format. Create a coupling file containing the information needed in ANSYS Workbench to extract the power loss density distribution.
The model geometry and coupling files can then be imported into ANSYS Workbench for calculating thermal and mechanical effects based on the Ansoft solution.
The picture below shows the interface of the Steady-State Thermal solver after the link has been defined. It also shows the commands, available through right-clicking, to Import the thermal Load from HFSS or Maxwell and to Export the temperature distribution to HFSS or Maxwell.
Many geometry formats are allowed, and the Ansoft and ANSYS models can be different. If needed, you can perform reasonable geometry de-featuring in both Ansoft and ANSYS models. You can use independent Ansoft and ANSYS meshes Supports all ANSYS thermal elements Allows independent Ansoft and ANSYS solution sequences and post-processing Accurate control of load mapping Access to other Workbench 12 solutions (non-linear thermal stress, pre-stressed mechanical eigenmode analysis, CFD, and so forth)
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Driven and eigenmode with automatic adaptive mesh refinement solution type; Driven sweep (both discrete and fast sweep are supported, coupling is available for all frequencies of the respective sweeps value where electromagnetic field was saved)
Coupling with ANSYS thermal transient with time dependent power cycle is possible. The control of the timing is performed through the Workbench 12 functionality. Related Topics Exporting 3D Model Files Exporting the Model Geometry to ANSYS Workbench Creating the Thermal Link Coupling File Re-solving After ANSYS Thermal Link Feedback
Related Topics Export Transfer File for ANSYS Exporting 3D Model Files Creating the Thermal Link Coupling File Re-solving After ANSYS Thermal Link Feedback
Click OK. 5. 6. For Maxwell transient solution types only, you must also specify the desired Start and Stop Integration times for the power loss density distribution to be used in ANSYS Workbench. When you are finished making the desired selections, click the Export button. This opens a file browser in which you can specify a file name and location for the coupling file you wish to export. The file is in ANSYS Link format, and uses a .xml extension. 7. Click Done to close the Export ANSYS Ansys Transfer File dialog box. Related Topics Export Transfer File for ANSYS Exporting 3D Model Files Exporting the Model Geometry to ANSYS Workbench Re-solving After ANSYS Thermal Link Feedback
For HFSS Terminal solutions, you can select a Terminal Exciation Type as Incident Voltage or Total Voltage.
For HFSS modal solutions and terminal solutions with the Terminal Exciation Type set as Incident Voltage, the dialog displays information for design sources in table format. Source Type Solved Magnitude Solved Phase static value Scaling Factor Offset Phase Units
N/A Terminated is checked (for Terminal Solutions only) For terminal solutions with the Terminal Excitation type specified as Total Voltage, and HFSS-IE, the table contains some additional columns with a scroll bar. Terminated Unchecked. (Default) Checked Resistance Unit Reactance editable value Unit menu
Note that in the modal case a unit stimulation means 1 Watt of incident power at the port; in the terminal case a unit stimulation means 1 volt of total voltage at the terminal. After converting the voltage stimulation to the equivalent power stimulation the antenna results agree perfectly. In particular, the "ratioed" antenna parameters such as gain, directivity, and efficiency agree between the modal and terminal projects, while absolute antenna quantities such as incident power, accepted power may initially appear different. This is a direct result of the
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difference in edit-sources stimulations in the two types of projects. 2. Select the source whose magnitude and phase you want to scale. If your solution type is driven terminal, a voltage source magnitude and phase may be set for the selected terminal. 3. In the Scaling Factor text box, enter the factor by which the value of the source is to be scaled. Design variables can be used as source scalings. You may not enter a negative voltage. To obtain the equivalent of a negative magnitude, add or subtract 180 degrees from the phase value. If you use a design variable as a scaling factor note that solutions are invalidated if the variable is changed. If the model contains symmetry planes, the Edit Sources dialog alerts you that you may need to adjust the scaling factor accordingly. At least one source should be excited (non-zero). If you set all sources to zero, you will receive a warning, but the values do go through. 4. 5. In the Offset Phase text box, enter the new phase for the source. The phase of the source is changed by the value that you enter. Optionally, if your solution type is driven terminal, you may specify a complex reference impedance: a. For the selected terminal, select Terminated. This disables the values to the left of the checkbox, and enables the Resistance and Reactance text boxes. Use the scroll bar to view them. b. 6. 7. Enter the Resistance and the Reactance and select the units. Ohms is the default. By option, you can click a checkbox to Include Post Processing Effects. Checking this box also enables an Apply button. For HFSS, if an incident wave is present, use the radio buttons at the bottom of the panel to select one of the following field types to use:
Note
The differential field formed by subtracting the incident field from the total field. The physically measurable field that exists with the model present and a non-zero incident field. The plane-wave field that would exist in the absence of the model.
For HFSS-IE, these options do not appear in the Edit Sources dialog. The Port Processing effects are always on, and the entered voltages in Edit Sources are always in TotalVoltage form.
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8.
Click OK to apply the changes and close the dialog, or click Apply to view the changes without closing the dialog. The magnitude and phase are assigned to the selected excitation.
Note
When you scale an excitation, keep in mind that the original value of the excitation remains unchanged.
The excitations magnitude specifies time-averaged incident power in watts. If you are using a symmetry plane, remember to scale the input signal appropriately. For example, if you have one symmetry plane, use an input value of 0.5 watts to excite the full structure with 1 watt; if you have two symmetry planes, use an input value of 0.25 watts to excite the full structure with 1 watt, and so forth. Generally, use the default value of 1. This specifies that the solutions Eand H-fields be scaled such that the excitation wave delivers 1 watt of power. To view the solution at some other power, enter a positive value. Only port-mode combinations with non-zero magnitudes will be used. The source magnitude for voltage and current sources specifies peak value volts and peak value amperes, respectively. If you have defined multiple voltage and current sources, you can "remove" them by setting their magnitudes to 0. This enables you to easily observe the effects that individual or specific groups of sources have on the problem. Source magnitude specifies peak value E-field in volts per meter. When you scale the incident E-field, the scattered E-field and the total Efield are scaled as well. This scaling factor affects all incident angles in the incident wave setup.
The excitations magnitude specifies peak value volts. This is the sum of the incident and reflected waves at this terminal. See the equations here. Source magnitude is unitless and represents a relative value. When you enter a scaling factor for an eigenmode the relative source magnitude is amplified by this value. Exactly one eigenmode must be excited by setting its scaling factor to a non-zero positive number. See Ports and Edit Sources Behavior for Transient Network
When specifying the new phase for ports, generally use zero. This zero-phase solution results from excitations phased in such a way that, at t = 0, peak values occur at the port faces.
Edit Sources involves specifying the incident voltages at the terminals of the ports not the total voltages. This means that all ports are terminated with the port settings and if the edit source for a given port is set to zero it means that port is loaded with the port setting and it does not imply a short. As mentioned above, transient fields are not affected by any renormalization but the frequency domain far fields and antenna parameters are affected by renormalization. For HFSS Transient, Edit Sources is disabled.
Creating Animations
An animated plot is a series of frames that displays a field, mesh, or geometry at varying values. To create an animated plot, you specify the values of the plot that you want to include, just as an animator takes snapshots of individual drawings that make up a cartoon. Each value is a frame in the animation. You specify how many frames to include in the animation. Note Each animation frame requires memory for storage which depends upon the mesh size and type of plot. Memory usage may become very large during plot animations. To reduce memory usage, specify the minimum number of frames possible. See General Options for more information.
You can export the animation to animated Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) or to Audio Video Interleave (AVI) format. Related Topics General Options: Miscellaneous Options Tab Creating Phase Animations Creating Frequency Animations Creating Geometry Animations Controlling the Animations Display Exporting Animations
will be the first frame displayed, resulting in a total of 11 frames in the animation. d. If the design has multiple project or intrinsic variables, click the Design Point tab to set the values of the non-animated variables. 1. 2. 3. Click the Design Point tab. Deselect the Use defaults checkbox.
In the table, select the row corresponding to the variable setting of interest. Click OK. The animation begins in the view window. The play panel appears in the upper-left corner of the desktop, enabling you to stop, restart, and control the speed and sequence of the frames. Related Topics Controlling the Animations Display
The Setup Animation dialog box appears. 3. In the Setup Animation dialog box: a. b. c. Type a name for the animation in the Name text box or accept the default name. Optionally, type a description of the animation in the Description text box. Under the Swept Variable tab, the Swept Variable list includes all of the defined geometric project and design variables. Select the geometry variable that you want to animate from the Swept Variable list. Specify the values of the variable that you want to include in the animation: 1. 2. 3. Type the starting value of the variable in the Start text box. Type the stopping value of the variable in the Stop text box. Type the number of Steps to include in the animation. For example, if the Start value is 0.15in, the Stop value is 0.45in, and the number of steps is 15, the animation will display the geometry at 15 values between 0.15 inches and 0.45 inches. The animation will also include the start value, which will be the first frame displayed, resulting in a total of 16 frames in the animation.
d.
e.
If the design has multiple project or intrinsic variables, click the Design Point tab to set the values of the non-animated variables. 1. 2. 3. Click the Design Point tab. Deselect the Use defaults checkbox. In the table, select the row corresponding to the variable setting of interest.
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4.
Click OK.
The animation begins in the view window. It will display one frame for each variable value. The play panel appears in the upper-left corner of the desktop, enabling you to stop, restart, and control the speed and sequence of the frames. Related Topics Controlling the Animations Display
Animation Each dot on the slider represents a frame in the animation. Drag the slider to slider the right to display the next frame in the animated plot. Drag the slider to the left to display the previous frame in the animation. Plays the plots animation sequence backwards. Steps backward through the animated plot one frame at a time. Stops the animation. Steps forward through the animated plot one frame at a time.
Drag the Speed slider to the top to increase the speed of the animation. Drag the Speed slider to the bottom to decrease its speed.
Frame information
The current frame and phase at which the plot is being displayed is listed below the control buttons. Enables you to export the animation to an animated Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) or to Audio Video Interleave (AVI) format. Closes the animation window.
Exporting Animations
1. 2. 3. Create the animation you want to export. In the play panel, click Export. The Save As dialog box appears. Follow the procedure for saving a new file. Select Animated GIF File (.gif) or AVI File (.avi) as the file type. The Animation Options dialog box appears. 4. 5. To replace colors in the file with 256 shades of gray, select Grayscale. Grayscale animations tend to use less memory than full color animations. For AVI format export, specify the Compression factor (the default is 85) and one of the following Compression types: INTEL Indeo Cinepak Microsoft Video 1 None 6. 7. For GIF format export, specify the number of loops. The default 0 denotes infinite loops. Click OK to close the Animations Options dialog. The animation is exported to the file format you specified.
Creating Reports
After HFSS or HFSS-IE has generated a solution, all of the results for that solution are available for analysis. One of the ways you can analyze your solution data is to create a 2D or 3D report, or graphical representation, that displays the relationship between a designs values and the corresponding analysis results. You create reports using either the Create Quick Report command, or the Create <type> Report commands. The Quick Report feature lets you select from a list of predefined categories (such as S-parameters) from which to create a rectangular plot. For each solution <type> (Eigenmode, Modal, Fields, Far Fields and Emission test, and Terminal), the Results menus present a list of Create <type> Report commands based on the solution data of direct interest for the design. For example, for the Eigenmode solution type, the Results menu contains templates for Eigenmode Parameters and for Fields.These appear on the menus as Create Eigenmode Parameters Report and Create Fields Report. For the Modal and Terminal Solution types, several different types appear, appropriate to each solution type. Each of these Create <type> Report menu items includes a further cascading menu that lists the Display Types available for that report. For some reports you can modify the Display Type from the Properties for that Report. If you have created custom report templates (for example, including your company name or other format changes), you can also create a report based on that template by selecting HFSS or HFSSIE>Results>Report Templates>PersonalLib><templateName>. Related Topics Creating a Quick Report Creating a New Report Modifying Reports Modifying the Background Properties of a Report Creating Custom Report Templates Plotting in the Time Domain
3.
Select the one or more categories for the report from the list and click OK. A rectangular plot for each selected category displays. The new plot or plots appear in the Project tree under the Results icon.
Related Topics Creating Reports Modifying Reports Creating Custom Report Templates
16-38 Post Processing and Generating Reports
b. Note c. d. Note e. 4.
ables other than the one chosen as the X (Primary sweep), are listed under the Families tab with columns for the variable, the value, and an Edit column with an ellipsis [...] button. See Using Families tab for Reports. 5. Update Report setting
Real Time checked -- enable real time updates for all reports while the reports are being edited. Real Time unchecked -- enables drop down menu to Update All Reports or Update Report. Reports will only be updated with one of these user selectable update options or upon exiting the report dialog. This can be useful if you expect a trace to take time to display. You can then add additional traces without having to wait.
6.
The Report dialog command buttons permit you create a new report with the settings you provide, or to modify an existing report.
Output Variables - opens the Output Variables dialog. Add Trace - this is enabled when you have created or selected a report. Add one or more traces to include in the report. Update Trace - updates the selected traces in a report based on further processing or changes. New Report. Adds a report to the Project tree under the Results icon. The new Report is displayed in the Project window. Options - opens the Report Setup Options dialog. This contains a checkbox for using the advanced mode for editing and viewing trace components. This mode is automatic if the trace requires it. It also contains a field for setting the maximum number of significant digits to display for numerical quantities. Close - closes the Report dialog.
7.
Click New Report to create a new report in the Project tree. The report appears in the view window. It will be listed in the project tree under Reports. Traces within the report also appear in the project tree. Some plots may take time to complete. Performing a File>Save in such cases after the plot has been created will permit you to review the plot later without having to repeat the calculation time when you reopen the project later.
8.
To speed redraw times for changed plots, perform a Save. This saves the data that comprises expressions.For example if re(S11)*re(S22) is requested over multiple widths, each of the S11 and S22 are stored when you save. If you do not do a save of a changed plot, the changed version is not stored.
Note
Remember the evaluated value of an expression is always interpreted as in SI units. However, when a quantity is plotted in a report, you have the option to plot values in units other than SI. For example, the expression "1+ang_deg(S11)" represents an angle'quantity evaluated in radians, though plotted in degree units. To represent an angle quantity in degrees, you would specify units as "1 deg + ang_deg(S11)".
Related Topics Creating Reports Modifying Reports Creating a Quick Report Using Families tab for Reports Context Section for Reports Plotting in the Time Domain
2.
expected.
5.
Derivative field with a drop drown selection list of none, all, and specific variables for which you specified Use on the Derivatives tab of the solution setup. You can use derivatives in some Optimetrics situations, and with the Derivative Tuning feature in the Reporter.
Related Topics Creating Reports Modifying Reports Using Families tab for Reports Selecting the Report Type in HFSS Transient
To select all values, click the checkbox for Use all values. This writes All in the value field for that variable. You can also select individual values by clicking on them. To select a range of values, hold down the shift key, and click again. To select intermittent additional values, hold the CTRL key and click additional. The values you select are highlighted in the list, and are also listed in the Values column for that variable. To select all, use the Select All button. This highlights the complete list, as well as listing all values for the variable in the Value field.
3.
To edit the available list, click the ellipsis [...] button to display the Edit Sweep dialog. For the selected variable, this lets you specify:
a single value as value and units a linear step with start value, stop value, and step value, and units for each. a linear count, with start value, stop value with units, and a count. a decade count an octave count an exponential count.
Once you have specified the changes you want, you can add you change to the list by clicking Add>> or replace the current list by clicking Update>>. 4. Click OK to close the Edit Sweep dialog. You must still select the Edited radio button to be able to select the from the edited list, rather than the Default selection. And you must make selections here to move the new values to the variable value list in the Families tab. .Select the Available variations radio button to list the choices that derive from variable combination. a. b. a. b. c. To select individual variations, check the select box. Click the Select button at the top of the column to check or clear all variations at once. All Families Statistics which lists a table statistical functions that you can select to apply to the plot. The functions include Min, Max, Avg, Mean, Variance, Std Dev, and Sum. Histogram which lets you select the number of bins to use for a histogram plot, and the sampling frequency to use.
Related Topics Creating Reports Modifying Reports Modifying the Background Properties of a Report Modifying the Legend in a Report Creating Custom Report Templates Working with Traces Editing the Display Properties of Traces Discarding Report Values Below a Specified Threshold Add Trace Characteristics Adding Data Markers to Traces
Modifying Reports
To modify the data that is plotted in a report: 1. 2. 3. In the project tree, click the report you want to modify. Right-click Modify Report. The Report dialog appears. The Report dialog command buttons permit you create a new report with the settings you provide, or to modify an existing report.
Output Variables - opens the Output Variables dialog. Add Trace - this is enabled when you have created or selected a report. Add one or more traces to include in the report. Update Trace - updates the selected traces in a report based on further processing or changes. New Report - adds a report to the Project tree under the Results icon. The new Report is displayed in the main window. Options - opens the Report Setup Options dialog. This contains a checkbox for using the advanced mode for editing and viewing trace components. This mode is automatic if the trace requires it. It also contains a field for setting the maximum number of significant digits to display for numerical quantities. Close - closes the Report dialog.
4.
The updated report appears in the view window. Update Report setting
Real Time checked -- enable real time updates for all reports while the reports are being edited. Real Time unchecked -- enables drop down menu to Update All Reports or Update Report. Reports will only be updated with one of these user selectable update options or upon exiting the report dialog. This can be useful if you expect a trace to take time to display. You can then add additional traces without having to wait.
5. 6.
In the Context section you make selections depending on the design and solution type. The Families tab provides a way to select from valid solutions for sweeps where a simulation has multiple variables defined (for example, for a parametric sweep). If so, the variables other than the one chosen as the X (Primary sweep), are listed under the Families tab with columns for the variable, the value, and an Edit column with an ellipsis [...] button. See Using Families tab for Reports. In the Y Component section of the dialog make selections for the following: a. Categories - those depend on the Solution type and the design. For example, Eigenmode quantities include Eigenmodes, variables, output variables, and the design. Driven solutions include such categories as S parameters.
7.
b. Note c. d. Note e. 8.
Quantities for Y are relative to the selected category. The Quantity text field can be used to filter the Quantity list by typing in text. This is useful if the Category selected produces a lengthy Quantities list. Function list to apply to the Y quantities. Value field displays the currently specified Quantity and Function. You can edit this field directly. Color shows valid expression. Range Function button -- opens the Set Range Function dialog. This applies currently specified Quantity and Function. Select the Primary value(s) from the drop down menu. To select an X component that is different than the Primary Sweep, uncheck the Default field to enable the X field and browse [...] button. Click the browse [...] button to display the Select X Component dialog. This lets you specify the X component as you do the Y; that is, in terms of Categories which define the selectable Quantities, and Functions to apply. After making selections, OK the dialog to assign the X component.
b. c.
If sweeps are available, you can select the browse [...] button to display a dialog that lets you select particular sweep or sweeps, or all sweeps. The Families tab provides a way to select from valid solutions for sweeps where a simulation has multiple variables defined (for example, for a parametric sweep). If so, the variables other than the one chosen as the X (Primary sweep), are listed under the Families tab with columns for the variable, the value, and an Edit column with an ellipsis [...] button. See Using Families tab for Reports.
You can also view and edit the properties of Reports and their traces via their Properties windows. See Modifying the Background Properties of a Report. You can also modify the display type of an existing plot from the Properties dialog for that plot. Select the Report icon in the Project tree to display the Properties dialog. Selecting the Display Type field displays a menu with selections available for that plot.
Once you make a selection, the plot display updates for the current selection. Note Remember that for many excitations of interest for plotting, you can control the default base names through the dialog described here: Setting Default Boundary/Excitation Base Names. This may save you the need to edit individual names in the plots. Related Topics Modifying the Background Properties of a Report Modifying the Legend in a Report Creating Custom Report Templates Working with Traces Editing the Display Properties of Traces Setting Default Boundary/Excitation Base Names Discarding Report Values Below a Specified Threshold Add Trace Characteristics Adding Data Markers to Traces
Header -- this lets you edit the Properties for the text displayed at the top of the report, including the Title font, Company Name, Show Design Name, Subtitle Font. The plot title is tied to the report's name and is not a Header property. If you change the report name in the Project tree, plot title synchronizes. The Company Name and the Show Design Name checkbox are grouped in the Properties dialog as Subtitle. Edits to the Subtitle Font Property affects both of them. General -- this dialog (or General tab for other Report properties windows) lets you edit the background color (the perimeter around the trace display) for the plot, the contrast color (the trace display background), the Field width, the Precision, and whether to use scientific notation for marker and delta marker displays. (X and Y notation display is set separately, in the Axis property tabs.) Legend -- this lets you edit the Properties for whether to Show Trace Name, Solution Name, and Variation Key. At least one of these three must be selected. You can also edit
the Font, the background color of the Legend box, the Border Color, the Border Width, Grid Color (for the lines between Trace descriptions), and the Grid line width. Also see Modifying the Legend in a Report
Traces -- you can select traces either in the Legend or on the plot. The properties for traces include: Color, Line Style, Line Width, Trace Type, whether to Show a symbol, Symbol Frequency, Symbol style, whether to Fill symbol, symbol color, and whether to Show arrows. See Editing the Display Properties of Traces. X or Y Axis Tab-- the defaults for most of these values are set in the Report 2D Options Axis tab.
Specify name -- checkbox for specifying the Axis name. Name -- this describes the axis to which the following properties/options refer. These are selected in the Report dialog. Axis Color -- set the color by double clicking to display the Set color dialog. Select a default or custom color and click OK. Text Font -- click the cell to display the Edit Text Font dialog. The dialog lets you select from a list of available fonts, styles, sizes, effects, colors, and script. The dialog also contains a preview field. OK the selections to apply the font edits and to close the dialog. Manual Format (section)
Number format -- select from the drop down menu, Auto, Decimal, or Scientific notation. Field Width -- enter a real value. Field Precision -- enter a real value. Axis Scaling -- use the drop down menu to select scaling as Linear or Log. For the Y axis, all zero or negative values are discarded before log scaling is applied. Specify Min -- check box Min -- text entry in same units as axis units. Saved as SI internally. Specify Max -- check box Max -- text entry in same units as axis units. Saved as SI internally. Specify Spacing -- check box Spacing -- text entry in same units as axis units. Saved as SI internally Manual Units (section) Auto Units -- use the check box compute the correct units for the axis. Units -- click on the cell to select from a menu of available units if you have not checked Auto Units. Infinity Visualization (section) Map Infinity Mode -- checkbox.
Post Processing and Generating Reports 16-47
Each axis now can be set to treat infinity values in a user defined way. When you check the Map Infinity Mode, any infinity values in the input data get the infinityMap value (negative infinity get the value*-1 and positive infinity the positive value specified). This can be useful if there are zeros, or very small values that HFSS treats as zero, in the data, for example, dB Gain.
3. Related Topics
Map Infinity To -- enter a real value for the Map Infinity Mode.
Modifying Reports Working with Traces Discarding Report Values Below a Specified Threshold Modifying the Legend in a Report Editing the Display Properties of Traces Creating Custom Report Templates Setting Report2D options Zoom in or out. Fit contents in the view window.
dialog You can also edit the background color of the Legend box, the Border Color, the Border Width, Grid Color (for the lines between Trace descriptions), and the Grid line width. 2. Click OK to close the Properties window and apply the selections. To change the display name for traces, see Editing Trace Properties. To move a legend in a report: 1. 2. Click and hold and the legend. The cursor changes to crossed lines with arrow tips. Still holding, drag the legend to a new location and release. The legend is released and the crossed lines change back to a mouse pointer. To resize a legend in a report: 1. 2. 3. Position the mouse tip over the edge you want to resize. The mouse pointer changes to a horizontal or vertical line with arrow tips. Click and drag the horizontal or vertical edge to the desire size. Release.
Related Topics Editing Trace Properties Showing Objects Hiding Objects Modifying Reports Creating Custom Report Templates Discarding Report Values Below a Specified Threshold Setting Report2D options Editing the Display Properties of Traces
ductName>\userlib\ReportTemplates directory. 2. 3. Typically, you accept the directory. You must provide a file name, which will be given an *.rpt extension. It is good practice to give the template a descriptive name, showing both the kind of format you begin with (such as XY Plot or 3D Plot) and apt description of the distinguishing edits (such as for company name, or color scheme). Once, saved, this name will appear on the PersonalLib menu. 4. 5. The Save As Type field currently supports the Ansoft Report Format (*rpt) format. Click Save to save the template to the PersonalLib menu.
All *.rpt templates in the directory appear on the Results>Report Templates>PersonalLib menu. Selecting a report from the PersonalLib menu opens a report that you can then Modify to add traces or perform other edits. Related Topics Modifying Reports Setting Report2D options Zoom in or out. Fit contents in the view window. Modifying the Background Properties of a Report Modifying the Legend in a Report Working with Traces Editing the Display Properties of Traces Discarding Report Values Below a Specified Threshold
Eigenmode Parameters
Basic or derived field quantities calculated on lines or integrated over surfaces or objects will be available to plot. Radiated fields computed in the far-field region. The following quantities will be available to plot: rE, gain, realized gain, directivity, axial ratio, polarization ratio, antenna parameters, and normalized antenna calculated by HFSS. Note: You must have defined an infinite sphere geometry and at least one radiation or PML boundary to create a far-fields report.
Near Fields
Radiated fields computed in the near-field region. These include: variables, output variables, near E, max near field parameters, and near normalized antenna. Note: You must have defined a near-field line or near-field sphere and at least one radiation or PML boundary to create a near-fields report.
Emission Test
You can conduct an emission test under the same conditions as for a near field report except that.an emission test cannot be conducted for a ports-only solution. You must have defined a near-field line or near-field sphere and at least one radiation or PML boundary.
Rectangular Stacked This choice puts each trace into its own 2D rectangular plot, and Plot stacks each plot, rather than overlaying the traces on the same plot. 3D Rectangular Plot A 3D rectangular (x-y-z) graph. Rectangular Contour Plot Polar Plot 3D Polar Plot Smith Chart A rectangular (x-y-z) graph. Contour plots are useful to visualize surfaces (for e.g. Directivity as a function of phi/theta). A 2D circular chart divided by spherical coordinates. A 3D circular plot divided by spherical coordinates. A 2D polar chart of S-parameters upon which a normalized impedance grid has been superimposed. A grid with rows and columns that displays, in numeric form, selected quantities against a swept variable or another quantity. A 2D polar plot of radiated fields.
Smith Contour Plot A polar chart. Contour plots are useful to visualize surfaces. Data Table Radiation Pattern
You can also modify the display type of an existing plot from the Properties dialog for that plot. Select the Report icon in the Project tree to display the Properties dialog. Selecting the Display Type field displays a menu with selections available for that plot.
Once you make a selection, the plot display updates for the current selection. Related Topics Selecting the Report Type Creating Reports Modifying Reports Creating Custom Report Templates
Under the Trace tab, Y component section, specify the information to plot along the y-axis: a. b. c. d.
directly. Note e. 4. Color shows valid expression. Range Function button -- opens the Set Range Function dialog. This applies currently specified Quantity and Function.
On the Trace tab, X (Primary sweep) line, specify the quantity to plot along the x-axis in one of the following ways:.
5. 6.
Select the sweep variable to use from the drop down list. If sweeps are available, you can select the browse button to display a dialog that lets you select particular sweep or sweeps, or all sweeps. The quantity will be plotted against the primary sweep variable listed.
On the Families tab, confirm or modify the sweep variables that will be plotted. Click New Report. This creates a new report in Project tree, displays the report with the defined trace, and enables the Add Trace button on the Report dialog. The function of the selected quantity will be plotted against the swept variable values or quantities you specified on an x-y graph. The plot is listed under Results in the project tree and the traces are listed under the plot. When you select the traces or plots, their properties are displayed in the Properties window. These properties can be edited directly to modify the plot.
7.
Optionally, add another trace to the plot by following the procedure above, using Add Trace rather than New Report.
You can also modify the display type of an existing plot from the Properties dialog for that plot. Select the Report icon in the Project tree to display the Properties dialog. Selecting the Display Type field displays a menu with selections available for that plot.
Once you make a selection, the plot display updates for the current selection. Related Topics Sweeping a Variable Working with Traces Add Trace Characteristics Delta Markers in 2DPlots
Post Processing and Generating Reports 16-53
Modifying Background Properties of a Report Discarding Report Values Below a Specified Threshold Setting Report2D options
1.
On the Results menu (HFSS menu or right-click on Results on the Project tree), click Create <type> Report, and select Rectangular Stacked Plot. The Report dialog appears. In the Context section make selections from the following field or fields, depending on the design and solution type. a. b. Solution field with a drop down selection list. This lists the available solutions, whether sweeps or adaptive passes. Domain field with a drop down selection list. Whether this field appears, and the domains listed depend on the Solution type and the <type> selected. For modal and terminal solution data reports, the domain can be Sweep or Time. Before you can examine the time domain, you must perform an Interpolating sweep for a driven solution (Modal or Terminal). If you select Time, the TDR Options button is enabled. Select it and follow the directions for time-domain plotting. c. Geometry field with a drop down selection list. For field and radiated field reports, this applies the quantity to a geometry or radiated field setup. In the Category list, click the type of information to plot. In the Quantity list, click the value to plot. In the Function list, click the mathematical function of the quantity to plot. Value field displays the currently specified Quantity and Function. You can edit this field
2.
3.
Under the Trace tab, Y component section, specify the information to plot along the y-axis: a. b. c. d.
directly. Note e. 4. Color shows valid expression. Range Function button -- opens the Set Range Function dialog. This applies currently specified Quantity and Function.
On the Trace tab, X (Primary sweep) line, specify the quantity to plot along the x-axis in one of the following ways:.
5. 6.
Select the sweep variable to use from the drop down list. If sweeps are available, you can select the browse button to display a dialog that lets you select particular sweep or sweeps, or all sweeps. The quantity will be plotted against the primary sweep variable listed.
On the Families tab, confirm or modify the sweep variables that will be plotted. Click New Report. This creates a new report in Project tree, displays the report with the defined trace, and enables the Add Trace button on the Report dialog. The function of the selected quantity will be plotted against the swept variable values or quantities you specified on an x-y graph. The plot is listed under Results in the project tree and the traces are listed under the plot. When you select the traces or plots, their properties are displayed in the Properties window. These properties can be edited directly to modify the plot.
7.
Optionally, add another trace to the plot by following the procedure above, using Add Trace rather than New Report.
You can also modify the display type of an existing plot from the Properties dialog for that plot. Select the Report icon in the Project tree to display the Properties dialog. Selecting the Display Type field displays a menu with selections available for that plot.
Once you make a selection, the plot display updates for the current selection. Related Topics Sweeping a Variable Working with Traces Add Trace Characteristics Delta Markers in 2DPlots
Post Processing and Generating Reports 16-55
Modifying Background Properties of a Report Discarding Report Values Below a Specified Threshold Setting Report2D options
Under the Trace tab Z Component area, specify the information to plot along the z-axis: a. b. c. d.
Note e. 4.
On the Trace tab Y (Secondary sweep) lines, specify the information to plot along the y-axis in one of the following ways:
5.
Select the sweep variable to use from the drop down list. If sweeps are available, you can select the browse button to display a dialog that lets you select particular values. The quantity will be plotted against the primary sweep variable listed.
On the Trace tab X (Primary sweep) lines, specify the information to plot along the x-axis in one of the following ways:
Select the sweep variable to use from the drop down list. If sweeps are available, you can select the browse button to display a dialog that lets you select particular values. The quantity will be plotted against the primary sweep variable listed.
6.
Click New Report. This creates a new report in Project tree, displays the report with the defined trace, and enables the Add Trace button on the Report dialog. The function of the selected quantity or quantities will be plotted against the values you specified on an x-y-z graph. The plot is listed under Results in the project tree.When you select the traces or plots, their properties are displayed in the Properties window. These properties can be edited directly to modify the plot.
7.
Optionally, add another trace to the plot by following the procedure above, using Add Trace rather than New Report.
Related Topics Sweeping a Variable Working with Traces Add Trace Characteristics
Under the Trace tab Z Component area, specify the information to plot as contours: a. b. c. d.
Note e. 4.
On the Trace tab Y (Secondary sweep) lines, specify the information to plot along the y-axis in one of the following ways:
Post Processing and Generating Reports 16-57
5.
Select the sweep variable to use from the drop down list. If sweeps are available, you can select the browse button to display a dialog that lets you select particular values. The quantity will be plotted against the primary sweep variable listed.
On the Trace tab X (Primary sweep) lines, specify the information to plot along the x-axis in one of the following ways:
6.
Select the sweep variable to use from the drop down list. If sweeps are available, you can select the browse button to display a dialog that lets you select particular values. The quantity will be plotted against the primary sweep variable listed.
Click New Report. This creates a new report in Project tree, displays the report with the defined trace, and enables the Add Trace button on the Report dialog. The function of the selected quantity or quantities will be plotted against the values you specified on an x-y-z graph. The plot is listed under Results in the project tree.When you select the traces or plots, their properties are displayed in the Properties window. These properties can be edited directly to modify the plot.
7.
Optionally, add another trace to the plot by following the procedure above, using Add Trace rather than New Report.
Related Topics Sweeping a Variable Working with Traces Add Trace Characteristics
driven solution (Modal or Terminal). If you select Time, the TDR Options button is enabled. Select it and follow the directions for time-domain plotting. c. 3. Geometry field with a drop down selection list. For field and radiated field reports, this applies the quantity to a geometry or radiated field setup. On the Category drop down list, click the type of information to plot. On the Quantity list, click the values to plot. Use CTRL-click to make multiple selections. In the Function list, click the mathematical function to apply to the quantity for the plot. The Value field displays the currently specified Quantity and Function. You can edit this field directly. Color shows valid expression. Range Function button -- opens the Set Range Function dialog. This applies currently specified Quantity and Function.
In the Trace tab Polar Component area, specify the information to plot: a. b. c. d.
Note e. 4.
Click New Report. This creates a new report in Project tree, displays the report with the defined trace, and enables the Add Trace button on the Report dialog. The function of the selected quantity will be plotted against the swept variable values or quantities you specified on an x-y graph. The plot is listed under Results in the project tree and the traces are listed under the plot. When you select the traces or plots, their properties are displayed in the Properties window. These properties can be edited directly to modify the plot.
5.
Optionally, add another trace to the plot by following the procedure above, using Add Trace rather than New Report.
Related Topics Reviewing 2D Polar Plots Sweeping a Variable Working with Traces Add Trace Characteristics
1 R + jX = --------------G + jB
where
Q VSWR
G = conductance B = susceptance
The quality factor. The voltage standing wave ratio, calculated from the equation
A scale below the plot displays the scale of points along the R-axis. Related Topics Creating 2D Polar Plots
1 + S ij -----------------. 1 S ij
In the Trace tab Mag area, specify the information to plot along the R-axis, or the axis measuring magnitude:
a. b. c. d. Note e. 4. 5. 6.
On the Category drop down list, click the type of information to plot. On the Quantity list, click the values to plot. Use CTRL-click to make multiple selections. In the Function list, click the mathematical function to apply to the quantity for the plot. The Value field displays the currently specified Quantity and Function. You can edit this field directly. Color shows valid expression. Range Function button -- opens the Set Range Function dialog. This applies currently specified Quantity and Function.
On the Trace tab Theta (Secondary Sweep) line, select the sweep variable from the drop down list and specify all values or select values to plot along the theta-axis: On the Trace tab Phi (Primary Sweep) line, select the sweep variable from the drop down list, and specify all values or select values to plot along the phi-axis: Click New Report. This creates a new report in Project tree, displays the report with the defined trace, and enables the Add Trace button on the Report dialog. The function of the selected quantity or quantities will be plotted against the R-, phi-, and theta-axes on a 3D polar graph. The plot is listed under Results in the project tree. When you select the traces or plots, their properties are displayed in the Properties window. These properties can be edited directly to modify the plot.
7.
Optionally, add another trace to the plot by following the procedure above, using Add Trace rather than New Report.
Related Topics Sweeping a Variable Working with Traces Add Trace Characteristics
tions. c. d. Note e. 3. In the Function list, click the mathematical function to apply to the quantity for the plot. The Value field displays the currently specified Quantity and Function. You can edit this field directly. Color shows valid expression. Range Function button -- opens the Set Range Function dialog. This applies currently specified Quantity and Function.
Click New Report. This creates a new report in Project tree, displays the report with the defined trace, and enables the Add Trace button on the Report dialog. The function of the selected quantity will be plotted against the values you specified on a polar plot. In addition, each circle on the plot is labeled with values of R, measuring normalized resistance, and each line is labeled with values of X, measuring normalized reactance. The plot is listed under Results in the project tree and the traces are listed under the plot. When you select the traces or plots, their properties are displayed in the Properties window. These properties can be edited directly to modify the plot.
4.
Optionally, add another trace to the plot by following the procedure above, using Add Trace rather than New Report.
Related Topics Reviewing 2D Polar Plots Sweeping a Variable Working with Traces Add Trace Characteristics
field directly. Note e. 3. Color shows valid expression. Range Function button -- opens the Set Range Function dialog. This applies currently specified Quantity and Function.
On the Trace tab (Secondary Sweep) line, select the sweep variable from the drop down list and specify all values or select values to plot along the theta-axis: To select an Secondary sweep component that is different than the default, uncheck the Default field to enable the X field and browse [...] button. Click the browse [...] button to display the Select X Component dialog. This lets you specify the X component as you do the Y; that is, in terms of Categories which define the selectable Quantities, and Functions to apply. After making selections, OK the dialog to assign the X component. a. b. If sweeps are available, you can select the browse [...] button to display a dialog that lets you select particular sweep or sweeps, or all sweeps. The Families tab provides a way to select from valid solutions for sweeps where a simulation has multiple variables defined (for example, for a parametric sweep). If so, the variables other than the one chosen as the X (Primary sweep), are listed under the Families tab with columns for the variable, the value, and an Edit column with an ellipsis [...] button. See Using Families tab for Reports.
4.
On the Trace tab (Primary Sweep) line, select the sweep variable from the drop down list, and specify all values or select values to plot along the phi-axis: To select an X component that is different than the default, uncheck the Default field to enable the X field and browse [...] button. Click the browse [...] button to display the Select X Component dialog. This lets you specify the X component as you do the Y; that is, in terms of Categories which define the selectable Quantities, and Functions to apply. After making selections, OK the dialog to assign the X component. a. b. If sweeps are available, you can select the browse [...] button to display a dialog that lets you select particular sweep or sweeps, or all sweeps. The Families tab provides a way to select from valid solutions for sweeps where a simulation has multiple variables defined (for example, for a parametric sweep). If so, the variables other than the one chosen as the X (Primary sweep), are listed under the Families tab with columns for the variable, the value, and an Edit column with an ellipsis [...] button. See Using Families tab for Reports.
5.
Click New Report. This creates a new report in Project tree, displays the report with the defined trace, and enables the Add Trace button on the Report dialog. The function of the selected quantity will be plotted against the values you specified on a polar plot. In addition, each circle on the plot is labeled with values of R, measuring normalized resistance, and each line is labeled with values of X, measuring normalized reactance. The plot is listed under Results in the project tree and the traces are listed under the plot. When you
Post Processing and Generating Reports 16-63
select the traces or plots, their properties are displayed in the Properties window. These properties can be edited directly to modify the plot. 6. Optionally, add another trace to the plot by following the procedure above, using Add Trace rather than New Report.
Related Topics Reviewing 2D Polar Plots Sweeping a Variable Working with Traces Add Trace Characteristics
Under the Trace tab Y component section, select the quantity you are interested in and its associated function: a. b. c. d. On the Category drop down list, click the type of information to plot. On the Quantity list, click the values to plot. Use CTRL-click to make multiple selections. In the Function list, click the mathematical function to apply to the quantity for the plot. The Value field displays the currently specified Quantity and Function. You can edit this
field directly. Note e. 5. 6. Color shows valid expression. Range Function button -- opens the Set Range Function dialog. This applies currently specified Quantity and Function.
On the Trace tab X (Primary sweep) line, select the sweep variable from the drop down list, and specify all values or select values. Click New Report. This creates a new report in Project tree, displays the report with the defined trace, and enables the Add Trace button on the Report dialog. The Y quantity will be listed at each variable value or additional quantity value you specified. The data table is listed under Results in the project tree. The plot is listed under Results in the project tree and the traces are listed under the plot. When you select the traces or plots, their properties are displayed in the Properties window. These properties can be edited directly to modify the plot.
7.
Optionally, add another trace to the plot by following the procedure above, using Add Trace rather than New Report.
You can also modify the display type of an existing plot from the Properties dialog for that plot. Select the Report icon in the Project tree to display the Properties dialog. Selecting the Display Type field displays a menu with selections available for that plot.
Once you make a selection, the plot display updates for the current selection. If you choose to print a data table:
Selecting print "All" prints the whole table for current data page (if there are more than one data page) Selecting print "Pages" prints user specified pages If the table is bigger than the screen view (that is, it has scroll bar), printing first scrolls right, prints until no more scrolling and then scroll down. The Page number appears at the bottom of the page, aligned at center The table layout of each page follows the screen, but with no scroll bar will be printed, and no data page bar as on screen.
Related Topics Sweeping a Variable Working with Traces Add Trace Characteristics
In the Trace tab Mag Component area, specify the information to plot along the R-axis, or the axis measuring magnitude: a. b. c. d. On the Category drop down list, click the type of information to plot. On the Quantity list, click the values to plot. Use CTRL-click to make multiple selections. In the Function list, click the mathematical function to apply to the quantity for the plot. The Value field displays the currently specified Quantity and Function. You can edit this field directly. Color shows valid expression. Range Function button -- opens the Set Range Function dialog. This applies currently specified Quantity and Function.
Note e. 5. 6.
In the Trace tab Ang (Primary sweep) line, specify the sweep variable from the drop down list, and specify all values or select values. Click New Report. This creates a new report in Project tree, displays the report with the defined trace, and enables the Add Trace button on the Report dialog. The function of the selected quantity or quantities will be plotted against the values you specified on a 2D polar plot. The plot is listed under Results in the project tree and the traces are listed under the plot. When you select the traces or plots, their properties are displayed in the
Properties window. These properties can be edited directly to modify the plot. 7. Optionally, add another trace to the plot by following the procedure above, using Add Trace rather than New Report.
You can also modify the display type of an existing plot from the Properties dialog for that plot. Select the Report icon in the Project tree to display the Properties dialog. Selecting the Display Type field displays a menu with selections available for that plot.
