Introduction to Ansys SIwave

Ansys SIwave™ printed circuit board (PCB) and package electromagnetics simulation software is an advanced analysis and design tool for complex PCBs, packages, silicon interposers, and RDLs. Employing multiple state-of-the-art full-wave EM solvers, SIwave helps designers solve SI, PI, EMI/EMC problems of Chip/Package/Board systems. In addition to generating S-parameters, RLCG extractions, and SPICE netlists, SIwave offers an array of different analyses, including impedance scan, DC IR drop, time-domain reflectometry (TDR), and impedance optimization of PDN using decoupling capacitors. Ports, terminations, and circuit elements can be inserted into the design to set up the simulation and to model the system end-to-end.

This training course walks new Ansys SIwave users through simulation steps to run various types of SI/PI analyses using real high-speed boards as examples. These steps include the use of AEDT (Ansys Electronics Desktop) circuit simulation and post-processing capabilities.

Learning Outcomes:

Following the completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Set up SI analyses in SIwave, including impedance scan, SYZ and TDR.
• Set up PI analyses in SIwave, including SYZ, RLGC, and decoupling capacitor optimization.
• Configure components including R, L, C, ports, terminations.
• Configure SPICE and S-parameter component models.

Prerequisites: 

• Familiarity with high-speed digital signal electronic engineering, including transmission line characteristic impedance, differential pairs, NEXT (near end cross talk) and FEXT (far end cross talk), and S-parameters.
• Familiarity with printed circuit board (PCB) layouts, workflows (formats for import and export), and standards (e.g. DDR).
• Prior experience with full wave electromagnetic simulation is helpful but not required.

Please note: These training materials were developed and tested in the 2024R1 release.