Keysight PathWave Software Selected by Menlo Micro to Reduce Design Cycle for New Radio Frequency Microelectromechanical Switch
Keysight Technologies (NYSE: KEYS) announced that Menlo Micro has selected its PathWave Advanced Design System and Electromagnetic Design software to accelerate development of its MM5130 RF switch. The collaboration aims to address challenges in 3D electromagnetic simulation and streamline design workflows. Menlo Micro successfully reduced its design cycle by 65%, from nine months to approximately three to four months, while achieving significant improvements in power density and power handling. This partnership highlights Keysight's software capabilities and the innovative advancements in MEMS technology.
- Menlo Micro achieved a 65% reduction in design cycle time for the MM5130 RF switch.
- Key performance metrics improved, including power density and RF insertion loss.
- Successful early performance validation using Keysight's software tools.
- None.
Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS), a leading technology company that delivers advanced design and validation solutions to help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world, announced that Menlo Micro has selected the company’s PathWave Advanced Design System (ADS) and Electromagnetic (EM) Design software to innovate advances in material science and develop high-performance microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switches.
Menlo Micro needed to resolve customer challenges relating to accurate 3D electromagnetic simulation and integrated design, test and measurement workflows in the development of its new MM5130, an ultra-low-loss radio-frequency (RF) SP4T switch, to address high-power switching applications up to 26 GHz. With an eye on time to market, Menlo targeted a short design cycle of three to four months.
Menlo Micro wanted to validate performance of its new MM5130 switch early in the development process, so it chose to implement its own PCB de-embedding algorithms into Keysight’s PathWave ADS software. “In choosing design tools, we needed to consider the whole flow, from the schematic to the 3D simulations,” said Dr. Xu Zhu, Menlo Micro’s director of technology. “Our engineers need to be familiar with the tools, and that is one of the reasons why we chose Keysight’s PathWave Advanced Design System as the core tool.”
Menlo chose Keysight’s EM Design software, including EMPro and RFPro, integrated into the PathWave ADS platform, to create a familiar design environment for their engineering team. Because the engineers were constantly changing and adjusting the layout in PathWave ADS, a smooth workflow from circuit layout to 3D EM simulation was critical.
Keysight’s EMPro and RFPro enabled Menlo to make smooth translations from the 2D layout to the 3D model files. Keysight’s RFPro, with the SmartMount and Mesh Domain Optimization technologies, solved the mesh optimization challenges. Menlo Micro’s design flow includes tools from multiple vendors, so interoperability was critical.
As a result, Menlo Micro was able to shorten the design cycle of its new MEMS switch by 65 percent with measurements correlating closely to simulation. Previous projects of this scale could take up to nine months. When comparing key banner specifications against other alternatives, Menlo Micro verified its innovative technology offered significant improvements in power density (SP4T 25 W power handling), RF insertion loss, linearity and ultra-low power consumption.
"Menlo Micro designed a complex, multi-technology module comprised of a wide range of geometries from micron-scale MEMs to millimeter-scale PCBs,” stated Tom Lillig, general manager of Keysight’s PathWave Design business. “Leveraging Keysight’s fast, high capacity, 3D EM circuit simulators they achieved a successful implementation in one pass.”
Menlo also created device prototypes and conducted measurements by wafer probing, which demonstrated first-pass manufacturing success. Next, their engineering team performed measurements on Keysight’s vector network analyzer (VNA) to compare its simulation results against actual de-embedded device measurements as a proof of concept for customers.
The full case study is available at https://www.keysight.com/us/en/assets/7121-1063/case-studies/Driving-Innovation-Shortens-Design-Cycle-by-65-for-First-to-Market-MEMS-RF-Switch.pdf.
About Keysight Technologies
Keysight delivers advanced design and validation solutions that help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world. Keysight’s dedication to speed and precision extends to software-driven insights and analytics that bring tomorrow’s technology products to market faster across the development lifecycle, in design simulation, prototype validation, automated software testing, manufacturing analysis, and network performance optimization and visibility in enterprise, service provider and cloud environments. Our customers span the worldwide communications and industrial ecosystems, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, semiconductor and general electronics markets. Keysight generated revenues of
Additional information about Keysight Technologies is available in the newsroom at https://www.keysight.com/go/news and on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210715005691/en/
FAQ
What is the significance of Menlo Micro's partnership with Keysight Technologies?
What improvements did Menlo Micro verify after using Keysight's software?
How long did Menlo Micro's design cycle take after implementing Keysight's solutions?
What technologies are included in Keysight's PathWave software suite?