Once you make a selection, the plot display updates for the current selection. Related Topics Sweeping a Variable in a Report Working with Traces Add Trace Characteristics
In the marker text window, you see the difference between the two markers instead of the X, Y value of marker. Related Topics Setting Report2D options Working with Traces Editing the Display Properties of Traces Adding Data Markers to Traces
quantity is first converted to the time-domain before the formula is evaluated. For example, if you type in S11 / ( 1 - S11 ) and plot it in the time domain the reporter will plot IFFT(S11 * input) / ( 1 - IFFT(S11 * input) ) It will NOT plot IFFT( S11/ ( 1 - S11) * input ) The two expressions are not equivalent. If you select Time Domain Impedance as the Category, you can select the TDRZ quantity. This is defined as TDRZ(t) = Zref * ( 1 + IFFT(S11 * input) ) / ( 1 - IFFT(S11 * input) ) where "input" denotes the Fourier transform of the input signal (step or impulse) and "IFFT(.)" denotes the inverse FFT. This equation is the instantaneous ratio of the time-domain voltage v(t) to the time-domain current i(t). That is because voltage and current are defined (in the frequency domain) in terms of the incident and reflected waves a and b, respectively, as V = sqrt(Zo) * (a + b) = sqrt(Zo) * ( 1 + Sii ) * a I = 1/sqrt(Zo) * (a - b) = 1/sqrt(Zo) * ( 1 - Sii ) * a This lets the incident wave be the input step signal, and so when we take the inverse FFT of V and I, we get v(t) and i(t) in the time domain. Taking their ratio as a function of time then yields TDRZ(t). By default, Zo is equal to 50 Ohm. To create a plot in the Time Domain: 1. 2. For a design with an existing sweep setup, follow steps 1 - 4 for creating a report for design. In the Report dialog box, in the Domain list, click Time. This enables the TDR Options button and for terminal solution data reports includes the Terminal TDR Impedance in the Category list. 3. 4. Click the TDR Options button. The TDR Options dialog box appears. Select the input signal type, Step or Impulse. A Step describes a sustained change in the signal, whereas the Impulse is a brief excitation. Impulse is a very narrow rectangular pulse, with zero rise and fall time, width of 1 time step, and height of 1/(time step). Selecting Step enables the Rise Time field, and Impulse disables it. 5. If you selected Step, enter the rise time of the pulse in the Rise Time text box. The rise time should be appropriate for the frequency context. With a band width from DC to fmax, the best time resolution that can be achieved is 1/(2fmax). A rise time of 1/(2fmax) is the shortest rise time that can be resolved. However, a rise time of 0
16-68 Post Processing and Generating Reports
s gives equally valuable information, so 0 is the default in this panel. See the example plot. 6. Enter the total time on the plot in the Maximum Plot Time text box. The default maximum plot time in the TDR Options dialog is related to the delta frequency df in the frequency sweep: it is 1/2df, since that is the extent of time for which the IFFT gives information. This is often very long relative to the time delay that corresponds to the length of your device under test, so you may want to reduce this value. Alternatively, you can adjust the time axis of your TDR plot after it has been created. 7. Set the number of time points to plot in the Delta Time text box. By default, this is set to the number of points in the frequency sweep. The delta time is based on the bandwidth of the sweep: with a frequency sweep from DC to fmax, the smallest time resolution you can obtain is given by 1/(2fmax). The IFFT algorithm provides data points as a spacing of 1/(2fmax), but you can smoothly interpolate between points by setting a finer resolution, e.g. to 1/(10fmax), at the expense of extra computation time. 8. 9. Optionally, under TDR Window, modify the window type and width. You can use the Save as Default to set the current values as a default, and the Use Defaults button to use previously saved options. Note that when you select a trace, the initial displayed values are those of the selected trace. Optionally, to plot Terminal TDR impedance (that is, rather than calculate the S-parameter for waveport1 versus frequency, instead calculate the delay versus time at a particular impedance), do the following: a. b. In the Category list, click Terminal TDR Impedance. In the Quantity list, click a quantity to plot. The default impedance (Zo) for the TDRZ quantity is 50 Ohms, unless you specified differently when you Set Renormalizing Impedance for Terminals when you created the terminals in the model. If you need a different impedance value, you can either edit the value in the Report dialog (as shown below), or you can create an Output Variable representing Zo (1+Sii)/(1-Sii) with the Zo of your choice. To edit the Zo value in the Report dialog: 1. For the Category, select Terminal TDR Impedance, and the Port and Function of interest.
2.
Edit the value by placing the cursor in the Value field. In this example, the value for Zo is changed from the default to 75 Ohms by typing
Post Processing and Generating Reports 16-69
c. 3.
In the Function list, click the mathematical function of the quantity to plot.
Click Done. The report appears in the view window. It will be listed in the project tree. If S11 = 0 at DC, the time-domain step response will settle to zero and the TDRZ step response settles to Zref. If S11 is nonzero at DC, the time-domain step response will settle to a nonzero value and TDRZ will settle to a value different from Zref. The time-domain impulse response will always settle to zero, since it can be seen as the derivative of the step response. The TDRZ impulse response will always settle to Zref. The plot below shows the difference between a short nonzero rise time and zero rise time for a transmission line segment of 94 Ohm. Note that the trace with zero rise time starts at the correct line impedance while the other starts at the renormalizing impedance. Other than that, one trace is a shifted version of the other. The reason the plot with finite rise time starts at 50 ohms is that the time-domain voltage and current are still at their steady state values, so v = Zref * i. As the pulse arrives, the TDRZ response changes from the steady-state behavior because there's a reflection from the transmission line back to the exciting source, which has a different
Spatialresolution x = c ( 2 B )
(1)
where c is the speed of light in the medium and B is the bandwidth of the signal. Since TDR is usually based on a frequency band that starts at DC, the spatial resolution becomes
x = c ( 2F max )
A spatial resolution of c/(2Fmax) corresponds to a resolution in time
(2)
where Fmax is the highest frequency in the frequency sweep. For example, if Fmax = 15 GHz and the medium has r=4, the spatial resolution will be (1.5E8 m/s)/(3E10 /s) = 5 mm.
t = 1 ( 2F max )
(3)
Let N be the number of points in the IFFT. N equals the number of time samples, and it also equals twice the number of frequency samples. The density of frequency samples in the frequency sweep influences the total time T as follows:
(4)
So increasing the density of the frequency samples leads to an increase in total time T. In practical case, this often leads to a long tail in the TDR plot with little useful information. Therefore, the TDR Options interface lets you set the maximum plot time to a smaller value. The TDR Options interface also lets you choose a smaller t than given by equation (3) above. When you choose a smaller t, you increase Fmax by "zero padding", i.e. adding zero values for S11 beyond the calculated frequency sweep. Whether this is justified depends on your judgment. It leads in practice to a smoother TDR signal. HFSS also lets you set the rise time of your input signal. The rise time should be at least 1/(2Fmax). Even this rise time is a bit short for comfort, as it equals the duration of only one time sample. An input signal with a longer rise time has a smaller high-frequency content and will lead to reduced ringing in the TDR response. A Hamming or Hann filter will also reduce the high-frequency content and tends to lead to a smoother TDR response. With these filters, one can select a width. A width of 100% is often a good choice. Related Topics Interpolating sweep for a driven solution (Modal or Terminal or Transient). Creating a report for design TDR Windowing Functions Perform TDR on Report
ability to resolve signals of different strengths and frequencies. The window type list includes:
Preferred Use A low dynamic range function offering good resolution for signals of comparable strength. Poor when signals have very different amplitudes. w(n)=1.
Bartlett
A high dynamic range function, with lower resolution, designed for wide band applications.
Blackman
A high dynamic range function, with lower resolution, designed for wide band applications.
1=1/2; 2=/2
Preferred Use A moderate dynamic range function, designed for narrow band applications. It minimizes the maximum sidelobe.
Preferred Use A moderate dynamic range function, designed for narrow band applications.
Kaiser
Selecting the Kaiser plot also enables a field to specify an associated Kaiser parameter. The larger the Kaiser parameter, the wider the window. The parameter controls the trade off between width of the central lobe and the area of the side lobes.
Preferred Use This approach applies a parabola-shaped window to the frequency domain data. It is based on the Bartlett method but splits the signal into overlapping segments, which are then windowed. The intent is to balance the influence data the centerof the function.
You can use the Save as Default to set the current values as a default, and the Use Defaults
For PC systems, the cursor changes to the color of the selectable trace. For Unix systems, the cursor changes to a solid black arrow, rather than the default black outline. Select a report in the Project window and right-click and select Modify Report. In the Report dialog specify the Y component information. a. Specify the Category of information you want to plot from the drop down menu. The Category drop down menu lists the available categories for the Solution type and the current design. Selecting a category changes the Quantity and Function lists to represent what is available for that category. b. c. d. Specify the Quantity you want to plot by selecting from the Quantity list. The selected quantity appears in the Value field, operated on any selected function. Select the Function to apply to the specified quantity. The Value field shows the trace being readied for plotting on the Y-axis. This field is editable when the text cursor is present. You can modify the information to be plotted by typing the name of the quantity or sweep variable to plot along an axis directly in the text boxes. Color shows valid expression. Range Function button -- opens the Set Range Function dialog. This applies currently specified Quantity and Function.
Post Processing and Generating Reports 16-77
Note e.
3. 4.
In the Report dialog specify the X axis information (for example Primary Sweep). Click Add Trace. A trace is added to the traces list under its report icon in the Project tree. The trace represents the function of the quantity you selected and will be plotted against other quantities or swept variable values. Selecting a Trace in the Project tree displays the Properties window for that Trace. Selecting a trace in the report or legend displays the display Properties window for that trace. Trace icons can be selected, copied, and pasted for their definitions or their data. They can be selected and deleted from the Project tree. By the default, the Trace name is the definition (the category, quantity and function). The trace will be visible in the report when you click Add Trace. Trace properties can be edited directly in the respective Properties windows or edited in the Report dialog. To change the name or definition of a trace, see Editing Trace Properties. To edit other display properties of a trace, see Editing the Display Properties of Traces
Related Topics Removing Traces Editing Trace Properties Editing the Display Properties of Traces Discarding Report Values Below a Specified Threshold Add Trace Characteristics Adding Data Markers to Traces Setting Report2D options Copy and Paste of Report and Trace Definitions Copy and Paste of Report and Trace Data Delta Markers in 2D Reports
tree, but not the underlying Y-component definition. Note To control the display of the Solution Name and Variation Key in the Legend, see Report 2D: Legend Tab.
To edit a trace component definition: 1. 2. Select the trace in the Project tree. In the docked Properties window for the trace, select the component field of interest, and select Edit... from the drop down menu. This displays the an edit Component field window.form which you can edit the category, quantity and function. 3. 1. 2. Click OK to apply the changes and close the dialog. Select the trace in the Project tree to display the docked properties window. In properties window, click the Solution field or the Domain field. If other selections are possible, they can be selected from the drop down menu. Select the trace in the Project tree to display the docked properties window. Under the -Variables category, on the Families line, click the Edit button to display the Edit families dialog. From this dialog, you can select the Sweeps or Variations radio buttons. Each selection changes the If other nominal values are available you can click the ellipsis button to select from a list. Related Topics Removing Traces Editing the Display Properties of Traces Discarding Report Values Below a Specified Threshold Add Trace Characteristics Adding Data Markers to Traces Setting Report2D options Copy and Paste of Report and Trace Definitions Copy and Paste of Report and Trace Data Delta Markers in 2D Reports To edit a trace Context:
ties window. The display properties window for a trace includes a General tab and an Attributes tab. The General tab properties apply to the general appearance of the plot. They include the Background color, Contrast color, Field width, and Whether to use Scientific notation for marker and delta marker displays. (X and Y notation display is set separately, in the Axis property tabs.) The Attributes Tab properties apply specifically to the Trace. The defaults are set in the Report2D options. They include:
Name -- not editable by selecting the trace from the Report. It shows the characteristics of the trace as defined in the Report dialog. To edit a trace name, see Editing Trace Properties Color -- shows the Trace color. Double click to open a Color dialog. You can select from Basic colors, or custom colors. You can define up to 16 custom colors by selecting or by editing the Hue, Saturation, Luminescence, and the Red, Green, and Blue values. Line style -- a drop down menu lets you select Solid, Dot, Dash, or Dot-dash. Line width -- a text field lets you edit the numeric value. Trace type -- the drop down menu contains entries for Continuous, Discrete, Bar-Zero, Bar Infinity, Stick Zero, Stick Infinity, Histogram, Step, and Stair. Show Symbol -- whether to show a symbol at the data points on the line. Symbol Frequency -- how often to show symbols on the trace. Symbol Style -- use a drop down menu to select from box, circle, vertical ellipse, horizontal ellipse, vertical up triangle, vertical down triangle, horizontal left triangle, horizontal right triangle Fill Symbol -- use the check box to set the symbol display as a solid or as hollow. Symbol Arrows -- use the check box to use arrows on the curve ends
. Note 3.
So that curves with single points always appear, Box is the default symbol. For HFSS 11, None cannot be selected as the symbol.
Edit the properties of interest and OK the Properties window to apply the changes and close the window.
Related Topics Setting Report2D options Working with Traces Editing Trace Properties Add Trace Characteristics Adding Data Markers to Traces Removing Traces
16-80 Post Processing and Generating Reports
Discarding Report Values Below a Specified Threshold Copy and Paste of Report and Trace Definitions
that let you add markers to traces. A marker appears as mN at the marked point, where N increments from 1 as you place additional markers. Each marker can be selected and has editable properties including name, font, background and color. As you place markers, one or more marker legends may be displayed, depending on the View>Active View Visibility settings for the legends. The main marker legend appears in the upper left of the plot, and lists the marker names and their X and Y values in a table. You can control the number format for the table values via the properties window, general tab. Under Marker/Other Number format, you can specify field width, precision, and whether to use scientific notation. This value is independent of the Axis tab number properties. A separate marker legend appears for Delta Markers, as described for the Delta Marker command. When you enter Marker mode, the cursor arrow is accompanied by an m while a circle on the selected trace shows the current position for a potential marker. To end Marker mode, right-click to display the shortcut menu, and select End Marker Mode. The available Marker mode commands and associated icons are the following:
Marker
-- this command lets you place a marker at an arbitrary point on a selected trace.
X Marker -- this command adds a movable marker at the origin of the plot with a vertical line rising from the X axis. To move an X marker, click on the X label and drag it to the desired location. The label at the bottom of the line gives the X coordinate, and flag on the vertical line identifies the Y coordinate on the trace. A trace property lets you lock the drag feature to leave the marker in place. This marker is not cleared by the Clear All command, and must be deleted by selecting it and using the Edit Delete command. Maximum Minimum -- places a marker at the Maximum value on the selected trace. -- places a marker at the Minimum value on the selected trace.
Delta Marker enters delta marker mode, placing a circle on the selected trace. Clicking on the trace sets an initial point and subsequent clicks on arbitrary points on the trace place additional markers until you leave marker mode. These markers have their own legend, which includes the following information for each pair of markers specified.:
Next Peak -- moves a selected marker on the next peak on a trace. You must exit marker mode and select a marker to enable this command. Next Minimum -- moves a selected marker to the next minimum on a selected trace. You must exit marker mode and select a marker to enable this command.
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Previous Peak -- moves a selected marker on the previous peak on a selected trace. You must exit marker mode and select a marker to enable this command. Previous Minimum -- places a marker on the previous minimum on a selected trace. You must exit marker mode and select a marker to enable this command. Next Data Point (Right) -- moves a selected X marker to the next data point. Previous Data Point (Left) -- moves a selected X marker to the previous data point. Next Curve -- selects the next curve in the report, based on the order in the trace legend. Previous Curve -- selects the previous curve in the report, based on the order in the trace legend. Clear All -- clears all markers on a report except X Markers.
Related Topics Setting Report2D options Working with Traces Add Trace Characteristics Removing Traces Discarding Report Values Below a Specified Threshold Modifying the Legend in a Report Editing the Display Properties of Traces Zoom in or out. Fit contents in the view window. Showing Objects Hiding Objects Delta Markers in 2D Reports
5.
Related Topics Working with Traces Removing Traces Editing the Display Properties of Traces Modifying Background Properties of a Report Modifying Reports Add Trace Characteristics
Given a selected Function, and Category, the Add Trace dialog displays a text field that explains the Purpose of the function. For a full list of functions and their definitions, see Selecting a Function. 5. Some categories and functions call for you to specify one or two additional values in a table.
Post Processing and Generating Reports 16-83
You can save these values using the Default button. 6. 1. 2. 3. Click the Add button to add the specified characteristics to the Trace. Select a trace in a report plot or legend. Click Report 2D>Trace Characteristics, or right-click on the selected trace to display the short cut menu. Select Trace Characteristics>Clear All Trace characteristics are clear from the selected trace. Related Topics Working with Traces Selecting a Function Adding Data Markers to Traces To remove existing trace characteristics:
Removing Traces
You can remove traces from the traces list in the following ways: To remove one trace from the report:
Select the trace you want to remove from the Project tree, and then click Delete. Select all the traces and click Delete.
To remove all traces from the report: Related Topics Working with Traces Editing the Display Properties of Traces
Note
You must copy and paste trace definitions between the same report types. For example, you cannot copy a trace from a Modal Solution Data report and paste it in a Far Fields report.
Right click on the report name in the project tree and select Copy Definition from the shortcut menu. To paste the Report Definition: Right click on Results in the project tree of the target design and select Paste. A new report is created and it contains the copied definitions. To copy an individual Trace Definition(s): Right click on the trace or traces under a report name in the project tree and select Copy Definition. To paste the Trace Definition(s): Right click on the report in the target design to which you would like to copy the trace or traces and select Paste. A new trace(s) is added to the report and it contains the copied trace definition(s). Note If you copy and paste a report or trace definition to a design which contains a definition with the same name, then an incremented number is appended to the pasted report or trace name.
Related Topics Copying to the Clipboard as Images Copy and Paste of Report and Trace Data
Right click on the report in the target design to which you would like to copy the trace data and select Paste. Note If you copy and paste report or trace data which contains the same name definition as a report or trace in the target design then an incremented number will be appended to the pasted name.
Related Topics Copying to the Clipboard as Images Copy and Paste of Report and Trace Definitions
All Values option, and then select the point values on which you want to plot. Note All maximum near-field data calculated by HFSS is at their maximum over the selected line object; if you plot the parameter over a sweep of values, the parameter will have the same value at each point on the plot.
Step or Count The number of values between the start value and the end value. c. 5. Click Update Values, and then click OK. The values listed are updated to reflect the new number of points. To plot the selected quantity or quantities at every value of phi, select All Values. To plot the selected quantity or quantities at specific values of phi, clear the All Values option, and then select the phi values at which you want to plot. 6. For the Sweeps variable corresponding to theta, follow steps 4 and 5 for modifying the values of theta, if necessary, and specifying the theta values at which to plot the selected quantity or quantities. All antenna parameters and maximum far-field data calculated by HFSS is at their maximum over the selected object; if you plot the parameter over a sweep of values, the parameter will have the same value at each point on the plot.
Note
deriv(quantity) implicitly implies derivative over the primary sweep deriv(quantity, SweepVariable) explicitly means derivative over the sweep variable specified in the second argument (such as "Freq").
You can select from the following functions in the Trace tab Function list or type them directly into the Yor X field, if necessary: abs acos acosh ang_deg ang_rad asin asinh atan atanh avg avgabs cang_deg Absolute value Arc cosine Hyperbolic arc cosine Angle (phase) of a complex number, cut at +/-180 Angle in radians Arc sine Hyperbolic arc sine Arc tangent Hyperbolic arc tangent Average of first parameter over the second parameter Absolute value of average. Cumulative angle (phase) of the first parameter (a complex number) in degrees, along the second parameter (typically sweep variable). Returns a double precision value cut at +/-180. Cumulative angle of the first parameter in radians along a second parameter (typically a sweep variable) Returns a double precision value. A complex number, where re is the real part and im is the imaginary part. Conjugate of the complex number.
cos cosh crestfactor dB(x) dBm(x) dBW(x) db10normalize db20normalize deriv even exp formfactor iae
Cosine Hyperbolic cosine Peak/RMS (root mean square) for the selected simulation quantity 20*log10(|x|) 10*log10(|x|) +30 10*log10(|x|) 10*log [normalize(mag(x))] 20*log [normalize(mag(x))] Derivative of first parameter over second parameter. Returns 1 if integer part of the number is even; returns 0 otherwise Exponential function (the natural anti-logarithm) Returns root mean square RMS/Mean Absolute Value for the selected simulation quantity. Returns the integral of the absolute deviation of the selected quantity from a target value that is entered via the additional argument. To use this function, you need to open the Add Trace Characteristics dialog and select the
Error category.
Imaginary part of the complex number Truncated integer function Integral of the selected quantity. Uses trapezoidal area. Absolute value of integral. Returns the integral of the squared deviation of the selected quantity from a target value that is entered via an additional argument. To use this function, you need to open the Add Trace Characteristics dialog and select the
Error category.
itae
Returns the time-weighted absolute deviation of the selected quantity from a target value that is entered via an additional argument.To use this function, you need to open the Add Trace Characteristics dialog and select the
Error category.
itse
Returns the time-weighted squared deviation of the selected qty from a target value that is entered via an additional argument.To use this function, you need to open the Add Trace Characteristics dialog and select the Error
category.
j0 j1
Bessel function of the first kind (0th order) Bessel function of the first kind (1st order)
Post Processing and Generating Reports 16-89
ln log10 lsidelobex lsidelobey mag max max_swp min min_swp nint normalize odd overshoot per pk2pk
Natural logarithm Logarithm base 10 The x value for the left side lobe: the next highest value to the left of the max value. The y value for the left side lobe: the next highest value to the left of the max value. Magnitude of the complex number Maximum of magnitudes. Maximum value of a sweep. Minimum magnitudes. Minimum value of a sweep. Nearest integer Divides each value within a trace by the maximum value of the trace. ex. normalize(mag(x)) Returns 1 if integer part of the number is odd; returns 0 otherwise Obtains the peak overshoot over a point (double argument) Calculates period. Peak to peak. Difference between max and min of the first parameter over the second parameter. Returns the peak-to-peak value for the selected simulation quantity. Returns the ratio of the peak to peak-to-average for the selected quantity. Period max. Period minimum Period Root Mean Square. Pulse fall time of the selected simulation quantity according to the 90%10% estimate. Pulse front time of the selected simulation quantity according to the 10%90% estimate. Pulse front time of the selected simulation quantity according to the 30%90% estimate. Pulse maximum from the front and tail estimates for the selected simulation quantity. Time at which the maximum pulse value of the selected simulation quantity is reached.
pulsemin pulsemintime pulsetail50 pulsewidth5050 PulseWidth Functions pw_plus pw_plus_max pw_plus_min pw_plus_avg pw_plus_rms pw_minus_max pw_minus_min pw_minus_avg pw_minus_rms polar re rect rem ripple rms rmsAC rsidelobex rsidelobey sgn sin sinh
Pulse minimum from the front and tail estimates for the selected simulation quantity. Time at which the minimum pulse value of the selected simulation quantity is reached. Pulse tail time of the selected simulation quantity from the virtual peak to 50%. Pulse width of the selected simulation quantity as measured from the 50% points on the pulse front and pulse tail.
Pulse width of first positive pulse Max. Pulse width of input stream Min. Pulse width of input stream Average of the positive pulse width input stream RMS of the positive pulse width input stream Max. Pulse width of input stream Min. Pulse width of input stream Average of the negative pulse width input stream RMS of the negative pulse width input stream Converts the complex number in rectangular to polar Real part of the complex number Converts the complex number in polar to rectangular Fractional part Returns the ripple factor (AC RMS/Mean) for the selected quantity. Returns total root mean square of the selected quantity. Returns the AC RMS for the selected quantity. The x value for the right side lobe: the next highest value to the right of the max value. The y value for the right side lobe: the next highest value to the right of the max value. Sign extraction Sine Hyperbolic sine
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Square root Tangent Hyperbolic tangent Obtains the peak undershoot over a point (double argument). Threshold crossing time: report first time (x value) at which an output quantity crosses YMax. Threshold crossing time: report first time (x value) at which an output quantity crosses a user definable threshold
xdb10beamdwidth Width between left and right occurrences of values x db10 from max. Takes 'x' as argument (3.0 default). To use this function, you need to open the Add Trace Characteristics dialog and select the Radiation category. xdb20beamwidth
Width between left and right occurrences of values x db20 from max. Takes 'x' as argument (3.0 default) To use this function, you need to open the Add Trace Characteristics dialog and select the Radiation category.
y0 y1 Related Topics
Bessel function of the second kind (0th order) Bessel function of the second kind (1st order)
To select an S-parameter quantity to plot: 1. In the Report dialog box, Trace tab, select one of the following categories: Variables Intrinsic variables, such as frequency or theta, or user-defined project variables, such as the length of a quarter-wave transformer.
Output Variables User defined expressions applied to derive quantities from the original field solution. S-parameter S-parameters from the S-matrix.For designs which include a Frequency Selective Surface (FSS)-referenced radiation boundary, S11 and S21 represent the extracted reflection and transmission coefficients, respectively. Admittance matrix parameters computed from the S-parameters and port impedances. Impedance matrix parameters computed from the S-parameters and port impedances. Voltage standing wave ratio, calculated from the equation
1 + S ij -----------------. 1 S ij
Gamma Port Zo Lambda Epsilon Group Delay TDR Impedance Propagation constants for the S-parameters. Characteristic port impedances. Guided wavelength. Effective permittivity. Quantity calculated as rate of change of the total phase shift with respect d() to angular frequency, ----------d() TDR (Time-Domain Reflectometry) impedance for non-terminal problems.The idea behind TDR is to excite a structure with a step function, and inspect the reflections as a function of time. If you select the Time Domain for the plot, the Category list includes the TDR Impedance and the TDR options button is enabled. Selecting the TDR Impedance category displays the (TDRZ) of every terminal or mode in the ports. The list of available Functions includes those that can operate on the TDRZ values.
Active Sparameter
Assume ak is a complex number representing magnitude and phase for the kth source.
ActiveS pm =
k=1
a km -------- S pk a pm
Where n is the total number of ports, p is the port of interest, m is the mode of interest, and k is the port numbering index. Active Yparameter
1 ActiveY pm = ------------------------ActiveZ pm 1 + ActiveS pm m ActiveZ pm = Z 0 ---------------------------------1 ActiveS pm 1 + mag ( ActiveS 11 ) ActiveVSWR = ------------------------------------------------1 mag ( ActiveS 11 )
A scalar quantity based on the matrix Q = I - conjugate(transpose(S)) * S For every frequency, the value must be no larger than 1. Enables you to plot or tabulate properties of objects, such as their volumes.
Active Zparameter
Active VSWR
Passivity Design
Expression Cache The values of expressions listed in the Expression cache of the Solution setup can be plotted, for example, as a function of adaptive pass to monitor their convergence. Expression Convergence This is intended to plot convergence, as a function of adaptive pass, of expressions in the Expression cache of the Solution setup. In defining the report, for Context, select Solution: SetupN:Adaptive Pass. ExprDelta will show the change in the value of the expression as a function of adaptive pass, while ExprGoal will show, for comparison, the convergence goal for this expression, as defined in the Analysis Setup under the panel Expression Cache.
2.
Select a quantity to plot from the Quantity list. The available quantities will depend upon the selected category and the setup of the design.
To select a field quantity to plot: 1. 2. When you create the report, specify the Report Type as "Fields" and the plot type (for example, radiation pattern.) In the Report dialog, select Geometry for the Context, unless you are plotting scalar (for example, integration). For example, to plot near-field values across a sphere, you select the sphere object from the Geometry list in the Traces dialog box when you create a report. In the Report dialog, select one of the following categories: Variables Intrinsic variables, such as frequency or phase, or user-defined project variables, such as the length of a quarter-wave transformer.
3.
Output Variables User defined expressions applied to derive quantities from the original field solution. Calculator Expressions 4. Includes scalar and vector field quantities automatically calculated by HFSS, as well as derived field quantities that are defined by calculated expressions you set up in the Fields Calculator.
Select a quantity to plot from the Quantity list. The available quantities will depend upon the selected category and the setup of the design.
Output Variables User defined expressions applied to derive quantities from the original field solution. rE Gain Directivity Realized Gain Axial Ratio The selected component of the radiated electric field, which is multiplied by the radial distance, r. Gain is four pi times the ratio of an antennas radiation intensity in a given direction to the total power accepted by the antenna. Directivity of the antenna. Realized gain is four pi times the ratio of an antennas radiation intensity in a given direction to the total power incident upon the antenna port(s). Axial ratio of the electric field.
Antenna Params HFSS-calculated quantities that include peak directivity, radiated power, accepted power, radiation efficiency including the total and component values at Phi and Theta, max U, and array factors. For far-field setups, the decay factor for lossy materials is calculated as a constant for all far fields. Normalized Bistatic RCS For designs with plane incident waves. RCS is not supported for other types of incident waves. The normalized radar cross section.
------2 0
For designs with Plane Incident Waves. (RCS is not supported for other types of incident waves). The radar cross-section (RCS) or echo area, , is measured in meters squared and represented for a bistatic arrangement (that is, when the transmitter and receiver are in different locations as shown in the linked figure). This is represented by
Complex (Bistatic) RCS
For designs with Plane Incident Waves. (RCS is not supported for other types of incident waves) The equation for complex (bistatic) RCS is calculated as:
Monostatic RCS
This form retains the phase information. For designs with Plane Incident waves. (RCS is not supported for other types of incident waves) A proper incident angle sweep should exist at the incident wave source setup before HFSS can plot Monostatic RCS. The radar cross-section (RCS) or echo area when the transmitter and receiver are at the same location. For Monostatic RCS, you need not be concerned with the Theta and Phi values defined in the radiation sphere. Only the incident wave Theta and incident wave Phi are used in calculating a Monostatic RCS plot.
The following diagram shows the bistatic RCS concept, with separate transmitting and receiving antennas. Incident Wave
R1
Transmitting antenna
R2
Bistatic RCS
Receiving antenna Each Category item that you select causes the Quantity list to offer quantities appropriate to selected category. Category selection for a Variable of an Output Variable lists those available in each case. Selecting Antenna Parameters as Category causes the Quantity list to show Antenna parameters. 3. Select the Quantity to apply to the selected Category. If the Category item you select is rE, Gain, Directivity, or Realized Gain, you will need to specify the polarization of the electric field by selecting from the Quantity list. This ability to plot the gain of certain vector components (polarizations) of the electric field allows you to evaluate how well your antenna radiates in desired polarizations. Total Phi Theta X Y Z LHCP RHCP CircularLHCP CircularRHCP SphericalPhi The combined magnitude of the electric field components. The phi component. The theta component. The x-component. The y-component. The z-component. The dominant component for a left-hand, circularly polarized field. The dominant component for a right-hand, circularly polarized field. The polarization ratio for a predominantly left-hand, circularly polarized antenna. The polarization ratio for a predominantly right-hand, circularly polarized antenna. The polarization ratio for a predominantly -polarized antenna.
The polarization ratio for a predominantly -polarized antenna. The dominant component for an x-polarized aperture using Ludwigs third definition of cross polarization. The dominant component for a y-polarized aperture using Ludwigs third definition of cross polarization.
The plots Y axis field shows the combined selections. For example, if you select Gain as the Category, and RHCP as the Quantity, HFSS evaluates the equation as follows:
Gain RHCP
4.
You can also select a function to apply to the your selections for the Category and Quantity (for example, mag). As you make selections in the Report dialogue for Category, Quantity, and Function, the Y field shows the combined calculation they describe.
5.
Click New Report to create the Report. The new report based on your selections is displayed.
Related Topics Selecting a Function Setting a Range Function Working with Traces Creating Reports Modifying Reports Technical Notes: Antenna Parameters Technical Notes: Polarization of the Electric Field Technical Notes: Spherical Cross-Sections
z
values are an infinite radial distance away from the origin for far-field plots.
The figure shown below demonstrates the orientation of the sphere on which the field is computed when is the fixed variable: values are an infinite radial distance away from the origin for far-field plots.
When plotting near-field quantities, the quantity can be a value that was calculated by HFSS, a value from a calculated expression, or an intrinsic (inherent) variable value such as frequency or theta. To select a near-field quantity to plot: 1. 2. When you create the report, specify the Report Type as "Near Fields." In the Report dialog box, select one of the following categories: Variables Intrinsic variables, such as frequency or theta, or user-defined project variables, such as the length of a quarter-wave transformer.
Output Variables User defined expressions applied to derive quantities from the original field solution. Near E Max Near Field Params The radiated electric field in the near region. The maximum radiated electric field in the near region.
Near Normalized The resultant plot is: field quantity / (maximum field quantity value over Antenna the entire infinite sphere). 3. If you selected the Near E category, specify the polarization of the electric field by selecting one of the following types of quantities from the Quantity list: NearETotal NearEPhi NearETheta NearEX The combined magnitude of the electric field components. The phi component of the electric field. The theta component of the electric field. The x-component of the electric field.
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The y-component of the electric field. The z-component of the electric field. The dominant component for a left-hand, circularly polarized electric field. The dominant component for a right-hand, circularly polarized electric field.
NearECircularLHCP The polarization ratio for a predominantly left-hand, circularly polarized antenna. NearECircularRHCP The polarization ratio for a predominantly right-hand, circularly polarized antenna. NearEL3X NearEL3Y The dominant component for an x-polarized aperture using Ludwigs third definition of cross polarization. The dominant component for a y-polarized aperture using Ludwigs third definition of cross polarization.
If a Near-field plot takes a long time to plot, be sure to perform File>Save when the plot is displayed. This saves the calculated data and permits fast display on subsequent viewings of the plot. Related Topics Technical Notes: Polarization of the Electric Field
Output Variables User defined expressions applied to derive quantities from the original field solution. Sphere A sphere of 1, 3, 10, or 30 meters, or of the same dimensions and PRBS Simple or PRBS exact (where PRBS is pseudorandom binary [bit] sequence). A cylinder of 3 or 10 meters, or of the same dimensions and PRBS Simple or PRBS exact.
Cylinder 3. 4.
Select a Function for the quantity from the function list. For Emission Test, the Report dialog also contains a button for specifying the digital signal options. The default values are a rise time of 0 seconds, and a hold time of 1 second. To specify other values, click Digital Signal.... This displays the Digital Signal Options dialog. It contains fields for the rise time and hold
time. 5. 1. 2. OK the specified values or Cancel, Use Defaults, or Save As Default as appropriate. In the Solution pull-down list in the Report dialog box, click the imported data you want to plot. Follow the procedure for creating a report.
Given a selected Function, and Category, the Set Range Function dialog displays a text field that explains the Purpose of the function. For a full list of functions and their definitions, see
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Selecting a Function. Selecting a function causes the display of a description in the Purpose field. If the function requires a value (such as the XatYVal Math function or the pw_minus_max Pulse Width function), the table below the function field displays the name, editable value field, unit, and description. 4. 5. Use the Over Sweep drop down menu to select from available sweeps. To select from available Sweeps, or to edit them, use the ellipsis [...] button and uncheck Use All Sweeps. This enables a list of the sweeps. The sweep(s) you select is displayed on the Over Sweep line. You can use the buttons to Clear All Selections or Select All sweeps. 6. 7. Select the Sweeps Default or Edited radio buttons to specify whether to accept the default or edited sweeps. To edit the sweeps further, select the ellipsis button to display an Edit Sweep dialog. For frequency variables, this lets you specify a single value, linear step, linear count, decade count, octave count, or exponential count. You can Add legal values to the list of sweep values, Update the list for changes, or Delete selected entries. 8. Click OK to apply the range function. Related Topics Selecting a Function Eye Measurement Range Function Parameters
Crossing amplitude 0
Tri
Van Hann
Preferred Use A high dynamic range function, with lower resolution, designed for wide band applications.
1=1/2; 2=/2
Hamming
A moderate dynamic range function, designed for narrow band applications. It minimizes the maximum sidelobe.
Preferred Use The Lanczos window offers a windowed form of the infinite sinc filter, providing the central lobe of a horizontally-stretched sinc, sinc(x/a) for a x a.
Weber Welch This approach applies a parabola-shaped window to the frequency domain data. It is based on the Bartlett method but splits the signal into overlapping segments, which are then windowed. The intent is to balance the influence data the centerof the function.
Related Topics Perform FFT on a Report FFT Window Functions Apply FFT to Report Functions Perform TDR on a Report
Imaginary part of the complex number Magnitude of the complex number Divides each value within a trace by the maximum value of the trace. ex. normalize(mag(x)) Real part of the complex number
Context section, where you specify the Report type, the Solution, and for appropriate report types, the Domain. Changing the Report type from Modal to Emission test or to Fields, Near Fields, or Far Fields, affects whether the Geometry menu appears, and may affect the functions listed in the Calculation section. For fields calculations, the context that you specify includes a geometry. Emission tests require a digital signal. At top of the Output Variables window, you can use a checkbox to Validate output variable for selected context.
Output Variables section, where you can specify the name and expression for a new output variable. Calculation section, where you can insert quantities into the Expression area of the Output Variables section. Function section, where you can insert completed expressions into the Expression area of the Output Variables section.
Related Topics Adding a New Output Variable Building an Expression Using Existing Quantities Viewing the Output Variable Convergence Getting Started Guides: HFSS Transient: A Ball Grid Array
b. 4. 5. 6.
Insert part or all of the expression using the options in the Calculation and Function sections.
Click Add to add the new variable to the list. Repeat steps 2 through 5 to add additional variables. When you are finished adding output variables, click Done to close the Output Variables window.
Related Topics Deleting Output Variables Building an Expression Using Existing Quantities Viewing the Output Variable Convergence
5. 6. 7.
When you are finished defining the variable in the Expression area, click Add to add the new variable to the list. Repeat steps 2 through 6 to add additional variables. When you are finished adding output variables, click Done to close the Output Variables window.
Note
Remember the evaluated value of an expression is always interpreted as in SI units. However, when a quantity is plotted in a report, you have the option to plot values in units other than SI. For example, the expression "1+ang_deg(S11)" represents an "angle" quantity evaluated in radians though plotted in degrees units. To represent an angle quantity in degrees, you would specify units as "1 deg + ang_deg(S11)".
Related Topics Adding a New Output Variable Building an Expression Using Existing Quantities
This gives you a plot with initially two identical curves, one on top of the other. You can then rightclick on Results in the Project tree and select Tune Reports. The Report Tuning window appears. You can use the slider to tune one curve interactively while the other curve stays to provide a reference. This way you can see interactively how small changes in variables affect the result. You can then apply those offsets to the original variable values and re-solve the design.
The overall procedure for Report Tuning follows. 1. Generate a solution with one or more variables for which you select Use on the Derivatives tab
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of the solution setup. 2. 3. 4. Use the Reporter to create one curve with Derivative selection in the Context panel of the report dialog set to None. Then create another curve, but in the Context pane. select for Derivatives, All or the variable of interest. This gives you two identical curves, one top of the other. Click the HFSS>Results>Tune Reports or right-click on Results in the Project tree and click Tune Reports from the short cut menu. The menu item is disabled if no variables have been selected in the Derivatives tab of the solution setup. This displays a Report Tuning dialog which lists the variables available for tuning.The example above shows a Report Tuning dialog for a design with one variable. 5. You can use the slider to adjust the value of each available variable. When you move a slider, the Apply offsets to nominal design button and the Save all offsets buttons are enabled. The dialog displays the change to the variable selected. For example, if the variable is $length with a value of 1mm, and the slider shows 0.1mm, then the effective value of $length for the purpose of derivatives is 1.1mm. If you exit the dialog by applying the offset or offsets (click Apply offsets to nominal design), $length is assigned a value of 1.1mm. You can then resolve, and get results based on the derivatives prediction. The Close button lets you close the dialog.
Related Topics Produce Derivatives for Selected Variables Examples: Tune a Coax Fed Patch
If an HFSS design has ports, they are listed Port Field Display icon in the Project tree. The modes for each port appear under the port name.
Select a port name to display a Properties dialog with the properties for that port, or for individual Modes listed under that port. These are used as subsequent plot defaults for the port field display. Your control of port field displays is purely through the docked Property window. You can edit the Scale Factor field, which governs the sizes of the arrows. If multiple solutions or frequencies are available, you can select from a dropdown menu.
If no 2D solutions exist for the selected port or mode, the Status line of the Properties dialog will say "No solutions available." Depending on the view you begin with, and the location and size of the mode in the design, you may want to right click on the selected mode to display a Zoom to Region command.
The difference between the Port Field Display and the Field Overlay is that the Port Field Display gives the pure 2D port solution. A Field Overlay provides a the 3D field solution on the port, which is the sum of the excitation in the port and the reflections by the 3D structure. The Port Field display lets you examine the field patterns with which the 3D structure is excited. Related Topics Plotting Field Overlays
You can also overlay existing 3D Polar Plots of near or far fields on the model window by using the HFSS or HFSS-IE>Fields>Plot Fields>Radiation command, or by right-clicking on Field Overlays in the Project tree and selecting Plot Fields>Radiation Field. To plot a basic field quantity: 1. 2. Select a point, line, surface, cutplane, or object to create the plot on or within. Click HFSS or HFSS-IE>Fields>Plot Fields., or right-click on Field Overlay icon in the Project tree and select Plot Fields, or right click in the modeler window, and select Plot Fields from the context menu. On the Plot Fields menu, click the field quantity you want to plot. The available selections depend on the solved solution. For definitions of the usual quantities, see the list under Quantity command. If you select a scalar field quantity, a scalar surface or volume plot will be created. If you select a vector field quantity, a vector surface or volume plot will be created. If you select a vector quantity, you will be able to specify a Steamline plot. If the quantity you want to plot is not listed, see Named Expression Library. For projects with Temperature dependent materials, the HFSS or HFSS-IE>Fields>Plot Fields>Other... menus selections include Temperature. After you select the field quantity to plot, the Create Field Plot dialog box appears. The Specify Name field shows a name based on the field quantity you selected, and the Quantity list shows the field quantity selected. 4. To specify a name for the plot other than the default, select Specify Name, and then type a new name in the Name text box.
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3.
5. 6.
Select the solution to plot from the Solution pull-down list. To specify a folder other than the default in which to store the plot, select Specify Folder, and then click a folder in the Plot Folder pull-down list, or type the name you wish to use. Plot folders are listed under Field Overlays in the project tree. Plot folders let you group plots with the same quantity together. All field plots under the same folder share the same color key. Under Intrinsic Variables, select the frequency and phase angle at which the field quantity is evaluated. If desired, you can select a different field quantity to plot from the Quantity list. Select the volume (region) in which the field will be plotted from the In Volume list. This selection enables you to limit plots to the intersection of a volume with the selected object or objects. You can select and deselect any items in the In Volume list. You can mix model objects with non-model boxes. For example you might want to see a plot from part of two model objects by restricting the region to a non-model box overlapping those parts.
7. 8. 9.
Note
Multiple selection should be used when there is a discontinuous field on a surface. If not, the field on both sides of the surface is plotted and each interferes with the other.
10. If you selected a vector quantity, you can use the checkbox to select Streamline plot. Streamlines are often used to indicate magnetic flux lines, etc. in plots. See Setting Field Plot Attributes for adjusting the streamline display and Setting Fields Reporter Options for setting Streamline defaults.
11. Click Done. The field quantity is plotted on the surfaces or within the objects you selected. The plot uses the attributes specified in the Plot Attributes dialog box. The new plot appears in the view window. It is listed in the specified plot folder in the project tree. If you have created a field plot on a simulation in progress, the field plot is updated after the last adaptive solution. Each category of plots (such as Temperature) are listed separately in
If you want to update the field overlay before then, to view progress in the solution, select the Field icon in the Project tree that contains the field plot of interest, right-click to display the short cut menu, and select Update Plots. To turn off the display of the plot, right click on the plot and select Plot Visibility from the short-cut menu. Unchecking Plot Visibility turns off the plot display. Related Topics Plotting Derived Field Quantities Overlaying 3D Polar Plots on Models Select Objects. Select Faces. Creating an Object List Selecting the Face or Object Behind Using the Fields Calculator Port Field Display Setting a Plots Visibility Technical Notes: Field Overlays Technical Notes: Field Quantities Technical Notes: Specifying the Phase Angle
3.
Check the Visible box and click Apply to cause that plot to appear in the model window. You can also edit the Transparency and scale. Other properties of the 3D plot are controlled in its properties window.
7.
8. 9.
Select the derived field quantity to plot from the Quantity list. Select the volume, or region, in which the field will be plotted from the In Volume list. This selection enables you to limit plots to the intersection of a volume and the selected object.
10. Click Done. The derived field quantity you created in the Fields Calculator is plotted on the surfaces or objects you selected. The new plot is listed in the project tree under Field Overlays. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Technical Notes: Field Quantities Technical Notes: Specifying the Phase Angle Add Trace Characteristics
Click HFSS or HFSS-IE>Fields>Plot Fields. On the Plot Fields menu, click the scalar field quantity you want to plot. The Create Field Plot dialog box appears. Follow the procedure for plotting field overlays.
The plot uses the attributes specified in the Plot Attributes dialog box. The new plot will be listed in the specified plot folder in the project tree. Related Topics Modifying Field Plot Attributes
4.
