Applications such as WLAN, Bluetooth®, 3G, gigabit ethernet, and portable communications devices are fueling the demand for advanced Mixed Signal/RF CMOS semiconductors. Requirements for lower cost, lighter weight, and longer battery life drive greater functional integration, leading to sophisticated single-chip solutions.

UMC delivers advanced System on Chip (SoC) solutions that address the needs of communications and networking industries for high-performance and low-power digital and analog circuits. The company has paid particular attention to the sensitive analog and radio frequency (RF) circuits that are critical to the success of an IC design project.

Together, UMC and Ansoft have developed a design solution for complex systems that include custom RF and analog circuits. UMC’s advanced RF CMOS semiconductor process, combined with Ansoft’s Nexxim®, HFSS™, and EDA tools from other established vendors, provide the platform upon which advanced SoCs can be developed.

The companies have created a solution for RF, Analog, and Mixed Signal Design and are jointly validating the methodology by designing an IC for ultra-wideband applications. This joint effort leverages UMC’s production-proven 0.13 µm RF CMOS process for mixed-signal SoCs with Ansoft’s advanced circuit simulation and electromagnetic extraction.

The white paper above describes RF and analog design and verification using UMC's FRADI design procedure with Ansoft's best in class tools working in a Cadence® design flow. Circuits for an ultra-wideband (UWB) multi-band orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (MB-OFDM) radio are used as the vehicle to demonstrate and validate the methodology.

Download the UWB Nexxim/System Co-simulation Project