Product category:
Design and Development Software
News Release from: Vector Fields | Subject: Concerto-v5
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 17 June 2005
RF simulation software provides all the
tools
Concerto, the high frequency simulation software for component design from Vector Fields, has been upgraded to include many features from the user-group wish list.
Concerto, the high frequency simulation software for component design from Vector Fields, has been upgraded to include Clasp, based on moment method, new editions of Quickwave, an extended modeller and many other items from the user-group wish list The new version of the Concerto software suite has been enhanced significantly to include a new analysis module - Clasp
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 30 Jul 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Vector Fields has upgraded its Concerto software for three-dimensional analysis and design of microwave components such as antennas, waveguides, microstrips and microwave heating etc.
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This is based on the moment method which is well suited for applications that include large volumes of free space such as antenna placement, antenna interaction and RCS calculations.
New additions to the Quickwave analysis (based on the finite difference time domain FDTD method, including conforming element technology) make it easier to use and visualise the results.
The Concerto modeller has also been extended to be able to drive both analysis types.
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Vector Fields has signed an agreement to market the Clasp software developed by Abingdon based Culham Electromagnetics and Lightning.
The moment method used in Clasp is a well established technique for modelling problems that involve large volumes free of space.
It is only necessary to include the conductor or dielectric surfaces of a model and the interior and exterior space are handled automatically.
The surfaces are discretised using triangular elements and thin wires are modelled using line elements.
The technique leads to a matrix representation which is fully populated.
A major advantage of the moment method is that once the matrix system has been solved, the matrix inverse can be stored for later use.
In this case the matrix inverse is passed to a new version of the post-processor (specifically designed for visualising Clasp results) allowing alternative source fields to be applied with very little extra computing effort.
If a plane wave is required from a different angle it is only necessary to perform a matrix back-substitution to get the new solution.
This feature ensures that monostatic RCS calculations are extremely fast and efficient.
As the air volume is not meshed when using Clasp, analyses such as coupling between antennas can be easily solved.
Examples include antenna placements on masts or on satellite systems.
The main analysis module in Concerto remains the FDTD approach which is ideally suited to complex microwave component design.
Applications can include planar as well as fully three dimensional structures.
Some major enhancements have been made to Quickwave, both in the analysis and visualisation.
Material modelling is one area which has received a lot of attention, and the ability to include dispersive media has been added to the software.
Three models for dispersion have been used - Lorentz, Debye and Drude models - each representing a different way in which the material properties vary with frequency.
Magnetised ferrites have also been included allowing for the effects of a direct current biasing magnetic field to be superimposed on a material.
The visualisation of the simulation has been extended to include easier viewing of port modes and fields during the analysis.
The approach used is that during the simulation process all the field and S-parameter values can be displayed at will.
Multiple windows can be opened, each showing a different aspect of the analysis as it progresses.
This is a completely interactive approach and helps with the understanding of how the device actually works.
In addition to the field vectors throughout the model, the fields on the planes can be displayed as well as the surface currents on the geometry.
Additional features that have been added to Quickwave include the ability to couple to 3D thermal modelling software (a basic heating module which assumes adiabatic heating was already available - the new development also allows for temperature diffusion to be modelled) and include the effect of rotating loads for microwave heating applications.
An important part of the whole design suite is the Concerto geometric modeller.
This has also been extended in a number of ways to meet requirements of being able to launch both Clasp and Quickwave analysis modules.
In particular the mesh creation stage is different for both modules and generates quite different kinds of mesh.
All other aspects of the modeller are essentially the same.
The material definition stage is enhanced for the time domain analysis using Quickwave as dispersive materials can be added by completing a "dialogue" with the relevant details.
Probably the most useful aspect of the modeller is its ability to store a history of the sequence of actions required to build a model or the changes made to an important data file created using an external CAD system.
This history can be modified using a text sensitive editor built into the modeller and saves for later use.
The model can be parameterised so that key dimensions are stored as variables and the user prompted for a new value each time the model is opened.
The dialogues used within the program are also open to the user so that custom dialogues can be created to make parameter definition easier.
The most important feature now in Concerto-v5 is the ability to choose the right tool for the job.
There is no single method that can be used for all applications and it is Vector Fields' approach to provide a range of tools so the correct one for the job can be selected.
The FDTD method is the preferred choice for most microwave design needs but, where it is necessary to model large expanses of free space the moment method is far better suited.
The finite element method also has its strengths, and the Vector Fields Soprano analysis module uses this technique very successfully for RF cavity modelling.
The limitation encountered when using finite elements is that it is difficult to add sufficient elements to ensure high accuracy as frequency increases - far less of an issue when using the FDTD approach.
In conclusion there are three main approaches to microwave modelling each with strengths.
The finite element method is already in use in the Soprano module and with the new version of Concerto, both FDTD and moment method are now present, all launched from a common interface.
This makes Vector Fields unique in offering all three main techniques in a single environment to provide the optimum choice without prejudice.
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