Click OK.
Click HFSS or HFSS-IE>Fields>Plot Fields. On the Plot Fields menu, click the vector field quantity you want to plot. Follow the procedure for plotting field overlays.
If you select a vector quantity, you can also check Streamline for the plot. Related Topics Modifying Field Plot Attributes Plotting Field Overlays
3. 4.
Optionally, click the Specify Name check box to enable the name field. Optionally, click the Specify Folder field enable the Plot Folder drop down. Optionally, select a different Solution from the dropdown menu. Optionally, select a different field type, if available.
Under Intrinsic Variables, specify the frequency and phase at which the field quantity will be evaluated. Optionally, select a different field quantity to plot from the Quantity list.
5.
To choose a calculated expression, select Calculator from the Category pull-down list. If you choose Calculator, click the Fields Calculator button to display the calculator. To choose a predefined field quantity, select Standard from the Category pull-down list. Select from the Quantity list.
Select the volume, or region, in which the field will be plotted from the In Volume list.
This selection enables you to limit plots to the intersection of a volume and the selected object. 6. Click Apply to make the changes and leave the dialog open, or click Done to apply the changes and close the dialog. The field quantity is plotted on the surfaces or within the objects you selected. The modified plot is listed in the specified plot folder in the project tree. The plot uses the attributes specified in the Plot Attributes dialog box. Related Topics Setting a Plots Visibility Technical Notes: Specifying the Phase Angle Add Trace Characteristics Setting Field Plot Attributes
The appearance of points (for scalar point plots). The appearance of arrows (for vector plots). The plot selected. To display or hide the mesh on the plots surface or volume. The type of isovalue display (for scalar plots.) The transparency based on solution value. Whether to add a grid (that is, a mesh overlay), and to set the grid color. Specify the plot resolution as Coarse, Normal, Fine, or Very Fine. This affects the use of memory for animating plots. For large plots with more frames to animate, use Coarse or Normal to reduce memory requirements and improve performance. For smaller plots with few frames, if higher resolution is required, use Fine or Very Fine.
The spacing of arrows (for vector plots). The plot selected The linestyle as solid or cylinder from dropdown menu. Line width, specified using a slider. Whether to show marker on streamline. Seeds density spacing. This affects the number of stream lines used to represent the quantity in the plot. Moving the slider to the left decreases the spacing and increases the number of stream lines. Moving the slider to the right increases the spacing and decreases the number of lines used to represent the quantity.
a. b. c.
Min. and Max. values represented. Under each tab, click Save as default if you want the tabs settings to apply to field overlay plots created after this point.
Select Real time mode if you want the changes to take effect immediately in the view window. If this option is cleared, click Apply when you want to see the changes.
For Mesh plots, the following attributes can be modified: You can use the Save As Default button to apply these settings to all meshes in the folder. Plot Scale Factor Transparency A drop down list of available plots. The size at which the tets are displayed. Scaling may let you analyze particular situations better. The degree of transparency for the tets.
Wire Frame or Shaded Mesh Color for Line and Fill Surface Only Real Time 4.
Whether to display the tets as wire frame or shaded. The color for the tet edge lines and fill. Clicking the button for each displays a color selection dialog. Whether to plot the surface only, or the 3D structure. Whether to show changes to a mesh in real time.
Related Topics Setting a Plots Visibility Plotting the Mesh Plotting Field Overlays
Spectrum
You can choose Save as Default, if you want to use the current settings. Select Real time mode if you want these, or subsequent changes to take effect immediately in the view window. If this option is cleared, click Apply when you want to see the changes.
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5. 6.
Click the Scale Tab. In the Num. Divisions field, enter the number of colors to use in the plot. You can choose Save as Default, if you want to use the current settings. Select Real time mode if you want the changes to take effect immediately in the view window. If this option is cleared, click Apply when you want to see the changes.
7.
Related Topics Setting a Plots Visibility Setting the Color Key Visibility Moving the Color Key Keyboard Shortcuts for HFSS General Purposes Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
Alternatively, to hide the color key, right-click on the color key in the view window, and then click Hide from the shortcut menu.
Only the color keys in the selected plots will be visible. Plot Title
Related Topics Modifying Field Plot Colors Moving the Color Key
4. 5.
Optionally, to change the number of divisions in the field plot scale, set the Num. Division field to a new value. You can click Save as Default, if desired. Select one of the following scale options: Auto The full range of field values will be plotted on the selected surface or volume. Selecting Auto enables the Auto Scale Options and disables the Min and Max fields. By default, precision is not limited and auto-min is the actual computed min on the plotted geometry. Only the field values between the minimum and maximum values will be plotted. Field values below or above these values will be plotted in the colors assigned to the minimum or maximum limits, respectively. Selecting Use Limits enables the Min and Max fields and disables the Auto Scale Options. Field values have a precision of at most 6 decimal places (field solution files are saved in floating precision), so Min/Max numbers are displayed to this precision. Specify Values This enables a Scale Values button..
Use Limits
6.
Optionally, use the Units drop down menu to select the default unit of measure for the plot. The units specified here appear on the Color map for the fields plot, and for the properties dialog for the field quantities.
7.
If you selected Use Limits, enter the lowest field value to be plotted in the Min. text box and the highest field value to be plotted in the Max. text box. If you selected Auto, the Auto Scale Options are enabled. You should only changed for cases where auto-min is a small number. Use the 'Limits Max/Min precision to' checkbox to enable setting the drop down menu for the precision limit. The auto-min is the greater of the following:
If you selected Specify Values, you can click the Scale Values button. This opens a dialog with an editable, scrollable list of the current scale values. To apply the changes you make, click the OK button. To close the dialog without make changes, click Cancel. 8. If you selected Auto or use Limits, you can select one of the following options: Linear Log Field values are plotted on a linear scale. Field values are plotted on a logarithmic scale. If field plots have negative and positive values and when auto-scale is selected, the log-scale choice automatically sets the Min value as the Max/Min Ratio. (If field plots have all negative values, Log is not allowed.)
9.
Select Real time mode if you want the changes to take effect immediately in the view window.
If this option is cleared, click Apply when you want to see the changes. 10. Optionally, you can use the Save As Default button to save the following to registry:
Whether to limit field precision, The number of digits of field precision, Whether to use log/linear scale.
Auto scale is the default for new plots. For scalar-in-volume plots, iso-surface (rather than cloud) is the default display 11. Click Close to dismiss the window.
Use the Size slider to increase (move to the right) or decrease (move to the left) the length and dimensions of the arrows. The arrows are resized relative to the size of the model geometry. Select Map Size to scale the size of the arrows to the magnitude of the field quantity being plotted. Select Arrow tail to include tails on all arrows. Click the Plots tab. HFSS plots arrows on a grid that is superimposed on the surface or object you selected for the plot. Under Vector plot, use the Spacing slider to increase (move to the right) or decrease (move to the left) the distance between arrows (grid points.)
10. Select Real time mode if you want the changes to take effect immediately in the view window. If this option is cleared, click Apply when you want to see the changes. 11. Click Close to dismiss the window.
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Optionally, if you selected Fringe or Tone, select Outline to add a border line between isovalues.
a.
Select one of the following display types: IsoValSurface Cloud Color is drawn on the isovalues. Field values are represented by points that illustrate the spatial distribution of the solution. The higher the solution value, the greater the cloud density.
b. c. 6.
Optionally, if you select Cloud, use the Cloud density slider to increase or decrease the number of points that represent the density on the volume. Optionally, if you select Cloud, enter a point size for the clouds in the Point size text box.
Select Real time mode if you want the changes to take effect immediately in the view window. If this option is cleared, click Apply when you want to see the changes. Click Close to dismiss the window. Click HFSS or HFSS-IE>Fields>Modify Plot Attributes The Select Plot Folder window appears. Select the plot folder you want to modify, and then click OK. All plots in the selected folder will be modified. A dialog box with attribute settings for the selected folder appears. .
7. 1. 2.
3. 4.
Click the Plots tab. Use the Map transp. slider to increase (move to the right) or decrease (move to the left) the transparency of the plot.
5.
If you select Map transp., the transparency of field values increases as the solution values decrease.
Select Real time mode if you want the changes to take effect immediately in the view window. If this option is cleared, click Apply when you want to see the changes. Click Close to dismiss the window.
6.
4.
Under Marker options, select one of the marker types to represent the field quantity at the point:
5. 6. 7.
Use the Size slider to increase (move to the right) or decrease (move to the left) the size of the marker. Select Map size to scale the size of the marker to the magnitude of the quantity being plotted. Select Real time mode if you want the changes to take effect immediately in the view window. If this option is cleared, click Apply when you want to see the changes. Click Close to dismiss the window.
8.
Select one of the following styles for the line object in the Line style pull-down list: Cylinder Solid The line object is shaped like a cylinder. The line object is a 3D solid.
The line object is represented by dashed black line segments. The line object is represented by a series of dots. The line object is represented by a a series of alternating dashed black line segments and dots.
Use the Line width slider to increase (move to the right) or decrease (move to the left) the thickness of the line. By default, a polyline object is divided into 100 equally spaced points for post processing. To modify the number of points on the line, type a new value in the Number of points text box. Select Real time mode if you want the changes to take effect immediately in the view window. If this option is cleared, click Apply when you want to see the changes. Click Close to dismiss the window.
9.
To save field overlay or mesh plot data to a .dsp file: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In the project tree, click the plot you want to export. Click HFSS or HFSS-IE>Fields>Save as The Select Field Plot(s) dialog box appears. Select the plots you want to export by checking the Select box, and then click OK. The file browser appears. Field Plot Files (.dsp) is the selected file type. Specify the name of the .dsp file and the location in which to save it. Click Save. The plot is exported to the specified .dsp file. The file you created can be opened in HFSS version 9 and later. Simply click HFSS >Fields>Open. Related Topics Exporting Animations .
The Set Plot Defaults dialog box appears. 3. 4. Select the solution to plot from the Solution pull-down list. Select the plot folder in which new plots will be stored from the Quantity type pull-down list. Choose one of the following options: New Folder Automatic Each new plot will be stored in a separate folder in the project tree. Each new plot will be stored in a folder determined by HFSS as the most appropriate based on the plotted field quantity. For example, all surface magnitude E plots will be stored in the same folder.
An existing folder Select the existing folder in which you want to store new plots. Note 5. 6. Plots stored in the same folder will use the same color key. The Auto scale setting will be based on the maximum field solution value present in a plot.
Under Intrinsic Variables, specify the frequency and phase angle at which the field quantity is evaluated. Click OK.
or
Click HFSS or HFSS-IE>Fields>Calculator Right-click Field Overlays in the project tree, and then click Calculator on the shortcut menu. The Fields Calculator window appears.
To view information on a command or screen area, click over the button or screen area on the illustration below.
Context Area
The panel at the upper right of the window identifies the context to be used for the calculations. The top line identifies the design. Depending on the design, text entry boxes allow you to select a Solution, Field Type, Freq, Phase, IWavePhi and IWaveTheta. The IWavePhi and IWaveTheta are available only for incident wave projects in which the wave is defined with spherical coordinates. The Field Type here is not related to the edit sources. This is a general term among Ansoft products (HFSS, Maxwell, and Q3D). Some products have more than one field type for different solution types. If only one Field Type is available the box is grayed out. The Change Variable Values button opens a Set Variable Values dialog. By default it has Use Nominal Design checked. Unchecking the box lets you select another variable value. OK the dialog to accept the selection. Related Topics Opening the Fields Calculator In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Field quantities such as the H-field or E-field. Functional or constant scalars and vectors. Geometries points, lines, surfaces, or volumes on which a field quantity is to be evaluated.
To perform a computation on the field solution, you must first load a basic field quantity into a register on the stack. Once a quantity is loaded into a register, it can be:
Manipulated using mathematical operations such as curls, gradients, cross products, divergences, and dot products. Integrated over lines, surfaces, or subvolumes of the solution region either predefined surfaces, volumes, and lists, or lines, surfaces, and volumes that were defined using the Draw commands. Exported to a file, allowing you to superimpose saved solutions.
Related Topics Registers Using the Fields Calculator In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Registers
Calculator registers hold field quantities, numbers, vectors, and geometries. No registers are created until you load something into the calculator; therefore, this part of the window is initially blank. As items are loaded into the calculator, it creates new registers to hold them. Each register is labeled with its contents as follows: Vec Scl Cvc Csc Pnt Lin Srf Vol SclLin VecLine SclSrf VecSrf Vector quantities, which have both direction and magnitude at each point in space. The x-, y-, and z-components of these quantities are stored in the register. Scalar quantities, which have a magnitude only. Complex vector quantities. Complex scalar quantities. Points. Lines. Surfaces. Volumes. Scalar value on a line. Vector value on a line. Scalar value on a surface. Vector value on a surface.
To move or delete calculator registers, use the stack commands. To save a register to a disk file, use the Write command.
Related Topics Enlarging the Register Display Area Units of Measure In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Use the scroll bars to view the hidden registers. Enlarge the calculator window using the windows borders.
In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Units of Measure
Unless you are prompted specifically for the unit of measure, all measurements should be assumed to be in SI base units, not model units. Related Topics Registers In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Stack Commands
Use these commands to manipulate the registers in the calculator stack. Push Reloads the quantity in the top register onto the top of the stack, creating a new register. The contents of the top two registers are identical. Pop Deletes the top register from the stack. RlUp Rolls the top register to the bottom of the stack, moving the other registers up the stack. RlDn Rolls the bottom register to the top of the stack, moving the other registers down the stack. Exch Exchanges the top two registers in the stack. Clear Clears the contents of the stack. Undo Use this command to undo the effect of the last operation you performed on the contents of the top register. Successive Undo commands act on any previous operations. Note You cannot undo a simple operation such as loading a field quantity, constant, function, or geometry into the calculator. Instead, use the Pop or Clear commands to delete these items from the calculator stack.
In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Input Commands
Use the following commands to load data onto the top of the calculator stack: Quantity Geometry Constant Number Function Geom Settings Read Output Vars Basic field quantities, such as E and H, and simple derived quantities such as volume current. Geometries such as planes, points, polylines, face lists, and volumes Predefined constants such as , 0, and conversion factors between various units of measurement. Vector and scalar constants, including complex numbers. User-defined or intrinsic variables Number of equally spaced points used to integrate fields and other quantities on a line. Previously-saved calculator registers containing field quantities. This button appears only for eigenmode problems. Freq is the only value there. Evaluation for Freq returns a complex value.
These quantities can be manipulated using the Stack commands, General commands, Scalar commands, and Vector commands. The results of these calculations can then be examined using the Output commands. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Quantity Command
The Input command loads a field quantity into the top register of the calculator. Phasors in the calculator are peak phasors. The Poynting command in the calculator therefore implements the Poynting vector for peak phasors. Calculations which compute either average or instantaneous time domain quantities must adhere to the peak phasor conventions. The available quantities are: E H Jvol The electric field, E The magnetic field, H The volume current density, Jvol
The surface current density, Jsurf The Poynting vector, defined as 0.5E x H* The local Specific Absorption Rate The average Specific Absorption Rate
Certification SAR
IEEE standard Specific Absorption Rate certification number. To calculate certification SAR on a specific object (rather than the whole model) proceed as follows: 1. In the Calculator Input area, click the Quantity button and select Certification SAR. Certification SAR is displayed in the calculator stack. 2. In the Calculator, click the Geometry button to display the Geometry dialog. The Geometry dialog displays with the Volume radio button selected, and the available geometries listed. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Select the Geometry of interest. This enables the OK button. Click the OK button. This adds the selected Volume geometry to the calculator stack. In the Calculator Output area, press the Value button This prepares the calculation for the selected quantity and volume. Press the Eval button to evaluate. Both the value and location will be shown on the calculator stack.
SurfaceLossDensity
This contains the surface impedance (if any) loss at every node in every triangle. This is calculated as:
p s = Re ( S n )
where ps is the surface impedance loss density, S is the Poynting vector on the boundary, and n is the out unit normal of the boundary. To export a REG file containing the surface loss density, place the SurfaceLossDensity in the top register and use the Write... command, selecting Reg format. VolumeLossDensity The volume loss density p is calculated as:
1 + jB H ) = 1 curlE H ) - Re ( E J -- Re ( E J p v = -2 2 is the conjugate of the volumentric where E is the electric field, J is the conjugate of current density, B is the magnetic flux density, and H
the magnetic field. To export a Reg file containing the volume loss density, place the VolumeLossDensity into the top register, and use the Write....command, selecting the Reg format.
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Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Input Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Geometry Command
The Fields Calculator Geometry command opens a dialog that lets you select a geometry to load into the top register of the calculator. Do this to:
Find the value of derived field quantities on any point, line, surface, or volume. Plot quantities directly from the calculator. Display a previously defined isosurface, maximum or minimum field point using the Draw command.
The following types of geometries are available: Point - See drawing a point object. Points you draw are listed in the history tree, and in the Calculator Geometry dialog when you select Point. Line- See drawing a line object. Lines you draw are listed in the history tree, and in the Calculator Geometry dialog when you select Line. To set the number of points on a line, see Geom Settings . Surface - Sheet objects and face lists which you can make, (for example of radiation boundaries) are listed under surface in the history tree and in the Calculator Geometry dialog when you select Surface.
Due to the ambiguity of the normal vector of a sheet, the result may require a multiplication by ( 1 ) or ( -1 ).
Volume - 3D objects, Regions, and object lists of 3D objects including AllObjects are available in the Calculator Geometry dialog when you select Volume. Coord - Coordinate systems are available in the Calculator Geometry dialog when you select Coord. To load a geometry into the calculator: 1. 2. 3. 4. In the Fields Calculator, click Geometry. The Geometry dialog box appears. Select a geometry type. A list of all applicable geometries appears. Click the geometry. Click OK to load the geometry.
Note
Consider a box (Box2) that is completely enclosed in a bigger box (Box1), so that no faces of Box2 are touching any faces of Box1. Box2 is actually implicitly subtracted from Box1 as is done in our solvers. So Box1 is used as if Box2 were already subtracted from Box1. Volume(Box1) is Box1 excluding Box2, and Surface(Box1) contains faces from both Box1 and Box2.
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Input Commands Domain command Export Command Geom Settings In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Constant Command
The Constant command loads one of these four predefined constants, or conversion constant into the top register of the calculator: Pi Epsi0 Mu0 c conversion constant The permittivity of free space, 0 = 8.85418782 x 1012 C2/Nm2 The permeability of free space, 0 = 4 x 107 Wb/Am The speed of light in vacuum, c = 2.99792458 x 108 m/s Displays the Enter Units Conversion Factor dialog. This lists a range of Quantities (such as frequency, resistance, and others) along with a list of Units (Hz to Thz, and rps) to convert From and To. The ratio of the Units From to the Units to is displayed for the selected values as Conversion Factor.
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Input Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Number Command
The Number command enters one of the following into the top register of the calculator: Scalar A scalar constant. To enter a constant scalar number: 1. 2. 3. 4. Vector Click Number. The Input Number dialog box appears. Select Scalar. Type the scalar value in the Value text box. Click OK to load the number into the top register.
A vector constant. To enter a constant vector: 1. 2. 3. 4. Click Number. The Input Number dialog box appears. Select Vector. Enter the x-, y-, and z-components of the vector. Click OK to load the vector into the top register.
Complex
A complex constant. Complex constants are entered in the form C=A+jB, where A represents the real part of the constant and B represents the imaginary part. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click Number. The Input Number dialog box appears. Select Scalar or Vector. Select Complex. Enter the real and imaginary components of the number. Click OK to load the number into the top register.
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Input Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Function Command
Any functions you use must be defined prior to using this operation.
Enters one of the following into the top register of the calculator: Scalar A scalar function. To enter a function: 1. 2. 3. 4. Vector Click Function. The Function dialog box appears. Select Scalar. Select the function from the list. Click OK to load the functional scalar into the top register.
A vector function, in which the values of the vectors x-, y-, and z-components are given by functions. To enter a functional vector: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click Function. The Function dialog box appears. Select Vector. Select the function from the list. For each component of the vector, click SetX, SetY, and SetZ. Click OK to load the functional vector into the top register.
Note
The predefined variables X, Y, Z, RHO, THETA, R, and PHI and any functions that you created can be used to define functional scalar and vector quantities.
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Input Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Read Command
This command copies the contents of a disk file into the top register. The register must be one that has been saved using the Write output command. To read in a register: 1. 2. 3. Click Read. Use the file browser to specify the registers file name and directory path. A .reg extension is automatically assumed for register files. Click OK. The contents of the file are copied to the top register in the stack. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Input Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Related Topics Setting the Solution Type Using the Fields Calculator Input Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
General Commands
Use these Fields Calculator commands to perform operations on both vector and scalar quantities. + (Add) -- (Substract) * (Multiply) + (Add)
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Adds the quantities in the top two registers of the calculator. (Subtract) Subtracts the quantity in the top register from the quantity in the second register. The two registers must hold the same type of quantity (both scalar or both vector). You cannot subtract a scalar from a vector (or vice versa). * (Multiply) Multiplies the quantity in the top register by the quantity in the second register. One of the two registers must contain a scalar value; the other register can be either a scalar or a vector. / (Divide) Divides the quantity in the second register by the quantity in the top register. The second register must contain a scalar value; the top register can be either a scalar or a vector. Neg Changes the sign of the quantity in the top register. Abs Takes the absolute value of the quantity in the top register. Smooth Smooths the quantity in the top register. Because of the numerical solution technique used, field values are not always continuous across the boundaries of the individual elements that make up the finite-element mesh. Smoothing makes the values continuous. In general, use smoothing before plotting a quantity. Complex These commands perform operations on a complex quantity in the top register. Complex quantities are indicated by a C at the beginning of the register label. They can be represented in terms of real and imaginary components, or in terms of magnitude and phase:
C = A + jB = Me
where:
A is the real part of the complex number. B is the imaginary part of the complex number. M is its magnitude, which is equal to
2 2 A +B . is its phase, which is equal to atan ( B A ) .
The Complex commands let you do the following: Real Imag CmplxMag Takes the real part of the complex quantity (A). Takes the imaginary part of the complex quantity (B). Takes the magnitude of the complex quantity (M). Due to interpolation issues, the sequence of calculations may cause a loss of accuracy. It is best to define the points , separately obtain the value of the real part, then the imaginary part, and use those values to calculate the magnitude and and phase. For the sequence for using the Fields Calculator to obtain the real and imaginary parts, see the procedure here. Takes the phase of the complex quantity (). Takes the complex conjugate of the quantity in the top register. If a complex number is given by C = A + jB, its complex conjugate is given by C* = A - jB. Lets you specify the phase angle, , at which an field quantity is evaluated. These quantities can be represented in the form A ( x, y, z, t ) = A ( x, y, z ) cos ( t + ) ( x, y, z ) . where
is the angular frequency at which the quantities are oscillating, specified during the solution. (x,y,z) is the phase angle (the offset from a cosine wave that peaks at t=0).
Entering the phase angle lets you compute the real part of the fields magnitude at different points in its cycle. CmplxReal CmplxImag CmplxPeak Converts the real scalar of the top register to the real part of a complex number. Converts the real scalar of the top register to the imaginary part of a complex number. Calculates the peak value of a given complex vector. Intuitively, this calculates the maximum magnitude of the equivalent real vector in a waveform.
Domain This limits a calculation to the volume you specify. The domain filter works for scalars, vectors, complex scalars and complex vectors. This operation requires the top two entries of the stack to be a volume geometry and a numeric field quantity. To do this: 1. 2. 3. Load the field quantity into the top register, and perform any necessary operations on it. Load the volume using the Geometry command. Click Domain.
The Domain command is often used to limit a calculation or plot to the intersection of a surface and an object or group of objects. If you export a domain filtered numeric, points that are filtered out by the domain will not be written out. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Export Command Steps for Calculating the Complex Vector Electric Field In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Calculate imaginary part of complex vector electric field (in x, y, and z directions):
Use the real and imaginary components to manually calculate the magnitude as the sqrt (Real^2+imag^2). Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Scalar Commands
Use these commands to perform operations on scalar quantities. Vec? 1/x Pow Trig d/d? Makes the scalar quantity in the top register a vector component. Takes the inverse of the scalar quantity in the top register. Raises a scalar quantity to the power you specify. Takes a selected trigonometric value of the value in the top register of the calculator stack Takes the partial derivative of the quantity in the top register. Takes the integral of a scalar quantity over a volume, surface, or line. Computes the minimum of a scalar field quantity on a line, surface, or volume. Computes the maximum of a scalar field quantity on a line, surface, or volume. Takes the gradient of the scalar quantity in the top register. Takes the natural logarithm (base e) of the scalar quantity in the top register. Takes the logarithm (base 10) of the scalar quantity in the top register ( Square Root) Takes the square root of the quantity in the top register.
(Integral)
Min Max
(Gradient)
ln log Related Topics
Using the Fields Calculator In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Vec? Command
Makes the scalar quantity in the top register a vector component. Choose from the following: VecX VecY VecZ Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Scalar Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format. The x-component of a vector. The y-component of a vector. The z-component of a vector.
Pow Command
Raises a scalar quantity to the power you specify. To raise a scalar quantity to a power: 1. 2. 3. Enter the quantity into the calculator. Enter the exponent to which it is to be raised into the calculator. Click Pow. The results are displayed in the top register. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Scalar Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Trig
Takes one of the following trigonometric values of the value in the top register of the calculator stack: Sin Cos Tan Asin Acos Atan Atan2 Sine. Cosine. Tangent. Arcsine. Arccosine. Arctangent. Arctangent squared.
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Scalar Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
(Integral) Command
tity is to be integrated. Note If you computed the tangent or normal of the quantity to be integrated, you do not have to load a geometry onto the calculator stack. HFSS integrates the tangential or normal component of the quantity over the line on which you computed its tangent, or the surface on which you computed its normal.
3.
Choose the
To find the numerical results of an integration, use the Eval command. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Scalar Commands
In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Min Command
Computes the minimum of a scalar field quantity on a line, surface, or volume. Two options are available: Value Position Finds the magnitude of the minimum value of the field. Finds the point where the minimum field value occurs. You can then:
Plot the minimum field value at the point using the Plot command. Plot basic field quantities at the point. Load the point into the calculator. Change the points location.
These commands operate in the same way as the Max commands. Use the Eval command to display the actual minimum field value or the coordinates of the point where it occurs. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Scalar Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Max Command
Computes the maximum of a scalar field quantity on a line, surface, or volume. Two options are available: Value Position Finds the magnitude of the maximum value of the field. Finds the point where the maximum field value occurs. You can then:
1.
Plot the maximum field at the point using the Plot command. Plot field quantities at the point. Load the point into the calculator. Change the points location.
To compute the maximum field value: Load a field quantity into the calculator, and perform any necessary operations on it. Keep the following in mind:
2. 3.
You cannot find the maximum value of a vector quantity. Therefore, make sure that the result is a scalar. Before computing the maximum value of a complex quantity, you must find the real part of the quantity using the Cmplx/Real or Cmplx/AtPhase commands.
Load a point, line, or volume into the calculator using one of the Geometry commands. Do one of the following:
Choose Max/Value to compute the maximum field value on the geometry. Choose Max/Position to identify the point at which this value occurs.
Use the Eval command to display the actual maximum field value or the coordinates of the point where it occurs. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Scalar Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
(Gradient) Command
Takes the gradient of the scalar quantity in the top register. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Scalar Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
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Ln Command
Takes the natural logarithm (base e) of the scalar quantity in the top register. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Scalar Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Log Command
Takes the logarithm (base 10) of the scalar quantity in the top register. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Scalar Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Vector Commands
Use these commands to perform operations on vector quantities. Scal? Matl Replaces the vector in the top register with a scalar quantity whose value is a component of the vector. Multiplies or divides the vector field quantity in the top register by a material property, or if you select MassDensity as the material property, produces a scalar that operates like a named variable. Takes the magnitude of the vector quantity in the top register. The magnitude of a complex vector is defined to be the length of the real vector resulting from taking the modulus of each component of the original complex vector. Takes the dot product of the vector quantities in the top two registers. Takes the cross product of the vector quantities in the top two registers. Takes the divergence of the vector quantity in the top register. Takes the curl of the vector quantity in the top register.
Mag
Computes the tangential component of a vector quantity along a line Computes the normal component of a vector quantity on a surface such as a cutplane or object surface. Computes the normal or tangent unit vector. The unit vector is a "wild card" entry. The context is specified at the time of plotting, integrating, or report generation.
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Scalar Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Scal? Command
Replaces the vector in the top register with a scalar quantity whose value is a component of the vector. Choose from the following: ScalarX ScalarY ScalarZ Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Vector Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format. Returns the x-component of the vector. Returns the y-component of the vector. Returns the z-component of the vector.
Matl Command
Operates on the the vector field quantity in the top register of the Fields Calculator based on a material property. At each tetrahedron, the field quantity is operated on by the value of the selected material property taking the different material attributes of each object into account. To operate on a vector quantity by a material property: 1. Click Matl. The Material Operation window appears.
2.
Select a material property. Available properties are: Permittivity (epsi) Permeability (mu) Conductivity Omega (w) MassDensity The relative permittivity, r. The relative permeability, r. The conductivity, . The angular frequency, . The angular frequency is equal to 2f, where f is the frequency at which the solution was generated. This is based on the value of the Mass Density material property. MassDensity is treated like a named expression. Selecting MassDensity disables the Operation radio buttons for Multiply or Divide in the Material Operations dialog.
3.
For Permittivity, Permeability, Conductivity or Omega, select an operation Multiply or Divide. Selecting MassDensity disables these operations. The MassDensity scalar can be used like any other named expression. Choose OK to operate on the field quantity by a material property or Cancel to stop the operation. If you selected MassDensity and click OK, a scalar named expression MassDensity is pushed onto the stack.
4.
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Vector Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Mag Command
Takes the magnitude of the vector quantity in the top register. The magnitude of a complex vector is defined to be the length of the real vector resulting from taking the modulus of each component of the original complex vector. With a complex vector on the calculator stack, the Mag button returns a nonnegative scalar. In previous software versions, this command returned a complex scalar. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Vector Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Dot Command
Takes the dot product of the vector quantities in the top two registers.
Post Processing and Generating Reports 16-159
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Vector Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Cross Command
Takes the cross product of the vector quantities in the top two registers. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Vector Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Divg Command
Takes the divergence of the vector quantity in the top register. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Vector Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Curl Command
Takes the curl of the vector quantity in the top register. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Vector Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Tangent Command
.
Tangential Component
To take the tangent of a vector: 1. 2. 3. Load a vector quantity into the top register. Load a line into the top register using the Geometry/Line command. Click Tangent.
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Vector Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Normal Command
Computes the normal component of a vector quantity on a surface such as a cutplane or object surface. This is the equivalent of taking the dot product of the quantity with the surfaces unit normal
Normal = A ( x, y, z ) n
vector:
Normal Component
Magnitude
Surface
Post Processing and Generating Reports 16-161
To take the normal of a vector: 1. 2. 3. Load a vector quantity into the top register. Load a surface into the top register using the Geometry/Surface command. Click Normal.
Note
Because surface normals of sheets are not well defined the fields calculator can produce incorrect results if an expression is evaluated on a sheet. To enforce the correct direction of the surface normal of a sheet, a faceted 3D object (such as a box) can be defined such that one of its planar faces is coincident with the sheet. Because surface normals of a valid object are always defined in an outward direction in HFSS, the fields calculator uses the surface normal of the face of the 3D object that is coincident with the sheet.
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Vector Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
CoordSys(Y)
CoordSys(Z)
Vector Commands In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Output Commands
Use these commands to compute or evaluate expressions and to output the data in the calculator. Value command Eval command Write command Export command Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format. Computes the value of a field quantity at a point. Numerically evaluates and displays the results of calculator operations. Saves the contents of the top register to a disk file. Saves field quantities in a format that can be read by other modeling or post-processing software packages.
Value Command
This computes the value of a field quantity at a point. Use it to find:
1. 2. 3.
The magnitude of a scalar field quantity at that point. The x-, y-, and z-components of a vector field quantity at that point. Load the field quantity into the top register, and perform any needed operations on it. Load the appropriate point into the calculator using the Geometry/Point command. Click Value.
To view the numerical results of this operation, use the Eval command. Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Eval Command
This command numerically evaluates and displays the results of calculator operations such as integrations, maximum or minimum field computations, field values at points, and so forth. The quantity to be evaluated must be in the top register. The Eval command computes the numerical results of the operation, which replace the contents of the register.
Post Processing and Generating Reports 16-163
For instance, to find the current around a loop, you must numerically evaluate the following integral for that loop: I = H dl . Since H and I are complex quantities, you will need to evaluate the real part of H to obtain the real part of I, then evaluate the imaginary part of H to obtain the imaginary part of I. To do this: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Load H into the calculator using the Qty command. Take the real part of H using the Cmplx/Real command. Load the rectangular loop using the Geom/Line command. Create the loop, a closed polyline, to integrate over. Click Tangent to get the component of H along the line. Take the integral around the loop using the Click Eval to evaluate the integral. The real part of I appears in the top register. Repeat this process using the imaginary part of H (found with the Cmplx/Imag command) to obtain the imaginary part of I.
command.
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Write Command
This command saves the contents of the top register to a disk file. Use this command to:
1. 2.
Save registers for use during a later post-processing session. Save a field quantity for use when post processing a different model. Click Write. If the register includes numeric with a constrained quantity (such as jsurf), you see a dialog that gives a choice of constraining geometries. For example:
To save a register:
3. 4.
Select the geometry of interest, and select OK. This displays a file browser. Use the file browser to specify the registers file name and directory path. A .reg extension is automatically assigned to register files and a .fld extension is assigned to field files. You can choose to save both .reg and .fld files, or either one. Click OK. The contents of the register are saved to the file you specified.
5.
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Export Command
This command opens the Export Solution dialog, from which you can export the field quantity in the top register to a file, mapping it to a grid of points. Use this command to save field quantities in
a format that can be read by other modeling or post-processing software packages. Two options are available for defining the grid points on which to export: Input grid points from file Calculate grid points Maps the field quantity to a customized grid of points. Before using this command, you must create a file containing the points and units. Maps the field quantity to a three-dimensional cartesian grid. You specify the dimensions and spacing of the grid in the x, y, and z directions, with units that you specify. The initial units are taken from the model.
To export a field quantity to a customized grid: 1. 2. Load the quantity into the top register for the fields calculator, and perform any operations on it. If desired, load a volume using the Geometry command. You can use the Domain command to limit the calculation to the volume you specify. If you export a Domain filtered numeric, points that are filtered out by the domain will not be written out. 3. 4. Click the Export button in the Fields Calculator. This opens the Export Solution dialog. Type or select the name of the file in which the field quantity is to be saved in the Output File Name text box. You can use the file icon to open the file browser to specify the file name and directory path. A .reg extension is automatically assigned to this file. Click either the Input grid points from file radio button if you have a created a .pts file containing the grid points, or click the Calculate grid points radio button. For each grid dimension (X, Y, and Z), enter the following: Minimum Maximum Spacing The minimum x-, y-, or z-coordinate of the grid, and unit of measure. The maximum x-, y-, or z-coordinate of the grid, and unit of measure. The distance between grid points, and unit of measure. When you export fields on a 1D or 2D line/surface from the field calculator, the start and stop values must be the same for one or two of the XYZ start/stop ranges. If you specify a zero spacing for a dimension, the export uses only the minimum value.
5.
If you select Input grid points from file, either type the name and directory of the file containing the points on which the field is to be mapped, or, click on the file icon and use
the file browser to locate the point file (.pts extension). Note The .pts file should contain the units to use for the export as shown in this file stub: Unit=mm -5.5 -5.5 -5.21475 -5.5 -5.5 -5.14425 -5.5 -5.5 -5.07375 -5.5 -5.5 -5.021
If you select Calculate grid points button. For each grid dimension (X, Y, and Z), enter the following: The minimum x-, y-, or z-coordinate of the grid, and unit of measure. The maximum x-, y-, or z-coordinate of the grid, and unit of measure. The distance between grid points, and unit of measure. When you export fields on a 1D or 2D line/surface from the field calculator, the start and stop values must be the same for one or two of the XYZ start/stop ranges. If you specify a zero spacing for a dimension, the export uses only the minimum value.
6.
For larger files, you may want to uncheck the Include points in output file box. If you uncheck the box, the file header will include minimum, maximum and spacing information from which you can recalculate the grid points. Click OK to export the file. The field quantity is mapped to the grid and saved to the file you specified (.reg extension.).
7.
Related Topics Using the Fields Calculator Input Commands Domain command In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Click on a named expression to select it. When a named expression has been selected, the Copy to Stack button is activated. Click Copy to Stack to push the expression on the top of the stack. When an HFSS design is open and a Solution Setup has been performed, the following predefined named expressions are available: Expression Name Mag_E Mag_H Mag_Jvol Mag_Jsurf ComplexMag_E ComplexMag_H ComplexMag_Jvol ComplexMag_Jsurf Vector_E Vector_H Vector_Jvol Vector_Jsurf Vector_RealPoynting Local_SAR Average_SAR Surface_Loss_Density Volume_Loss_Density Related Topics Named Expression Library Using the Fields Calculator In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format. Expression Definition Mag(AtPhase(Smooth(<Ex,Ey,Ez>),Phase)) Mag(AtPhase(Smooth(<Hx,Hy,Hz>),Phase)) Mag(AtPhase(Smooth(<JVx,JVy,JVz>),Phase)) Mag(AtPhase(Smooth(<Jsurfx,Jsurfy,Jsurfz>),Phase)) Mag(CmplxMag(Smooth(<Ex,Ey,Ez>)) Mag(CmplxMag(Smooth(<Hx,Hy,Hz>)) Mag(CmplxMag(Smooth(<JVx,JVy,JVz>)) Mag(CmplxMag(Smooth(<Jsurfx,Jsurfy,Jsurfz>)) AtPhase(Smooth(<Ex,Ey,Ez>),Phase) AtPhase(Smooth(<Hx,Hy,Hz>),Phase) AtPhase(Smooth(<JVx,JVy,JVz>),Phase) AtPhase(Smooth(<Jsurfx,Jsurfy,Jsurfz>),Phase) Real(Poynting) LocalSAR AverageSAR SurfaceLossDensity. See further discussion here. VolumeLossDensity See further discussion here.
1.
Adding named expressions to the Fields Calculator expression library Copying named expressions to the Calculator Stack Saving named expressions to a Personal Library Loading named expressions Deleting named expressions that you added In the register display area, create the expression by using the calculator Input commands. You can combine input commands in any legal fashion, including the use of complex quantities. If you select an input command that is not legal for a current operation, you receive an error message.
2. 3.
When you finish creating the expression, click Add in the Named Expressions panel. The Named Expression dialog box appears. Type a name for the expression in the Name text box. The new expression is added to the list of named expressions.
You can scroll through the list, select any desired named expression, and click Copy to Stack to move it to the calculator stack, where you can use it to generate calculated outputs.
To delete named expressions that you added: When the Named Expression list contains one or more user-defined expressions, the Delete and Clear All buttons are active (you cannot delete or clear the predefined named expressions.)
To delete the selected user-defined named expression, click Delete. To delete all user-defined named expressions, click Clear All. Click the Save To button on the Fields Calculator. The Select Expressions for Saving dialog displays. If any new named expressions exist, you can select one or more to save to a file. Give a file name, and click OK to save the file. From the Fields Calculator, click Load From. This displays a file browser that you can use to search for existing .clc files. Select the library to load and click OK. This loads the expression file you have selected.
To save one or more named expressions for the Fields Calculator to a personal Library: 1. 2. 3. 1. 2.
To load named expressions for the Fields Calculator from a personal library:
Related Topics Calculating Derived Field Quantities Using the Fields Calculator
In addition to the online help, you can also view a pdf format HFSS Fields Calculator Cookbook: A Brief Primer and Collection of Step-byStep Calculator Recipes for Use in Fields Post Processing. . in pdf format.
Related Topics Setting Up a Near-Field Sphere Setting Up a Near-Field Line Drawing Non-Model Objects Computing Maximum Near Field Parameters Setting up a Far-Field Infinite Sphere Defining Antenna Arrays Computing Antenna Parameters Technical Notes: Radiated Fields
2.
Use the Sphere tab define the Name, Radius, and sampling of Phi and Theta for the nearfield sphere. The radius is measured from the origin of the spheres coordinate system, which you specify under the Coordinate System tab. You can assign a variable to the radius, and a post-processing variable will often make sense in this context. Specify the spheres sampling in terms of Start, Stop, and Step Size angles given in radians or degrees. To verify your settings, use the View Sweep Points button to display a list of the theta and phi sweep points. See Spherical Cross-Sections in the Technical Notes for guidelines for setting phi and theta. You can use Save as Defaults to set the current values as the default for new near-field sphere setups.
3.
Use the Coordinate Systems tab to specify the orientation of the sphere. Use global coordinate system is selected by default, but in some cases the orientation of the
antenna requires the use of a local coordinate system. In this case, select Use local coordinate system, and choose a local coordinate system that you created previously in the modeler. 4. Use the Radiation Surface tab to select the solved surface from which to calculate radiated fields. Use Boundary Radiation Surfaces is selected by default, indicating that the radiated fields will be calculated using the assigned radiation or PML surface. For some models you may find it it more efficient and/or accurate to use an interior surface. In this case, select Use Custom Radiation Surface, and choose a face list that you previously created in the modeler. Notes You must have defined at least one radiation or PML boundary in the design for HFSS to compute near-field quantities, regardless of which radiation surfaces you instruct HFSS to use when calculating the near fields. You do not need to re-solve the problem if you modify radiation surfaces in the Near Field Radiation Sphere Setup dialog. Related Topics Selecting Faces Creating a Face List Radiated Fields Post Processing Assigning PML Boundaries Assigning Radiation Boundaries Technical Notes: Spherical Cross-Sections
3. 4. 5.
Under the Near Field Line Setup tab, type a name for the line in the Name text box. Select the polyline along which you want to evaluate the near fields from the Choose Line list. Specify the Number of points in the line. This is the total number of equally spaced points on the line. Specifying points on the line will enable you to plot the near-field values across a normalized distance, that is, to create a value versus distance plot of a near-field quantity on the line. You can click the View Sweep Points button to view a dialog that lists the points.
6.
Click the Radiation Surface tab. By default, the Use Boundary Radiation Surfaces radio button is selected. To specify a surface other than an assigned radiation or PML boundary over which to integrate the radiated fields, you must first create a face list. To create a facelist see Creating a Face List.The face list cannot include a face that lies on a PML object. If you have created one or more face lists, the Use Custom Radiation Surface radio button is enabled. a. b. Select Use Custom Radiation Surface. This enables the Choose from existing face list field. Select a defined face list from drop down menu. HFSS will use the surfaces in the face list as the radiating surfaces when calculating the near fields.
7.
Click OK.
You must have defined at least one radiation or PML boundary in the design for HFSS to compute near-field quantities, regardless of which radiation surfaces you instruct HFSS to use when calcu16-174 Post Processing and Generating Reports
lating the near fields. You do not need to re-solve the problem if you modify radiation surfaces in the Near Field Line Setup window. Note For parts of the near-field line lying outside of the model region, near-field approximation is calculated. However, if parts of the line lie inside the model region, the model fields are used to compute interpolated values. A section of the near-field line is considered to overlap the model if it lies in the enlarged model region after accounting for symmetry planes.
Related Topics Assigning PML Boundaries Assigning Radiation Boundaries Radiated Fields Post Processing
Note
When calculating the maximum far-field values, the distance r is factored out of the Efield. Therefore, the units for the maximum field data values are given in volts.
Related Topics Radiated Fields Post Processing Assigning PML Boundaries Assigning Radiation Boundaries Technical Notes: Maximum Near-Field Data
2.
