Nitronex, one of the leading producers of GaN-on-silicon based RF power devices, has selected Agilent to provide a complete GaN design flow that spans both device modeling and circuit simulation. The flow uses Agilent EEsof EDA’s IC-CAP model extraction software and Advanced Design System (ADS) circuit and system simulator.
Gallium nitride has emerged as a semiconductor material of choice for designing RF power devices, providing a formidable combination of high bandwidth, efficiency and power. In the case of Nitronex, whose GaN devices use silicon as a substrate, there is an added inherent cost advantage to its approach. Nonetheless, as with the development of any high-power device, designing for high levels of reliability, performance and yield requires investing in leading modeling and simulation technology.
ADS delivers a host of usability features to improve designer productivity and efficiency for all applications it supports, as well as capabilities specifically applicable to GaN design. Support for Agilent’s newly introduced artificial neural network-based model (extracted by IC-CAP device modeling software), for example, enables much more accurate FET modeling and simulation results for high-power GaN FET amplifiers. Additionally, an electro-thermal simulator (based on a full 3-D thermal solver natively integrated into ADS) incorporates dynamic temperature effects to improve accuracy in “thermally aware” circuit simulation results.
IC-CAP features capabilities specifically geared toward high-frequency device modeling, including turnkey extraction of Agilent’s neural networked-based model as well as the Angelov-GaN model. GaN models in particular need to be well suited to deal with the impact of trapping and thermal effects on the device electrical characteristics.
