AWR

Connected™
Mentor Graphics
Expedition™

OVERVIEW
RF and printed circuit board (PCB) design have been quietly merging for years as
RF layer and component counts have increased and frequencies/clock rates have
risen. Yet the ability to concurrently design RF/microwave circuitry and realize it
on a manufacturable, design-rule-check (DRC) correct PCB has not been on the
same trajectory. Now with AWR Connected™ for Mentor Graphics Expedition™,
a highly efficient flow that achieves concurrency between RF/microwave design,
electromagnetic (EM) analysis, and circuit simulation with PCB library management,
digital/analog mixed signal (AMS) implementation, and manufacturing verification
and preparation is finally here.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE AWR & Mentor

Co-Design for
Complete database-to-database integration
Bidirectional and
• Full and incremental bidirectional schematic & layout
Collaborative
• Real-time component library synchronization RF PCB Design
• AWR XML parts library automatically generated and
updated with every transfer from Mentor
• Mentor library automation to synchronize to AWR
microstrips and striplines and EM-based parts
• No library duplication
• Auto-create AWR process design kit (PDK) from Mentor tools
upon data transfer
• AWR footprints/symbols from Mentor upon data transfer
Access to AWR circuit simulators throughout the flow
• Full concurrency from Mentor to AWR while completing PCB
• Connect one Mentor PCB to many AWR projects over the Internet
among multiple platforms
Full, incremental, and multiple EM document creation
and management between
Expedition and AWR
Release-independent
functionality

Achieve a concurrent RF PCB

design flow with AWR Connected.
 AWR
(additional
Connected positioning
line here ???)
Mentor
MG Graphics
Expedition™
Expedition

HOW IT WORKS
Traditional file-based co-design translation solutions not only fail to
provide full concurrency, but can actually inhibit it. In contrast, AWR
Connected for Mentor Graphics Expedition is built at the database
level, so your design decisions are preserved while allowing you to
exploit all the features of both software suites. With on-demand
library creation as part of every file transfer, AWR Connected for
Mentor Graphics eliminates the need to create a duplicate library
of your PCB parts in the AWR Design Environment™. Parts become
available in AWR as soon as you place them in your Mentor design,
so there’s no need for librarian work to begin using any parts in your
LMS, DMS, or local project library.

Concurrency is assured throughout the design flow, giving you

access at all times to all aspects of AWR circuit simulation, from EM
NEW IMAGE HERE
analysis to ACE™ automatic circuit extraction. Circuit simulation can
be accessed directly from Mentor’s DxDesigner™, Design Architect™,
and Expedition. And when you run Mentor’s real-time DRC or
design for manufacturability (DFM) tools with AWR Connected in
auto-simulate mode, you can instantly access the effect of any layout
change by circuit simulation or analysis, including any EM solver
plugged into AWR’s EM Socket™.

SUMMARY
AWR Connected for Mentor Graphics Expedition delivers the first
true integrated flow between RF/microwave engineering and PCB
system design. Library creation is automatic, on-demand, and
includes continuous synchronization as needed with each schematic
or layout transfer. Crucial access to circuit simulation is provided
at all steps of the flow, regardless of the toolset from which design
modifications are being made. Concurrent circuit simulation, EM
analysis, and realtime PCB DRC during the critical final stages to NEW IMAGE HERE
manufacturing release eliminate costly translation steps, design
iterations, and board spins.

RF/microwave designs are accelerated with AWR

and Mentor Graphics Expedition co-design. The
real-time bidirectional link between the tools is the
key to achieving concurrent design.

AWR, 1960 East Grand Avenue, Suite 430, El Segundo, CA 90245, USA
Tel: +1 (310) 726-3000 Fax: +1 (310) 726-3005 www.awrcorp.com
Copyright © 2009 AWR Corporation. All rights reserved. AWR and the AWR logo are registered
trademarks and AWR Connected, AWR Design Environment, ACE and EM Socket are trademarks
of AWR Corporation. All others are property of their respective holders.