Use the Sphere tab define the Name, Radius, and sampling of Phi and Theta for the nearfield sphere. The radius is measured from the origin of the spheres coordinate system, which you specify under the Coordinate System tab. You can assign a variable to the radius, and a post-processing variable will often make sense in this context.
Specify the spheres sampling in terms of Start, Stop, and Step Size angles given in radians or degrees. To verify your settings, use the View Sweep Points button to display a list of the theta and phi sweep points. See Spherical Cross-Sections in the Technical Notes for guidelines for setting phi and theta. You can use Save as Defaults to set the current values as the default for new near-field sphere setups. 3. Use the Coordinate Systems tab to specify the orientation of the sphere. Use global coordinate system is selected by default, but in some cases the orientation of the antenna requires the use of a local coordinate system. In this case, select Use local coordinate system, and choose a local coordinate system that you created previously in the modeler. 4. Use the Radiation Surface tab to select the solved surface from which to calculate radiated fields. Use Boundary Radiation Surfaces is selected by default, indicating that the radiated fields will be calculated using the assigned radiation or PML surface. For some models you may find it it more efficient and/or accurate to use an interior surface. In this case, select Use Custom Radiation Surface, and choose a face list that you previously created in the modeler. Note Do not use a sheet-object based face list as the radiation computation surface.
You can use the Save as Default to set the current values as a default, and the Use Defaults button to use previously saved options. Note You must have defined at least one radiation or PML boundary in the design for HFSS to compute far-field quantities, regardless of which radiation surfaces you instruct HFSS to use when calculating the far fields. You do not need to re-solve the problem if you modify radiation surfaces in the Far Field Radiation Sphere Setup window.
Related Topics Radiated Fields Post Processing Assigning PML Boundaries Assigning Radiation Boundaries Technical Notes: Spherical Cross-Sections Creating a Face List
geometry defines an arbitrary array of identical elements distributed in 3D space with individual user-specified complex weights. If you define an antenna array, the antenna setup icon in Project tree changes from a single antenna an array icon. Related Topics Radiated Fields Post Processing Defining a Regular Antenna Array Defining a Custom Antenna Array
Under Distance Between Cells, enter the distance between cells in the U-direction and the distance between cells in the V-direction in the design units. Under Number of Cells, enter the number of unit cells in the U-direction and the number of unit cells in the V-direction. Under Scan Definition, specify the scan direction in one of the following ways:
9.
Select Use settings from slave boundary. If the design includes a master/slave set, you can select this to use that scan angle. Select Use Custom Scan Angles to directly enter the scan angles in degrees, in the radiation coordinate system in the Theta and Phi text boxes. Select Use Differential Phase Shift to enter the phase difference in degrees, between adjacent elements, in the In U direction and In V direction text boxes.
Click OK. The array factor will be applied, using the information you specified, when far fields are calculated.
Technical Notes: Array Factor Calculation Technical Notes: Regular Uniform Arrays Technical Notes: Scan Specification for Regular Uniform Arrays
Note 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Click HFSS or HFSS-IE>Radiation>Antenna Array Setup. The Antenna Array Setup window appears. Under the Array Type tab, select Custom Array Setup. Click the Custom Array tab. Click Import Definition. The Open dialog box appears. Follow the procedure for opening a file. Select .txt as the file type. When you are finished, click Open. Optionally, review the definition in the text file by clicking View Definition under the Custom Array Setup tab. Click OK. The array factor will be applied, using the information specified in the text file, when far fields are calculated.
Related Topics Radiated Fields Post Processing Technical Notes: Custom Arrays Technical Notes: Array Factor Calculation
After you have selected the setup by one of these two methods. the Antenna Parameters dialog box appears. 2. 3. Under the Solutions tab, select the solution for which you want HFSS to compute antenna parameters. Under the Intrinsic Variables tab, select the solved frequency point at which you want HFSS to compute antenna parameters. The Antenna Parameters window appears. If the design includes ports, the following antenna parameters are listed: Maximum intensity (Max U) Peak directivity Peak gain Peak realized gain Radiated power Accepted power Incident power Radiation efficiency Front to Back Ratio Decay Factor Warning The computed values of max U and peak directivity depend on the user-determined set of aspect angles chosen for the computation of the radiated fields. If this set does not encompass the actual peak intensity of the radiated pattern, the displayed results for these three parameters will be inaccurate.
Note
Accepted Power is computed from the raw S-parameter data. Post-processing operations are excluded from the calculation, for example, renormalized S-parameters.
Gain and realised gain are very close to each other when the antenna is matched. However, for designs with a multi-port antenna, gain and realized gain can be different if incident and accepted power are different. There can be a small reflection at the ports and accepted power may still be small if energy injected in one port exits the model through a different port. A review of the S-matrix can show this to be the case. This does not happen in a single port antenna, which is what most users base their expectations on.
If the design does not have ports, the following antenna parameters are listed: Maximum intensity (Max U) Peak directivity Radiated power 4. Click More to view the following maximum far-field data: Total X Y Z Phi Theta LHCP RHCP Ludwig 3/X dominant Ludwig 3/Y dominant Note When calculating the maximum far-field values, the distance r is factored out of the Efield. Therefore, the units for the maximum field data values are given in volts.
Related Topics Radiated Fields Post Processing Exporting Antenna Parameters and Maximum Field Data Technical Notes: Antenna Parameters Technical Notes: Maximum Far-Field Data Add Trace Characteristics
3.
Click Save. This saves the text file and closes the browser.
To export the maximum field data to a comma separated format file: 1. 2. 3. Click the Export Fields button on the Antenna Parameters dialog This displays a file browser Specify the file name and location (or accept the defaults. Click Save. This saves the comma separated text file and closes the browser. The first line of the file describes the contents of each succeeding row by column. Far fields format: Index, Phi(rad), Theta(rad), rEPhi(mag ang), rETheta(mag ang) Near fields format: Index, X, Y, Z, Ex(mag ang), Ey(mag ang), Ez(mag ang) Related Topics Radiated Fields Post Processing Computing Antenna Parameters Technical Notes: Antenna Parameters Technical Notes: Maximum Far-Field Data
6.
Select one of the following display options: Wire frame Shaded Add Grid Draws wireframe outlines of the tetrahedra. Draws shaded tetrahedra. Displays the mesh.
7. 8. 9.
Under Mesh color, click the Line color box, and then select a color for the outline of the tetrahedra from the Color palette. Under Mesh color, click the Filled color box, and then select a color to fill the tetrahedra with from the Color palette. Select Surface Only to only display the faces of tetrahedra that lie on object surfaces. Clear this option to draw all tetrahedra inside selected objects.
10. By default the Plot Quality selection is Normal. You can use the drop down menu to select Coarse, Normal, Fine, or Very Fine. The higher the resolution, the more memory used. Higher quality selections permit visualization of curvilinear mesh elements. With the Course setting, facets to not snap to the midpoint edge.
Very fine gives the most accurate display, though using the most memory.
11. Click the Save as default button if you want the tabs settings to apply to mesh plots created after this point. 12. Select Real time mode if you want the changes to take effect immediately in the view window. If this option is cleared, click Apply when you want to see the changes. 13. Click Close to dismiss the dialog box. Related Topics Plotting the Mesh
17
Technical Notes
The simulation technique used to calculate the full 3D electromagnetic field inside a structure is based on the finite element method. Although its implementation is largely transparent, a general understanding of the method is useful in making the most effective use of HFSS. The HFSS Technical Notes provide an overview of the finite element method and its implementation in HFSS. They also describe how modal S-parameters are computed from the simulated electric and magnetic fields and how they can be converted to "nodal" or "voltage" based pseudo-Sparameters used in circuit theory. Information is included on the following:
The Finite Element Method The HFSS Solution Process Domain Decomposition S-Parameters Radiated Fields Geometric Objects Boundaries
Integral Equation Method Used in HFSS-IE Transient Solution Theory Excitations Materials Parametric Analysis Sensitivity Analysis Tuning Analysis Modes to Terminals Conversion
them in the local coordinates (u, v, w), which are independent of the shape of the element. The local coordinates and the global coordinates are linked by a transformation through a so-called Jocobian.
If the transformation is linear, the elements are called rectilinear elements, with straight edges and planar faces; if the transformation is non-linear, such as quadratic or cubic, the elements are called curvilinear elements, with curved edges and/or curved faces. So the curvilinear elements are a more general type of elements than their rectilinear counterparts. While they may not always conform exactly to the curved boundaries, the curvilinear elements conform better with less number of elements than the rectilinear ones. As a result, they generate more accurate and usually faster FEM solutions.
Basis Functions
Various interpolation schemes, or basis functions, can be used to interpolate field values from nodal values.
A first order tangential element basis function interpolates field values from both nodal values at vertices and on edges. First order tangential elements have 20 unknowns per tetrahedron. A zero order basis function makes use of nodal values at vertices only and therefore assumes that the field varies linearly inside each tetrahedron. Zero order tangential elements have six unknowns per tetrahedron. A second order tangential element interpolates field values from nodal values at vertices, on edges and on faces.
Technical Notes 17-3
Mixed order assigns basis function elements based on the need for higher accuracy in different parts of the model.
Divides the structure into a finite element mesh. Computes the modes on each port of the structure that are supported by a transmission line having the same cross-section as the port. Computes the full electromagnetic field pattern inside the structure, assuming that one mode is excited at a time. Computes the generalized S-matrix from the amount of reflection and transmission that occurs.
The resulting S-matrix allows the magnitude of transmitted and reflected signals to be computed directly from a given set of input signals, reducing the full 3D electromagnetic behavior of a structure to a set of high frequency circuit parameters.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
7. 8.
9.
Note
Related Topics Reverting to the Initial Mesh Seeding the Mesh Guidelines for Seeding the Mesh Length-Based Mesh Refinement Skin Depth-Based Mesh Refinement Surface Approximation Settings Guidelines for Modifying Surface Approximation Settings Meshing Region Vs. Problem Region Mesh Refinement on Ports Model Resolution
Seeding the mesh inside a volume in the model geometry where regions of strong electric
or magnetic fields (with strong capacitive or inductive loading) are expected. Examples include a capacitively loaded gap in a resonant structure, sharp waveguide angles or corners, or gaps between multi-coupled lines in filter structures.
Seeding the mesh on every face of higher aspect ratio boundaries, such as long PCB traces or on the surfaces of long wires. Spacing the mesh points roughly equal to the trace width of the wire diameter enables you to more accurately capture the behavior of the highaspect structure from the first adaptive pass.
then Distance [P0,P1]: Distance [P1,P2]: Distance [P2,P3]: Distance [P3,P4]: Distance [P0,P4]: 0.8 mm. 1.6 mm. 3.2 mm. 6.4 mm. 0.8 + 1.6 + 3.2 + 6.4 = 12 mm
The skin depth-based refinement first satisfies the surface triangle edge length criterion, then introduces the series of points to each additional layer. If a limit has been placed on mesh growth, one of the following happens:
The limit is set high enough to complete the skin depth refinement. The limit is set high enough to satisfy the surface triangle edge length criterion, but not high enough to complete the depth seeding. The limit is not set high enough to satisfy even the surface triangle edge length criterion.
Because refining by skin depth can add many seeding points, you should first refine the surface of the object using length-based mesh refinement to obtain an accurate count of the number of points HFSS will add when refining by skin depth. This allows you to reach the surface edge length criterion and approximate the number of elements in the mesh and the number of points on the surfaces before proceeding to skin depth seeding. The refinement criteria you specified are used to refine the current mesh. Related Topics Assigning Skin Depth-Based Mesh Refinement on Object Faces
You can modify the surface deviation, the maximum permitted normal deviation, and the maximum aspect ratio of triangles settings on one or more faces at a time in the Surface Approximation dialog box. (Click HFSS>Mesh Operations>Assign>Surface Approximation.) The surface approximation settings are applied to the initial mesh. Note For the initial mesh, all the vertices of the triangles lie on the true surfaces. During adaptive meshing, the vertices are added to the meshed surfaces, not to the true surfaces.
Related Topics Modifying Surface Approximation Settings Technical Notes: Guidelines for Modifying Surface Approximation Settings Technical Notes: The Mesh Generation Process
When necessary, override the default surface approximation settings to represent curved surfaces more accurately. More accurate representation will increase the mesh size and consume more CPU time and memory. The default settings are adequate for most circumstances. If you want to obtain a faster solution by using a cruder representation of curved surfaces, set the coarser setting for the whole object, not just a single face. It is difficult for HFSS to satisfy aspect ratio demands if the aspect ratio value is set close to 1 because an arbitrary shape cannot be filled with only equilateral triangles. Therefore, setting the aspect ratio to 1 can lead to unreasonably large meshes. HFSS limits the aspect ratio to 4 for planar objects and 1.2 for curved objects.
Related Topics Modifying Surface Approximation Settings Technical Notes: Surface Approximation Settings
region not occupied by objects is considered to be the background object. The background extends to the boundaries of the meshing region and fills in any voids not occupied by objects. Since the background object is defined as a perfect conductor, no solution is generated inside the background even though an initial mesh is generated for it. HFSS automatically defines the meshing region during the solution process. The problem region and the meshing region are illustrated below.
Device
Perfect Conductor
Background Object
Model Resolution
Model Resolution is a setting that determines the smallest details of a model that the mesher should capture and represent in the mesh. Many times the analysis starts with the geometry already drawn in a different tool for different purpose. Some tools are designed for manufacturing and the resulting models contain lots of extra details not needed for electromagnetic analysis. If the user removes such details in the original tool the results will be better. But if the user does not have access to the original drawing tool or redrawing the model without these details is not possible, Model Resolution is another way to remove the details from analysis. When the user sets the model resolution length to be L, the mesher will start with a surface representation of the model accurate to the modeler's tolerance limit. Then it will progressively remove edges, move points, merge points etc., within the allowable model resolution limit and simplify the surface mesh. During this process, tiny fillets, rounds, and chamfer protrusions are removed. Other common model translation anomalies are also handled using Model Resolution. For example, some geometry engines will blindly export all of the surfaces as splines. When a user imports such a model for analysis, it would result in very large number of triangles. If the surface can be represented by a smaller set of triangles using Model Resolution, this procedure would reduce the number of triangles in the surface mesh. The user can start with a model resolution length around 0.1*wavelength. If the model resolution length chosen by the user is too large, the mesher will detect it and report it as an error. The model resolution length is specified in the user units of the modeler. It can be set on selected bodies only. The default value is 100* the tolerance limit of the ACIS modeler.
17-10 Technical Notes
Port Solutions
The excitation field pattern at each port must be calculated before the full 3D electromagnetic field inside a structure can be calculated. HFSS calculates the natural field patterns (or modes) that can exist inside a transmission structure with the same cross-section as the port. The resulting 2D field patterns serve as boundary conditions for the full 3D problem.
Excitation Fields Wave Equation Mesh Refinement on Ports Modes Multiple Ports on the Same Face Port Accuracy Calculating Characteristic Impedance Complex Propagation Constant
Excitation Fields
HFSS assumes that each port is connected to a uniform waveguide that has the same cross-section as the port. A waveguide supports an infinite number of modes with a given field pattern and propagation constant. Therefore, the excitation field is one of the modes specified for a port where mode m can be expressed by:
E m ( x, y, z, t ) = E m ( x, y ) e
where
j t m z
(1)
is the real part of a complex number or function. Em(x,y) is the electric field mode pattern of mode m. m=m + jm is the complex propagation constant of mode m, where
m is the attenuation constant of mode m. m is the propagation constant of mode m that determines, at a given time t, how the phase angle varies with z.
1 .
In this context, the x- and y-axes are assumed to lie in the cross-section of the port; the z-axis lies along the direction of propagation.
Wave Equation
The field pattern of a traveling wave inside a waveguide can be determined by solving Maxwells equations. For each mode m, the port solver solves the following equation obtained from Maxwells equation.
where
m z m z 1 2 - E ( x, y ) e ----= 0 k 0 r E m ( x, y ) e m r
(1)
By solving the equation, the electric field mode pattern Em(x,y) and the propagation constant m are both obtained for all the modes specified for a given port.For the current based impedance calculations, the port solver also solves independently for Hm(x,y) using a corresponding equation for the magnetic field. Also note that the excitation field pattern computed by the port solver is valid only at a given frequency. A different excitation field pattern is computed for each frequency point of interest.
r(x,y) is the complex relative permeability. r(x,y) is the complex relative permittivity.
each entry of the terminal characteristic impedance matrix rather than the modal impedances such that the worst entry in the impedance matrix satisfies the user specified value.
For a good technical discussion of the port solution procedure, refer to the following: Jin-Fa Lee, Din-Kow Sun, and Zoltan J. Cendes, "Full-Wave Analysis of Dielectric Waveguides Using Tangential Vector Finite Elements," IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. 39, No 8, August 1991. Related Topics Technical Notes: The Mesh Generation Process
Modes
For a waveguide or transmission line with a given cross-section, there is a series of basic field patterns, or modes, that satisfy Maxwells equations at a specific frequency. Any linear combination of these modes can exist in the waveguide. A user is responsible to specify the number of modes to be included in a wave port but not for lumped ports since they are restricted to contain only one mode. In general, in order to obtain accurate S-parameters the number of modes defined for a given port should be the same or greater than the number of propagating
Technical Notes 17-13
modes at the highest frequency of interest. Note that the port solver automatically determines what modes should be included based on the specified number of modes. The modes included in a port are based on a sorting criteria to extract the dominant set of modes out of the infinite set of possible modes. If there is no prior knowledge to the number of propagating modes, the user can do a ports only solution while specifying a reasonably large number of modes and view the 'Gamma' values in the Matrix Data panel to determine what modes are propagating. If a port is defined on a surface where there is a geometrical discontinuity in the normal direction of the port, it may not be enough to include only the propagating modes for accurate Sparameters. If possible, it is recommended to avoid this case by modeling a short section of the port transmission line such that all the higher order modes have decayed and do not contribute to the field on the port surface. The length of the constant cross-section segment that has to be included in the model depends on the value of the modes attenuation constant, .
Degenerate Modes
Degenerate modes refer to the case when a set of modes have the same complex propagation constant which means that any linear combination of those modes is still a valid set of natural (or eigen) modes. When you become aware that a wave port contains degenerate modes as a part of the requested modes, you should use the Mode Alignment feature in HFSS.
Port Accuracy
Generally, the port accuracy defaults, specified under the Port Options in the Advanced tab of the Solution Setup window, are adequate. You may want improved port accuracy under the following conditions:
You are interested primarily in the port impedances. Port impedances are computed as part
You need to lower the noise floor to catch S-parameters that are expected to be in the 70 dB range.
The port accuracy settings are only used for port adapt. If those settings are modified after port adapt nothing will happen. Therefore, to specify new port accuracy settings, add another solution setup and generate a new solution. Refining the mesh at the ports causes HFSS to refine the mesh for the entire structure as well. This occurs because it uses the port field solutions as boundary conditions when computing the full 3D solution. Therefore, specifying too small a port field accuracy can result in an unnecessarily complex finite element mesh.
For TEM waves, the Zvi impedance converges on the ports actual impedance and should be used. When modeling microstrips, it is sometimes more appropriate to use the Zpi impedance. For slot-type structures (such as inline or coplanar waveguides), Zpv impedance is the most appropriate.
HFSS will always calculate Zpi impedance, the impedance calculation using power and current, which are well-defined for a port because they are computed over the area of the port. Zpv and Zvi are not calculated by default. This is because V is computed by integrating along a user-defined integration line. To renormalize the solution to a Zpv or Zvi characteristic impedance, you must have defined an impedance line. Under the Matrix Data tab of the Solution Data dialog box, the characteristic impedance can be displayed as magnitude/ phase, real/ imaginary, magnitude, phase, real, or imaginary. For more information on the computation of impedances, refer to the following: Bruno Bianco, Luigi Panini, Mauro Parodi, and Sandro Ridella, "Some Considerations about the Frequency Dependence of the Characteristic Impedance of Uniform Microstrips," IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. MTT-26 No. 3, March 1978. Edward F. Kuester, David C. Chang, and Leonard Lewin, "Frequency-Dependent Definitions of Microstrip Characteristic Impedance," International URSI Symposium on Electromagnetic Waves, Munich, 26-29 August 1980, pp. 335 B/1-3. Related Topics Renormalizing S-Matrices
PZ pi = ------II
(1)
The power and current are computed directly from the simulated fields. The power passing through a port is equal to the following:
P =
E Hds H dl
l
(2)
I =
(3)
While the net current computed in this way will be near zero, the current of interest is that flowing into the structure, I-, or that flowing out of the structure, I+. In integrating around the port, HFSS keeps a running total of the contributions to each and uses the average of the two in the computation of impedances.
VV Z pv = -----------P
where the power and voltage are computed directly from the simulated fields.
(1)
The power is computed in the same way as the Zpi impedance. The voltage is computed as follows:
V =
E dl
l
(2)
The result over which HFSS integrates is referred to as the impedance line which is defined when the ports are set up. To define the impedance line for a port, select the two points across which the maximum voltage difference occurs. You must define an integration line to specify where the maximum voltage difference will be.
Z vi =
17-16 Technical Notes
Z pi Z pv
For TEM waves, the Zpi and Zpv impedances form upper and lower boundaries to a ports actual characteristic impedance. Therefore, the value of Zvi approaches a ports actual impedance for TEM waves.
Impedance Multipliers
If a symmetry plane has been defined (allowing the model of a structure to be cut in half), the impedance computations must be adjusted by specifying an impedance multiplier. The need for this multiplier can be understood by looking at how the use of symmetry affects the computation of Zpv. In cases where a perfect E plane of symmetry splits a structure in two, only one-half of the voltage differential and one-half of the power flow can be computed by the system. Therefore, since the Zpv impedance is given by:
VV Z pv = -----------P
the computed value is one-half the desired value. An impedance multiplier of 2 must be specified in such cases. In cases where a perfect H plane of symmetry splits a structure in two, only one-half of the power flow is seen by the system but the full voltage differential is present. Therefore, structures split in half with perfect H symmetry planes result in computed impedances that are twice those for the full structure. An impedance multiplier of 0.5 must be specified in such cases. If multiple symmetry planes are used or if only a wedge of a structure is modeled, you must adjust the impedance multiplier accordingly. If you have defined a symmetry plane, the computed impedances will not be for the full structure. Generally, use one of the following values for the impedance multiplier:
If the structure has a perfect E plane of symmetry, use 2. Such models have one-half of the voltage differential and one-half of the power flow of the full structure, resulting in impedances that are one-half of those for the full structure. If the structure has a perfect H plane of symmetry, enter 0.5. Such models have the same voltage differential but half the power flow of the full structure, resulting in impedances that are twice those for the full structure. If the structure has a combination of perfect H and perfect E boundaries, adjust accordingly. For example, you do not have to enter an impedance multiplier for a structure with both a perfect E and perfect H boundary since you would be multiplying by 2 and 0.5.
is the attenuation constant of a signal in the transmission structure. It is the real component of the propagation constant and has units of nepers per meter. is the phase constant associated with the wave. It is the imaginary component of the propagation constant and has units of radians per meter.
Under the Matrix Data tab of the Display Items Dialog, gamma can be displayed as magnitude/ phase, real/ imaginary, magnitude, phase, real, or imaginary.
2 eff = ----
where is the phase constant associated with the wave. Under the Matrix Data tab of the Solution Data dialog box, lambda is displayed when Gamma is selected as the matrix type.
c eff = ---------r f
where
eff is the effective wavelength given in meters. c is the speed of light. f is the frequency of the wave.
Under the Matrix Data tab of the Solution Data dialog box, epsilon is displayed when Gamma is selected as the matrix type.
3. 4.
5.
HFSS recomputes the error, and the iterative process (solve error analysis refine) repeats until the convergence criteria are satisfied or the requested number of adaptive passes is completed. If a frequency sweep is being performed, HFSS then solves the problem at the other frequency points without further refining the mesh.
6.
Maximum Delta S
For designs with ports. The delta S is the change in the magnitude of the S-parameters between two consecutive passes. If the magnitude and phase of all S-parameters change by an amount less than the Maximum Delta S Per Pass value from one iteration to the next, the adaptive analysis stops. Otherwise, it continues until the requested number of passes is completed. For example, if you specify 0.1 as the Maximum Delta S Per Pass, HFSS continues to refine the mesh until the number of requested passes is completed or until the magnitude of the complex delta of all S-parameters changes by less than 0.1. The maximum delta S is defined as
N N 1 Max ij mag S S ij ij
where:
i and j cover all matrix entries. N represents the pass number. Note Delta S is computed on the appropriate S-parameters - modal or terminal - after the S-parameters have been de-embedded and renormalized.
Maximum Delta E
For designs with voltage sources, current sources, or incident waves. Not applicable to designs with ports. The delta E is the difference in the relative energy error from one adaptive solution to the next. It is a measure of the stability of the computed field values from pass to pass. As the solution converges, delta E approaches zero. The Maximum Delta E Per Pass value is a stopping criterion for the adaptive solution. If the delta E falls below this value, the adaptive analysis stops. Otherwise, it continues until the convergence criteria are reached. The data represents the delta E for all tetrahedra.
Magnitude Margin
For solutions in which convergence criteria for specific S-matrix entries were specified. For each element in the S-matrix, the magnitude margin is the difference between the S-parameter delta magnitude and the target delta magnitude, which was specified in the Matrix Convergence dialog box. The magnitude margin reported under the Convergence tab is the maximum of these values over the entire matrix. The magnitude margin is defined as
Phase Margin
For solutions in which convergence criteria for specific S-matrix entries were specified. For each element in the matrix, the phase margin is the difference between the S-parameter delta phase and the target delta phase, which was specified in the Matrix Convergence dialog box. The phase margin reported under the Convergence tab is the maximum of these values over the entire matrix. The phase margin is defined as
For lossless problems, the maximum delta frequency is the largest percent change in the real part of the frequency for any of the calculated modes. For lossy problems, the maximum delta frequency is the greater of two quantities: the largest percent change in the real part of the frequency over all the modes, and the largest percent change in the imaginary part of the frequency.
Ax = b
(1)
where A is a matrix, b a right hand side and x the solution. A matrix solver using a direct method is called a direct matrix solver. The most widely known direct method is Gaussian elimination, which uses elementary matrix operations to compute the solution. Most other direct solution techniques are either a variant of Gaussian elimination or are based upon a particular factorization of the equations that will allow an exact computation. One of the most commonly used such techniques is the LU decomposition, which is introduced below.
LU decomposition is both a factorization approach and closely related to Gaussian elimination. It is based upon the assumption that A can be decomposed into a product of two matrices or factors.
A = LU
(2)
where L is a lower triangular matrix (has elements only on the diagonal and below) and U is an upper triangular matrix (has elements only on the diagonal and above). With the help of (2), we can equivalently solve (1) by first solving for y such that
Ly = b
then solving for x such that
(3)
Ux = y
(4)
The advantage of decomposition (2) is that the solution of triangular set of equations (3) and (4) is quite trivial. Namely, they can be solved directly by forward substitution and by backward substitution respectively. Furthermore, the factors in (2) are computed only once and can be reused in (3) and (4) for different right hand sides. In LU decomposition, the major storage is for matrix A, factor L and factor U. The major operation is the decomposition (2), which is roughly equivalent to a matrix-matrix multiplication; while the operation in (3) and (4) combined, is equivalent to a matrix-vector multiplication. The total computational cost is S+mT with S>>T in general, where S is the number of operations for decomposition (2), m the number of right hand sides, and T the number of operations for both forward substitution and for backward substitution. Direct methods are best used for solving system matrix equations with moderate size or with a large number of right hand sides. As the system to be solved becomes larger, the overhead associated with the more complicated iterative methods becomes less of an issue, and the iterative methods should outperform the direct methods. For sparse systems, the use of direct methods is complicated by the possible introduction of more nonzero entries (fill-in) such that the L and U factors become much denser than the original matrix A.
1.
Guidelines for Using the Iterative Solver Multiprocessing and the Iterative Solver Iterative Solver Technical Details The iterative solver works most efficiently when it is enabled for designs that do not contain many excitations. (For example, the number of excitations is less than twice the number of processors.) If you choose to take advantage of the iterative solver, and your analysis includes interpolating sweeps or discrete sweeps, the adaptive solution should be well converged at the higher end of the frequency band.
2.
3.
The Relative Residual provides a stopping criteria. The residual measures the convergence of the iterative solver to the solution of the matrix equation. Its value affects the performance of the iterative solver as follows:
Default is 1E-4. This gives accurate S-parameters and fields, indistinguishable from those generated by the direct solver. Ansoft recommends this residual. With a larger residual, for example, 1E-3 or 1E-2, the iterative process will stop with fewer iterations and the solution will be less converged. S-parameters won't differ much from those of a direct solution, for example, a difference in third or second digit. Fields and antenna patterns are visually the same. A residual of 0.1 can be used for quick adaptive mesh refinement early in the adaptive process, but S-parameters will be noticeably different. A residual of 1 should never be used. The interface will not allow a residual above 0.1.
The iterative solver uses a preconditioner that is based on the next-lower order. Therefore, there is no iterative solver option when you solve with zeroth order. Consider the matrix equation
Ax = b
where A is a matrix, b a right hand side and x the solution.
(1)
When A-1is computationally expensive or the exact solution x is impossible, an alternative is to seek an approximation x to x, with an error e = x x . The exact solution can therefore be rewritten as
x = x+e
Substituting (2) into (1) results in the so called residual equation
(2)
Ae = r
where r is the residual defined by
(3)
r = r Ax
(4)
As aforementioned, the exact solution for e in (3) is impossible since it requires A-1. However, if an approximation M A is available, the error e can be approximated in (3) by
e = M r
Finally, the approximation x is updated by
(5)
xx+e
(6)
It is (4)-(6) that form the foundation of the iterative solution method. A matrix solver using the iterative solution method is called an iterative matrix solver. The method starts with an initial guess x = x0 and repeats (4)-(6) until the approximation x to x is within tolerance, or the number of iterations exceeds a given number. In the former case, it is said the solution converges; while in the latter, it doesnt. The residual r is used for measuring the closeness of x to x. Since A and b in (1) can be scaled by the same factor without altering x, so does the residual r in (4). It typically makes more sense to replace ||r|| as the stopping criterion with the relative residual:
rres = -----b
where stands for vector norm.
(7)
M in (5) is called a preconditioner of A. A good preconditioner greatly reduces the number of iterations.The following makes M a good preconditioner: M is very similar to A in eigen spectrum and M 1 is computationally cheap. Some of the classic iterative matrix methods include: the Jacobi method where M is the diagonal of A, the Gauss-Seidel method where M is the lower triangular or upper triangular matrix of A and the successive over-relaxation method (SOR) where M is a weighted combination of the lower triangular and upper triangular matrix of A. In the iterative method, the major storage is for matrix A and for preconditioner M. The major operation is a matrix-vector multiplication in (4). The computational cost is S+mnT, where S is the number of operations for setting up the preconditioner, m the number of right hand sides, n the average number of iterations per right hand side and T the number of operations for each iteration. Details of the iterative solver in HFSS are given in:
17-24 Technical Notes
D. K. Sun, J. F. Lee and Z. J. Cendes, "Construction of nearly orthogonal Nedelec bases for rapid convergence with multilevel preconditioned solvers", SIAM Journal on Scientific Computing, Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 1053-1076, 2001. I. Bardi, G. Peng and Z.J. Cendes, "Improvements in Adaptive Mesh Refinement and Multi-level methods in High Frequency Electromagnetics", ACES Symposium, 2002. Related Topics Enable Iterative Solver
No
Compute excitation current pattern for each port at = test. Adaptive analysis?
Yes
S acceptable?
No
Yes
Acceptable?
No
Yes
Frequency Sweeps
Perform a frequency sweep when you want to generate a solution across a range of frequencies. You may choose one of the following sweep types: Fast Generates a unique full-field solution for each division within a frequency range. Best for models that will abruptly resonate or change operation in the frequency band. A Fast sweep will obtain an accurate representation of the behavior near the resonance. Generates field solutions at specific frequency points in a frequency range. Best when only a few frequency points are necessary to accurately represent the results in a frequency range. Estimates a solution for an entire frequency range. Best when the frequency range is wide and the frequency response is smooth, or if the memory requirements of a Fast sweep exceed your resources.
Discrete
Interpolating
Recover S-parameters
Perform ports-only sweep at frequencies chosen by HFSS across the frequency range.
. Enable field post processing at any frequency within the sweeps frequency range.
The procedure for a Discrete frequency sweep is shown below, where n equally spaced frequencies are included in the sweep.
f = fnext Yes
if F <Flast No End
Be aware that HFSS uses the finite element mesh refined during an adaptive solution at the solution frequency or, if you did not request an adaptive solution, the initial mesh generated for the problem. It uses this mesh without further refinement. The procedure for an Interpolating sweep is shown below, where n frequencies determined by the system are included in the sweep.
if error tolerance > error Yes and not exceed max number of solutions No End
Solution Types
Driven Modal Solution Choose the Driven Modal solution type when you want HFSS to calculate the modal-based Sparameters of passive, high-frequency structures such as microstrips, waveguides, and transmission lines. The S-matrix solutions will be expressed in terms of the incident and reflected powers of waveguide modes. Driven Terminal Solution Choose the Driven Terminal solution type when you want HFSS to calculate the terminal-based Sparameters of single and multi-conductor transmission line ports. The S-matrix solutions will be expressed in terms of voltages and currents on the terminals. Eigenmode Solution Choose the Eigenmode solution type to calculate the eigenmodes, or resonances, of a structure. The Eigenmode solver finds the resonant frequencies of the structure and the fields at those resonant frequencies.
Technical Notes 17-29
Eigenmode Solutions
The Eigenmode solver can find the Eigenmodes of lossy as well as lossless structures, and can calculate the unloaded Q of a cavity. Q is the quality factor, and is a measure of how much energy is lost in the system. Unloaded Q is the energy lost due to lossy materials and boundary conditions. Because ports and other sources are restricted for eigenmode problems, the Q calculated does not include losses due to those sources. The following restrictions apply to Eigenmode solution designs:
No excitations may be defined. Radiation boundaries may not be defined. Frequency sweeps are not available. You may not view or plot the S-matrix data. Designs cannot include ferrite materials.
If a material or boundary condition, other than finite conductivity, varies with frequency, the eigenmode solution procedure will evaluate the frequency dependant property at the user specified minimum frequency and use that value during the S and T matrix assembly. This may limit the accuracy of the solved Eigenmodes depending on how significant the property varies from the minimum frequency to the eigen frequency. Related Topics Calculating the Resonant Frequency Calculating the Quality Factor
Sx + k o Tx = b
where
(1)
S and T are matrices that depend on the geometry, the materials, and the mesh. x is the electric field solution. ko is the free-space wave number. b is the value of the source defined for the problem.
However, in order to find the resonances of the structure, the eigenmode solver sets b to zero, and solves the equation
Sx + k o Tx = 0
(2)
for sets of (ko,x), one ko for every x. The variable x is still the electric field solution, and ko is the free space wave number corresponding to that mode. The resonant frequency of the eigenmode can be found using: ,
ko c f = ------2
(3)
where
(1)
U Q = ( 2 ) ( freq ) --P
where:
(2)
U is the total energy stored in the cavity. P is the power lost, from resistive losses, for example.
Field Solutions
During the iterative, adaptive solution process, the S-parameters typically stabilize before the full Electric field solution. Therefore, when you are interested in analyzing the field solution or quantities computed from the field solutions associated with a structure, it is advisable to use tighter convergence criteria. In addition, for any given number of adaptive iterations, the magnetic field (H-field) is less accurate than the solution for the electric field (E-field) because the H-field is computed from the E-field using the relationship: .
E H = ----------- j
If you select a surface, HFSS will plot the field quantities on the surface. If you select an object, HFSS will plot the field quantities within the volume of the object. You can choose to create a scalar plot or a vector plot of the fields. A scalar plot can use several user selectable plot types to illustrate the magnitude of field quantities on surfaces or volumes. A vector plot uses arrows to illustrate the magnitudes of the x-, y-, and z-components of field quantities.
Field Quantities
The default field quantities that can be plotted, their definitions, and associated units are as follows (see the following note for issues in HFSS-IE for plotting magnetic and electric current): Field Quantity Mag E Mag H Mag Jvol Mag Jsurf Complex Mag E Complex Mag H Definition The magnitude of the electric field, |E|(x,y,z,t). The magnitude of the magnetic field, |H|(x,y,z,t). The magnitude of the current density, |J|(x,y,z,t), over the volume. The magnitude of the current density, |J|(x,y,z,t), on the surface. The complex magnitude of the electric field, |E|(x,y,z). The complex magnitude of the magnetic field, |H|(x,y,z). V/m Amps/m Amps/m2 Amps/m V/m Amps/m Amps/m2 Units
Complex Mag Jvol The complex magnitude of the current density, |J|(x,y,z), over the volume.
Complex Mag Jsurf The complex magnitude of the current density, ||(x,y,z), on Amps/m the surface. Vector E Vector H Vector Jvol Vector Jsurf Vector Real Poynting Local SAR Average SAR Certification SAR The electric field, E(x,y,z,t). The magnetic field, H(x,y,z,t). The current density, J(x,y,z), over the volume. The current density, J(x,y,z), on the surface. The Poynting vector, defined as E x H*. The specific absorption rate. The average specific absorption rate. The IEEE specific absorption rate certification number. V/m Amps/m Amps/m2 Amps/m W/m2 W/kg W/kg W/kg
Note
Plotting Magnetic current in HFSS-IE is relatively simple. It is M = Exn on an interface between two non-conducting materials. This is an equivalent current. Plotting Electric current in HFSS-IE involves three cases: 1. 2. 3. J = nxH on a surface of solid conductor (H is zero inside the conductor). This is a TRUE physical current. J = nx(H1-H2) on a conducting sheet which is inside a region/background (or it is not an interface between two regions). This is a TRUE physical current. J = nxH1 on a conducting boundary between two regions (it doesnt matter if the two regions have the same material). H1 is the field on the positive side of the surface. However, if region 2 is the background, we will display J = nxH2. This is an equivalent current.
A ( x, y, z, t ) = A ( x, y, z ) cos ( t + )
where
is the angular frequency specified during the solution. is the phase angle (the offset from a cosine wave that peaks).
Ex ( t ) = Ex e
where
jt
(1)
is the real part of a complex number or function. is angular frequency, 2f. j is the imaginary unit, 1 .
Technical Notes 17-33
t is the time.
2 is required as
Ex ( t ) =
2 Ex e
jt
(2)
As a consequence of these equations, the peak physical field, max (Ex(t)) observed over a full time cycle is max(Ex(t)) = |Ex| for peak phasors and max(Ex(t)) = 2 |Ex| for RMS phasors. Additionally, given field phasors E and H, to compute the time-averaged power flow through a surface, the normal component of the real part of the complex Poynting vector is integrated over the surface. The correct form of the complex Poynting vector S depends on which phasor representation is used.
Each propagating mode incident on a port contains 1 watt of time-averaged power. Circuit gap sources are specified in a peak sense. That is, if a voltage gap source magnitude is 5 volts, then the time domain circuit source behaves as v(t) = 5cost. Likewise for a current gap source. Plane wave sources are specified in a peak sense. That is, if the plane wave magnitude is 5 V/ m, then the plane wave incident field magnitude is E ( t ) = 5 cos ( k r + t ) . Radiated power, as computed by the fields post processor, is a time-averaged quantity computed using the complex Poynting vector. Phasors in the Fields Calculator are peak phasors. The Poynting vector button in the calculator therefore implements the Poynting vector for peak phasors, Calculations that compute either average or instantaneous time domain quantities must adhere to the peak phasor conventions.
1 - E H . S = -2
= the materials conductivity. This is defined as: bulk+0rtg = the mass density of the dielectric material in mass/unit volume.
There are two types of SAR Field Overlay plots available in HFSS: local SAR, and average SAR. When calculating the local SAR, HFSS uses the equation above to calculate the SAR at each mesh point on an overlay plot. HFSS interpolates the values between the mesh points across the plot.
17-34 Technical Notes
When plotting the average SAR, for each mesh point on the plot, HFSS reports the SAR averaged over a volume that surrounds that point. The volume is determined by the settings for the materials mass density and mass of the material surrounding each mesh point set in the Specific Absorption Rate Setting dialog box. The Certification SAR quantity provided in the Fields Calculator is a numerical modeling of the peak spatial-average SAR in the standard. When plotting the certification SAR, HFSS applies an IEEE standard procedure.1 The IEEE procedure makes the following assumptions:
The peak E-field will reside on the surface of the phantom. The volume used for the integration will be an equal sided cube contained completely inside the phantom with an axis normal to the surface at the location of the peak value of the local SAR.
1. IEEE std C95.3 -2002. Its title is "IEEE recommended practice for measurements and computations of radio frequency electromagnetic fields with respect to human exposure to such fields,100 kHz-300 GHz." Similar standards exist for international and European applications. For a brief introduction to SAR standards, read "An Update on SAR Standards and the Basic Requirements for SAR Assessment" (http://conformity.com/artman/publish/feature_193.shtml).
Technical Notes 17-35
D ------ + J = curl(H) t
B -----= curl(E) t
(1)
div(D) =
div(B) = 0
The mathematical framework of the Discontinuous Galerkin family of numerical methods for Maxwells equations has been presented by Jan Hesthaven and Tim Warburton [8, 9]. To apply the DG method, we choose basis and test functions local to each mesh element T, in a similar way to the Finite Element Method:
D ------ = t
(2)
As is the case finite-element solver, T with the frequency-domain T T T the DGTD method is free of spurious solutions [10] and supports higher-order basis functions. In the time domain, the use of high orders minimizes dispersion errors occurring during the simulation of electrically large problems. The DGTD solver not only employs high-order elements but allows mixed element orders in the same mesh, known as hp-adaptivity, to optimize accuracy and solution times. Following the same approach as in the Finite Volume Method, the divergence term containing volume integrals is transformed into surface integrals:
D ------ = t
curl() H + ( n H ) J
T
T
(3)
B ------ = curl() E ( n E ) t T T T The tangential fields n E and n H are then evaluated as upwind fluxes at the surface of T by
using a Riemann solver [11]. Separating the treatment inside the element from its surface provides a robust and flexible framework to take into account boundary conditions. This separation also enables various combinations of locally implicit and locally explicit time-integration schemes for instance to achieve an optimum trade-off between speed and memory, without compromising accuracy and stability. Related Topics Transient Solution Theory Local Time Stepping Materials in Time Domain Excitations in Time Domain Analysis Setup in Time Domain References for Time Domain
Technical Notes 17-37
Fig. 1 Local time stepping The time step of any mesh element is chosen such that at the largest time steps the entire simulation is in sync. From a user point of view however, the local time-stepping scheme is transparent and all time-domain data are provided or rendered synchronously on the fly as needed. In contrast to FIT or FDTD, the DGTD solver doesnt advance in time uniformly using the smallest time step but uses an optimal range of time steps that minimize simulation times, ensures stability and minimizes the dispersion error. One last important feature of DGTD solver is its affinity for parallel computations. This is a direct consequence of the local nature of its formulation that yields a spatially compact numerical scheme.
17-38 Technical Notes
Parallelism is naturally exploited with this scheme by partitioning the computational domain into sub-domains and solving each sub-domain concurrently on multi-core or many-core systems. Related Topics Transient Solution Theory Discontinuous Galerkin Finite Element Method Materials in Time Domain Excitations in Time Domain Analysis Setup in Time Domain References for Time Domain
For this model then Va is the incident voltage and Vb is the reflected voltage seen at the port. We know from the definition of voltage and current on a transmission line that for the total voltage, VT, the following is true: VT = Va + Vb If the characteristic impedance of the line is equal to Z0 then we also know: Z0I = Va - Vb If we add equations (1) and (2) we find that at point 0-0: VT + Z0I = 2Va (3) (2) (1)
If we apply Kicrchkoff's voltage law to the equivalent circuit shown in Figure 2 we see it yields the result shown in (3). This is the port model for a terminal port in HFSS.
