#PLACE CELL LAYOUTEDITOR UPGRADE#
#PLACE CELL LAYOUTEDITOR SOFTWARE#
#PLACE CELL LAYOUTEDITOR WINDOWS#

To accomplish this 3-D capability, OpenGL, an advanced graphics technology commonly used in 3-D imaging applications, was incorporated. These images allow design engineers to inspect the final circuit layout from any angle for proper connections and clearances. Microwave Office 3.0, in addition to displaying flat two-dimensional layouts, can also generate near photo realistic three-dimensional (3-D) views, as shown in Figure 1. Although this picture could potentially be worth a lot more than a thousand words, microwave engineers have typically been forced to use their imagination to picture what their final design was going to look like. Layout problems can arise in microwave circuits that might not have occurred if the engineer could visualize what the final product would look like ahead of time. The seamless integration of layout into the Microwave Office simulation environment provides users with a real-time tuning capability that is unprecedented in high frequency electronic design tools. Schematic, simulation and layout data are always consistent because of the implicit advantages in the common database approach. The introduction of the layout editor takes this feature to a higher level so that users can select components and literally stretch them while the simulation output changes in real time. Microwave Office has always been popular because of its unique real-time tuning capability, which mimics the laboratory environment. This capability completely eliminates the need for back annotation, forward annotation or any design synchronization and produces a design solution that is more powerful, better integrated and easier to use than conventional tools.

#PLACE CELL LAYOUTEDITOR SOFTWARE#

Instead of linking a layout tool to a simulator, the software package was designed with a single object-oriented database that is used concurrently by the simulator, schematic capture and layout tool. In Microwave Office, this approach was taken a step further. The RF and microwave design process mandates that simulation be very closely tied to the layout tool. However, for RF and microwave design the layout process is so critical to the performance that it is integral to the simulation process. What's Different about the Layout Editor?įor much of electronic design, such as digital or analog circuit design, the layout process is accomplished separately from the design, simulation and modeling effort. The revolutionary new layout editor leverages this COM technology. COM is the underlying architecture that forms the foundation for higher level software integration. Microsoft's Component Object Model (COM), a software architecture that allows applications to be built from interoperable binary software components, provides key functionality that allows the pieces of Microwave Office to work together seamlessly.

#PLACE CELL LAYOUTEDITOR WINDOWS#

Microwave Office is the only RF and microwave software that was developed as a native Microsoft Windows application using an object-oriented database from the ground up. Users of the layout solution can rapidly create complex layouts and reduce the overall time and cost involved in getting products to market.

Apollo is different from other microwave layout tools in that it is built upon a single object-oriented database. The new Apollo layout capability complements Microwave Office's existing circuit simulation and electromagnetic (EM) analysis tools by expanding the range of functionality into the physical layout of MMIC, RFIC and RF printed circuit boards.

#PLACE CELL LAYOUTEDITOR UPGRADE#

An advanced integrated layout editor is featured in the latest upgrade to Microwave Office version 3.0 CAD software.

Place cell layouteditor