Keysight Technologies, Inc. has announced the newest release of its industry-leading device modeling and characterization software suite: Integrated Circuits Characterization and Analysis Program (IC-CAP) 2016, Model Builder Program (MBP) 2016, and Model Quality Assurance (MQA) 2016. The software release provides designers characterizing and modeling semiconductor devices with further advances in modeling and characterization efficiency.

Keysight’s IC-CAP 2016 software is a device-modeling program that delivers powerful characterization and analysis capabilities for today’s semiconductor modeling processes. IC-CAP 2016 delivers a complete DynaFET System solution for modeling the GaN and GaAs HEMT’s used in power amplifier (PA) applications. IC-CAP includes measurement and modeling software to extract Advanced Design System (ADS) DynaFET, an internally developed model for GaAs and GaN HEMT devices.

The key advantage of the ADS DynaFET model is its ability to accurately predict dynamic memory effects caused by thermal and trapping phenomena, which in turn provides unprecedented accuracy when predicting gain and power added efficiency (PAE) – two key figures of merit in RF PA circuit design. Dedicated measurement software collects large signal data with a Keysight Nonlinear Network Analyzer (NVNA). The waveforms, representing dynamic load lines measured at different RF powers, bias points and output impedances, are then fed directly to the extraction package in IC-CAP 2016. Here, the model is extracted using artificial neural network technology and can be directly used in ADS software.

Another key feature in IC-CAP 2016 is increased measurement speed for the Keysight E5270, B1500A and B1505A instrument drivers; up to three times faster compared to previous releases. The speed increase helps alleviate the challenge having to measure large amounts of data with great accuracy; a highly time-consuming process. New instrument drivers have also been added in IC-CAP 2016 to support the Keysight E4990 Impedance Analyzer and E5061B Network Analyzer.

Keysight
www.keysight.com