To be consistent then the same terminal port excitation is used in HFSS Transient. Therefore if you define an incident voltage signal in the transient setup that signal is applied to the 3D model as a voltage source of twice the user defined amplitude in series with the terminal impedance.
Note
As a consequence of the above discussion, one needs to be careful when comparing results with a circuit tool or textbooks using the voltage source shown in Figure 2. If one volt is used for the voltage source in the circuit simulator, this should be compared with a HFSS transient simulation with edit sources set to 0.5 volt.
Before considering an example one more point needs to be made. In the reporter for HFSS Transient when plotting the voltage at a given port the options are Input( ) and Output( ). Input is the
Technical Notes 17-41
user defined incident voltage (Va in the Figure 2) and Output is the reflected voltage (Vb = VT Va). We can see then that to view the total voltage at the port terminals one needs to create an output variable that is the sum of Input ( ) and Output( ). We will consider two examples to illustrate this. Consider the HFSS Transient model of a simple coax shown in the Figure 3. It is an air filled 50 line that has a center section with a smaller inner radius that results in an impendence of 91.5 ohm in that part of the line. Each section of this air filled coax (the two 50 and the one 91.5 ohm sections) has a length of 100mm. This length has a time delay of 1/3 nS. This was simulated in HFSS Transient using the incident voltage signal shown in the inset for Figure 3.
This model was simulated with a single 50 terminal port on one end and a matched termination on the opposite end. The response seen at the port is shown below in Figure 4.
Figure 4 shows the Input and Output signals at the port terminal (Cylinder1_T1). Remember that Input( ) is the incident signal as shown in Figure 3. If one uses the equations for reflection and transmission to compute the amplitude of the signal at the 3 points shown in the figure these textbook equations would give 0.29, -0.27,-.02 respectively. We can see that the reflected voltage is accurately computed for the applied signal. For an example where one might be more interested in the total voltage a second case was considered. The same HFSS Transient model was simulated with the same incident signal, but this time
the port terminal impedance was set to 30 . The HFSS Transient response for this simulation is shown in the Figure 5.
For the time between 0.1 - 0.2 nS the textbook response says that VT should be 1.25V. Again that is the total voltage and if you add together the 2 curves shown in the plot you would get the correct response of 1.25V in that range. Related Topics Transient Solution Theory Discontinuous Galerkin Finite Element Method Local Time Stepping Materials in Time Domain Analysis Setup in Time Domain References for Time Domain
domain output at ports due to excitation of a specific port. This requires that excitations be on one at a time. For each active port and mode, a separate simulation is done. These simulations are independent and can be distributed over a network, to be executed in parallel. Each active port and mode will employ an excitation with the same time profile. In the more general analysis type, all active ports and modes are on simultaneously. Each one can have an excitation with a different time profile. This type of analysis gives you more freedom, but S-parameters cannot be extracted. In both classes of simulations, fields can be saved and visualized. Related Topics Transient Solution Theory Discontinuous Galerkin Finite Element Method Local Time Stepping Materials in Time Domain Excitations in Time Domain References for Time Domain
2002. [12] L. Fezoui, S. Lanteri, S. Lohrengel and S. Piperno, Convergence and stability of a Discontinuous Galerkin time-domain method for the 3D heterogeneous Maxwell equations on unstructured meshes, ESAIM: Math. Model. and Numer. Anal., Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 1149-1176, 2005. [13] R.A. Chilton and R. Lee, "The discrete origin of FETD-Newmark late time instability, and a correction scheme," J. Comp. Physics, vol. 224, pp. 1293-1306, 2007.
Ax = b
(1)
where the excitation vector b is commonly called the right-hand-side or RHS. The number of RHS vectors depends on the total number of modes used to excite the problem. HFSS provides three distinct solution methods. By default, a direct solver is used and is the preferred method for small to medium size problems and/or problems with a large number of modes. A major strength of the direct solver is the ability to provide a solution for a large number of modes with relatively small computational overhead for the multiple RHS. However, if the problem size is too large for the machine memory, the second option is to use the iterative solver which can handle larger problems but requires a complete solution for each RHS. The iterative solver modifies the matrix equation (1) by multiplying both sides with a pre-conditioner, M, in order to enable a faster solution:
MAx = Mb
(2)
Both the direct solver and the iterative solver work only with a single machine's shared memory. This limitation is addressed in HFSS with the introduction of an advanced solving technique called the Domain Decomposition Method (DDM) which enables the use of distributed memory across many different machines to solve very large problems.
(3)
where Aii, xi and bi, i=1,2 are system matrix, solution vector and RHS for domain i, respectively and A12, A21 are the coupling matrices between the two domains. To solve in parallel sub-domain problems, one popular domain decomposition algorithm is of Jacobi type:
A11 A 21
A12 A11 = A 22 0
(n)
0 0 + A 22 A 21
A12 . 0
( n 1)
(4)
A11 0
A 11 x 1
(n)
0 x1 A 22 x2
b 0 = 1 b 2 A 21
A 22 x 2
A12 x1 0 x2
(n)
(5)
Through some simple algebra, equation (5) leads to two coupled systems:
= b 1 A 12 x 2
(n 1)
= b 2 A 21 x 1
(n 1)
(6)
By setting x1(0) = 0 and x2(0) = 0 and, we have initial guess xi(1) = Aii-1bi which is the local solution of each sub-domain problem. These initial solutions are then refined through coupling matrices A12 and A21 until equilibrium is reached. The approach (5) is known as a stationary Jacobi solution of (3) which unfortunately converges rather slowly. A more advanced approach is to apply as a preconditioner
A11 0
leading to:
0 A11 A 22 A 21
I 1 A 22 A 21
A12 x1 A11 = A 22 x2 0
0 b1 , A 22 b 2
(7)
A111A12 x1 A111b1 = 1 . I x 2 A 22 b 2
(8)
Related Topics Domain Decomposition Method Basic DDM Theory Computational Memory Computational Time
Computational Memory
Using domain decomposition we need to solve (factorize) A11, A22 compared to solving A using the standard method. When a direct solver is used, DDM is inherently more memory efficient since a series of smaller matrices are needed to be solved compared to a large matrix. This is evident by assuming that domains are equally partitioned so that (e.g. two domains) N1 = N2 = N/2 where N1, N2, and N are numbers of unknown for the sub-domains and the original problem respectively.
Memory requirement for original problem typically scales as C1Na where C1 is a constant and > 1. For an M domain decomposition solve, the total memory requirement is For example, if = 1.5, using 2-domains we save about 30% of total memory. Also keep in mind that the memory can be distributed across different machines enabling a problem to be solved which is not possible on a single machine. Related Topics Domain Decomposition Method Basic DDM Theory Computational Time
N - = M 1 C 1 N MC 1 --- M
Computational Time
A domain decomposition solution consists of three steps: 1. Mesh partitioning, a relatively fast process. HFSS will automatically partition the mesh into roughly equivalent sized mesh sub-domains to balance memory and solution times for the domains. Matrix-assembly/solve where both A and M are solved in parallel Domain iteration where we solve MAx=Mb via an iterative solver.
2. 3.
The solution time for solving the entire system (1) without DDM requires C2N operations with a direct solver where C2is a constant and > 1 (and typically larger than ). For an M domain DDM solve, the factorization time of step 2 above is dominated by the most time consuming (i.e. largest) domains, given as: Therefore, given > 1, this stage exhibits a super-linear speed-up. This type of speed-up is commonly referred to as "scalable". For step 3 the major computation is on the matrix-vector multiplication (MA)x which can be parallelized. In each iteration, the master node produces a new solution vector x and then sends its appropriate components to each domain (cpu/node/machine). Each domain then sends back to the master the vector y=MAx which is used by the master to produce a new solution vector x. This process goes on until x converges. In this step, the cost of matrix-vector multiplication per iteration is also scalable with respect to number of domains. Therefore if the iteration number remains relatively unchanged as number of domains increases, the domain decomposition solver can exhibit overall scalable performance. Related Topics Domain Decomposition Method Computational Memory Basic DDM Theory
N - = M C2 N C 2 --- M
( E inc + E scat ) = 0 n
The above relation only specifies the scattered field on the surface of the conductor. To fully understand the system, we need to be able to calculate the scattered field everywhere; one way to do this is to calculate the induced current which generates the scattered electric field. The field generated by a current is
1- e ---------G ( r ) = ----4 r
jkr
and J is the surface current density. Combining the relationship between current and scattered field with the boundary condition yields the EFIE
similar procedure yields the magnetic field integral equation (HFIE). All of them are similar in form to the EFIE and are solved in a similar manner. References: 1. 2. Roger Harrington, Time Harmonic Electromagnetic Fields, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY 1961. Andrew Peterson, Scott Ray, Raj Mittra, Computational Methods for Electromagnetics, IEEE Press, New York, NY 1998.
S-Parameters
One of the most important features of HFSS is the capability to categorize an electromagnetic structure in a compact manner using the concept of S-parameters. S-parameters are available for projects that contain ports and this document focuses on the case when the S-parameters are related to the eigen modes of the ports. The use of S-parameters for terminals are described in Modes to Terminals Conversion. At each port, the modal representations of the electric and magnetic fields assuming K modes are:
K
E =
m=1 K
( a m + bm ) em
H =
m=1
( am bm ) hm
where am and bm are unitless complex amplitudes of the incident and reflected modal fields, respectively. Given a particular electromagnetic structure, it can be categorized in terms of the incident and reflected/transmitted modal amplitudes using the NxN generalized S-matrix, S:
b = Sa
where a and b are unitless complex modal coefficient vectors. The size of these vectors, N, is the total number of modes obtained by adding up the number of the modes on all ports. An entry of the S-matrix, Sij, specifies the multiplication factor to be applied to the incident modal amplitude aj to get the reflected/transmitted modal amplitude bi given that all the other incident modes are turned off. This can be described mathematically as:
bi S ij = --aj
ak = 0 , k j
HFSS automatically provides an S-matrix when a project contains ports. The following links contain information on various topics related to S-matrices.
Renormalized S-Matrices
De-embedded S-Matrices
Renormalized S-Matrices
Before a structures generalized S-matrix can be used in a high frequency circuit simulator to compute the reflection and transmission of signals, it must be normalized to the appropriate impedance. For example, if a generalized S-matrix has been normalized to 50 ohms, it can be used to compute reflection and transmission directly from signals that are normalized to 50 ohms. To renormalize a generalized S-matrix to a specific impedance, HFSS first calculates a unique impedance matrix Z, associated with the structure defined as follows:
Z =
where
Z0 ( I S ) ( I + S ) Z0
S is the n x n generalized S-matrix. I is an n x n identity matrix. Z0 is a diagonal matrix having the characteristic impedance (Z0) of each port as a diagonal value.
The renormalized S-matrix is then calculated from the unique impedance matrix using this relationship:
S =
where
Y ( Z Z ) ( Z + Z )
Z is the structures unique impedance matrix. Z and Y are diagonal matrices with the desired impedance and admittance as diagonal values. For example, if the matrix is being renormalized to 50 ohms, then Z would have diagonal values of 50.
Visualize the generalized S-matrix as an S-matrix that has been renormalized to the characteristic impedances of the structure. Therefore, if a diagonal matrix containing the characteristic impedances of the structure is used as Z in the above equation, the result would be the generalized Smatrix again. HFSS needs to calculate the characteristic impedance of each port in order to compute a renormalized S-matrix. The S-matrices initially calculated by HFSS are generalized S-matrices that have been normalized to the impedances of each port; however, you can compute S-matrices that are normalized to specific impedances, such as 50 ohms. To convert a generalized modal S-matrix to a renormalized modal S-matrix, HFSS first needs to compute the characteristic impedance at each port. There are several ways to compute characteristic impedance. Two methods the Zpv and Zvi methods require an impedance, or integration, line. HFSS will always calculate Zpi impedance, the impedance calculation using power and current, which are well-defined for a port because they are computed over the area of the port. Zpv and Zvi are not calculated by default. This is because v is computed by integrating along a user-defined
Technical Notes 17-53
integration line. If Zpi is very small (less than 10^-14) HFSS uses Zpv (if it is non-zero). In this case, a warning says that the design has too few conductors touching the lumped port. To renormalize the solution to a Zpv or Zvi characteristic impedance, you must define an integration line.
De-embedded S-Matrices
If a uniform length of transmission line is added to (or removed from) a port, the S-matrix of the l S l , modified structure can be calculated using the following relationship S' = where
1 l1
0 e
2 l2
0 0 e
3 l3
0 0
is the attenuation constant of the wave. is the propagation constant of the uniform transmission line at port i. l is the length of the uniform transmission line that has been added to or removed from the
structure at port i. A positive value indicates that a length of transmission line has been removed from the structure.
The value of for each port is automatically calculated by HFSS. Related Topics De-embedding S-Matrices
Z =
where
Z0 ( I S ) ( I + S ) Z0
Z0 is a diagonal matrix having the characteristic impedance (Z0 ) of each port as a diagonal value.
Under the Matrix Data tab of the Display Items Dialog, the Z-matrix can be displayed as magnitude/ phase, real/ imaginary, magnitude, phase, real, or imaginary.
Passivity
Passive devices can only dissipate or temporarily store energy, but never generate it. The mathematical definition of passivity is based upon the following condition: Q = I - conjugate(transpose(S)) * S must be a positive semidefinite matrix. where:
A positive semidefinite matrix has only non-negative eigenvalues. The passivity test computes the eigenvalues of the matrix Q above at each frequency in the sweep. If any of the eigenvalues is negative, and larger (in magnitude) than the specified passivity tolerance, then a violation of passivity is reported to the user. The default value for passivity tolerance is .0001 tolerance above 1.0 magnitude.
Radiated Fields
When HFSS calculates radiation fields, the values of the fields over the radiation surface are used to compute the fields in the space surrounding the device. This space is typically split into two regions the near-field region and the far-field region. The near-field region is the region closest to the source. In general, the electric field E(x,y,z) external to the region bounded by a closed surface may be written as
E ( x, y, z ) =
where
(1)
s represents the radiation boundary surfaces. j is the imaginary unit, is the angular frequency, 2f. 0 is the relative permeability of the free space, 410-7 Wb/Am. Htan is the component of the magnetic field that is tangential to the surface. Enormal is the component of the electric field that is normal to the surface. Etan is the component of the electric field that is tangential to the surface. G is the free space Greens function, given by
where
e G = -----------------------------------r r
0
jk 0 r r
r r
(2)
r and
0 is the permittivity of free space, 1/(c20) r is the relative permittivity of a dielectric. r is the relative permeability of a dielectric.
This r dependence is characteristic of a spherical wave, a key feature of far fields. The far field is a spherical TEM wave with the following equation:
E = 0 H r
where 0 is the intrinsic impedance of free space.
(3)
When calculating the near fields, HFSS uses the general expressions given in (eq. 1). You must specify the radial coordinate r. Because it can be used to compute fields at an arbitrary radius from the radiating structure, this command can be useful in EMC applications. Note If HFSS calculates the near fields in a problem containing an incident wave, the radius at which the fields are calculated is very important. If the radius is within the solution region, then the fields calculated are either the total fields or the scattered fields depending upon which is selected. If the radius is outside the solution region, then the fields calculated are only the scattered fields.
When calculating the far fields, the previously discussed far-field approximations are used, and the result is valid only for field points in the far-field region. Warning A radiation or PML boundary or Floquet port must have been defined in the design for HFSS to calculate radiated fields.
Related Topics Assigning Boundaries Assigning Excitations Spherical Cross-Sections Maximum Near Field Data Selecting a Far Field Quantity to Plot
Spherical Cross-Sections
When you set up a spherical surface over which to analyze near or far fields, you specify a range and step size for phi and theta. These indicate the spherical direction in which you want to evaluate the radiated fields. For every value of phi there is a corresponding range of values for theta, and vice versa. This creates a spherical grid. Each grid point indicates a unique direction along a line that extends from the center of the sphere through the grid point. The radiated field is evaluated in this direction. The number of grid points is determined by the step size for phi and theta. The sphere can be defined according to any defined coordinate system and before or after a solution has been generated. Note For parts of the sphere outside of the model region, near-field approximation is calculated. However, if parts of the sphere are inside the model region, the model fields are used to compute interpolated values. A section of the sphere is considered to overlap the model if it lies in the enlarged model region after accounting for symmetry planes.
is rotated away from the x-axis. is rotated away from the z-axis.
x y
When HFSS evaluates the radiated fields, it needs at least two directions along which to plot the fields. Therefore, if the step size for phi is zero, then the step size for theta must be greater than zero, and vice versa. This ensures that the fields are plotted in at least two directions. When setting up the sphere, phi and theta angles must be specified between -360 degrees (deg) and 360 degrees (deg), or the equivalents in radians (rad). If deg nor rad is specified, HFSS assumes the value to be in degrees. Following are additional guidelines for specifying Phi in the Near Field Radiation Sphere Setup window or the Far Field Radiation Sphere Setup window: Start Stop The point where the rotation of phi begins. The Start value must be equal to or greater than one. The point where the rotation of phi ends. The Stop value must be greater than the Start value and less than 360. If the Stop value is equal to the Start value, then HFSS assumes that only one angle should be used and the Step Size value will be ignored. The number of degrees or radians (spherical grid points) between the sweep of phi. For example, to divide a sweep from 0 to 180 into 10 increments, you would enter 10. Entering zero for the Step Size causes the sweep to consist of one point, the start value. If the Step Size value is zero, then HFSS assumes that only one angle should be used.
Step Size
Following are additional guidelines for specifying Theta: Start Stop The point where the rotation of theta begins. The Start value must be greater than -90 degrees, or the equivalent in radians. The point where the rotation of theta ends. In classic definition the Stop value must be greater than the Start value and less than or equal to 180 degrees, or the equivalent in radians.In HFSS, you can input 360 degrees. If the Stop value is equal to the Start value, HFSS assumes that only one angle should be used and the Step Size value will be ignored. The number of degrees or radians (spherical grid points) between the sweep of theta. For example, to divide a sweep from -60 degrees to 60 degrees into 10degree increments, you would enter 10deg. Entering zero for the number of steps causes the sweep to consist of one point, the Start value. If the Step Size value is zero, then HFSS assumes that only one angle should be used. Related Topics Setting up a Far-Field Infinite Sphere Setting up a Near-Field Sphere
Step Size
RHCP
The maximum of the dominant component, Vmain, for an x-polarized aperture using Ludwigs third definition of cross polarization. This is equal to |Ecos - Esin|. The maximum of the dominant component, Vmain, for a y-polarized aperture using Ludwigs third definition of cross polarization. This is equal to |Esin + Ecos|.
1-----( E jE ) . 2
RHCP
1-----( E + jE ) . 2
The maximum of the dominant component, Vmain, for an x-polarized aperture using Ludwigs third definition of cross polarization. This is equal to |Ecos - Esin|. The maximum of the dominant component, Vmain, for a y-polarized aperture using Ludwigs third definition of cross polarization. This is equal to |Esin + Ecos|.
When calculating the maximum far field values, the distance r is factored out of the E-field. Therefore, the units for the maximum field data values are given in volts.
Array Factors
HFSS enables you to compute antenna array radiation patterns and antenna parameters for designs that have analyzed a single array element. You can define array geometry and excitation. HFSS models the array radiation pattern by applying an "array factor" to the single elements pattern. Two array geometry types are supported. The "regular uniform array" geometry defines a finite 2D array of uniformly spaced, equal-amplitude elements. This is a natural specification after analyzing a single-unit cell of an infinite array. The regular array type may be scanned to a user-specified direction. Scan direction can be specified in terms of spherical coordinate angles in the radiation coordinate system. The regular array geometry type also allows scan specification in terms of differential phase shifts between elements. The "custom array" geometry allows for greater flexibility. It defines an arbitrary array of identical elements distributed in 3D space with individual user-specified complex weights. Cautionary Note for Array Factor Use The field factorization (eq. 1) and consequent use of an array factor are useful tools for analyzing the radiated fields of antenna arrays; however, the analysis can yield incorrect results if used improperly. An HFSS single array element solution does not generally take into account the effects of the elements hypothetical neighbors. For closely spaced array elements, these proximity effects (mutual coupling) may be significant. Consequently the patterns of the array elements vary with their position in the array and may depart significantly from the isolated element pattern. In such cases, the primary assumption in the use of the array factor is violated and the results will be inaccurate. Note in particular that the array power expressions (eq. 13) and (eq. 14) neglect mutual coupling between elements of the finite array. Unless mutual coupling effects are negligible or have been implicitly included in the single element solution, the normalizations (eq. 13) and (eq. 14) gain and directivity are incorrect. Related Topics Defining Antenna Arrays Theory of the Array Factor Calculation Regular Uniform Arrays Scan Specification for Regular Uniform Array Custom Array Power Normalization
E array ( , ) = AF ( , ) E element ( , )
(1)
N AF ( , ) =
and where
(2)
Wn e
n=1
jk r n r
1 .
k is 2/., where is the wave length in the global material environment. rn is the position vector of element n, <xn, yn, zn>.
The complex weights Wn in (eq. 2) may be written in terms of a (real) voltage amplitude An and (real) phase n as: j n. (3)
Wn = An e
To scan a regular array in the direction (0, 0), the element phases
n = k r n r o
n are set to
(4)
N AF ( , ) =
n=1
r ) jk r n ( r 0
.
(6)
For a "regular" uniform array with element spacing defined by lattice vectors u and v, the element position vectors rn may be written in the doubly-indexed form
r mn = ( m 1 ) u + ( n 1 ) v
(7)
with m = 1, 2, ..., Nu and n = 1, 2, ...., Nv. The total number of elements in the array is given by N = NuNv. The array factor (eq. 6) for the Nu x Nv array becomes
Nu AF ( , ) =
Nv e
r ) jk r mn ( r 0
.
(8)
= 1 n = Uniform 1 Scan Specification form Regular Arrays . Alternatively, for a regThe scanning phase (eq. 4) is written in terms of the scan direction r 0
ular uniform array, the scanning phase may be written in terms of the differential phase shift between elements. To develop this alternate scanning phase description, (eq. 7) is used to rewrite the expression (eq. 4) in doubly-indexed form as follows:
mn = k r mn r0 = k ( m 1 ) u r0 k ( n 1 ) v . r0
(9)
(Let us define u as the differential phase between adjacent elements in the u direction. Similarly, let us define v as the differential phase between adjacent elements in the v direction. Then
u m + 1, n m, n = k u r0 v m, n + 1 m, n = k v r0 . mn = ( m 1 ) u + ( n 1 ) .v
(10)
and
(11)
The scanning phase (eq. 4) may now be rewritten in terms of u and v as (12) Thus in the case of a regular uniform array, the angle pair (u, v) may act as a substitute scan definition for the more general (0, 0).
Custom Arrays
Once you have imported the array factor information from a text file, HFSS uses (eq. 8) to compute the array factor. When a custom array is defined, no scan direction is set and the array factor phase weights are those specified on an element-by-element basis in the geometry file. The text file must have the following format. Coordinate values are assumed to be model units, and phase and amplitude are in SI units (radians and volts respectively): N
Technical Notes 17-63
x_1 y_1 z_1 A_1 P_1 x_2 y_2 z_2 A_2 P_2 ... ... x_N y_N z_N A_N P_N where
x_1 is the x-coordinate position of the first element. y_1 is the y-coordinate position of the first element. z_1 is the y-coordinate position of the first element. A_1 is the amplitude weight of the first element. Amplitude references voltage. P_1 is the phase weight for the first element. Phase references radians.
Following is an example of a square 3 x 3 custom array geometry defined in a text file. The array elements are uniformly weighted and separated from one another in the x- and y-directions by 0.6729 user units. ! first line is a count of cells 9 ! then [x,y,z] position of each cell ! and amplitude and phase ! default units for position are model units ! default units for amplitude is Volts ! default units for phase is radians 0 10cm 20 0 10 20 0 10 20 0 0 0 10 10 10 20 20 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 64.04mV 184.97mv 394.87mv 696.36mv 1.066 1.459 1.808 2.051 64.04mv 0 30deg 60deg 0 30deg 60deg 0 30deg 60deg
The information will appear as follows in the Custom Array Definition window:
Power Normalizations
When the array factor feature is in use, the power normalization used to compute realized gain, gain, and directivity are modified as follows.
acc rad Let P inc element , P element , and P element denote the incident, accepted, and radiated power of the single array element. When the array factor feature is invoked for an array of N elements, the
array incident power, array accepted power, and the array radiated power will be computed simply as the sums of the corresponding element powers. Symbolically
inc Parray
N 2 = An n = 1 N 2 = An n = 1 N 2 = An n = 1
acc P array
rad P array
Here An as defined in equation (3) is the real amplitude weight applied to element n. Caution: The above array power formulas are applicable when a unit cell of an infinite array has been analyzed using linked boundary condition to take into account mutual coupling from adjacent elements. For array elements that have been analyzed in isolation, only the incident power formula is rigorous, and the accepted and radiated power normalizations are generally not accurate.
Antenna Parameters
Generally, when dealing with radiated fields, you are also interested in the antenna properties of the radiated bodies. HFSS calculates the following antenna properties:
Maximum intensity (Max U) Peak directivity Peak gain Peak realized gain Radiated power Accepted power Incident power Radiation efficiency Decay Factor
Warning
A radiation or PML boundary must have been defined in the design for HFSS to calculate radiated fields.
Circular
Elliptical
A second special case occurs when the polarization ellipse degenerates to a straight line. In this case the wave is linearly polarized. To completely describe the polarization state of a radiated field, two independent components are required. HFSS supports three types of descriptions:
Spherical Polar
The most fundamental description of the polarization state of a radiated field is spherical polar, which is the electric field phasor resolved in the directions of unit theta and phi vectors of the reference coordinate system. In this description, the field may be written as The polarization ratio for a predominantly -polarized antenna is equal to
E = ( E ,E ) .
E ----E
The polarization ratio for a predominantly -polarized antenna is equal to
E ----E
Ludwig-3 Polarization
Arthur C. Ludwig wrote a classic paper [Ref. 1]on the definition of cross polarization. In particular, his third definition is often used since it describes the field components that are typically measured on a far-field antenna test range. Using his definition, the radiated field may be written as E = En, Ey where
E x = E cos E sin
E y = E sin + E cos
and phi is the usual azimuthal angle in the reference spherical coordinate system. [1] Arthur C. Ludwig, The Definition of Cross Polarization, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. AP-21 num. 1, pp. 116 -119, Jan. 1973.
Circular Polarization
For antennas designed to receive or transmit circularly polarized fields, a meaningful description is in terms of pure left and right circular states. In this description, the field may be written as E = ER, EL where
1E R = -----( E + jE ) 2 1 E L = -----( E j E ) . 2
Axial Ratio
Axial ratio is defined as the ratio of the major to the minor axis of the polarization ellipse. 1. 2. Ex and Ey are orthogonal complex-valued field components. If either is zero, HFSS treats the field as linearly polarized. However, if neither Ex and Ey is zero: Compute circular components E- and E+ from:
E- = Ex - jEy E+ = Ex + jEy 3. If E+ = 0 or E- = 0 HFSS understands the field as perfectly circular, the axial ratio is 1. Otherwise, for the elliptical polarization case, HFSS determines the tilt angle from: phase(E-/E+) = 2 4. Rotate the original data to coincide with the axes of the polarization ellipse.
E' y AR = -----E' x
Because the above definition does not discriminate between major and minor ellipse axes, to enforce the convention that AR < 1, it is necessary to check this condition and if necessary invert the value obtained.
Polarization Ratio
The IEEE defines the (complex) polarization ratio as, "For a given field vector at a point in space, the (magnitude of the) ratio of the complex amplitudes of two specified orthogonally polarized
field vectors into which the given field vector has been resolved." [Ref. 2] HFSS computes the following six polarization ratios at each selected aspect angle:
EL Circular LHCP = ----ER ER Circular RHCP = ----EL E Spherical Phi = ----E E Spherical Theta = ----E Ludwig Ludwig Ex 3 X = ----Ey Ey 3 Y = ----Ex
[2] IEEE Standard Definitions of Terms for Antennas, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. AP-31 num. 6, Nov. 1983.
Max U
The radiation intensity, U, is the power radiated from an antenna per unit solid angle. HFSS calculates the radiation intensity in the direction in which it has the maximum value. The maximum intensity of the radiation is measured in watts per steradian and is calculated by
2 E 2 1 ---------r -U (,) = 2 0
where
U (,) is the radiation intensity in watts per steradian. |E | is the magnitude of the E-field. 0 is the intrinsic impedance of free space 376.7 ohms. r is the distance from the antenna, in meters.
Peak Directivity
Directivity is defined as the ratio of an antennas radiation intensity in a given direction to the radiation intensity averaged over all directions. Peak directivity, in turn, is the maximum directivity over all the user-specified directions of the far-field infinite sphere. Directivity is a dimensionless quantity represented by
where
U is the radiation intensity in watts per steradian in the direction specified. Prad is the radiated power in watts. Note The peak directivity displayed in the Antenna Parameters window is the directivity in the direction of maximum radiation intensity, Umax.
For a lossless antenna, the directivity will be equal to the gain. However, if the antenna has inherent losses, the directivity is related to the gain by the radiation efficiency of the antenna.
Peak Gain
Gain is four pi times the ratio of an antennas radiation intensity in a given direction to the total power accepted by the antenna. Peak gain, in turn, is the maximum gain over all the user-specified directions of the far-field infinite sphere. The following equation is used to calculate gain in HFSS:
U is the radiation intensity in watts per steradian in the direction specified. Pacc is the accepted power in watts entering the antenna.
Gain can be confused with directivity, since they are equivalent for lossless antennas. Gain is related to directivity by the radiation efficiency of the antenna. If the radiation efficiency is 100%, they are equal. Note Because the gain is calculated from the input signal at the port, a port must be defined for this quantity to be displayed.
where
U is the radiation intensity in watts per steradian in the direction specified. Pincident is the incident power in watts. Note Because the gain is calculated from the input signal at the port, a port must be defined for this quantity to be displayed.
Radiated Power
Radiated power is the amount of time-averaged power (in watts) exiting a radiating antenna structure through a radiation boundary. For a general radiating structure in HFSS, radiated power is computed as
P rad = E H ds
s
where
Prad is the radiated power in watts. is the real part of a complex number. s represents the radiation boundary surfaces. E is the electric field. H* is the conjugate of the magnetic field. ds is the local radiation-boundary unit normal directed out of the 3D model. Note The accuracy of the computed radiated power depends on the accuracy of E and H. In some cases it is possible that the computed radiated power may deviate slightly from the actual radiated power.
The accuracy of the computed radiated power depends on the accuracy of E and H on the absorbing boundary. In some cases it is possible that the computed radiated power may deviate slightly from the actual radiated power. To increase the accuracy of the radiated power, seed the mesh on the absorbing boundary. Related Topics Computing Antenna Parameters
Accepted Power
The accepted power is the time-averaged power (in watts) entering a radiating antenna structure through one or more ports. Fundamentally in HFSS, accepted power is computed as
P acc = Re E H dS
A
where
Pacc is the accepted power in watts. Re is the real part of a complex number. A is the union of all port boundaries in the model, including Wave and Lumped Ports, but excluding Floquet ports. E is the electric field. H* is the conjugate of the magnetic field. dS is the local port-boundary unit normal directed into the 3D HFSS model.
Example: Consider the simple case of a single port antenna modeled in a modal project. Then the general expression for accepted power reduces to
P acc = a ( 1 s 11 )
where
|a | is the complex modal excitation specified in the Edit Sources window. s11 is the single-entry generalized scattering matrix. Note Because the accepted power is calculated from the input signal at the port, a port must be defined for this quantity to be displayed.
Thus when |s11| approaches 1 (total reflection), Pacc approaches zero. When |s11| approaches 0 (perfect match), Pacc = |a |2, the total power carried by the incident mode. In the multiport case the physical interpretation of accepted power can sometimes be confusing. By the fundamental definition, energy that leaves the antenna structure through a port reduces accepted power. This, in a multiport antenna, energy cross coupled from an excited port to a different port reduces accepted power.Therefore in such cases, even if an excited port is well-matched, Pacc may be small.
Technical Notes 17-73
In the Edit Sources window of a terminal project, you specify total voltage V instead of model incident power. Using the underlying model S-matrix, HFSS converts the terminal excitation to total fields at the ports, and then applies the general definition. Related Topics Computing Antenna Parameters
Incident Power
Incident power for an antenna structure is defined in terms of accepted power under special conditions. In HFSS the incident power flow on a transmission structure is defined as the accepted power when that structure is terminated in a conjugate-matched load. Thus we write a general definition:
P inc = P acc
conjugate match
For a transmission structure that may be modeled with a real characteristic impedance, this definition is equivalent to the zero-reflective case where the transmission structure is terminated in a matched load. For example, in the simple example discussed in this section on accepted power, setting S11 = 0 produced the incident power as:
P inc = P acc
S 11 = 0
= a
However, there is an important difference in the case of Lumped ports with complex impedance, and Wave ports renormalized to complex impedance. In these cases, the conjugate-match and zeroreflection definitions of incident power give different results, but only the conjugate-match definition used by HFSS enforces the important property that Pacc<Pinc. In the Edit Sources window of a terminal project, you specify total voltage V instead of the modal incident power. Using the underlying modal S-matrix, HFSS converts the terminal excitation to total fields at the ports, and then applies the general definition. As a result of this procedure, the incident power in a terminal project depends on both the user-specified stimulation as well as the model itself. Related Topics Computing Antenna Parameters
Radiation Efficiency
The radiation efficiency is the ratio of the radiated power to the accepted power given by
Pacc is the accepted power in watts. Note Because the radiation efficiency is calculated from the accepted power, a port must be defined for radiation efficiency to be displayed.
Decay Factor
When Global Environment Material is lossy, strictly speaking, the far field is zero, since the Greens function is:
1 kr 1 ( + j )r -e -e g = -= -r r
where
k = j ( + j ) = + j
Against that fact, HFSS calculates the far field using the imaginary part of vector k. You can then modify the magnitude of the field pattern by using the real part () of the propagation constant, which is displayed as Decay Factor)
Z = R = jX
1 sh ( 2 v ) + sin ( 2 v ) R = ------ ----------------------------------------- ch ( 2 v ) cos ( 2 v ) 1 sh ( 2 v ) sin ( 2 v ) X = ------ ----------------------------------------- ch ( 2 v ) cos ( 2 v )
where
(1)
(2)
(3)
2 ----------
(4)
h v = -
where h is the layer thickness.
(5)
Similar skin impedance is assigned to surfaces of 3D objects of good conductors, which are of NoSolveInside and Thickness for DC Resistance is set.
measurements (e.g., of voltage) contain contributions from several modes the applied stimuli excite several modes simultaneously
Terminal support was added to HFSS to enable the simulation of terminal currents and voltages directly, without requiring engineers to determine the needed linear combinations of waveguide modes. Background Recall from electromagnetic field theory that the solutions for the transverse components of the electric and magnetic fields in a waveguide with a uniform cross-section can be written as
Et =
an en(x, y) e
n
+ b n e n(x, y) e
n
(1)
Ht =
an hn(x, y) e
n
b n h n(x, y) e
n
(2)
Here the an and bn are the intensities of the forward and backward traveling modal waves e n and h n are the transverse electric and magnetic field patterns. Note that the an and bn are considered to be dimensionless quantities here, while e n and h n have the normal units for electric and magnetic fields. For this discussions purpose, assume that each port is defined at z = 0; this permits the removal of exponential terms in the above equations. Terminal Voltages and Currents It is possible to define a set of voltages for a port by establishing a number of different integration paths across the port. If a port supports N quasi-TEM modes of propagation, one can set up N different open contours of integration, C1, C2, ... CN, and define N different voltages, v1, v2, ... vN, according to the integral formulas Alternatively, you can define a set of currents {ik}using a set of closed contours of integration {Dk}:
Technical Notes 17-77
v k = E t dl.
C
(3)
k (4)
ik =
k These closed contour paths are set when you define the terminals on a port.Ansoft HFSS does not require you to set up the voltage integration paths separately. The software automatically infers the voltage paths from the chosen current contours using a power conservation relationship. Each definition produces a set of relationships between the modal intensities and the voltages or currents. Since the total transverse fields can be expanded as a linear combination of modes, we can rewrite the previous equations as
Ht dl.
v k = a n e n(x, y) dl b n
n C
en(x, y) dl.
C
(5)
k (6)
ik =
an hn(x, y) dl bn hn(x, y) dl
n D n D
t kn = e n(x, y) dl
C
(7)
k (8)
u kn =
Now vk and ik become
hn(x, y) dl.
D
k (9)
vk =
an tkn + bn tkn
n n
ik =
an ukn bn ukn
(10)
n N quasi-TEM modes, there are NxN matrices Since there are N possible voltage n definitions and that relate the terminal voltages and currents to the following modal intensities:
[ i k ] = [ u kn ] ( [ a n ] [ b n ] ) [ v k ] = [ t kn ] ( [ a n ] + [ b n ] )
(11)
(12)
Now introduce the matrices T = [tkn] and U = [ukn] to represent these transformations. Note that the units of T are volts, while the units of U are amperes. In summary, the 3D Post Processor could be used to load different modal field patterns and manually perform the integrals defined previously over each terminal contour line. This would be a tedious and error-prone process, which HFSSs modes-to-terminals conversion feature eliminates. Related Topics Terminal Based Models for Circuit Analysis Terminal Characteristic Impedance Matrix Differential Pairs
Extensions to the multi conductor case are possible but are beyond the scope of this discussion. There are two flavors of W-element export in HFSS: Tabular and RLGC. (You see them in the Equivalent Circuit Export Options panel.) The more basic "RLGC" format fits the computed RLGC data to the model equations repeated below. For RLGC format RG parameters are frequency dependent such that HSPICE computes them as R(f) = Ro + Rs * sqrt(f) G(f) = Go + Gd * f (3) (4)
where Ro is the low frequency resistance and Go is the low frequency conductance. Rs and Gd represent the high-frequency asymptotes due to skin effect and loss tangent, respectively. L and C are assumed to be fixed over the frequency band. Thus the "RLGC" format uses four matrices (Ro, Rs, Go, Gd) to model frequency dependence for R(f) and G(f), and it neglects the frequency dependence of L and C. In contrast the "Tabular" format is not fitting the data to this simplified model: it is printing out the actual RLGC values at each frequency as computed by HFSS from the port solution. Under some conditions, during W-Element export, HFSS may issue a warning that One or more of the diagonal terms in the W-element <designated> matrix for some frequency are negative for a <specified port>.
Technical Notes 17-79
This signifies a non-physical result. A negative diagonal entry in the RLGC matrices indicates that the model is non-passive at that frequency (i.e. can produce energy, which is probably not realistic for a metal interconnect.) This can be caused by a number of things:
Interpolating sweeps. Non-causal dielectric material models, such as the traditional constant loss tangent, constant permittivity dielectric model. The Djordjevic or Debye models in HFSS would be the preferred ones to use here. Allowing radiation boundaries on the ports. Solving to a very low frequency (one so low that the field solution from the full-wave solver contains significant numerical errors.)
v = T(a + b)
and
i = U(a b) .
It is also known that the incident and scattered modal amplitudes are related by b = Sa, where S is the modal S-matrix computed by HFSS. Therefore:
v = T ( a + Sa ) = T ( I + S ) a i = U ( a Sa ) = U ( I S ) a
Here I denotes an identity matrix of the same size as S. i can then be solved for in terms of v by eliminating the incident wave variable a.
1 1
a = (I + S) T v i = U(I S )(I + S) T v
The terminal-based admittance matrix Y is identified from the above expression as:
1 1
Y = U(I S )( I + S ) T
1 1
Z = T(I + S )(I S) U
It is also possible to convert the terminal-based admittance and impedance matrices into a terminalbased pseudo-S-matrix Sp. To do this, a reference impedance matrix must be specified. Then standard formulas are used to convert the terminal impedance matrix Z into the terminal S-matrix
12
1 2
Zref can be either a user defined diagonal reference impedance matrix or the terminal characteristic impedance matrix, Zo, which is the matched case for terminal-based models. The terminal S-matrix Sp relates the intensities of the incident and reflected pseudo-waves at the terminals.
= Sp
These pseudo-waves are defined by:
v = Z i = Z
12
( + ) ( )
1 2
Unlike true waveguide modes, the pseudo-waves and have no associated propagation constant. The pseudo-waves represent linear combinations of several modes, which may all have differing propagation constants. HFSS is still capable of performing de-embedding on the terminal-based Smatrix, but this is accomplished by first de-embedding the modal S-matrix and then performing the transformation back to a terminal-based S-matrix. For the normalization of terminal voltages in the Fields Post Processor, see Scaling a Sources Magnitude and Phase. Related Topics Modes to Terminals Conversion Terminal Characteristic Impedance Matrix Differential Pairs
match the impedance of the waveguide in some sense, a reflection will occur from this load and will return to the 3D structure, where it is interpreted as an incident wave.
i a
3D structure
v _
An optimal choice of Z will prevent any reflections from the load returning as an incident wave a. Note that the circuit equations at the load are v = -Zi (the minus sign is due to the sense of the current i). By replacing the voltages and currents with their modal expansions, the voltage becomes
v = T ( a + b ) = ZU ( a b ) .
Rearranging this to isolate a and b, it is determined that:
( T + ZU ) a + ( T ZU ) b = 0
Now notice that if we select T = ZU ; the incident wave a vanishes. Corresponding to this condition is an optimal choice Z0 for the impedance Z:
Z 0 = TU
Z0 is the terminal characteristic impedance matrix for the multi-mode waveguide port. This value of impedance will completely absorb any linear combination of modal waves leaving the port. As such, it should be of interest to circuit designers wishing to control reflections. In the important, special case of a lossless waveguide, it can be shown that Z0 = TTT is a real-valued, symmetric impedance matrix. It is then easy to synthesize a network of resistors with the specified matrix impedance. Related Topics Modes to Terminals Conversion Terminal Based Models for Circuit Analysis Differential Pairs
Geometric Objects
Following are supplemental technical details about working with geometric objects and complicated models:
Bondwires Healing and Meshing Detecting and Addressing Model Problems to Improve Meshing Handling Complicated Models
Bondwires
A bondwire is a thin metal wire that connects a metal signal trace with a chip. You can choose to draw a standard JEDEC 4-point bondwire, as shown below:
where h1 = the height between the bond pad point and the top of the loop. h2 = the height between the lead point and the bond pad point. diameter = thickness of the wire. D = the distance between the start and end points, and D/8 is the distance divided by 8. Or you can choose to draw a JEDEC 5-point or Low bondwire, as shown below:
where = the angle between the horizontal plane and the wire at the bond pad point.
Technical Notes 17-83
= the angle between the horizontal plane and the wire at the lead point. D = the distance between the start and end points, D/2 is the diistance divided by 2, and D/8 is the distance divided by 8. When drawing the bondwire, you first select the bond pad point, a point in 3D space that defines the bond pad position in a horizontal plane. Then you select the lead point, which indicates the distance the wire covers in the horizontal plane. HFSS will use the distance between the bond pad and lead points to calculate the height between the bond pad and the lead point, or h2, a value that you can modify in the Bondwires dialog box. For the JEDEC types, notice that the horizontal distance on the wire is calculated as the total length divided by 8. (This horizontal distance is shown in the JEDEC 4 and 5-point figure as D/8.) For the Low type, the horizontal distance is affected by the Alpha and Beta values as well as the length. Related Topics Drawing Bondwires
message saying that the object is non manifold. Of course, 2D and 3D objects can co-exist in a model, but any one object cannot be both 2D and 3D. Intersecting objects Another restriction is that Ansoft 3D tools dont allow partial intersections (also known as partial overlaps) between 3D objects. Each element of the mesh has to belong unambiguously to one object. There is no problem if one object is enclosed completely inside a bigger object, but partial intersections lead to ambiguities. As long as there are partial object intersections, the mesh generator will not attempt to create a mesh. Instead, you will get an error message notifying you which objects are intersecting. After you run a validation check, you can right-click on an intersection error message in the Message window, and select Go to reference from the shortcut menu. This selects the intersecting objects.
