The new 5G C-band service is now up and running in the U.S., and subscribers are finally starting to see some of the promise of 5G. The new C-band services are primarily in spectrum allocations between 3 and 4 GHz, providing the wider channel allocation bandwidths necessary to deliver significantly higher data throughput. At the… Read More
5G Network Activation Update
As a pilot and semiconductor professional I was a bit shocked to get an Airworthiness Directive due to the 5G rollout. Airworthiness Directives are legally enforceable regulations issued by the FAA to correct an unsafe condition in a product:
“Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2021-23-12 was issued for all fleets in December… Read More
The Clash Between 5G and Airline Safety
For 5G to really deliver on its promise of high bandwidth and good coverage, it needs to use an RF band known as C-Band (3.7 to 4.4 GHz). This band is ideal because its frequency is high enough to offer 100MHz wide channels and also low enough that signal attenuation, especially in urban areas, is minimal. In 2020 the FCC auctioned off… Read More
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to HFSS Meshing
Automatic adaptive meshing in Ansys HFSS is a critical component of its finite element method (FEM) simulation process. Guided by Maxwell’s Equations, it efficiently refines a mesh to deliver a reliable solution, guaranteed. Engineers around the world count on this technology when designing cutting-edge electronic products.… Read More
The 5G Rollout Safety Controversy
There has been a lot of attention in the news recently about AT&T and Verizon rolling out their first implementations of sub-6GHz 5G radio access networks (RAN). Notably, the FAA and airline industries have voiced serious concerns about potential safety issues for aircraft autopilot and landing systems. As a result of these… Read More
Can you Simulate me now? Ansys and Keysight Prototype in 5G
Ansys and Keysight wanted to see if they could answer the question, If we put virtual cellphones in different locations in a city, can we predict what kind of 5G signal we’re going to get in those locations? To find out, they created and tested a detailed virtual model of a city, including a variety of 5G antennae, receivers, and transmitters… Read More
Cut Out the Cutouts
In 2014, many of the customers that my team and I supported in North America were still using HFSS 3D to model boards and packages. These customers were content with that interface, able to get their models setup quickly, and were okay with the solution times because when HFSS gave them an answer, they knew it was the right answer. I … Read More
Is Ansys Reviving the Collaborative Business Model in EDA?
The Electronic Design Automation (EDA) industry used to be a bustling bazaar of scrappy startups, along with medium sized companies that dominated a technology space, and big main-line vendors. The annual Design Automation Conference was noisy, hectic, and sprawled over multiple large convention halls. This diversity meant… Read More
A Practical Approach to Better Thermal Analysis for Chip and Package
Thermal modeling has become a hot topic for designers of today’s high-speed circuits and complex packages. This has led to the adoption of better and more sophisticated thermal modeling tools and flows as exemplified in this presentation by Micron at the IDEAS Digital Forum. The presentation is titled “Thermal Aware Memory Controller… Read More
Ansys CEO Ajei Gopal’s Keynote on 3D-IC at Samsung SAFE Forum
System on chip (SoC) based design has long been recognized as a powerful method to offer product differentiation through higher performance and expanded functionality. Yet, it comes with a number of limitations, such as high cost of development. Also, SoCs are monolithic, which can inhibit rapid adaptation in the face of changing… Read More