CST E-News November 2007

Welcome to the November issue of CST's E-News, our series of regular news and feature updates. We hope that you find the contents relevant, interesting and informative. Any feedback and suggestions for future editions is welcome.

News in brief

1. CST STUDIO SUITE™ 2008 – now shipping
2. Performance = accuracy + speed
3. Signal and Power Integrity in 3D
4. CST acquires LINMIC
5. European UGM presentations now online
6. www.cst.com - application notes
7. Calendar of events

CST STUDIO SUITE™ 2008 – now shipping

CST STUDIO SUITE™ 2008 has now been released and shipping has commenced. Customers with a valid maintenance contract should receive their update before December.

Major new features include:

Furthermore there are changes in the licensing policy. Firstly, the mesh point limitations for all existing standard Windows licenses will be removed and be replaced by higher limits up to which support & warranty is granted. Secondly, a considerable amount of CST DESIGN STUDIO functionality has been added to all CST MWS licenses. Both extensions will be provided free of charge to all customers with a valid maintenance contract. For details please contact your local sales representative or CST (info@cst.com).

Details of new features and improved functionality are available for customers in the support area of our website, and an overview can be downloaded from:
http://www.cst.com/Content/Documents/Products/CST_STUDIO_SUITE_2008_brochure.pdf

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2. Performance = accuracy + speed

Simulation speed is a red hot topic at the moment. At last month's European Microwave Week, hardware acceleration was one of the key points of discussion. CST is partnering with Acceleware in order to provide you with the latest in GPU solutions. You will find that the range of features implemented on these boards has been extended with version 2008 of CST MICROWAVE STUDIO®, to include, for example, pml absorbing boundary conditions. If you would like to learn more about these solutions, please register for a joint CST/Acceleware webinar on November 14 2007 or simply contact CST.

In the context of this discussion the focus has shifted somewhat from simulation accuracy to simulation speed due to a tendency to compare numbers on datasheets. But, what do these numbers mean? Speed-up factors are often quoted, but if you are using a really slow code it might be less slow having been sped up by a factor hundred, but it is still not fast. And what does the number of Mcells per second mean? This certainly tells you something about the computational speed, but not about the quality of your solution.
In general you have to make sure that you know about the circumstances under which a certain figure was generated. The performance of a code should be measured in the time taken to reach a certain level of simulation accuracy. This involves serious benchmarking, and performance values may vary depending on the application example. At CST we are sure that our simulation technology, together with the computational power provided by Acceleware, will give you the competitive edge.

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3. Signal and Power Integrity in 3D

If your work involves the study of SI/PI and/or EMC/EMI effects, you might well have a particular interest in the combined solution that Simlab and CST offer as result of a participation agreement which was signed in July this year.
SimLab's flagship tools PCBMod and CableMod are dedicated to the analysis of electromagnetic effects on printed circuit boards, and to the simulation of signal integrity and EMC effects of complex cable harnesses, respectively.

Are you familiar with the current link between and CST STUDIO SUITE™ Surface currents provided by PCBMod can be imported into CST MICROWAVE STUDIO®. Using these currents, radiation effects, such as radiation coupling or the effect of the housing in terms of resonances or shielding, can be studied. In the near future this link will be also available for CableMod. Both tools will be integrated tightly in CST DESIGN ENVIRONMENT™.

As part of the cooperation and participation agreement CST also sells SimLab products. For more information, please contact your local representative or info@cst.com.

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4. CST acquires LINMIC

LINMIC is an EM based and layout oriented EDA software package which has been developed since the early 1980s by Dr. Rolf Jansen, currently professor at Aachen University of Technology, and further developed and supported by AC Microwave GmbH.

The design suite consists of several solver engines for MW+RF/IC linear and non-linear circuits, planar EM, device modelling, and coaxial structures, and is known for having robust HF circuit models that are valid for a large frequency range. LINMIC also contains a number of exceptional features such as distributed device modelling and the accurate analysis of high power transistors.

CST has acquired the entire LINMIC software package, including source code and all IP rights.

Following its purchase by CST, the LINMIC Suite will no longer be marketed as a stand alone product, but CST will incorporate specific capabilities into CST DESIGN ENVIRONMENT. This supports CST's strategy of creating more options within CST STUDIO SUITE™ for its large 3D EM customer base. One feature already being developed is true coupling of EM/circuit simulation in the time domain; this will be unique in the current market place.

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5. European UGM presentations now online

CST's third European UGM was recently held at Lake Tegernsee in Bavaria. Around 120 participants gathered to share experiences and learn about the latest developments and future trends in EM simulation. The multifaceted program included about 50 talks and 20 poster presentations and covered key focal points like mobile communications and signal integrity, as well as topics such as vba programming.

There were plenty of opportunities to discuss CST STUDIO SUITE™ in detail with CST development and application engineers. The roadmap presentation by CST's managing director R&D, Dr. Peter Thoma, was followed by a lively discussion regarding future requirements in EM simulation.

We are pleased to announce that all non-confidential oral contributions and available poster presentations can be accessed through our web-site.

We hope that you will find this collection inspiring and helpful and to see you at our next user group meeting.

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6. Application notes

CST's website illustrates an extremely wide range of application examples simulated by CST STUDIO SUITE solver modules. This offers an excellent platform to show what you, our customers are simulating and how you use CST's products to achieve these solutions. A good example of an application where the workflow, modelling and measurement correlation are shown can be seen in the article

“3D EM Simulation in the Design Flow of High-Speed Multi-Pin Connectors”

This is an ideal opportunity for you to show your competence and expertise in using simulation to analyse real world structures.

If you are interested in seeing your application on our website, please contact Adrian Scott at info@cst.com. State-of-the-art applications are especially welcome, including Signal and Power Integrity (EDA Imports), RFID, UWB, and applications where excellence between simulation and measurement is exhibited. Contributions of complex and large simulations are also encouraged.

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7. Calendar of events

Check our calendar of events for the next CST event in your area.

Workshops :
“Profit from Technology” - this workshop series is designed to offer RF & microwave, SI and EMC engineers an insight into the latest 3D simulation technology, focusing on CST STUDIO SUITE™ 2008.

Dates and locations: this series is currently running in North America and Europe; please check our website for more information.

Exhibitions

Training sessions

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With kind regards,

Your CST Team

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CST - Changing the Standards
Computer Simulation Technology
info@cst.com, www.cst.com