You must remove the intersections before you can proceed. You can do this by changing the shapes of objects slightly, or by subtracting one object from the other. Caveat: if as a result of a subtraction the model has pairs of true surfaces that are coincident, that is, smooth curved surfaces that fit exactly one inside the other, you make it harder for the mesh generator to create a mesh. This is because ACIS will create segmentations on each of these surfaces, and these segmentations are not guaranteed to fit. Setting a small value for Surface Deviation under Mesh Operations >Assign>Surface Approximation increases your chance of success in such a case, but it is better to avoid such situations if you can. Small features and misalignment When there are no ACIS errors in the model, no non-manifold objects and no partial object intersections, the mesh generator can be invoked to create a valid mesh for the electromagnetic analysis. Even if the geometry is valid, mesh generation can still fail. Possible causes are the presence of very short edges, very small faces, long and thin sliver faces, and slight misalignments between faces that are supposed to be coincident. Related Topics Technical Notes: Detecting and Addressing Model Problems to Improve Meshing
Technical Notes 17-85
Technical Notes: Healing During Geometry Import Technical Notes: Healing After Geometry Import Technical Notes: Removing Object Intersections Technical Notes: Removing Small Features Technical Notes: Aligning Objects Technical Notes: Troubleshooting if Meshing Still Fails
Manual healing adds tolerant stitching, geometry simplification (such as small-feature removal) and tight en gaps settings to this. You can remove small features at this stage if you wish. However, the usual approach is to apply auto-healing at this stage and leave small-feature removal until later.
At any time after import, you can perform a Validation Check: HFSS>Validation Check. This will enable you to focus on bodies and body pairs that need attention before a mesh can be created. Note that you can set the Modeler Validation settings for Warning Only, Basic, and Strong. 1. 2. Select the objects that have ACIS errors, such as failing api_check_entity(), and the objects that have non-manifold features, i.e. mixed dimensionality. Invoke Modeler->Model Analysis->Analyze Objects. This will bring up an Analysis Options dialog where you set the strictness of the entity check, detection and thresholds for holes, chamfers and blends, thresholds for small feature detection.
3.
When you have made selections, click OK to start the analysis. On completion, the Model Analysis dialog is displayed. All bodies in the model are shown in the objects grid along with their status. Bodies can have the following status:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Good Null Body Analysis not performed Invalid entities found Small-entity errors
Invalid-entity errors are ACIS errors and non-manifold errors. Small-entity errors are small faces, sliver faces and small edges that are optionally detected based on user-defined parameters. Note Invalid-entity errors must be fixed before a mesh can be generated.
To fix invalid entity errors: 1. 2. Choose the bodies that have "Invalid Entities Found." In the same Model Analysis window, choose Perform>Heal Objects, with or without an optional setting for small-feature removal. In most cases, the bodies will be healed and the errors fixed.
Technical Notes 17-89
3.
If errors still persist, choose "offending" faces and edges and click on Delete. This will replace the selected face/edge entity by a tolerant edge/vertex respectively.
In order to avoid unintended changes, it is good practice to do the following: 1. 2. 3. At the bottom of the Model Analysis window, check the box "Auto Zoom to Selection." Select one face or edge at a time Decide for each face and edge whether you want to delete it. Healing causes changes to the geometry and topology of the body being healed. Validation check has to be re-run after healing is done to identify body pairs that intersect. It is possible that after healing, bodies that were disjoint before now overlap.
Note
In some cases the replacement of the face/edge by tolerant edge/vertex will fail. If the object remains invalid, you know at this point what parts of the object are invalid. You will need to change that part of the object manually, either in Ansofts drawing environment or in the original CAD tool, to make it pass. Often, the invalid entities are in small details that can be changed without noticeably affecting the results of the electromagnetic analysis. For example, it may be possible to create a small object, well placed in the "offending" region, and to unite it with or subtract it from the problematic object, such that the "offending" details dont exist anymore.
In complicated models, before making changes, it is good practice to inspect the overlap visually. A way to do this is to: 1. 2. 3. Duplicate both objects and place the copies outside the model. Perform Boolean Intersect on the copies. This will show you what causes the intersection and will help you decide how to remove it. Then, delete the copies.
The easiest way to eliminate object overlap is to subtract one object from the other, in the order that leaves the desired material in the region of overlap. If the overlap is very small and you can choose the order of subtraction, choose one that does not create coincident true surfaces, if possible. Caveat: if as a result of a subtraction the model has pairs of true surfaces that are coincident, that is, smooth curved surfaces that fit exactly one inside the other, you will make it harder for the mesh generator to create a mesh. This is because ACIS will create segmentations on each of these surfaces, and these segmentations are not guaranteed to fit. Setting a small value for Surface Deviation under Mesh Operations>Assign>Surface Approximation increases your chance of success in such a case, but its better to avoid such situations if you can. A way to eliminate object intersections without subtraction is to split one object in parts, in such a way that some parts are completely enclosed in the other object, and some parts are completely outside the other object. Even for complicated objects, this is possible through a sequence of Boolean operations on the objects and copies of the objects. At this point, the geometry has no ACIS errors, no non-manifold objects and no partial object intersections. A mesh can be created for the electromagnetic analysis. The procedure for fixing face improper intersections is similar. When it occurs, the error report lists a pair of faces intersecting. 1. 2. 3. You can detach those faces (using Modeler>Surface>Detach Faces), and others if necessary. Select the faces and invoke either the Modeler>Model Healing>Stitch Sheets command (see Stitch Sheets) or Modeler>Boolean>Unite (see Uniting Objects). Once the imporper intersections have been corrected, you can stitch the set of faces back to the original model.
form>Analyze Objects. The software will report according to the Analysis Options settings, such as holes smaller than a given radius, the smallest edge length and the smallest face area. 3. Upon clicking OK, the analysis is performed. As a result of the analysis, the software presents a list of all holes, chamfers, blends, faces and edges that dont meet the thresholds set by you in the Analysis Options. 4. Check the box "Auto-Zoom to Selection" at the bottom of the Model Analysis window and click on items in the list. Inspect them visually and decide whether they can be deleted. It is good practice to delete them one by one rather than deleting many at once in order to prevent unintended changes. Sometimes, an edge or face cannot be deleted, and you get a message notifying you. In that case, either ignore it, or revisit it after deleting some other details first, or revisit it later manually in the 3D drawing environment. At this point, the geometry has no ACIS errors, no non-manifold objects and no partial object intersections. Furthermore, there are fewer small features that were unintended or unimportant for the electromagnetic analysis, so the quality of the model has improved.
Note
As face misalignments between touching objects can cause small object intersections, this alignment capability can already serve a useful role in stage three.
Zoom in on details and consider removing details; Find coincident true surfaces and move one of the faces over a very short distance so the pair of faces is not coincident anymore; Split very complicated objects into multiple less-complicated objects; Delete a complicated 3D ground object and create a 2D ground through a boundary condition on the appropriate faces of a dielectric; Replace imported objects by objects drawn in Ansofts 3D modeling environment. For instance, some CAD tools produce cylinders that consist of two half cylinders that have a seam where they join. The fit is not always perfect.
Finally, for coincident true surfaces, set a very small value for Surface Deviation under Mesh Operations>Assign>Surface Approximation. ACIS will give them more segments, but you can compensate for that with Model Resolution. In a parametric sweep, you can experiment with settings for Surface Deviation and Model Resolution. Related Topics Analyze Objects Analyze Interobject Misalignment Analyze Surface Mesh Healing Validating Projects
Technical Notes 17-93
Interface Options for Complicated Models Geometry Imperfections and Complicated Models Object Overlap Settings for Complicated Models Post Processing Settings for Complicated Models Note Remember that Healing always purges the history. If you heal an object for which you need to recover the history, use the Undo command. If you want to heal an object for which you want to keep the history, you should make a copy of the object for that purpose.
Set "Default View Render" to "Wire Frame". Wire-frame rendering is faster than shaded rendering. Turn off "Display UV Isolines". For models with curved faces, this will simplify the wireframe display, so the rendering will be faster. Turn off "Visualize History of Objects". This will remove visualization of objects that are part of the model history. For large models, this is faster and uses less memory. Turn off "Visualize Boundaries on Geometry". When a boundary or excitation is selected, it will not be shown with a "pattern". This will prevent large delays when selecting. Use larger deviations to view curved objects in less detail. Un-check "Check Model" and "Heal Imported Objects." This helps for complicated models: Validation and healing take considerable time for such models. Use this option to defer checking to a later stage (especially in cases where you know that you want to mesh the model as is). Turn off "Do Autosave" or set the autosave interval to a larger value, e.g. 50. Auto-save can be time consuming.
Under Modeler>Import
Turn off "Dynamically update postprocessing data during edits". This will disable expensive updating of existing reports and plots. Turn off "Update reports on file open". This will disable expensive updating of reports and plots when opening a project. Set Plot Quality to Coarse, and save as default. This will make field plots much faster. The fields will not be as smoothly approximated within each tetrahedron, but this should not be noticeable on very large meshes.
Boundaries
Boundary conditions specify the field behavior on the surfaces of the problem region and object interfaces. This area of the technical notes includes information about the following boundary types:
Perfect E Impedance Radiation PML Finite Conductivity Symmetry Master and Slave Lumped RLC Screening Impedance Layered Impedance Infinite Ground Planes Frequency-Dependent Boundaries Default Boundary Assignments
Perfect E Boundaries
In HFSS, perfect E boundaries represent perfectly conducting surfaces in a structure. By default, all HFSS model surfaces exposed to the background are assumed to have perfect E boundaries; HFSS assumes that the entire structure is surrounded by perfectly conducting walls. The electric field is assumed to be normal to these surfaces. The final field solution must match the case in which the tangential component of the electric field goes to zero at perfect E boundaries. The surfaces of all model objects that have been assigned perfectly conducting materials are automatically assigned perfect E boundaries.
Impedance Boundaries
In HFSS, impedance boundaries represent surfaces of known impedance. The behavior of the field at the surface and the losses generated by the currents flowing on the surface are computed using analytical formulas; HFSS does not actually simulate any fields inside the resistor. Similar to finite conductivity boundaries, the following condition applies at impedance boundaries:
H E tan = Z s ( n tan )
where
Etan is the component of the E-field that is tangential to the surface. Htan is the component of the H-field that is tangential to the surface. Zs is the surface impedance of the boundary, Rs + jXs, where
For example, assume that a structure contains two dielectrics separated by a thin-film resistor. This resistor could be represented by an impedance boundary at the surface between the two objects.
V If the current density, J, is uniform over the rectangle then the equation (1)
E = Z n n s J
becomes equation (2)
(1)
E = Zs J
where
(2)
E dL = EL
(3)
x=0 w
I =
y=0
dy = Jw Jx
(4)
V - = EL -----Z = -Jw I
(5)
Substituting equation (1) into equation (5) results in the following equation:
L Z = Z s --w
(6)
Thus, when L = w, the equivalent circuit impedance is equal to the impedance on one square. Hence the units ohms per square. If in this example L = 2w, the impedance would be equal to one-half of the circuit equivalent impedance for the rectangle, or the circuit equivalent impedance of one "square" of the rectangle is equal to the impedance of that square. Therefore, when entering the surface impedance for an object, you must enter the impedance per square.
Radiation Boundaries
When solving radiating (i.e. antenna) and scattering (i.e. Radar Cross Section) structures in an unbounded, infinite domain, HFSS truncates the problem into a bounded domain and prescribes the appropriate truncation condition. This is generally known as the radiation boundary condition. Theoretically, the radiation boundary condition should be a transparent condition. In other words it should not produce any unphysical reflection as a result of the artificial truncation. HFSS offers three types of radiation boundaries: first-order absorbing boundary condition (ABC), perfectly matched layers (PML), and boundary integral equations (IE). ABC and PML Boundaries Both the ABC and PML boundaries attempt to minimize reflections by absorbing all outgoing waves at the truncation boundary. Because of this, they can only be prescribed at convex surfaces. This is because for concave surfaces, outgoing waves will re-enter the problem domain and should therefore not be completely eliminated. While PMLs absorb any kind of waves including guided waves, ABC imitates radiation to homogeneous background space. ABCs only absorbs normal or near normal incident waves. Thus in order to produce accurate results, it must be placed sufficiently far away from structures. The typical recommendation is at least a quarter wavelength from the radiating source, although in some cases the radiation boundary may be located closer than one-quarter wavelength, such as portions of the radiation boundary where little radiated energy is expected. ABC is a local condition and thus preserving the sparse nature of the FEM formulation. PMLs absorb all outgoing waves by adding artificial material layers that are designed such that all of the incident waves impinging upon them are completely transmitted with minimal reflections. Thus PMLs can be placed closer than ABCs. Furthermore, the PML absorbs a much wider range of waves in terms of frequency and direction whereas ABC absorbs only normally incident waves accurately. However, PMLs in general makes it more difficult for the iterative solver to reach convergence compared to ABCs. PMLs also preserves the sparse nature of the FEM formulation. Boundary Integral Equations The boundary integral equations (IE) is an exact transparent condition. The Sommerfeld radiation condition at infinity as required by physics is enforced exactly through the employment of appropriate Greens functions via an integral equation method. This hybridization is commonly known as the finite element-boundary integral (FEBI) method. Unlike ABC and PML, the IE boundary can be of arbitrary shape, both concave and convex. It can be placed very close to the structures and
17-98 Technical Notes
produce accurate results. Since analytic Greens functions are known only for a few specific situations, HFSS requires that the IE boundary is not allowed to touch any other boundary except an infinite ground plane. In addition, the IE boundary does not work with symmetry planes. If the IE boundary is placed on a true surface, HFSS requires users to turn off curvilinear elements. Furthermore, from the performance point of view, a minimum distance of 0.05 wavelengths is recommended (like for PMLs). The IE condition is a non-local condition, producing a partial sparse and partial dense system matrix. For this reason when simulating electrically large structures, the IE condition typically requires more RAM and CPU than either ABC or PML. Thus the IE ABC will be most effective and efficient for smaller radiating structures such as RFID antennas. Related Topics Assigning Radiation Boundaries Technical Notes: PML Boundaries
PML Boundaries
Perfectly matched layers (PMLs) are fictitious materials that fully absorb the electromagnetic fields impinging upon them. These materials are complex anisotropic. There are two types of PML applications: free space termination and guided wave termination. With free space termination, PMLs are associated with a surface that radiates into free space equally in every direction. PMLs are more appropriate than radiation boundaries in this case because PMLs enable radiation surfaces to be located closer to radiating objects, reducing the problem domain. Any homogenous isotropic material, including lossy materials like ocean water, can surround the design. With reflection-free termination of guided waves, the structure continues uniformly to infinity. Its termination surface radiates in the direction in which the wave is guided. Reflection-free PMLs are appropriate for simulating phased array antennas because the antenna radiates in a certain direction. Related Topics Assigning PML Boundaries Material Tensors Applied at PML Boundaries Tensor Entries Boundaries at PML Surfaces
To ensure that there will not be any reflection at the PML/air interface, the bi-axial diagonal material tensors for x-, y- and z-directed PMLs (PML_X, PML_Y, and PML_Z) are as follows. For PML_X:
[] 1 ------ = --- CC 0 C
For PML_Y:
[] 1 -----= C --- C 0 C
For PML_Z:
[] 1 -----= C C --0 C
where C = a - jb.
The tensors designated as PML_X characterize an x-directed PML corresponding to a PML wall in the yz plane. Similarly, PML_Y and PML_Z are designated tensors for y- and z-directed PMLs. PMLs of different directions must be joined in order to construct a box with PML walls. To ensure complete coverage where the edges and corners of two PMLs meet, create edge and corner PML objects. The tensors of an edge object joining PML_X and PML_Y are as follows for PML_XY:
[] ------ = 1 1 C2 0
17-100 Technical Notes
[ ] ------- = 1 1 C2 0
A similar tensor construction rule is valid for joining x- and z-directed and y- and z-directed PMLs. The tensor for a corner object is a follows for PML_XYZ:
[] ------ = CCC 0
[] ------= CCC 0
Note
This example in shows the material in GLOBAL coordinate system, while the Material Manager shows the materials in LOCAL coordinate system assigned to the object, which are then rotated to the global coordinate system by the solver.
Tensor Entries
Entering the matrices of the anisotropic materials doesnt require a special procedure. The usual anisotropic material definitions can be used for any PML structure. However, keep in mind that the efficiency of the PMLs depends on the material values assigned to them. Setting the complex parameter C ensures that the electromagnetic field decays strongly in the PMLs. Back reflections from the bounding PECs are then kept below a prescribed bound. To accomplish this, the following inequalities have to be satisfied:
min 1 - + ---------D min = min + min = --------r max c max 1 D max = max + max = --------- + ----------r min c
e=a=b a and b are the real and imaginary parts of C. H is the thickness of the PML object.
max and min are the minimum and maximum angular frequencies. rmax and rmin are the minimum and maximum distance of a radiating object to the PML surTechnical Notes 17-101
face.
d is the maximum decay characterizing the element. (d is approximately 3* 10-3.) h is the thickness of one finite element. c is the velocity of light in vacuum.
Related Topics Material Tensors Applied at PML Boundaries Boundaries at PML Surfaces PML Boundaries
H ) E tan = Z ( n tan
where
Etan is the component of the E-field that is tangential to the surface. Htan is the component of the H-field that is tangential to the surface. Zs is the surface impedance of the boundary. When the thickness is much larger than the skin depth (1 + j )/() can be used. When not, Zs can be calculated from the transmission line model used at a layer impedance boundary condition.
is the frequency of the excitation wave. is the conductivity of the conductor. is the permeability of the conductor.
The fact that the E-field has a tangential component at the surface of imperfect conductors simulates the case in which the surface is lossy.
17-102 Technical Notes
The surfaces of any objects defined to be non-perfect conductors are automatically set to finite conductivity boundaries. Note that HFSS does not attempt to compute the field inside these objects; the finite conductivity boundary approximates the behavior of the field at the surfaces of the objects. The finite conductivity boundary condition is valid only if the conductor being modeled is a good conductor, that is, if the conductors thickness is much larger than the skin depth in the given frequency range. If the conductor's thickness is in the range or larger than the skin depth in the given frequency range, HFSS takes the thickness into account, if it has been defined.
Symmetry Boundaries
In HFSS, symmetry boundaries represent perfect E or perfect H planes of symmetry. Symmetry boundaries enable you to model only part of a structure, which reduces the size or complexity of your design, thereby shortening the solution time. When you are defining a symmetry plane, keep the following requirements in mind:
A plane of symmetry must be exposed to the background. A plane of symmetry must not cut through an object drawn in the 3D Modeler window. A plane of symmetry must be defined on a planar surface. Only three orthogonal symmetry planes can be defined in a problem. In general, use the following guidelines to decide which type of symmetry boundary to use, a perfect E or a perfect H:
If the symmetry is such that the E-field is normal to the symmetry plane, use a perfect E symmetry plane. If the symmetry is such that the E-field is tangential to the symmetry plane, use a perfect H symmetry plane.
The simple rectangular waveguide shown below illustrates the differences between the two types of boundaries. The E-field of the dominant mode signal (TE10) is shown. The waveguide has two planes of symmetry, one vertically through the center and one horizontally.
The horizontal plane of symmetry is a perfect E surface. The E-field is normal and the H-field is tangential to that surface. The vertical plane of symmetry is a perfect H surface. The E-field is tangential and H-field is normal to that surface. Electric field of TE10 Mode
For common problems, you can usually decide which symmetry boundary to use by reviewing the geometry. For example, if the structure is a microstrip, the flux lines of the E-field run between the ground plane and the conductive strip; therefore, the E-field is tangential to any vertical symmetry plane that slices a microstrip in half.
point on the slave boundary match the E-field to within a phase difference at each corresponding point on the master boundary. They are useful for simulating devices such as infinite arrays. Unlike symmetry boundaries, E does not have to be tangential or normal to these boundaries. The only condition is that the fields on the two boundaries must have the same magnitude and direction (or the same magnitude and opposite directions). When creating matching boundaries, keep the following points in mind:
Master and slave boundaries can only be assigned to planar surfaces. These may be the faces of 2D or 3D objects. The geometry of the surface on one boundary must match the geometry on the surface of the other boundary. For example, if the master is a rectangular surface, the slave must be a rectangular surface of the same size. If the mesh on the master boundary does not match the mesh on the slave boundary exactly, the solution will fail. Normally HFSS automatically forces the mesh to match on each boundary; however, in some cases, the mesh cannot be forced to match. To prevent the solution from failing, create a virtual object on the slave boundary that exactly matches any extra object on the master boundary, or create a virtual object on the master boundary that exactly matches any extra object on the slave boundary. To make a surface a master or slave boundary, you must specify a coordinate system that defines the plane on which the selected surface exists. When HFSS attempts to match the two boundaries, the two coordinate systems must also match each other. If they do not, HFSS will transpose the slave boundary to match the master boundary. When doing this, the surface to which the slave boundary is assigned is also transposed. If, after doing this, the two surfaces do not occupy the same position relative to their combined defined coordinate system, an error message appears. For example, consider the following figure:
U V Slave U
Master
To match the coordinate system of the master boundary, the coordinate system on the slave boundary must rotate 90 degrees counterclockwise; however, when this is done, you get the following:
V U
The two surfaces do not correspond and thus the mesh will not match, causing an error message.
The angle between the axes defined by the u point and v point must be identical for the master and slave boundary.
= k ( ro v )
where
To simulate this in the finite element solution, HFSS incorporates phase shifts in the relation between the matching boundaries. That is, the electric field values on the master boundary will be related to the electric field values on the corresponding points on the slave boundary. This equation would be the following:
ES = e
EM
HFSS gives you the option of entering the scan angles, and , when relating ES to EM. The phase delay is calculated from the scan angles. However, if you know the phase delay, you may enter that directly.
Similar to impedance boundaries, the following condition holds at lumped RLC boundaries:
H ) E tan = Z s ( n tan
where
Etan is the component of the E-field that is tangential to the surface. Htan is the component of the H-field that is tangential to the surface. Zs is the surface impedance of the boundary, Rs + jXs, where
Unlike impedance boundaries, you are not required to supply the impedance per square, but you must supply the actual values for R, L, and C. HFSS then determines the impedance per square of the lumped RLC boundary at any frequency. A Fast frequency sweep is supported for this boundary condition.
The layered impedance boundary is supported for single-frequency solutions and Discrete and Interpolating frequency sweeps.
Z wk =
ch is the hyperbolic cosine function. sh is the hyperbolic sine function.
0 rk -------------- 0 rk
k = k 0 rk rk
where
is the propagation coefficient. k0 is the free space wave number, rk is the relative complex permittivity of the Kth layer.
where
c = ------2 K w
where
17-108 Technical Notes
An infinite ground plane in a model must be exposed to the background. An infinite ground plane must be defined on a planar surface. The total number of infinite ground planes and symmetry planes cannot exceed three. All infinite ground planes and symmetry planes must be mutually orthogonal. For impedance, layered impedance, or finite conductivity boundaries only one infinite ground plane can exist in a design. For perfect E boundary conditions, multiple antenna ground planes are supported
Impedance boundary - the Resistance and Reactance parameters. Finite conductivity boundary - the Conductivity parameter. If a material is specified, the material can be frequency dependent. Slave boundary - the Phase parameter. Lumped RLC boundary - Resistance, Inductance, and Capacitance parameters. Layered impedance boundary - materials assigned on layers can be frequency dependent.
Technical Notes 17-109
Screening Impedance boundary - Resistance and Reactance parameters., Note Dependence on Freq is supported for single-frequency solutions and for Discrete and Interpolating frequency sweeps. If a Fast sweep is requested, the solution will be valid for the center frequency, but may not be valid at other frequencies.
outer
These boundary assignments are intrinsic and not displayed in the modeler. Related Topics Reviewing Boundaries and Excitations in the Solver View
r3,r3
Incident field is known in absence of our computational domain Physical (total) field is sought in presence of our computational domain Radiation BC applies to the field generated by the objects of our computational domain (scattered field) Incident field might be known in the whole domain (scattered field description) or just on the surface (space ports, total field description) HFSS Transient provides the total field. The fair comparison is to use a single frequency in the frequency domain and apply a harmonic excitation in the time domain with the same frequency.
Related Topics Scattered and total field formulation pros and cons Where the Solvers Apply Scattered or Total Field Formulations Summary for Total and Scattered Fields
Mostly for plane waves and analytical waves Cancellation errors when total field is weak Problems arise at infinite scatterers (slot in an infinite conducting plate) Near/far incident waves are not known in the whole region Applicable for any incident pattern
Technical Notes 17-111
Cancellation errors when scattered field is weak Infinite scatterers can be treated Applicable to near/far field, too, since excitations have to be known on surfaces New, space port concept (decomposition differs from the literature).
Related Topics General Approach for Scattered and Total Field Decomposition Scattered and total field formulation pros and cons Where the Solvers Apply Scattered or Total Field Formulations Summary for Total and Scattered Fields
Monostatic/bistatic RCS of finite scatterers Frequency Selective Surfaces (FSSs) Monostatic/bistatic RCS of infinite scatterers Frequency Selective Surfaces (FSSs) When near/far field Link is involved EMC/EMI problems
For Scattered Field Decomposition It is known in the whole domain. Et=Einc +Es Ht = Hinc+Hs Computational Domain
r3,r3
Special treatments on
Total Field Description: Usual Approach When the incident field is known, everywhere, the solvers take the usual approach. Both E and H jump with n x Einc and n x Hinc on the interfaces, respectively.
r1,r1
rs,rs
Total Field Description: Unusual Approach In this case, the incident wave is just on known on the surface. Both E and H jump with n x Einc and n x Hinc on the outer surface respectively. E s, H s Einc
n kinc
r1,r1
rs,rs
Total Field Description: Space Port Concept The Radiation Boundary Condition is treated as a space port. The field is decomposed just on the surface of the space port. Einc
Et3,Ht3 E ,H
t1 t1
n kinc
r1,r1
Es,Hs Radiation BC = Space Port
rs,rs
Et=Einc +Es Ht = Hinc- Hs
Related Topics General Approach for Scattered and Total Field Decomposition Scattered and total field formulation pros and cons Where the Solvers Apply Scattered or Total Field Formulations Summary for Total and Scattered Fields
Summary for Total and Scattered Fields Enhanced scattered field formulation Scattered field formulation for classical RCS problems Total field formulation with space ports is necessary for numerical incident waves (near/far) Total field formulation is necessary to analyze infinite scatterers (infinite plane, iris, etc) Total field formulation improves the accuracy in many cases
Related Topics General Approach for Scattered and Total Field Decomposition Scattered and total field formulation pros and cons Where the Solvers Apply Scattered or Total Field Formulations
Excitations
Assigning excitations to an HFSS design enables you to specify the sources of electromagnetic fields and charges, currents, or voltages on objects or surfaces. This area of the Technical Notes includes information on the following topics:
Wave Ports Lumped Ports Terminals Floquet Ports Incident Waves Voltage Sources Current Sources Magnetic Bias Sources Dembedding
Wave Ports
By default, the interface between all 3D objects and the background is a perfect E boundary through which no energy may enter or exit. Wave ports are typically placed on this interface to provide a window that couples the model device to the external world. HFSS assumes that each wave port you define is connected to a semi-infinitely long waveguide that has the same cross-section and material properties as the port. When solving for the S-parameters, HFSS assumes that the structure is excited by the natural field patterns (modes) associated with these cross-sections. The 2D field solutions generated for each wave port serve as boundary conditions at those ports for the 3D problem. In addition to serving as a boundary condition, a wave port also supplies port impedances and propagation constants that are useful in describing waveguides or transmission lines. A wave port is restricted to reside at an external boundary of a 3D problem. In some instances, it makes sense to get around this restriction by defining a wave port in the interior of a 3D domain by capping the wave port surface with a PEC object. In doing this, in effect the wave port is viewed as residing at the external boundary of a 3D problem. However, in general lumped ports should be used when defining ports in the interior of a 3D domain. Often there is a need to have a particular field direction of a mode pattern for consistent results. There are two different methods in HFSS to accomplish this task. The most basic method is where, in the presence of an integration line, HFSS resolves 180 degree ambiguity by enforcing the electric field mode pattern to have a positive line integral along the integration line for that mode (Mode Polarity). The second more advanced option is where HFSS aligns electric field mode patterns, when appropriate, in specific directions (Mode Alignment). This second option consists of a manual but general approach and an automated approach for a few port types. For more in-depth discussions refer to the following topics:
Mode Polarity
Technical Notes 17-115
Mode Alignment
Mode Polarity
When HFSS computes an excitation mode pattern, the direction of the field at t = 0 is arbitrary; the field can point in one of at least two directions. This document addresses how to remove the ambiguity of the field direction when a mode is not part of a set of degenerate modes. For the case of degenerate modes, there is no unique mode alignment and this topic is addressed in Mode Alignment. In the figure below, at t = 0 the electric field pattern of the mode can point either up (left image) or down (right image). Either direction is correct - unless a preferred direction is specified. This issue becomes of concern when inspecting the phase angle of S-parameters. For example, consider a 3D model containing two single-mode ports of the type shown in the figure. The phase of the computed S-parameters linking the two ports will flip by 180 degrees if the polarity of the mode at either port is reversed. Therefore when transmission S-parameter phase is of interest in models such as this, the user has the responsibility to properly set the mode polarity at each port.
To specify the polarity of a mode, a mode calibration must be performed by creating an appropriate integration line. For instance, if the preferred direction is up then the integration line should be drawn at the center of the waveguide starting at the bottom and ending at the top. In general, a mode calibration is automatically performed if an integration line has been defined for a mode where HFSS ensures that the real part of the line integral of the electric field of that mode is positive.
Mode Alignment
In some cases the requested set of modes to be used with a wave port contains degenerate modes. For that case, the modes that are degenerate need special care in obtaining a unique orientation of the mode patterns which is important, for example, when a specific orientation for a given mode is intended to excite the structure. For example, in the case of a square waveguide the first two dominant modes form a degenerate mode set. Therefore, in order to guarantee that the typically desired orientation of the modes (TE01
17-116 Technical Notes
and TE10) are used for an HFSS simulation, the user needs to enable one of the two supported mode alignment options. The first option is general but manual and requires detailed user knowledge of the mode patterns while the other is restricted to a few basic port types where HFSS automatically aligns the modes. The general mode alignment option is enabled by defining appropriate integration lines for the modes that should be aligned and selecting Align modes using integration lines in the Modes tab of the Wave Port setup window. Note that not all modes requested for a wave port need to have an integration line defined - only the ones for which mode alignment is desired. It is important that you draw integration lines that make sense for the modes to be aligned along and that all the modes that form a set of degenerate modes have a line defined. For example, if the first two modes of a square waveguide should be TE10 and TE01, you should draw two lines through the center of the waveguide where one line starts at the bottom and ends at the top while the other line starts on the left side and ends on the right side. You enable the automated mode alignment option by selecting Align modes analytically using coordinate system in the Modes tab of the Wave Port setup window. By selecting this option, the user will be asked to draw a local coordinate system which is used to automatically align the modes in pre-defined directions. This option is only available for a select few port types discussed in Analytic Port Types. In order to get intended outcome of either alignment option, it is necessary to include all modes in a set of degenerate modes. For example, assume that modes 3, 4, 5, and 6 are degenerate. You should either include all of them by specifying at least 6 modes or none of them by specifying at most 2 modes.
Rectangular. The port must have four linear edges which meet at right angles. Square ports are a special case of rectangular. Circular. The port must have all curved edges. The radius, perimeter, and area of the face must be consistent with those of an ideal circle. Faceted Circular. The port must have at least 16 edges, all linear and of equal length. The radius, perimeter, and area of the face must be consistent with those of an ideal polygon. Circular or Faceted Coax. Explicit. The port face must have one set of inner and one set of outer edges. The inner radius, outer radius, face area and perimeter must be consistent with an ideal coaxial circle or polygon. Implicit. The port face itself must be circular or faceted circular, and it must have a circular or faceted circular conducting object touching it and aligned with the face center.
Technical Notes 17-117
The port must be assigned to a single face of a 3D object whose material is isotropic. Assignment to sheets is not allowed, as this makes it difficult to determine the object material. No other material can contact the port, except for the inner conductor of a coax. Only Perfect E and Finite Conductivity boundaries can contact the port.
When reading legacy projects prior to v12, HFSS automatically tests ports with the "Polarize E Field" option enabled. If they qualify for analytic alignment, that option will be selected, and U-V lines will be set from the first two modal integration lines. Related Topics Assigning Wave Ports for Modal Solutions Technical Notes: Wave Ports Technical Notes: Mode Alignment
Lumped Ports
Lumped ports resemble wave ports, but can be located internally and have a complex user-defined reference impedance. Lumped ports are restricted to single mode ports and the S-parameters are always based on the user defined reference impedance. This mainly because no transmission line is being modeled in the interior domain which suggests an interpretation of the lumped port as a measurement probe being connected to the surface of the lumped port with the reference impedance specified by the user. When a lumped port is used internal to a 3D problem, it makes sense to place the lumped port at a location where the field distribution would approximately be the same as the dominant mode of the port definition in the absence of the lumped port. A typical example of this is when a rectangular port is drawn between a conductor trace and a ground plane with the face oriented perpendicular to both conductors. The port mode resulting from this case is a parallel plate mode which will often closely resemble the field distribution at that location in the absence of the port. A perhaps unsuspected result of using a complex reference impedance is that the S-parameters can be greater than one even for a passive device. Note When a lumped port is used as an internal port, the conducting cap required for a traditional wave port must be removed to prevent short-circuiting the source.
Terminals
HFSS can categorize microwave structures in terms of a black-box that relates voltages and currents flowing in and out of a given structure. The black-box has several terminals, each with an associated voltage/current pair. In HFSS, these terminals reside inside wave ports that enable post processing of a modal representation of the black-box into the terminal representation. When a terminal project is solved using HFSS, the number of modes for a port is determined by the number of terminals touching the port. If N+1 distinct conductors touch the port, there are N terminals and one reference conductor usually referred to as ground. The modal port representations of the electric and magnetic fields are:
E =
n=1 N
( an + bn ) en ( an bn ) hn
b = Sa
(1)
H =
(2)
n=1
where an and bn are unitless complex amplitudes of the ingoing and outgoing modal fields, respectively. The modal black-box representation of a given structure is given by HFSS in terms of the generalized scattering matrix, S, (3)
where a and b are the unitless complex modal coefficient vectors. In order to obtain a terminal representation of the black-box, N integration paths Ci and N integration loops Li are used to define N voltages and N currents, respectively,
i =
Ci
( E dl ) =
n=1
( an + bn )
en dl
Ci
(4)
n=1
( an + bn ) Tin
N
i = 1,2... ,N
ii =
Ci
( H dl ) = ( an bn ) hn dl
n=1 Ci
(5)
n=1
( an bn ) Uin
i = 1,2... ,N
v = T(a + b)
(6)
i = U(a b) i = Yv
where the terminal admittance matrix Y is given by 1 1
(7)
Combining these equations with (3), yields the following circuit or terminal description of the black-box representation of the structure (8)
(9)
Y = U( I S)( I + S) T
= st
(10)
where and are ingoing and outgoing pseudo waves, respectively. The St matrix is obtained by assuming that the voltages and currents are measured by some device with a given renormalizing impedance. This assumption leads to the following relations.
v = Z ref i = Z ref
12
( + ) ( )
(11)
1 2
(12)
where Zref is a renormalizing impedance matrix representing the measuring device. In HFSS, the user has the option to use the terminal characteristic impedance matrix, Zo, as the renormalizing impedance matrix by using the 'Do Not Renormalize' option in the port post processing tab. This means that the measuring device is perfectly matched to the transmission line. By default, all the terminals are individually renormalized which results in Zref being a diagonal renormalizing impedance matrix. An expression for St is obtained by using equations (8) - (12)
12 S t = ( I + Z ref
12 YZ ref
12 ( I Z ref
12 YZ ref
(13)
Terminals in HFSS can also be used to create differential pairs as discussed in the Differential Pairs section. Related Topics Assigning Lumped Ports for Terminal Solutions Assigning Wave Ports for Terminal Solutions
Differential Pairs
A differential pair signal resides on two conducting traces in the presence of a ground plane. To form the differential pair, the transmitter launches a wave that carries equal but opposite voltages on the two traces. For example, one trace is +1 volt and the other -1 volt. When two traces are routed in close proximity to each other, the waves traveling on those traces will exhibit similar
17-120 Technical Notes
amounts of system noise. A differential pair is an effective way to remove noise from a signal because when a receiver processes a differential signal it simply subtracts the voltages from the two traces. This can dramatically reduce the amount of noise in the differential signal compared to if the traces were driven individually (single-ended signals). In HFSS, a differential pair can be defined for two terminals residing in the same wave port or for terminals that reside in two different wave ports or lumped ports. In the case of wave ports, matched differential pairs can be defined by not renormalizing the wave ports involved in the differential pair definitions. Related Topics Technical Notes: Computing Differential Pairs
vd = v1 v2 v1 + v2 v c = --------------2
(1)
Consistent with power conservation, the corresponding differential and common currents, represented as id and ic respectively, are defined by
i1 i2 i d = ------------2 ic = i1 + i2
Equations (1) and (2) can be concisely represented as v = Qe i = Q-Tu where
(2)
(3)
v =
v1 v2
i =
i1 i2
e =
vd vc
u =
id ic
1 -- 1 2 Q = 1 - 1 -2
(4)
1 1 -2 = 1 1 -2
(5)
Using eq. (3), we may easily transform between single-ended and differential quantities. Differential Admittance and Impedance Matrices The terminal admittance (Y) and impedance (Z) matrices discussed in the previous topics in the Technical Notes relate single-ended voltages and currents as i = Yv and v = Zi, respectively. By first making differential voltage and current definitions, e and u eq. (3) can be used to derive Yd and Zd matrices that relate those qualities. For example, if i = Yv, then substituting eq. (3) yields Q-Tu = YQe. Solving for u yields u = QTYQe and the matrix Yd relating differential quantities e and u is defined by Yd = QTYQ A similar procedure applies to the terminal Zd. Differential S-Matrices It is clear that an S-matrix can be computed for differential signals because it is possible to compute admittance and impedance matrices for differential signals. The differential S-matrix can be envisioned as relating in-going and out-going waves on imaginary transmission lines attached to the differential ports. Characteristic impedances must be specified for these lines unless they are considered to be matched loaded which is automatically the case when the waveport(s) that contain the single-ended terminals used to define the differential pair is not renormalized. (6)
In the single-ended case, the characteristic impedance for a pair of transmission lines may be written in the form of a matrix relating the voltages and currents on the two (uncoupled) lines,
v1 v2
= Z
(1)
ref
i1
ref
(7)
(2)
i2
where Z(1)ref and Z(2)ref are the user-specified renormalizing impedances. In the differential case, the matrix equation relating differential and common currents and voltages is written as:
vd vc
= Z
(d)
ref
id
ref
(8)
(c)
ic
In this case, Z(d)ref and Z(c)ref denote the user-specified differential and common renormalizing impedances, respectively.
Floquet Ports
The Floquet port in HFSS is used exclusively with planar-periodic structures. Chief examples are planar phased arrays and frequency selective surfaces when these may be idealized as infinitely large. The analysis of the infinite structure is then accomplished by analyzing a unit cell. Linked boundaries most often form the side walls of a unit cell, but in addition, at least one "open'' boundary condition representing the boundary to infinite space is needed. The Floquet port is a specialized boundary condition to handle this case. The Floquet port is closely related to a Wave port in that a set of modes, here "Floquet modes", is used to represent the fields on the port boundary. Fundamentally, Floquet modes are plane waves with propagation direction set by the frequency and geometry of the periodic structure. Just like Wave modes, Floquet modes have propagation constants and experience cut-off at a sufficiently low frequency. When a Floquet port is present, HFSS performs a modal decomposition that gives additional information on the performance of the radiating structure. As in the case of a Wave port, this information is cast in the form of an S-matrix interrelating the Floquet modes. In fact, if Floquet ports and Wave ports are simultaneously present, the S-matrix will interrelate all Wave modes and all Floquet modes in the model. Floquet ports can be combined with lumped ports, but not with terminal ports. Related Topics Technical Notes: Formula Summary for HFSS Floquet Modes
Planar array lattice is specified by lattice vectors a and b. Lattice angle defined by a * b = abcos Unit cell area A Global material is lossless, isotropic, and homogeneous, and specified by real r and r.
Frequency is specified in the form of free-space wave number quency and c is the speed of light in a vacuum. Local coordinate system (LCS) unit vectors
2f k 0 = ------c
where f is fre-
= a x
a = -where a a Unit vector r denotes scan direction. In the global coordinate system (GCS) the components of
spherical angles in the GCS.
s are given by (sinscoss, sinssins, coss) where scan angles s and s are specified as r s
)a c = b (b a = c y c
a = b =
a r r ks r b r r k0 r s
(4)
(5)
(6)
If
kz 0
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
r r k 0 k c
(12)
1 jk x x jk y y e --e A
(13)
(1) mn =
( kc 0 )
(14)
(2) mn =
( kc 0 ) ( kc 0 ) ( kc 0 )
(15)
(1) mn = (2) mn =
(16)
(17)
(18)
TE
(19)
(20)
(21)
(22)
Nmn
TM
TE
k c - mn ---k z
(2)
(23)
e mn= N mn mn
TM
(24)
TM h mn = Y mn z e mn
TM
(25)
r k 0 1 - ----Y mn = --------kz 0
TM
(26)
kz 1 - 0 N mn = -------------- ----------r k0 kz
TM
(27)
e TM = z N TM z mn mn
k c - mn ---k z
(28)
kz 0 e mn
h TM = 0 z mn
(29)
TEM 1
= N
TEM
(1)
(30)
h mn
TEM 1
e mn =Y TEM z = N
TEM
TEM 1 (31)
e mn h mn
TEM 2
TEM 1
(2)
TEM 2
(32)
(33)
TEM
(34)
TEM
1 = ---------------TEM Y
(35)
Incident Waves
There are different kinds of incident wave sources in HFSS. Analytical wave forms are defined by formulas. The following analytical wave forms exist:
Plane Wave Evanescent Plane Wave Electric Spherical Wave (Electric Hertzian Dipole) Magnetic Spherical Wave (Magnetic Hertzian Dipole) Cylindrical Wave Gaussian Beam Linear Antenna
Numerical Wave Forms can come from the solution of another HFSS project or from a non-HFSS project via DataLink. Two numerical wave forms exist:
Plane Wave
An incident plane wave is a wave that propagates in one direction and is uniform in the directions perpendicular to its direction of propagation. The angle at which the incident wave impacts the device is known as the angle of incidence.
ku
LO d
r0
r-r0
GO
E inc = E 0 e j k 0 k u ( r r 0 )
where
Einc is the incident wave. E0 is the E-field polarization vector. k0 is the free space wave number. It is equal to
0 0 .
