Abstract

Following a broader overview of the status of microwave CAD during EuMC '95, this paper now focusses on the progress and trends of full-wave electromagnetic (EM) simulation software as it is widely used today in the industry for MMIC design. The addition of new features, performance enhancements and improved functionality having emerged over the last 3 - 4 years is outlined. Also, still existing shortcomings, trade-offs and sources of numerical error are addressed. The use of such design-oriented EM software and associated linking methodologies in the context of microwave and mm-wave CAD is discussed.