Keysight Technologies and WIN Semiconductors jointly work for a joint MMIC design workflow that enables GaN MMIC design houses to achieve first pass tapeout success.
The workflow connects on-chip multi-domain simulation, 3D layout with verifications, and off-chip MMIC evaluation board design into a single environment. It supports the growing number of companies developing GaN MMICs for 5G base stations, Wi-Fi access points, satellite payloads, and defense radar systems.
A failed tapeout can mean weeks lost to another foundry respin. The new workflow automates the full set of simulation, optimization, and verification steps required to sign off on an MMIC design, ensuring no analysis is skipped before the design is submitted to the foundry for fabrication.
MMIC customers will not commit to purchase until they can measure performance on a physical evaluation board comprising the MMIC, packaging, PCB, and test connectors. The workflow lets engineers design and optimize these on-chip and off-chip components together, so that performance meets specifications as verified with test equipment.
With the global GaN RF device market projected to reach $2.77 billion by 2031, MMIC design houses that cannot prove performance on the evaluation board risk losing their share of that growth.
WIN Semiconductors’ latest NP 120P GaN Process Design Kit gives MMIC designers access to process models and layout rules. These models within Keysight Advanced Design System (ADS) and RF Circuit Simulation Professional automate the workflow to achieve first pass MMIC tapeout.