Technical Notes 17-127
Incident wave excitations are specified in a peak sense. That is, if the incident wave magnitude is 5 V/m, then the real time function of the incident field is E(t) = 5cos(k*r+t).
ku
LO d
r0
r-r0
GO
P = Re ( k )
d = ku ( r r0 )
= Im ( k )
E = E0 e
d jkd
k j - ( k E 0 ) = ---------------(k E) H 0 = -------------- 0 r 0 r
Related Topics Incident Waves
1/2
y 1/2
H = 0
Er = 0 kI 0 l sin 1 - jkr E = j -------------------- 1 + -----e jkr 4r kI m l sin 1 - jkr 1- ----------H = j --------------------- 1 + -----e jkr ( kr ) 2 4 r
Related Topics
Incident Waves
Cylindrical Wave
The analytical formulas of a Cylindrical Wave are: LO
r0
r-r0
0
E0
GO
r
jk
P
j 4
C1 e E z ( ) = ---------------- C2 e H ( ) = ----------------
jk
where
C 1 = ZI
k 8 e
with
C2 = C1 Z
Gaussian Beam
The analytical formulas of a Gaussian Beam are:
ku
LO L
r0
r-r0
D
GO r
Where
L = ( r r0 ) ku D = ( r r0 ) ku
2 2
W 0 n - R ( L ) = L 1 + ---------------L
W0 inc -e E = E 0 -----------W( L)
L 2 0.5 - W ( L ) = W 0 1 + --------------- W 2 n 0
L ( L ) = atan ---------------2 W0 n
( r r 0 ) jk --------------- + j ( L )
2
2 2 jk D W ( L )
2 D 2R(L)
E = E 0 exp ( tt )
where
(1)
where
(2)
(3)
Linear Antenna
The analytical formulas of a linear antenna are:
'
dz 1/2 z
R r
P(r, , , )
y 1/2
kl kl jkr cos --- cos cos --E I0 e 2 2 - j ---------------- -------------------------------------------------------H ---- 2r sin
Related Topics Incident Waves
Voltage Sources
A voltage source in HFSS can be defined on surface located anywhere in the 3D problem space, but it typically makes sense to place the source on a surface between two conductors such that a user defined total voltage is maintained between the conductors. A voltage source is implemented in HFSS by forcing the electric field on the source surface to maintain a user-specified voltage drop along the voltage line. You can specify any surface as the source surface, but the prescribed field pattern is best suited for rectangular planar surfaces or nonplanar surfaces obtained from the side wall surface of cylinders with uniform cross sections such as
17-132 Technical Notes
a circular cylinder. The enforced electric field pattern is obtained by projecting a static uniform field onto the source surface with the electric field in the direction of the user defined voltage line. A voltage source cannot be used to extract S-parameters. For S-parameter computations of an HFSS design involving a mixture of ports and voltage sources, all the voltage sources are shorted by treating the voltage source surface as a perfect electric conductor.
Current Sources
A current source in HFSS can be defined on a surface located anywhere in the 3D problem space, but it typically makes sense to place the source on a surface between two conductors such that it injects the user defined total current onto the conductors. A current source is implemented in HFSS by weakly enforcing the jump across the source surface of the tangential component of the magnetic field, H , to be related to a surface current density, Js :
H = Js n
where
is the unit normal of the surface. The surface current density can be expressed as n where J is the magnitude and u is the unit vector in the direction of current flow. Js = J 0 u 0
The unit vector is in the direction of the user defined current flow direction line. The magnitude is obtained by first assuming that the surface is a rectangle such that the width, w, is equal to the area divided by the length of the current flow direction line. The magnitude is set equal to the total current specified by the user divided by w. Note that any source surface is allowed but considering the definition of the surface current density it is recommended to only use a planar rectangular surface. A current source cannot be used to extract S-parameters. For S-parameter computations of an HFSS design involving a mixture of ports and current sources, all the current sources are kept opened by treating the current source surface as a natural boundary condition where no special behavior of the electric field is explicitly enforced.
Related Topics Technical Notes: Uniform Applied Bias Fields Technical Notes: Non-uniform Applied Bias Fields
This concept is illustrated in the following graphic. In the first panel, the permeability tensor is rotated degrees about the x-axis. In the second panel, the tensor is rotated degrees about the y'axis (the new y-axis). In the third panel, the tensor is rotated degrees about the z''-axis (the new zaxis). The resulting tensor has the coordinate system (x''y''z'') relative to the fixed coordinate system. 1.
z z
2.
x x
3.
y y x
y y
z z
For example, to model the DC bias in the x direction you would rotate the tensor coordinate system so that its z-axis lies along the x-axis of the fixed coordinate system. To do this you would enter 0 for the X Angle, 90 for the Y Angle, and 0 for the Z Angle.
with cross coupling terms between field components perpendicular to the bias. A uniform bias field is difficult to achieve in practice. Even if the bias field is nearly uniform, a non-ellipsoidal-shaped ferrite material will have non-uniform demagnetization, resulting in non-uniform fields in the ferrite. Use the magnetostatic solver provided in the Maxwell 3D Field Simulator to generate a solution for non-uniform magnetostatic fields. Once a solution is generated it may be imported into HFSS. Note To specify the non-uniform bias field, you must have purchased the Maxwell 3D Field Simulator. Refer to the Maxwell 3D Field Simulator documentation for instructions on solving for non-uniform magnetostatic fields.
Deembedding
Deembedding means adding or subtracting transmission line. In HFSS only wave ports and Floquet ports are allowed to be deembedded where the S-parameters are modified as described in Deembedding S-Matrices. Fields used for visualization and the calculator can also be modified by selecting Include Post Processing Effects in the Edit Sources panel. The new results appear instantaneously. This section shows an example where subtracting transmission line can be useful and an example where adding transmission line can be useful. Consider the aperture-coupled patch antenna shown in Fig. 1. A microstrip trace located below a ground plane feeds a patch antenna located above the ground plane. A slot in the ground plane couples power from the microstrip trace to the antenna.
Fig. 1 Aperture-coupled patch antenna A port is located at the beginning of the trace. It cannot be located very close to the slot, since a port has to be located in a position where a clean transmission-line mode is expected, at some distance from the first discontinuity. The port is shown in Fig. 2. One edge coincides with the ground plane. The other edges are such that the port width is several times the trace width and the port height several times the substrate thickness. The red arrows represent the port field solution. Notice that the three non-ground-plane edges don't influence the port solution noticeably, so this port is large enough.
The S-parameter characteristic is shown in Fig. 3 in a rectangular plot and in Fig. 4 in a Smith chart. Note that the resonance frequency in Fig. 3 corresponds to the point in Fig. 4 where the curve is closest to the center of the chart. Also note that the curve circles the chart several times.
Fig. 4 Smith Chart before deembedding Antenna designers who need to design a matching circuit close to the feed point may want to see the Smith chart with the reference point located close to the feed point of the antenna, that is. close to the slot, rather than some distance away from the feed point. That can be achieved by deembedding. Fig. 5 shows the Smith chart after deembedding.
Fig. 5 Smith Chart after deembedding Note that after this kind of deembedding, where transmission line was removed, the curve circles the Smith chart fewer times. As an example where adding transmission line may be useful, consider an IC package or a connector mounted on a printed circuit board. Fig. 6 shows a connector on a printed circuit board. The connector designer has included short sections of traces on the board in his model. These are coupled differential lines, and because of the coupling they share one port. Again, there is some distance between the port and the first discontinuity, so the fields that reach the port form clean transmission-line modes. To model the connector accurately, this model is sufficient.
Fig. 6 Connector on printed circuit board On the board, the traces may continue as uniform transmission lines for some distance. To evaluate system performance, it may be desirable to include that length in the S-parameters that are to be exported to a circuit simulator. With deembedding, uniform transmission line can be added as a matrix post processing step. Another example where adding transmission-line length through deembedding may be useful is modeling long cables with frequency-dependent materials, for example, in back planes. In HFSS, only a short section would be modeled, and its behavior over the entire frequency range analyzed accurately. Analyzing only a short section has the benefits of both speed and accuracy. Then, with deembedding, the cable can be extended to any desired length. The S-parameters for the full length can be exported to a circuit simulator to be incorporated into a system.
Relative Permeability Relative Permittivity Bulk Conductivity Dielectric Loss Tangent Magnetic Loss Tangent Frequency-dependent material properties. Debye Materials Anisotropic materials Anisotropic relative permeability tensors Anisotropic relative permittivity tensors Anisotropic conductivity tensors Anisotropic dielectric loss tangent tensors Anisotropic magnetic loss tangent tensors Anisotropic materials and ports Magnetic Saturation Lande G Factor Delta H
Frequency Dependent
Anisotropic materials
Ferrite materials
Relative Permeability
The permeability of dielectrics is assumed to be complex, as follows:
The relative permeability is a dimensionless quantity, defined as follows: where 0 is the permeability of free space. The permeability can also be expressed as
Relative Permittivity
The permittivity of dielectrics is assumed to be complex, as follows:
= ' j ''
' = r 0
where 0 is the permittivity of free space.
If a materials losses due to bulk conductivity will be significant, such as in semiconductor dielectric materials, an additional bulk conductivity value, , must be added. From the time harmonic form of Maxwells equations, the complex permittivity, c is defined as
H = ( + j ) E = j c E
where
c = ( 1 j tan j -----
Bulk Conductivity
HFSS is capable of including conductivity in the model either as a bulk material loss factor, similar to dielectric loss tangent, or as an impedance boundary condition applied to the outer surfaces of the object. The choice of bulk material loss instead of the boundary condition is made by selecting Solve Inside in the Properties window. The choice between bulk material loss and the surface boundary condition is problem dependent. The boundary condition should be applied whenever the conductor is much thicker than the skin depth at the solution frequency. In this case, the unknowns within the conductor are not included in the unknown vector, resulting in a smaller matrix and a faster analysis. However, if the conductor is not thick relative to the skin depth, the bulk material conductivity must be used to arrive at an accurate solution. With this assumption, the wave equation reduces to
1 -------- j E = ( j + ) E
The threshold where HFSS will automatically chose whether an object will be solved inside can be accessed via the Tools>Options>HFSS Options>Solver tab.
Ferrite Materials
Ferrite materials are used to model the interaction between a microwave signal and a material whose magnetic dipole moments are aligned with an applied bias field. The gyrotropic quality of the ferrite is evident in the permeability tensor which is Hermitian in the lossless case. The Hermitian tensor form leads to the non-reciprocal nature of the devices containing microwave ferrites. If the microwave signal is circularly polarized in the same direction as the precession of the magnetic dipole moments, the signal interacts strongly with the material. When the signal is polarized in the opposite direction to the precession, the interaction will be weaker. Because the interaction between the signal and material depends on the direction of the rotation, the signal propagates through a ferrite material differently in different directions. If you assign a ferrite material to an object, you must assign a magnetic bias source to the object.
Magnetic Saturation
A material with a non-zero magnetic saturation is considered to be a ferrite. When a ferrite is placed in a uniform magnetic field, the magnetic dipole moments of the material begin to align with the field. As the strength of the applied bias field increases, more of the dipole moments align. The magnetic saturation, Ms, is a property that describes the point at which all of the magnetic dipole moments of the material become aligned. At this point, further increases in the applied bias field
strength do not result in further saturation. The relationship between the magnetic moment, M and the applied bias field, H, is shown below.
Magnetic Moment M
0
Applied bias field H
Lande G Factor
The Lande g factor is a ferrite property that, on a microscopic level, describes the total magnetic moment of the electrons according to the relative contributions of the orbital moment and the spin moment. When the total magnetic moment is due entirely to the orbital moment, g is equal to one. When the total magnetic moment is due entirely to the spin moment, g is equal to two. For most microwave ferrite materials, g has a range from 1.99 to 2.01. The Lande g factor is dimensionless.
Delta H
Delta H is the full resonance line width at half-maximum, which is measured during a ferromagnetic resonance measurement. It relates to how rapidly a precessional mode in the biased ferrite will damp out when the excitation is removed. The factor doesnt appear in the permeability tensor; instead, the factor appears. The factor is computed from
0 H = ---------------2
The factor changes the and terms in the permeability tensor from real to complex, which makes the tensor complex non-symmetric (where it had been hermitian for lossless ferrites). Enter the full resonance line width at half maximum in the Delta H value box. Delta H is measured at a specific frequency. That frequency needs to be entered by the user at the interface. 9.4 Ghz is the frequency where Delta H is typically measured.
Anisotropic Materials
Anisotropic materials have characteristics that vary with direction. These characteristics are defined by their anisotropy tensors. You must define three diagonals each for anisotropic permittivity, electric loss tangent, conductivity, permeability, and magnetic loss tangent. Each diagonal represents a tensor of your model along an axis. The alignment of the materials axis with respect to the object is discussed in Assigning Material Property Types.
Anisotropic conductivity tensors Anisotropic dielectric loss tangent tensors Anisotropic magnetic loss tangent tensors Anisotropic materials and ports
Related Topics Assigning Material Property Types Setting Coordinate Systems Creating a Relative Coordinate System Change the Orientation of an object Relative Permeability Anisotropic Relative Permeability Tensors Relative Permittivity Bulk Conductivity Dielectric Loss Tangent Magnetic Loss Tangent
1 0 [] = 0 0
where
0 2 0 0
0 0 3 0
1 is the relative permeability along one axis of the materials permeability tensor. 2 is the relative permeability along the second axis. 3 is the relative permeability along the third axis. 0 is the permeability of free space.
x yv zw
Bx Bz
Hx Hz
By = Hy
To specify the relative permeability for an anisotropic material, enter the 1, 2, and 3 values in the Value boxes of the T(1,1), T(2,2), and T(3,3) rows, respectively. If the relative permeability is the same in all directions, use the same value for 1, 2, and 3. These values can also be entered as variables.
1 0 = 0 0
where
0 2 0 0
0 0 3 0
1 is the relative permittivity of the material along one tensor axis. 2 is the relative permittivity along the second axis. 3 is the relative permittivity along the third axis. 0 is the permittivity of free space.
x yv zw
Dx Dz
Ex Ez
Dy = Ey
To specify the relative permittivity for an anisotropic material, enter the 1, 2, and 3 values in the Value boxes of the T(1,1), T(2,2), and T(3,3) rows, respectively. These values can also be entered as variables.
1 0 0 [] = 0 2 0 0 0 3
where
1 is the conductivity along one axis of the materials conductivity tensor. 2 is the conductivity along the second axis. 3 is theconductivity along the third axis.
x yv zw
Jx Jz
Ex Ez
Jy = Ey
To specify the conductivity for an anisotropic material, enter the 1, 2, and 3 values in the Value boxes of the T(1,1), T(2,2), and T(3,3) rows, respectively. The values of 1 and 2 apply to axes that lie in the xy cross-section being modeled. The values of 3 apply to the z-component. These values affect current flowing in dielectrics between the conductors. These values can also be entered as variables.
' 1 ( 1 j tan 1 ) [] = 0 0
where
0 ' 2 ( 1 j tan 2 ) 0
0 0 ' 3 ( 1 j tan 3 )
tan1 is the ratio of the imaginary relative permittivity to the real relative permittivity in one direction.
1 tan 1 = ------ 1
tan2 is the ratio of the imaginary relative permittivity to the real relative permittivity in the second direction.
2 tan 2 = ------ 2
tan3 is the ratio of the imaginary relative permittivity to the real relative permittivity in the third orthogonal direction.
3 tan 3 = ------ 3
x yv zw
Dx Dz
Ex Ez
Dy = [ ] Ey
To specify the electric loss tangent for an anisotropic material, enter the tan1, tan2, and tan3 values in the Value boxes of the T(1,1), T(2,2), and T(3,3) rows, respectively. These values can also be entered as variables.
' 1 ( 1 j tan M 1 ) [] = 0 0
where
0 ' 2 ( 1 j tan M 2 ) 0
0 0 ' 3 ( 1 j tan M 3 )
tanM1 is the ratio of the imaginary relative permeability to the real relative permeability in one direction.
1 tan M 1 = ------ 1
tanM2 is the ratio of the imaginary relative permeability to the real relative permeability in the second direction.
2 tan M 2 = ------ 2
tanM3 is the ratio of the imaginary relative permeability to the real relative permeability in the third orthogonal direction.
3 tan M 3 = ------ 3
x yv zw
Bx Bz
Hx Hz
By = [ ] Hy
To specify the magnetic loss tangent for an anisotropic material, enter the tanM1 , tanM2, and tanM3 values in the Value boxes of the T(1,1), T(2,2), and T(3,3) rows, respectively. These values can also be entered as functions.
One principal axis of the anisotropic material is aligned normal to the port.
where
epsrlower is the relative permittivity of a material below the frequency range 20 - 50 GHz. epsrupper is the relative permittivity of a material above the frequency range 20 - 50 GHz. flower is the lower frequency, below which the material property is constant. fupper is the upper frequency, above which the material property is constant.
Technical Notes 17-149
In general, to account for this variance within a given frequency range, use the Piecewise Linear Material Input window dialog box to specify a propertys values at frequencies below and above the frequency range. Based on these values, HFSS automatically creates a linear dataset that specifies the propertys values at the desired frequencies during solution generation. This dataset can be modified with additional points if desired.
Debye Materials
If the material is a lossy dielectric with a lower frequency near DC, use the Loss Model Material Input dialog box to specify the materials conductivity at DC or, if you prefer, its loss tangent value at the lower frequency. HFSS also enables you to specify the lossy dielectric materials high frequency/optical permittivity. In materials commonly encountered in mircowave applications ion and dipole polarization dominate. These polarization types can be described by Debyes relaxation polarization model:
The frequency range, in which the solution has to be calculated, is much wider than the range where measured material data are available. It is very common to have just two measured points. A low frequency point, which can be taken as DC value and a higher frequency point, which serves to describe the behavior of the material at high frequency. The question arises: What is an appropriate model across the measured range as well as outside the measured
range?
A measurement always suffers from errors. If the measured data are not consistent, it could cause unphysical effects during the time domain analysis. A question arises again: how to check whether the measured data are consistent, and how to adjust them if they are not.
To answer the questions raised we need to discusses the polarization loss mechanism of dielectric materials. Figure 1 shows the different polarization mechanisms occur in the frequency domain. It can be seen from the figure that up to the microwave region, ion and dipole polarization dominate. These polarization types can be described by Debyes relaxation polarization model:
rcomplex
where
(1)
is the relaxation time,rstatic,and roptical are the static and high frequency permittivity, respectively. Debyes model is valid for the most of microwave applications. If the frequency exceeds the limit of Debyes model, there exists other models which take the atomic and electron polarization into account [1].
The question is now how to fit Debyes model to the actual material characteristics. In order to do this, let us express the real part of the dielectric constant and the conductivity from Eq. (1):
(2)
(3)
where
o is the DC conductivity.
Eqs (2) and (3) have 4 parameters: o, rstatic, roptical and . Usually, measured data are available at two frequencies for a regular material. The measured data are the dielectric constant and the loss tangent. One set of the measured data is at low frequency ( f1 1MHz , r1 , 1 ) and the other set is at higher frequency ( f 2 1 ~ 2 GHz , r 2 , 2 ). The static or dc values can be considered as the low frequency measured data. So,
rstatic = r1
and
(4)
o = 1 o r1 tan 1
The critical need is to predict the high frequency behavior of the material.
(5)
If we know roptical from measurement, the high frequency behavior of Debyes model is set. We just need to calculate the relaxation time as: (6)
b b2 4 = 2 2
where
b=
and
2 o ( rstatic roptical ) 2
(7)
2 = 2 o r 2 tan 2 o
(8)
Knowing , Eqs. (2) and (3) prescribe the material characteristic in the whole frequency region.
If we do not know roptical , it can be calculated by simultaneously solving the following two equations to get roptical and :
(9)
(10)
r2 = o rstatic 2 o
(11)
This method also yields the parameters of the Debyes model, but the accuracy of the method, especially at high frequencies, depends on the accuracy and the consistency of the measurement at Typical Debyes model material characteristics can be seen in Fig. 2, where ' frequency f2.
= r.
(12)
'' =
( rsrtatic roptical )
1 + ( 2 ) 2 1 + ( 2 ) 2 ( 2 ) 2 )
(13)
Figure 2 : Material characteristics of a Debye model The model was verified by using a double strip line filled by FR4 material. A 10 mils section of the line was modeled by HFSS and de-embedded into a 34 inch long line. The structure of HFSS model can be seen in Fig. 3.
Figure 3 : A 10 mils long structure of a double strip line The input data panel of HFSS for FR4 can be seen in Fig. 4:
Figure 4 : Input data panel for FR4 material in HFSS It can be seen from the panel that:
rstatic = 3.98
roptical = 3.7
tan 2 = 0.025
tan 1 = 0.028
The calculated and measured frequency response of S12 can be seen in Fig. 5. The agreement between the calculated and measured values is good. The transient response of the line to an input pulse also has been calculated. The schematic arrangement of the model in Maxwell Spice is shown in Fig. 6. The output signal is plotted in Fig. 7. The green curve is the transient response of an ideal reference line (lossless) of the same length.
Figure 7 : Transient response by Maxwell Spice Debyes material loss model predicts the dielectric losses in the whole frequency range within an acceptable accuracy. The model can be set up by using low frequency and higher frequency measured dielectric constants and loss tangents and the optical dielectric constant. If the latter is not available, the model might be less accurate at high frequencies. Using Debyes model, no unphysical phenomena can be observed at the transient response. References [1] E.U. Condon and Hugh Odishaw, Handbook of Physics, McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc., New York Toronto London, 1958. Pp. 4-113 4-119. [2] G.R. Strobl, The Physics of Polymers, Chapter 5, 2nd Ed. Springer, NY, 1977.
18
Scripting
For information on how to create, edit and use scripts in HFSS see: . in html format. . in pdf format. The pdf of the scripting guide provides a format and function better suited for printing than the chm. You can print ranges of pages encompassing topics and subtopics as needed. You can also access help for the scripting commands via the menu bar:
Recording a Script
Once you start to record a script, your subsequent actions are added to the script. Each interface command has one or more associated script commands that are recorded to the script. The script is recorded to a text file in .vbs (VBScript) file format. 1. 2. On the Tools menu, click Record Script. The Save As dialog box appears. Use the file browser to locate the folder in which you want to save the script, such as: C:\Ansoft\HFSS13\Scripts Then double-click the folders name. 3. 4. 5. Type the name of the script in the File name text box, and then click Save. The script is saved in the folder you selected by the file name filename.vbs. Perform the steps that you want to record. When you have finished recording the script, click Stop Script Recording on the Tools menu.
Scripting 18-1
Stopping Script Recording On the Tools menu, click Stop Script Recording.
HFSS stops recording to the script.
Running a Script
To run a script from HFSS: 1. 2. 3. Click Tools>Run Script. The Open dialog box appears. Use the file browser to locate the folder in which you saved the script, and then double-click the folders name. Type the name of the script in the File name text box, or click its name, and then click Open. HFSS executes the script. To supply script arguments when running from Tools>Run Script, use the edit field at the bottom of the file selection dialog. You can access the script arguments using the AnsoftScriptHost.arguments collection from vbscript. This is a standard COM collection. To run a script from a command line, use: -runscriptandexit or -runscript arguments to the HFSS command line syntax. You can give -scriptargs parameter to the script and specify arguments. If you run the script from DOS prompt as a .vbs file (that is, you don't launch HFSS, but just launch vbs directly, or use wscript.exe or cscript.exe), the arguments will be in the WSH.arguments collection, not the AnsoftScriptHost.arguments collection. To handle this, you can write this: on error resume next dim args Set args = AnsoftScript.arguments if(IsEmpty(args)) then Set args = WSH.arguments End if on error goto 0 'At this point, args has the arguments no matter if you are running 'under windows script host or Ansoft script host msgbox "Count is " & args.Count for i = 0 to args.Count - 1 msgbox args(i) next
Stopping a Script
ClickTools>Stop Script. HFSS stops executing the script that has been paused.
Scripting18-3
18-4 Scripting
19
ANSYS Workbench Integration Overview
ANSYS Workbench combines the strength of its core product solvers with the project management tools necessary to manage project workflow. In ANSYS Workbench, analyses are built as systems, which can then be combined into a project. The project is driven by a schematic workflow that manages the connections between the systems. From the schematic, you can interact with applications (called workspaces) that are native to ANSYS Workbench and that display within the ANSYS Workbench interface. Native workspaces include: Project Schematic, Engineering Data, and Design Exploration (Parameters and Design Points). You can also launch applications that are data-integrated with ANSYS Workbench, meaning the applications interface remains separate, but the data from the application communicates with the native ANSYS Workbench data. Thus, data can be passed back and forth between any Ansoft product on a Workbench Project Schematic and any supported ANSYS or Ansoft desktop product. Depending on the application, data integration can include basic actions such as saving projects, as well as more complex actions such as the coupling of Ansoft product variables to Workbench Design Exploration parameters. Data-integrated applications include the following Ansoft products: Designer 6.1, HFSS 13.0, Maxwell/RMxprt 14.0, Q3D Extractor 10.0, and Simplorer 9.0. Note For detailed information on working with ANSYS Workbench, please refer to the Workbench documentation.
Note 5.
If you choose not to integrate the product with ANSYS 13.0 during installation, you can perform this step after installation.
2.
In the Integration with ANSYS 13.0 dialog box, ensure that the Yes radio button is selected,
You can confirm that ANSYS 13.0 is aware of the Ansoft integrated applications via the ANSYS Workbench Options dialog, which shows the paths to the integrated Ansoft applications.
Objects, such as instances of Ansoft projects, that are placed on a Workbench Project Schematic are referred to as systems. Ansoft circuit/system products: Rmxprt 14.0, Designer 6.1, and Simplorer 9.0, appear on Workbench Project Schematics as systems with two cells Setup and Solution. Ansoft field products: HFSS 13.0, Maxwell 14.0, and Q3D Extractor, add an additional Geometry cell. If you invoke ANSYS DesignXplorer to use variables for refining a design, a Parameters cell is added with a link to the associated Workbench Parameter Set. Refer to the ANSYS 13.0 Workbench help for details on working with systems, cells, and parameter sets.
Ansoft desktop products integrate with Workbench commands, services, and DesignXplorer in a similar manner. Here are some of the ways in which Ansoft products integrate with Workbench:
Adding new analysis systems Importing existing desktop projects Editing models Analyzing models Performing parameter studies Scripting
In addition to these major features, Workbench also allows you to Archive, Save, Backup, Duplicate, and Delete Ansoft projects used in a Workbench project. Progress information and messages from integrated Ansoft projects are also displayed in Workbench. Note Detailed information for how to use ANSYS Workbench 13.0 for these operations can be found in the ANSYS 13.0 documentation and online help.
or by selecting it from the context menu in the Workbench Project Schematic window:
Parameters from the Ansoft project are exposed to Workbench through the DesignXplorer setup. The Ansoft systems cell status on the Workbench project is updated as changes are made in the Ansoft application desktop.
Scripting in Workbench
Scripts that include Ansoft projects can be recorded and played back via Workbench.
In this example, HFSS coax model Solution provides heat loss data as a thermal load to the ANSYS Thermal Setup. The resulting analysis shows a thermal hotspot, providing the user with the information needed to adjust the designs material to fix the problem.
HFSS Model
ANSYS Thermal
In this example, the Maxwell 3D electromagnetic force density Solution is used as the load in ANSYS Structural to determine how these forces deform the motors stator and coils.
Maxwell 3D Model
20
Glossaries
Glossary of Terms
Glossaries 20-1
cost function
In an optimization setup, a cost function is based on goal values specified for at least one solution quantity. Optimetrics changes the design parameter values to fulfill the cost function. The cost function can be based on any solution quantity that HFSS can compute, such as field values, S-parameters, and eigenmode data. A single combination of variable values that is solved during a parametric or optimization setup. Euler angles are used in Ansoft software to carry out a coordinate transformation from one coordinate system to another. The Swiss mathematician and physicist Leonhard Euler first developed the classical rotation theorem to describe rotations in 3D space. The angles used are Euler angles and can be used to describe any 3D rotation. These angles, given by (, , ) represent a series of sequential rotations about two axis of the coordinate system. The first rotation () represents a rotation about the Z-axis of the source coordinate system (X, Y, Z) which results in an intermediate coordinate system denoted by (X, Y, Z). The second rotation () represents a rotation of the intermediate coordinate system about the X-axis, again resulting in an intermediate coordinate system denoted by (X, Y, Z). The third and final rotation () represents a rotation about the Z-axis of the intermediate coordinate system. The final rotation completes the rotation and results in the target coordinate system denoted (X, Y, Z). For further information see, Eric W. Weisstein, Euler Angles. From MathWorld A Wolfram Web Resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/EulerAngles.html .
goal
In an optimization setup, a goal is the value of a solution quantity that you want to be achieved during the optimization. A goal is represented as one row in the cost function table. Each cost function defined in an optimization setup must include at least one goal. The original model on which Optimetrics analyses are based. See variable sweep definition. A set of variable values within a range that Optimetrics drives HFSS to solve when a parametric setup is analyzed. A parametric setup can include one or more sweep definitions.
20-2
Glossaries
Index
Symbols
15-15
Numerics
1D objects 7-4 2D model files exporting 3-22 importing 3-26 2D objects 7-4 3D model files exporting 3-22 3D Modeler Chamfer command 7-87 opening new windows 7-1 3D Modeler commands Delete Last Operation 7-64 Purge History 7-90 3D Modeler window 1-36 3D movement mode 7-117, 7-133 3D objects 7-4
A
aborting analyses 14-78 absolute coordinates, entering 7-114 absorbing boundary
for ports 13-26 accepted power 17-73 adaptive analysis and frequency sweeps 13-31 bypassing 13-2, 13-12 maximum refinement per pass 13-20 setting convergence on real frequency only 13-13 setting lambda refinement 13-19, 13-20 setting matrix convergence 13-22 setting maximum delta Energy 13-12 setting maximum delta S 13-12 setting maximum number of passes 13-11 setting minimum number of converged passes 1321 setting minimum number of passes 13-21 setting up 13-11 Adaptive Lanczos-Pad Sweep (ALPS) 17-26 adaptive passes completed and remaining 16-3 adaptive solution single frequency 17-25 add array variables 3-91 admittance matrix for differential pairs 17-121 method of calculation 17-55 plotting parameters 16-93 analyses
Index-1
changing priority of 14-77 monitoring 14-18 Optimetrics 15-1 re-solving 14-79 starting 14-1 stopping 14-78 analytic port types 17-117 Analyze All command using 14-3 animations controlling the display 16-34 exporting 16-35 frequency 16-32 geometry 16-33 overview 16-31 phase 16-31 anisotropic materials about 17-143 and ports 17-148 assigning 10-9 conductivity tensor 17-145 electric loss tangent tensor 17-146 magnetic loss tangent tensor 17-147 permeability tensor 17-144 permittivity tensor 17-145 anisotropy conductivity 17-145 electric loss tangent 17-146 magnetic loss tangent 17-147 permeability 17-144 permittivity 17-145 anisotropy tensors defining conductivity 10-11 defining dielectric loss tangent 10-12 defining magnetic loss tangent 10-13 defining relative permeability 10-10 defining relative permittivity 10-11 ANSYS enable thermal feedback 13-27 ANSYS Workbench 12 thermal link 14-80 antenna arrays defining custom 16-179 defining regular uniform 16-178
Index-2
Antenna Parameters calculated by HFSS 16-96 antenna parameters decay factor 17-75 exporting 16-181 antenna properties accepted power 17-73 axial ratio 17-68 computing 16-179 incident power 17-74 max far-field data 17-60 maximum radiation intensity 17-70 overview 17-66 peak directivity 17-71 peak gain 17-71 peak realized gain 17-72 polarization 17-67 polarization ratio 17-69 radiated power 17-72 radiation efficiency 17-74 arc lines center-point arcs 7-7 three-point arcs 7-6 arcs center-point 7-7 three-point 7-6 array factor and power normalizations 17-65 calculation 17-61 scan angle 17-61 arrays defining custom 16-179 defining regular 16-178 arrows modifying in plots 16-129 types in plots 16-129 assigning excitations HFSS-IE 6-5 AtPhase Calculator General Commands 16-150 attenuation constant 17-18 auto-save file 3-12 average SAR calculation of 17-34
B
background color, setting 11-24 basis functions low-order solution basis 13-23 mixed oder 13-20 mixed order 13-23, 17-3 overview 17-3 BIstatic RCS equations 16-97 bondwires drawing 7-30 overview 17-83 boolean commands imprint projection 7-89 boundaries and frequency dependence 17-109 assigning 8-1 assigning at face intersections 7-83 default assignments 17-110 deleting 8-39 duplicating with geometry 8-43 editing properties of 8-38 HFSS-IE 6-4 hiding 8-44 moving to different surfaces 8-40 reassigning 8-40 reprioritizing 8-41 setting default values 8-47 types of 8-1 Boundary Zoom to selected 8-2 boxes, drawing 7-21
C
calculated expressions plotting 16-120 calculation range setting for a cost function 15-35
setting in a parametric setup 15-11 Calculator General commands AtPhase 16-150 CmplxImag 16-150 CmplxMag 16-150 CmplxPeak 16-150 CmplxPhase 16-150 CmplxReal 16-150 Con 16-150 Imag 16-150 Real 16-150 calculator entering values and geometries 16-141 exporting 16-165 general operations 16-148 output commands 16-163 registers 16-139 scalar operations 16-152 stack commands 16-140 stacks 16-138 units assumed as SI 16-140 vector operations 16-157 capacitors modeling lumped 8-26 Cartesian coordinates on grid 11-26 entering coordinates 7-111 setting as grid type 11-26 category traces 16-92 center-point arcs 7-7 Chamfer command 3D modeler 7-87 changing material properties 10-27 characteristic impedance and renormalized S-parameters 17-53 plotting 16-93 specifying impedance lines 9-26 Zpi impedance 17-16 Zpv impedance 17-16 Zvi impedance 17-16 circles, drawing 7-15 circuit types, modeling 8-26
Index-3
circular polarization 17-68 clean stop 14-78 cleaning up solutions 16-19 clear linked data 13-19 clearing selections 7-108 clip planes 11-16 cloning objects before intersecting 7-82 before subtracting 7-81 before uniting 7-79 closed objects 7-4 cloud plots 16-130 CmplxImag Calculator General Commands 16-150 CmplxMag Calculator General Commands 16-150 CmplxPeak Calculator General Commands 16-150 CmplxPhase Calculator General Commands 16-150 CmplxReal Calculator General Commands 16-150 color key moving 16-127 setting visibility 16-126 colors assigning to objects 7-60 default for objects 7-60 default for outlines 7-60 of field overlays 16-125 of highlighted objects 7-98 of selected objects 7-98 setting background color 11-24 command properties 1-33 command-line options 1-45 Complex (Bistatic) RCS equations for 16-97 complex numbers in calculator registers 16-139 complex propagation constant 17-11 complex weight 17-61 conductivity 17-141 anisotropic 17-145 defining anisotropy tensors 10-11
Index-4
cones, drawing 7-22 Conj Calculator General Commands 16-150 connecting objects 7-76 constraints setting linear 15-81 context section reports 16-41 context-sensitive help 2-1 convergence in solution process 17-4 on real frequency only 13-13 output variable 13-13 viewing output variable 16-4 convergence criteria matrix 13-22 maximum number of passes 13-11 minimum converged passes 13-21 minimum number of passes 13-21 setting delta Energy 13-12 setting maximum delta S 13-12 convergence data for design variations 15-85 mag margin 17-20 maximum delta Energy results 16-4 maximum delta S results 16-3 number of passes completed 16-3 output variable 16-4 phase margin 17-20 plotting 16-7 viewing 16-2 viewing the mag margin 16-5 viewing the max delta (Mag S) 16-5 viewing the max delta (phase S) 16-6 viewing the maximum delta frequency 16-6 viewing the phase margin 16-5 coordinate systems creating face 7-129 creating relative 7-127 default planes 7-130 deleting 7-132 enlarging axes 11-25 hiding axes 11-25 modifying 7-130
modifying view of axes 11-25 operations affecting 7-130 overview 7-126 setting the working CS 7-127 showing axes 11-25 shrinking axes 11-25 specifying for matching boundaries 8-22 coordinates entering absolute 7-114 entering Cartesian 7-111 entering cylindrical 7-112 entering relative 7-114 entering spherical 7-113 copy command for report and trace definitions 16-84 copying and pasting objects 7-61 copying materials 10-31 copying to the clipboard 7-62 copyright notices 1-100 corners removing rounded 7-77 cost function adding 15-32 plotting results vs. iteration 15-88 setting a goal 15-32 setting the calculation range 15-35 specifying solution quantity for 15-35 viewing results vs. iteration 15-87 count setting for sweep definitions 15-6 covering faces 7-75 covering lines 7-74 CPU time viewing for solution tasks 16-7 vs. real time 16-7 creating rcustom report templates 16-49 creating a User Defined Primitive 7-55 cross sevction assigning to a line 7-11 cross-sections creating 7-76 plotting spherical 17-57 CTRL+A shortcut keys 7-94
current coordinate system about 7-126 current flow direction 9-50 current flow lines 8-26 current sources assigning 9-50 editing 9-50 scaling the magnitude 16-27 setting the phase 16-27 technical note 17-131 curvilinear elements 17-2 custom arrays geometry file setup 17-63 setting up 16-179 custom report templates creating 16-49 customizing keyboard shortcuts 1-25 cylinders, drawing 7-20 cylindrical coordinates, entering 7-112
D
data tables exporting 3-25 importing 3-56 data tables, creating 16-64 data types for convergence sweep setup 13-34 dataset expressions adding 3-94 using 3-100 datasets adding 3-94 and frequency-dependent materials 10-14 modifying 3-95 DC thickness assigning 10-5 Debeyes model 17-148, 17-149 Debye materials technical notes 17-149 decade count sweep definitions 15-6 decay factor antenna parameter 17-75
Index-5
de-embedding S-matrices 9-62 theory 17-54 deembedding technical notes 17-133 default impedance changing 16-69 default variable value overriding for a parametric setup 15-8 defaults 7-60, 7-61 assigned boundaries 17-110 auto cover closed polylines 7-74 auto cover polylines 7-74 background color 11-24 basic field quantities 17-32 clone objects before intersecting 7-82 clone objects before subtracting 7-81 clone objects before uniting 7-79 color of highlighted objects 7-98 color of selected objects 7-98 field plot attributes 16-124 lighting 11-22 mesh plot attributes 16-185 open Properties window after drawing objects 132 rendering mode 11-13 SAR settings 16-121 setting face CS 7-130 setting for boundary values 8-47 setting for excitation values 8-47 snap settings 7-120 view orientation 11-20 degenerate modes 17-14 Delete Last Operation command 3D Modeler 7-64 deleting boundaries 8-39 excitations 9-55 field overlay plots 16-134 materials 10-32 polyline segments 7-63 projects 3-14 solution data 16-19 start points and end points 7-63
Index-6
deleting objects 7-63 delta between markers in reports 16-67 delta E, See maximum delta Energy 13-12 delta frequency, maximum 16-6 delta H 17-143 delta S, See maximum delta S 13-12 density of grid 11-27 dependent variables definition 3-86, 3-90, 3-96 derivative tuning 16-113 derivatives calculating for variables. 13-29 derived field quantities plotting 16-120 design variables deleting 3-93 See local variables 3-88 design variations manually modifying points 15-7 viewing all in a parametric setup 15-4 viewing solution data 15-85 Design Xplorer exporting setup 15-91 designs in project tree 1-29 inserting in project 4-2, 6-3 setting up 4-1 desktop menu bar 1-17 overview 1-15 status bar 1-27 toolbars 1-19 detaching edges 7-75 detaching faces 7-75 dielectric loss tangent 17-142 defining anisotropy tensors 10-12 differential pairs admittance and impedance matrices 17-121 computing 17-120 computing the S-matrix 17-122 setting up 9-28 Directivity definition 16-95
directivity, peak 17-71 discard below value 16-82 Discrete frequency sweep 17-27 Discrete sweeps saving fields 13-38 saving fields at single frequencies 13-40 specifying single frequencies 13-40 disk space setting amount for warning 3-65 display types, of reports 16-51 distributed analysis 15-12 licensing 14-12 distributed machine configurations editing and creating 14-13 distribution criteria setting for statistical setups 15-62 Djordjevic-Sarkar Model input use in Frequency Dependent materials 10-15 domain decomposition theory 17-47 donuts, See toruses 7-23 draft angles and sweeping objects 7-71 draft types and sweeping objects 7-71 drawing region 7-34 drawing a model overview 7-1 drawing commands wrap 7-73 drawing objects bondwires 7-30 boxes 7-21 center-point arcs 7-7 circles 7-15 cones 7-22 cross-sections 7-76 cylinders 7-20 ellipses 7-15 equation based curve 7-14 for post processing 7-33 helices 7-24 non model 7-33
overview 7-4 planes 7-31 points 7-31 polylines 7-9 rectangles 7-17 regular polygons 7-17 regular polyhedrons 7-22 spheres 7-19 spiral using UDP 7-29 spirals 7-27 splines 7-8 straight line segments 7-5 three-point arcs 7-6 toruses 7-23 drawing plane 7-133 Driven Modal solutions overview 17-29 setting 4-3 Driven Terminal solutions overview 17-29 setting 4-3 duplicates and parent objects 7-67 duplicating boundaries 8-43 excitions 8-43 integration lines 9-27 duplicating objects along a line 7-68 and mirroring 7-69 around an axis 7-68 overview 7-67
E
edges creating objects from 7-83 detaching 7-75 moving along normalmoving edges 7-79 removing 7-75 rounding 7-86 selecting all face 7-105 selecting all object 7-105 edges, selecting 7-104 effective wavelength 17-18
Index-7
E-field specifying direction of 9-48 e-field specifying direction of 9-26 E-fields calculating on slave boundary 17-106 mapping to other surfaces 17-104 relating master and slave boundary 8-24 Eigenmode setting Maximum delta Frequency 13-13 Eigenmode problems Freq input for Fields Calculator 16-148 Eigenmode solutions overview 17-29 setting 4-3 viewing solution data 16-18 eigenmodes minimum frequency to search for 13-9 specifying number of 13-10 ellipses, drawing 7-15 Emission test selecting quantity to plot 16-102 energy error 13-12 epsilon 17-18 equation based surface drawing 7-18 equations based curve, drawing 7-14 equivalent circuit export options 16-14 error tolerance for interpolating sweeps 13-35 Eval command fields calculator 16-163 example projects listing 1-66 Excitation Zoom to selected 9-3 excitation fields 17-11 excitations and frequency dependence 17-109 deleting 9-55 duplicating with geometry 8-43 editing properties of 9-54 hiding 8-44 invalidated 9-56
Index-8
moving to another surface 9-56 scaling the magnitude 16-27 setting default values 8-47 setting the phase 16-27 types of 9-1 exponential count sweep definitions 15-6 export from the calculator 16-165 Export command fields calculator fields calculator Export command 16-165 export results Ansys Mechanical 16-21 exporting 2D model files 3-22 3D model files 3-22 animations 16-35 antenna parameters 16-181 data tables 3-25 equivalent circuit data files 16-14 field overlay plots 16-133 materials to libraries 10-33 matrix data 16-11 maximum field data 16-181 W-element data 16-17 expressions dataset 3-100 defining 3-96 including in functions 3-95 intrinsic functions in 3-97 piecewise linear functions in 3-99 using as cost function goal 15-37 valid operators 3-97 extruding faces 7-77 eye measurements range functions 16-104
F
face coordinate system about 7-126 creating 7-129 creating automatically 7-130
operations affecting 7-130 faces copying 7-82 covering 7-75 creating coordinate system on 7-129 creating face lists 7-103 creating objects from 7-82 detaching 7-75 extruding 7-77 intersections 7-83 moving along a vector 7-78 moving along the normal 7-77 removing 7-75 selecting 7-100 selecting all object 7-101 selecting behind 7-108 selecting by name 7-102 uncovering 7-75 families tab reports dialog 16-42 far field definition 17-56 far field quantities Antenna Params calculated 16-96 Axial Ratio 16-95 Bistatic RCS 16-97 Complex (Bistatic) RCS 16-97 Directivity 16-95 Gain 16-95 Monostatic RCS 16-97 Polarization Ratio 16-95 rE 16-95 Realized Gain 16-95 far field region definition for post processing 16-117, 16-171 far fields and radiation boundaries 16-174 calculation of 17-56 computing antenna parameters 16-179 computing max data 16-179 defining antenna arrays 16-177 horizontal cross-sections 16-100 infinite spheres 16-176 plotting on spherical cross-sections 17-57
plotting quantities 16-95 reports 16-50 vertical cross-sections 16-100 far-field pattern 17-61 Fast frequency sweep 17-26 Fast sweeps modifying matrix data 16-9 saving fields 13-38 ferrite materials adding to libraries 10-9 properties of 10-9 ferrites about 17-142 and delta H 17-143 and lande G 17-143 and magnetic saturation 17-142 assigning bias field 9-51 assigning magnetic bias sources 9-51 FFT on reports 16-105 field overlay plots 16-117, 16-120 default settings 16-134 hiding color key 16-126 modifying attributes 16-123 modifying colors of 16-125 modifying field quantities 16-122 modifying phase 16-117 modifying plot scale 16-127 moving color key 16-127 on lines 16-132 SAR 17-34 SAR settings 16-121 scalar plots 16-121 vector plots 16-122 field pattern direction, specifying 17-116 field quantities defaults 17-32 phase angle 16-150 plotting basic 16-117 plotting derived 16-120 within tetrahedra 17-2 field reports 16-50 field solutions linking from simulations 9-32 saving at all frequency points 13-38
Index-9
saving for a parametric setup 15-74 saving for a sensitivity setup 15-75 saving for a statistical setup 15-74, 15-76 saving for a tuning analysis 15-74, 15-75 saving for all Optimetrics setups 15-74 saving for an optimization setup 15-74 fields saving at specific frequency points 13-40 fields calculator Eval command 16-163 Value command 16-163 Write command 16-164 Fields Reporter options 3-74 file formats animated GIF 16-35 .asol 3-2 .avi 16-35 data table 16-12 .dsp 16-133 Ensemble ver. 6+ 16-12 .gds 3-26 .hfss 3-2 HFSS ver. 6+ 16-12 .hfssresults 3-2 HSpice 16-14 .lib 16-14 Libra 16-12 .m files 16-12 Maxwell Spice 16-14 Neutral Model Format 16-12 nmf 16-12 PSpice 16-14 .sat 3-22 .sm2 3-22, 3-26 .sm3 3-22 .sNp 16-12 .sp 16-14 .spc 16-14 Touchstone 16-12 files auto-save 3-12 HFSS 3-2 importing 3-26 fillet command
Index-10
rounding edges 7-86 filtering for object selection 7-95 filtering materials 10-35 finite array patterns 17-61 finite conductivity boundaries and frequency dependence 17-109 assigning 8-17 conditions applied at 17-102 guidelines for assigning 17-102 finite element mesh, overview 17-2 finite element method, overview 17-2 fitting all objects in view 11-8 fitting selections in view 11-8 fixed variables setting values during analyses 15-80 floquet ports technical note 17-122 free space lambda refinement 13-19, 13-20 free space termination, and PMLs 17-99 Freq variable 17-109 frequency 17-12 frequency animations 16-32 frequency depedent data points adding for materials 10-23 frequency dependent materials Djordjevic-Sarkar model 10-15 frequency points choosing for full-wave SPICE 13-42 deleting from solution 13-41 inserting in solution 13-41 frequency sweep range for full-wave SPICE 13-42 frequency sweeps adding to designs 13-31 and adaptive analysis 13-31 and bypassing adaptive analysis 13-2, 13-12 and lumped RLC boundaries 17-107 error tolerance 13-35 Fast sweep overview 17-26, 17-27 Interpolating sweep overview 17-28 linear step frequencies 13-37 maximum number of solutions 13-35 minimum number of solutions 13-34 overview 17-26
selecting type 13-32 setting points to solve 13-37 setting single frequencies 13-40 settings for 13-31 frequency-dependent materials and lossy dielectrics 17-148, 17-149 defining 10-14 FSS surfaces assigning reference surface for radiation boundaries 8-9, 8-12, 8-14 full-wave SPICE choosing frequencies 13-42 guidelines for calculating maximum frequency 13-43 guidelines for calculating step size 13-43 functions defining 3-95 for traces 16-83 reserved names in HFSS 3-95 selecting for a quantity 16-88 valid operators 3-97
setting weight of 15-32 using an expression for 15-37 goal weight setting 15-32 gradient background colors 11-24 grid settings choosing 11-26 density 11-27 dots or lines 11-26 grid plane 11-27 spacing 11-27 style 11-26 type 11-26 visibility 11-27 ground planes lossy 17-109 group delay plotting 16-93 guide 1-55
H
healing stitch sheets 7-52 helices, drawing 7-24 helix drawing segmented polygon with UDP 7-25 drawing segmented rectangular with UDP 7-26 help about conventions used 2-3 Ansoft technical support 2-1 on context 2-1 on dialog boxes 2-1 on menu commands 2-1 HFIE link to HFSS via radiation exchange 9-47 Solution setup 6-6 HFSS command-line options 1-45 getting started 1-1 introduction 1-1 setting options 3-64 HFSS Options dialog solving inside threshold 10-4
Index-11
G
Gain definition 16-95 gain, peak 17-71 gain, peak realized 17-72 Generate History command 7-90 geometry animations 16-33 Getting Started guides 1-53 global coordinate system about 7-126 global materials Ansoft 10-36 user-defined 10-36 glossary of terms 17-1 goal setting a complex value 15-36 setting a real value 15-36 setting a single value 15-36 setting as variable dependent 15-37 setting for cost function 15-36
HFSS-IE excitations 6-5 infinite ground plane boundaries 8-34 integral equation method 17-50 hiding boundaries 8-44 color key 16-126 excitations 8-44 field overlay plots 16-133 objects 11-9 selections 11-9 hiding windows 1-15 High Performance Computing integration 14-20 history viewing outline of merged objects 3-81 History operations setting visualization 3-81 history tree controlling view of objects 1-37, 1-42 operations affecting CSs 7-130 operations affecting face CS 7-130 operations affecting relative CS 7-126 selecting object groups 7-97 Unclassified folder 1-38 Upgrade Version 1-42 holes moving 7-78 resizing 7-77 horizontal cross-sections 16-100 HPC integration 14-20 HSpice files exporting to 16-14
I
i_ boundary type 17-110 Imag Calculator General Commands 16-150 impedance and symmetry 17-104 changing 16-69 characteristic, calculating 17-15 renormalizing S-matrices 9-60 renormalizing S-parameters 17-53
Index-12
impedance boundaries and frequency dependence 17-109 assigning 8-7 conditions applied at 17-96 overview 17-96 impedance boundary units 17-97 impedance lines See integration lines 9-26 impedance matrix for differential pairs 17-121 method of calculation 17-54 plotting parameters 16-93 impedance multiplier and symmetry planes 17-104 setting 9-59 theory behind 17-17 imperfect conductors, modeling 8-17 importing data tables 3-56 files 3-26 solution data 3-55 imprint projection command 7-89 incident power 17-74 incident waves assigning 9-32 near fields calculation 17-57 scaling the magnitude 16-27 scaling the phase 16-27 inductors modeling lumped 8-26 infinite arrays 17-61 defining custom 16-179 defining regular 16-178 infinite ground plane boundaries 8-34 infinite sphere, defining 16-176 infinity visualization 16-47 initial displacement setting 15-57 initial mesh source from current or other design 13-16 initial mesh settings 12-13 initial mesh, reverting to 12-11 in-plane movement mode 7-116
input signal, for time domain reports 16-67 input time signal duration 13-42 inserting line segments 7-13 inserting designs 4-2, 6-3 integral equation method technical note 17-50 integration lines and multiple modes 9-27 defining 9-26 deleting 9-28 duplicating 9-27 guidelines for defining 9-27 modifying 9-28 reversing direction of 9-28 swapping endpoints 9-28 Interpolating sweep 17-28 Interpolating sweeps modifying matrix data 16-9 interpolating sweeps error tolerance 13-35 intersecting faces 7-82 intersecting objects 7-81 intrinsic functions 3-97 introduction to HFSS 1-1 invalid excitations 9-56 isosurface display 16-130 Iterative matrix solver 17-22
J
JEDEC 4-point bondwires 17-83 JEDEC 5-point bondwires 17-83 joining objects 7-79
K
keyboard shortcuts custom 1-25 customizing 1-25 dialogue 1-25
L
lambda 17-18
lambda refinement setting 13-19, 13-20 lande G factor 17-143 layered impedance boundaries and frequency dependence 17-109 assigning 8-31, 8-35 external vs. internal 17-107 impedance calculation 17-107 impedance calculation formula 17-108 surface roughness calculation 17-108 legacy HFSS projects opening 3-6 translation overview 3-6 legends in reporrts 16-48 length of transmission line adding to ports 9-62 subtracting from ports 9-62 length-based refinement inside objects 12-4 on faces 12-3 libraries editing methods for user and system 10-36 licensing distributed analysis 14-12 lighting 11-22 line assigning dimensions 7-11 line segments inserting 7-13 linear constraints deleting 15-82 modifying 15-82 setting 15-81 linear count sweep definitions 15-6 linear materials adding to libraries 10-8 properties of 10-8 linear polarization 17-67 linear step frequencies 13-37 linear step sweep definitions 15-6 lines assigning cross section 7-11 between grid points 11-26 converting to arcs 7-85
Index-13
converting to splines 7-85 covering 7-74 drawing center-point arc segments 7-7 drawing straight segments 7-5 drawing three-point arc segments 7-6 field plots on 16-132 integration 9-26 value vs. distance plots 16-86 link Thermal to Ansys 16-21 linking from simulations 9-32 Linux Setting Up a Printer 1-4 system requirements 1-4 local SAR calculation of 17-34 local variables adding 3-88 units in definition 3-88 log of solution tasks 16-7 lossy ground planes 17-109 low-order solution basis 13-23 Ludwig-3 17-68 Lumped Port wizard 9-18 lumped ports for modal solutions 9-18 for terminal solutions 9-19 guidelines for assigning 17-118 overview 17-118 lumped RLC boundaries and frequency dependence 17-109 and frequency sweeps 17-107 assigning 8-26 conditions applied at 17-107 overview 17-107 lumps, multiple 7-85
M
M3DFS as source of field information 9-51 MAFET Consortium 16-12 mag margin 17-20 magnetic bias
Index-14
non-uniform 17-133 uniform 17-132 magnetic bias sources assigning to ferrites 9-51 magnetic loss tangent 17-142 defining anisotropy tensors 10-13 magnetic saturation 17-142 magnifying objects 11-6 magnitude setting maximum change for matrix entries 13-22 magnitude margin 16-5 Map Infinity Mode 16-47 markers adding to plot traces 16-81 delta between markers 16-67 markers, point plot 16-131 master boundaries assigning 8-22 guidelines for assigning 17-104 matching boundaries assigning 8-22 defining coordinate systems 17-105 guidelines for assigning 17-104 material browser accessing 10-1 material characteristics magnetic loss tangent 17-142 permeability 17-140 material properties anisotropic 10-9 changing units of 10-9 conductivity 17-141 defining frequency dependent 10-14 defining variables for 10-14 delta H 17-143 dielectric loss tangent 17-142 lande G 17-143 magnetic loss tangent 17-142 magnetic saturation 17-142 permeability 17-140 permittivity 17-141 simple 10-9 types of 10-9 using expressions for 10-26
using functions for 10-26 using variables for 10-14 materials about ferrites 17-142 adding to library 10-8 assigning to objects 10-1 copying, cloning 10-31 deleting 10-32 exporting to libraries 10-33 filtering 10-35 global 10-36 modifying 10-28 removing from libraries 10-32 search by name 10-7 search by property 10-7 solving inside an object 10-4 solving on object surface 10-4 sorting 10-34 user-defined database 10-36 validating 10-30 viewing 10-28 mathematical functions See functions 3-95 matrices, admittance computing from S-parameters 17-55 method of calculation 17-55 matrices, impedance method of calculation 17-54 relationship to S-parameters 17-53 matrix convergence, setting 13-22 matrix data display format 16-10 exporting 16-11 for design variations 15-85 modifying frequencies 16-9 renaming 16-14 reordering 16-14 viewing 16-9 matrix entries selecting convergence criteria 13-22 max delta (Mag S) 16-5 max delta (phase S) 16-6 max U 17-70 maximum delta Energy
setting 13-12 viewing results 16-4 maximum delta frequency 16-6 maximum delta S setting 13-12 viewing results 16-3, 16-4 maximum far-field data computing 16-179 overview 17-60 maximum near-field data computing 16-175 overview 17-59 maximum number of iterations setting for a sensitivity analysis 15-53 setting for an optimization 15-30 setting for statistical analysis 15-60 maximum number of passes, setting 13-11 maximum number of solutions 13-35 maximum refinement solution setup options 13-21 Maximum refinement per pass setting maximum 13-20 maximum step size setting for optimization analysis 15-42 maximum variable Optimetrics calculation of 15-39, 15-56 maximum variable value changing for all setups 15-64 overriding for a sensitivity setup 15-56 overriding for all optimization setups 15-40 overriding for all sensitivity setups 15-57 overriding for an optimization setup 15-40 Maxwell Spice files exporting to 16-14 Measure Mode distance between two points 7-123 Measure mode position 7-123 memory setting hard limit 13-49 setting soft limit 13-48 used during solution 16-7 menu bar overview 1-17
Index-15
menus shortcut menus 1-22 Merged objects viewing outlines 3-81 Mesh statistics 16-17 mesh color in plots 16-183 for discrete frequency sweep 17-27 for fast frequency sweep 17-26 matching on master/slave boundaries 17-105 plotting 16-183 purpose of 17-2 size vs. accuracy 17-4 mesh generation and surface approximation settings 17-8 Copy geometric equivalent meshes options 15-77 copy geometrically equivalent meshes 15-77 process 17-5 reverting to initial mesh 12-11 Mesh operations model resolution 12-9 mesh operations applying without solving 12-12 defining 12-1 initial mesh settings 12-13 modifying surface approximation 12-7 surface approximation overview 17-8 mesh plots color of mesh 16-183 creating 16-183 setting attributes 16-183 tetrahedra scale factor 16-183 transparency 16-183 mesh refinement based on material-dependent wavelength 13-19, 13-20 defining mesh operations 12-1 maximum refinement per pass 13-20 on ports 17-12 setting lambda refinement 13-19, 13-20 without solving 12-12 meshing detecting and addressing problems 17-86
Index-16
meshing region 17-9 Message window about 1-34 displaying 1-34 new messages 1-35 Min and Max focus SNLP optimizer 15-42 minimum frequency failure to solve 13-43 minimum frequency, setting 13-9 minimum number of converged passes, setting 13-21 minimum number of passes, setting 13-21 minimum number of solutions 13-34 minimum rise time 13-42 minimum step size setting for optimization analysis 15-42 minimum variable value changing for all setups 15-64 Optimetrics calculation of 15-39, 15-56 overriding for a sensitivity setup 15-56 overriding for all optimization setups 15-40 overriding for all sensitivity setups 15-57 overriding for an optimization setup 15-40 mirroring objects 7-65 Mixed order noted used with domains 13-25 mixed order basis function 13-23 basis functions 13-20 operation of 17-4 mixed order basis 17-3 modal solutions assigning lumped ports 9-18 assigning wave ports 9-5 selecting 4-3 modal S-parameter reports 16-50 mode alignment technical note 17-116 model analysis Modeler menu command 7-36 model resoliution mesh operations 12-9 modes 17-13 and lumped ports 9-18
conversion to nodes/terminals 17-77 degeneate 17-14 multiple at wave ports 9-5 multiple modes and integration lines 9-27 port field display 16-115 relationship to voltages or currents 17-78 simultaneously propagating 17-77 modes, multiple for multi-conductor ports 17-14 See multiple modes 17-104 simultaneously propagating 17-77 modifying in Properties window 1-33 modifying objects 7-59 monitoring solutions 14-18 Monostatic RCS description 16-97 movement mode 3D 7-117 along x-axis 7-118 along y-axis 7-119 along z-axis 7-119 choosing 7-116 in plane 7-116 out of plane 7-117 Movement mode,3D 7-133 moving faces a specified distance 7-77 along a vector 7-78 along the normal 7-77 moving holes 7-78 moving objects 7-64 moving the cursor along x-axis 7-118 along y-axis 7-119 along z-axis 7-119 in 3D space 7-117 in plane 7-116 out of plane 7-117 selecting movement modes 7-116 moving windows 1-16 multiple modes and lumped ports 9-17, 17-118 and symmetry planes 17-104 at wave ports 9-5
N
named expressions plotting 16-120 near field definition 17-56 near field region definition for post processing 16-117, 16-171 near fields calculation of 17-56 computing max parameters 16-175 effect of radius on calculation 17-57 effect of radius on calculations 17-57 effect of radius on total or scallered fields 17-57 line setup 16-173 plotting on spherical cross-sections 17-57 plotting quantities 16-101 radius in calculation 17-57 reports 16-50 sphere setup 16-172 new projects, creating 3-3 Next Behind command 7-108 nodes conversion from modes 17-77 nominal design 15-1 non-adaptive solution single frequency 17-25 non-manifold mixed dimensionality 17-84 non-model objects 7-33 non-uniform magnetic bias 17-133 normalized distance overview 16-86 notes saving with project 3-63 number of passes setting maximum 13-11 setting minimum 13-21 setting minimum converged 13-21 number of processors, setting 13-47 number of time points 13-42
Index-17
O
object history viewing outline of merged objects 3-81 object orientation changing 7-65 objects associating with faces 7-129 bondwires 7-30 boxes 7-21 center-point arcs 7-7 circles 7-15 cones 7-22 converting polyline segments 7-85 creating from faces 7-82 creating from intersections 7-81 creating object lists 7-99 cylinders 7-20 deleting parts on a plane 7-83 drawing relative to 7-127 duplicates and parents 7-67 ellipses 7-15 equation based curve 7-14 for post processing 7-33 helices 7-24 modifying 7-59 non model 7-33 planes 7-31 points 7-31 polylines 7-9 rectangles 7-17 regular polygons 7-17 regular polyhedrons 7-22 separating 7-85 setting temperature 7-46 spheres 7-19 spirals 7-27, 7-29 splines 7-8 straight lines 7-5 three-point arcs 7-6 toruses 7-23 types of 7-4 ways to select 7-93 octave count sweep definitions 15-6
Index-18
offsetting objects 7-67 ohms per square 17-97 old HFSS projects, opening 3-6 online help pdf file 2-1 open objects 7-4 opening existing projects 3-4 field overlay plots 16-134 legacy HFSS projects 3-6 recent projects 3-5 operating systems Windows 1-2 Optimetrics Copy geometric equivalent meshes 15-77 overview 15-1 tuning a variable 15-70 types of analyses 15-1 viewing analysis results 15-85 viewing solution data 15-85 Optimization norms, L1, L2, and Max 15-45 optimization 15-15 optimization analysis choosing variables to optimize 3-100 optional settings 15-24 overview 15-15 plotting cost vs. iteration results 15-88 setting up 15-24 viewing cost vs. iteration results 15-87 optimization setups adding 15-24 adding a cost function 15-32 procedure for defining 15-24 setting a goal 15-32 setting the max. iterations 15-30 solving 14-1 optimizers 15-15 options setting in HFSS 3-64 orientation changing for objects 7-65 creating new view directions 11-21 deleting view directions 11-21
setting in view window 11-20 orthographic view 11-23 outer boundary type 17-110 out-of-plane movement mode 7-117 output parameter adding to sensitivity setup 15-53 plotting results 15-88 setting calculation range 15-55 specifying solution quantity for 15-54 viewing results in table format 15-88 output variable viewing convergence 16-4 output variables deleting 16-112 specifying 16-110
P
panning the view 11-5 parameterizing See variables 3-85 parameters assigning variables to 3-100 parametric analysis setting up 15-4 solution quantity results 15-11, 15-86 parametric setup adding 15-4 overview 15-4 parametric setups adding sweep definitions 15-4 adding to a design 15-4 plotting solution quantity results 15-87 setting the calculation range 15-11 solution quantity results 15-11, 15-86 solving 14-1 solving before optimization 15-43 solving before sensitivity analysis 15-57 solving during optimization 15-44 solving during sensitivity analyses 15-58, 15-68 specifying a solution setup 15-8 specifying solution quantities for 15-9 using results for optimization 15-43 using results for sensitivity analysis 15-57
parametric sweep distributed analysis 15-12 parent objects and duplicates 7-67 pasting objects 7-61 pattern search optimizer 15-15 pausing a script 18-2 peak directivity 17-71 peak gain 17-71 peak phasors and gap sources 17-34 and incident waves 17-34 calculating 17-33 peak realized gain 17-72 perfect conductors, modeling 8-5 perfect E boundaries and symmetry planes 17-103 assigning 8-5 impedance multiplier for 17-17 overview 17-96 perfect H boundaries and symmetry planes 17-103 assigning 8-6 impedance multiplier for 17-17 perfectly matched layers, See PML boundaries 8-11 permeability 17-140 anisotropic 17-144 permittivity 17-141 anisotropic 17-145 perspective view 11-23 phase modifying for field overlays 16-117 setting for excitations 16-27 setting maximum change for matrix entries 13-22 phase angle in the calculator 16-150 phase animations 16-31 phase constant 17-18 phase delay defining for matching boundaries 8-24 phase difference defining for matching boundaries 8-24 phase margin 16-5, 17-20 phasors
Index-19
peak 17-33 RMS 17-33 piecewise linear functions dataset expressions in 3-100 for material properties 10-14 using in expressions 3-99 planes created with coordinate system 7-130 default 7-31 drawing 7-31 setting the grid plane 11-27 planes of periodicity, modeling 17-104 planes of symmetry, modeling 8-21 play panel 16-34 plots adding markers 16-81 convergence data 16-7 deleting field overlays 16-134 distribution results for statistical analyses 15-90 hiding 16-133 mesh 16-183 modifying field overlays 16-123 modifying field quantities 16-122 named expressions 16-120 on spherical cross-sections 17-57 opening field overlays 16-134 parametric solution quantity results 15-87 saving field overlays 16-133 plotting basic quantities 16-117 characteristic port impedances 16-93 derived quantities 16-120 group delay 16-93 on spherical cross-sections 17-57 TDR impedance 16-93 VSWR 16-93 PML boundaries applications for 17-99 assigning 8-11 creating automatically 8-11 creating manually 8-13 guidelines for assigning 8-15 material tensors at 17-100 modifying 8-15
Index-20
recalculating materials 8-15 specifying boundaries at 17-102 point of reference 7-116 point plots markers 16-131 points measuring distance between 7-123 points, drawing 7-31 polar coordinates on grid 11-26 setting as grid type 11-26 polar plots creating 2D 16-58 creating 3D 16-60 creating radiation patterns 16-66 creating Smith charts 16-61 creating Smith contour charts 16-62 information displayed 16-60 polarization 17-67 circular 17-68 linear 17-67 Ludwig-3 17-68 spherical 17-68 Polarization Ratio definition 16-95 polarization ratio 17-69 polygons, drawing 7-17 polyhedrons, drawing 7-22 polylines assigning cross section 7-11 center-point arcs 7-7 connecting between planes 7-76 connecting with sheet objects 7-76 converting segments 7-85 converting to sheet objects 7-74 covering 7-74 defining sweep paths 7-72 drawing 7-9 plotting value vs. distance 16-86 setting up near-field 16-173 spline segments 7-8 straight line segments 7-5 three-point arcs 7-6 port adapt options
solution setup 13-26 port field accuracy overview 17-14 port field display field display port fields 16-115 port impedance, plotting in time domain 16-67 port solutions overview 17-11 setting only 13-8 ports and anisotropic materials 17-148 and mesh refinement 17-12 assigning lumped ports 9-17 assigning wave ports 9-4 internal to model 17-118 multiple 17-14 scaling the magnitude 16-27 setting the phase 16-27 use absorbing boundary 13-26 ports only solutions setting 13-8 position measuring 7-123 post processing overview of options 16-1 viewing convergence data 16-2 viewing matrix data 16-9 viewing profile data 16-7 post processing objects points 7-31 power accepted 17-73 incident 17-74 radiated 17-72 power flow and perfect E symmetry planes 17-17 and perfect H symmetry planes 17-17 Poynting vector for peak phasors 17-34 for RMS phasors 17-34 primary sweep modifying the variable 16-86 specifying for 2D rectangular plots 16-53, 16-55
specifying for 3D polar plots 16-61, 16-63 specifying for 3D rectangular plot 16-56, 16-58 specifying for data tables 16-65 specifying for radiation patterns 16-66 Printers Linux 1-4 Solaris 1-4 printing from help pdf 2-1 from HFSS 3-60 priority of boundaries, changing 8-41 priority, changing simulation 14-77 problem region 17-9 profile information for design variations 15-85 for Optimetrics solutions 15-86 viewing 16-7 Progress window monitoring solutions 14-18 Project Manager window overview 1-27 showing 1-27 project tree auto expanding 1-28 field overlays 16-117 field plot folders 16-117 showing 1-27 project variables adding 3-85 and material properties 10-14 deleting 3-88 naming conventions 3-85 units in definition 3-85 projection view 11-23 projects creating new 3-3 default names 3-1 deleting 3-14 managing 3-1 opening existing 3-4 opening legacy HFSS 3-6 opening recent 3-5 renaming 3-11 saving 3-10
Index-21
saving active 3-11 saving automatically 3-12 saving copies 3-11 saving new 3-10 saving notes 3-63 propagation constant 17-11 and de-embedding 17-54 plotting 16-93 viewing 17-17 properties report backgrounds 16-46 Properties window modifying command properties 1-33 set to open after drawing objects 1-32 properties window material properties 10-27 PSpice files exporting to 16-14 Purge History command 3D Modeler 7-90
Q
Q factor 17-31 viewing results 16-18 quality factor 17-31 quantities plotting far field 16-95 plotting field 16-94 plotting near field 16-101 plotting S-parameter 16-92 quasi newton optimizer 15-15 queued simulations removing 14-6 viewing 14-6 queuing all simulations Analysis Option 3-66
R
Radar Radar Cross Section 16-97 RCS for Plane Incident Waves 16-97 radar cross section
Index-22
graphic for bistatic 16-98 Radar Cross Section (RCS) Bistatic RCS 16-97 definition 16-97 diagram 16-98 Monostatic 16-97 radiated fields calculation of 17-56 post-processing capabilities 16-171 requires at least two directions for plot 17-58 radiated power 17-72 radiation boundaries and far fields 16-174 assigning 8-8 conditions applied at 17-98 FSS surfaces 8-9, 8-12, 8-14 guidelines for assigning 17-98 overview 17-98 radiation efficiency 17-74 radiation intensity, maximum 17-70 radiation patterns, creating 16-66 radius, on polar grid 11-26 RAM available to HFSS 13-48 used during solution 16-7 RAM requirements Windows 1-2 range functions eye measurements 16-104 RCS Bistatic RCS 16-97 Complex (Bistatic) 16-97 diagram 16-98 Monostatic 16-97 Radar Cross Section 16-97 rE definition 16-95 Real Calculator General Commands 16-150 real frequency only convergence 13-13 Realized Gain definition 16-95 reassigning boundaries 8-40 reassigning excitations 9-56
recording a script 18-1 rectangles, drawing 7-17 rectangular contour plots creating 16-57 rectangular plots creating 2D 16-52 creating 3D 16-56 of parametric solution quantity results 15-87 rectangular stacked plots creating 2D 16-54 reference point moving relative to 7-116 selecting 7-116 setting 7-111 reflection-free termination, and PMLs 17-99 region drawing 7-34 registers 16-139 regular arrays calculation of 17-62 scan specification 17-63 setting up 16-178 regular polygons, drawing 7-17 regular polyhedrons, drawing 7-22 relative coordinate system about 7-126 creating 7-127 operations affecting 7-126 relative coordinates, entering 7-114 relative permeability 17-140 defining anisotropy tensors 10-10 relative permittivity 17-141 defining anisotropy tensors 10-11 viewing 17-18 remote analysis 14-7 renaming matrix data 16-14 renaming projects 3-11 rendering objects as shaded solids 11-13 as wireframes 11-13 setting default for 11-13 renormalizing S-matrices 9-60 reordering matrix data 16-14
report properties discard below value 16-82 Report setup options 3-83 report templates creating 16-49 report types, selecting 16-50 Reports apply FFT 16-105 background properties 16-46 reports adding traces 16-77 context section 16-41 creating 16-37 creating 2D polar plots 16-58 creating 2D rectangular plots 16-52 creating 2D rectangular stacked plots 16-54 creating 3D polar plots 16-60 creating 3D rectangular plots 16-56 creating data tables 16-64 creating radiation patterns 16-66 creating rectangular contour plots 16-57 creating Smith charts 16-61 creating Smith contour charts 16-62 display types 16-51 finding delta between markers 16-67 modifying data in 16-44 overview 16-37 plotting far-field quantities 16-95 plotting field quantities 16-94 plotting near-field quantities 16-101 selecting a function 16-88 specifying time or frequency domain 16-41, 1652, 16-54, 16-58, 16-64 sweeping variables 16-86 types of 16-50 value vs. distance 16-86 reports dialog familes tab 16-42 reprioritizing boundaries 8-41 Reset command in Tuning dialog box 15-73 resistive surfaces modeling 8-7
Index-23
modeling layered structures 8-31, 8-35 resistors modeling lumped 8-26 resizing holes 7-77 resizing objects 7-69 resizing windows 1-16 re-solving a problem 14-79 resonant frequency 17-30 resuming a script 18-2 rise time for time domain reports 16-67 rise time, minimum 13-42 RMS and radiated power 17-34 RMS phasors calculating 17-33 rotating and sweeping objects 7-72 objects 7-64 the view 11-4 roughness, surface 17-108 rounded corners removing 7-77 RSM Service options setting 3-67 running a script 18-2
S
SAR calculating 17-34 modifying settings 16-121 saving field overlay plots 16-133 tuned states 15-72 saving fields at all frequency points 13-38 at specific frequency points 13-40 for a parametric setup 15-74 for a sensitivity setup 15-75 for a statistical setup 15-74, 15-76 for a tuning analysis 15-74, 15-75 for all Optimetrics setups 15-74 saving projects 3-10
Index-24
active projects 3-11 automatically 3-12 new projects 3-10 saving copies 3-11 scalar field plots cloud plots 16-130 creating 16-121 isosurface display 16-130 transparency 16-131 scalar operations 16-152 scale modifying for field overlays 16-127 scaling magnitude of excitations 16-27 objects 7-69 scaling a source transient network 16-30 scan angles defining for slave boundaries 8-24 scattered fields effect of radius on near field calculation 17-57 scattered wave graphic for RCS 16-98 scripts pausing 18-2 recording 18-1 resuming 18-2 running 18-2 stop recording 18-2 stopping execution of 18-3 secondary sweep modifying the variable 16-86 specifying for 3D polar plots 16-61, 16-63 seeding the mesh 17-6 segmented polygon helix drawing with UDP 7-25 segmented rectangular helix drawing with UDP 7-26 Select All command 7-94 Select All Visible command 7-94 selecting all face edges 7-105 all object edges 7-105 all object faces 7-101
all visible objects selecting all objects in design 7-94 clearing a selection 7-108 edges 7-104 face behind 7-108 faces 7-100 faces by name 7-102 filter by area 7-95 multiple objects 7-94 object behind 7-108 objects 7-93 objects by area 7-95 objects by name 7-95 vertices 7-106 selecting objects by variable 7-109 history tree groups 7-97 sensitivity analysis choosing variables to include 3-101 optional settings 15-52 setting up 15-52 sensitivity setups adding 15-52 adding an output parameter 15-53 procedure for defining 15-52 setting initial displacement 15-57 setting the max. iterations 15-53 separating bodies 7-85 Sequential Mixed Integer NonLinear Programming (SMINLP) Optimizer 15-15 Sequential Nonlinear Programming (SNLP) Optimizer optimizer 15-15 setting reference point 7-111 termpature for objects 7-46 setting object color 7-60 setting object transparency 7-61 setting outline color 7-60 setting the drawing plane 7-133 setting the movement mode 7-133 setting up designs 4-1 setting up projects 4-1 setup link dialog 9-53
setups, dependent solution 13-4 setups, solution 13-1 sheet objects 7-4 sheets thicken to make 3D objects 7-73 shortcut keys CTRL+A 7-94 shortcut menus overview 1-22 Show Queued Simulations command using 14-6 showing selections 11-10 some objects 11-10 showing windows 1-15 shrinking objects 11-6 signal rise time 13-42 signals minimum rise time 13-42 simulations changing priority of 14-77 monitoring 14-18 re-solving 14-79 running Optimetrics 14-1 starting 14-1 stopping 14-78 single frequency points 13-40 single frequency solution 17-25 method for computing 17-25 single frequency solutions specifying 13-2, 13-12 skin depth-based refinement creation of layers 17-7 on faces 12-5 slave boundaries and frequency dependence 17-109 assigning 8-24 guidelines for assigning 17-104 S-matrices de-embedding 9-62 renormalizing 9-60 S-matrix for differential signals 17-122 smetal boundary type 17-110
Index-25
Smith charts, creating 16-61, 16-62 snap settings choosing 7-120 guidelines for 7-121 modes 7-120 setting default 7-120 SNLP optimizer setting Min and Max focus 15-42 Solaris Setting Up a Printer 1-4 solid objects 7-4 solution data deleting 16-19 for design variations 15-85 importing 3-55 viewing 16-2 viewing convergence data 16-2 viewing eigenmode 16-18 solution frequency and Fast sweeps 13-7 setting 13-7 solution process overview 17-5 tetrahedra used during 16-7 viewing memory used during 16-7 viewing profile data 16-7 viewing tasks performed 16-7 solution quantity calculation range for optimization 15-35 calculation range for parametric setups 15-11 calculation range for sensitivity 15-55 calculation range for statistical 15-62 plotting parametric setup results 15-87 specifying for cost function 15-35 specifying for output parameter 15-54 specifying for parametric setups 15-9 specifying for statistical setups 15-61 solution settings adding frequency sweeps 13-31 available memory 13-48 convergence on real frequency 13-13 lambda refinement 13-19, 13-20 matrix convergence 13-22 maximum delta Energy per pass 13-12
Index-26
maximum delta S per pass 13-12 maximum number of passes 13-11 maximum refinement per pass 13-20 memory limit 13-49 minimum frequency 13-9 minimum number of converged passes 13-21 minimum number of passes 13-21 number of eigenmodes 13-10 number of processors 13-47 setting up adaptive analyses 13-11 solution frequency 13-7 solving ports only 13-8 solution settings, specifying 13-1 solution settings, specifying dependent 13-4 solution setup data types for convergence 13-34 port adapt options 13-26 solution setups adding 13-1 adding dependent 13-4 choosing for a parametric analysis 15-8 solution type overview 17-29 setting 4-3 solutions after modifying the model 14-79 at single frequency 17-25 changing priority of 14-77 monitoring 14-18 re-solving 14-79 starting 14-1 stopping 14-78 Solutions window displaying 14-18 solver domains theory 17-47 solving 14-1 batch solution 1-45 inside an object 10-4 on surface 10-4 parametric setup before optimization 15-43 parametric setup before sensitivity analysis 15-57 parametric setup during optimization 15-44 parametric setup during sensitivity analysis 15-
58, 15-68 solving remotely 14-7 sorting materials 10-34 spacing between grid points 11-27 S-parameters de-embedding 17-54 plotting quantities 16-92 renormalized 17-53 specific absorption rate see SAR 16-121 spheres drawing 7-19 plotting value vs. distance 16-87 setting up infinite 16-176 setting up near-field 16-172 spherical coordinates, entering 7-113 spherical cross-sections 17-57 spherical polar 17-68 spinning the view 11-4 spirals drawing 7-27, 7-29 splines converting to straight lines 7-85 drawing 7-8 splitting objects on a plane 7-83 square (unit of) 17-97 stack 16-138 stack commands clear 16-140 exch 16-140 loading into 16-141 performing operations on 16-148 pop 16-140 push 16-140 rldn 16-140 rlup 16-140 undo 16-140 starting frequency 13-37 starting variable value overriding for optimizations 15-39 overriding for sensitivity 15-55 overriding for statistical 15-67 statistical analysis choosing variables to include 3-102
plotting distribution results 15-90 setting up 15-60 viewing distribution results 15-89 statistical setups adding 15-60 procedure for defining 15-60 setting the max. iterations 15-60 specifying solution quantities for 15-61 status bar overview 1-27 step size setting constraints for optimization 15-42 setting for sweep definitions 15-6 step size between frequencies 13-37 stitch sheets command 7-52 stopping a script 18-3 stopping an analysis 14-78 stopping criteria matrix convergence 13-22 maximum delta Energy 13-12 maximum delta S 13-12 maximum number of passes 13-11 minimum number of converged passes 13-21 minimum number of passes 13-21 stopping criteria for optimization maximum number of iterations 15-30 stopping criteria for sensitivity analysis max. iterations 15-53 stopping frequency 13-37 stopping script recording 18-2 streamline Fields Reporter Options tab 3-74 plot attribute settings 16-123 plot selection 16-117 subtracting objects 7-80 surface approximation guidelines for setting 17-9 modifying settings 12-7 overview 17-8 surface roughness 17-108 surface visualization setting 11-14 surfaces covering 7-75
Index-27
creating face lists 7-103 detaching 7-75 uncovering 7-75 sweep definitions See variable sweep definitions 15-4 sweep variables in reports modifying values 16-86 normalized distance 16-86 normalized line 16-86 spherical coordinates 16-87 sweeping faces along normal 7-73 sweeping objects along a path 7-72 along a vector 7-71 and draft angles 7-71 and twisting 7-72 around an axis 7-70 draft types 7-71 overview 7-70 symmetry boundaries and multiple modes 17-104 assigning 8-21 guidelines for assigning 17-103 overview 17-103 symmetry planes and impedance 17-104 and multiple modes 17-104 guidelines for modeling 17-103 Perfect E vs. Perfect H 17-103 symmetry planes, modeling 8-21 Sync # column 15-6 synchronizing sweep definitions 15-6 system material libraries 10-36 system requirements Windows 1-2
T
TDR Impedance changing default value 16-69 TDR impedance plotting 16-93 TDR impedance, plotting 16-67
Index-28
TDR Options dialog box 16-67 temperature setting for objects 7-46 templates for reports creating 16-49 tensor coordinate system 17-132 terminal conversion from modes 17-77 terminal lines and differential pairs 9-28 terminal solutions assigning lumped ports 9-19 assigning wave ports 9-8 setting 4-3 terminal S-parameter reports 16-50 terminals scaling the magnitude 16-27 setting a complex impedance 16-27 Test Machines Distributed Analysis Machines dialog 14-16 tetrahedra color in plots 16-184 display options 16-184 field quantities within 17-2 scale factor in plot 16-183 setting number added each pass 13-20 used during solution 16-7 thermal feedback from ANSYS 13-27 thermal link ANSYS Workbench 12 14-80 thermal link to Ansys Mechanical 16-21 thermal quadratic parameters 10-25 theta, on polar grid 11-26 thicken sheets 7-73 three-point arcs 7-6 time real vs. CPU 16-7 viewing for solution tasks 16-7 time domain specifying for report 16-67 technical notes 5-2, 5-6, 5-8, 5-10, 17-36, 17-37, 17-38, 17-39, 17-44, 17-45 time profile for transcient solutions 5-5
time steps per rise time 13-42 T-junction Getting Started guide 1-53 toolbars overview 1-19 toruses, drawing 7-23 total fields radius and near fields calculation 17-57 Traces display properties 16-79 traces adding characteristics 16-83 adding to reports 16-77 categories 16-92 copy and paste definitions 16-84 removing 16-84 Traces dialog box 16-37 trademark notices 1-100 transcient solutions technical notes 5-2, 5-6, 5-8, 5-10, 17-36, 17-37, 17-38, 17-39, 17-44, 17-45 translating legacy projects 3-6 transparency assigning to objects 7-61 default for objects 7-61 in scalar field plots 16-131 of mesh plots 16-183 traveling waves at ports 17-11 tuning choosing variables to tune 3-102 Tuning Reports command 16-113 tuning analysis resetting variable values after 15-73 reverting to a state 15-73 saving a state 15-72 setting up 15-70 twisting objects while sweeping 7-72
history tree 1-38 uncovering faces 7-75 uniform magnetic bias 17-132 uniting objects 7-79 units as part of variable definitions 3-85 of impedance boundaries 17-97 setting for design 7-3 Upgrade Version History tree 1-42 User Defined Primitives 7-29, 7-55 user defined primitives customization 7-57 user interface overview 1-15 user material libraries 10-36
V
validating materials 10-30 validation check 3-19 Value command fields calculator 16-163 value vs. distance plots 16-86 variable for output convergence 13-13 selecting objects by 7-109 variable sweep definitions adding to parametric setups 15-4 manually modifying 15-7 overview 15-4 setting values to solve 15-6 synchronizing 15-6 tracking changes to 15-7 viewing all design variations 15-4 variable-dependent goal 15-37 variables add array 3-91 adding local variables 3-88 adding project variables 3-85 and object parameters 7-4 assigning to material properties 10-14 assigning to parameters 3-100 choosing to optimize 3-100
Index-29
U
UDPPrimitiveTypeInfo data structure 7-56 Unclassified folder
choosing to tune 3-102 dataset expressions in 3-100 defining sweep definitions 15-4 deleting from design 3-93 deleting from project 3-88 dependent 3-86, 3-90, 3-96 excluding from Optimetrics analyses 15-79 including in functions 3-95 including in sensitivity analysis 3-101 including in statistical analysis 3-102 material properties 10-14 min. and max values for optimization 15-39 min. and max values for sensitivity analysis 15-56 output 16-110 overriding default value for a parametric setup 158 overview 3-85 predefined in HFSS 3-95 setting default value 3-86 setting distribution criteria 15-62 setting fixed values 15-80 setting range of values 15-56 setting range of values for optimization 15-39 tuning 15-70 types in HFSS 3-85 updating to optimized values 15-44 .vbs file format 18-1 VBScript .vbs file format 18-1 vector field plots creating 16-122 modifying arrows 16-129 vector operations 16-157 vertex, selecting 7-106 vertical cross-sections 16-100 vertices, selecting 7-106 video drivers recommended 1-2 view direction 11-20 view options background color 11-24 fit all in view 11-8 lighting 11-22 modifying 11-1
Index-30
orientation 11-20 pan 11-5 projection 11-23 rotate 11-4 spin 11-4 view direction 11-20 zoom 11-6 zoom on rectangle 11-6 visibility hiding objects 11-9 of color key 16-126 of field overlay plots 16-133 of mesh on field plots 16-130 showing objects 11-10 visualization options for boundaries 8-44 for excitations 8-44 Visualize hiistory of objects Setting option for 3-81 voltage differentials and perfect E symmetry planes 17-17 and perfect H symmetry planes 17-17 voltage sources assigning 9-48 editing 9-48 setting the phase 16-27 technical note 17-131 voltage standing wave ratio plotting 16-93
W
Wave Port wizard 9-5 wave ports analytic port types 17-117 for modal solutions 9-5 for terminal solutions 9-8 overview 17-115 specifying multiple modes 9-5 W-element warning message 17-79 W-element data exporting 16-17 windows
moving and resizing 1-16 show or hide 1-15 wireframe objects 11-13 working coordinate system about 7-126 selecting 7-127 wrap objects command 7-73 Write command fields calculator 16-164
X
XY drawing plane 7-133
Y
Y-parameters, plotting 16-93
Z
zero order basis functions 17-3 Zo changing default impedance 16-69 Zoom to selected boundary 8-2 to selected excitation 9-3 zooming in and out 11-6 on rectangular area 11-6 Z-parameters, plotting 16-93 Zpi definition of 17-16 Zpv definition of 17-16 Zvi definition of 17-16
Index-31
Index-32