RF microwave CAE CAD is computer-aided design

Computer-aided design

Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...

 (CAD) using computer technology to aid in the design, modeling, and simulation of an RF or microwave

Microwave

Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...

 product. It is a visual and symbol-based method of communication whose conventions are particular to RF/microwave engineering.

Scope of design

RF and microwave circuit design and simulation software

Simulation software

Simulation software is based on the process of modeling a real phenomenon with a set of mathematical formulas. It is, essentially, a program that allows the user to observe an operation through simulation without actually performing that operation...

 for the electronic design automation

Electronic design automation

Electronic design automation is a category of software tools for designing electronic systems such as printed circuit boards and integrated circuits...

 (EDA) marketplace includes but not limited to circuit simulation, analysis, schematic capture

Schematic capture

Schematic capture or schematic entry is a step in the design cycle of electronic design automation at which the electronic diagram, or electronic schematic of the designed electronic circuit is created by a designer...

, and integrated design environment for synthesis tools which automate the design of HF (high frequency) circuits from RF to microwave to millimeter waves

Extremely high frequency

Extremely high frequency is the highest radio frequency band. EHF runs the range of frequencies from 30 to 300 gigahertz, above which electromagnetic radiation is considered to be low infrared light, also referred to as terahertz radiation...

. Physical modeling of stripline

Stripline

Stripline is a transverse electromagnetic transmission line medium, that was invented by Robert M. Barrett of the Air Force Cambridge Research Centre in the 1950s.- Description :...

 and microstrip

Microstrip

Microstrip is a type of electrical transmission line which can be fabricated using printed circuit board technology, and is used to convey microwave-frequency signals. It consists of a conducting strip separated from a ground plane by a dielectric layer known as the substrate. Microwave components...

 for transmission line

Transmission line

In communications and electronic engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable designed to carry alternating current of radio frequency, that is, currents with a frequency high enough that its wave nature must be taken into account...

s. A wide range of applications are possible, from analog sub-circuit design to RF circuit design for complex wireless communications systems.

Scope of modeling

There are a vast number of device or component types which can be simulated in computer aided design software. Generally, the degree of complexity for modeling depends on the software package and the synthesis of off-the-shelf models and application-specific custom models. The component types can be categorized as follows: amplifiers, antenna

Antenna (radio)

An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...

s, attenuators, cabling, capacitor

Capacitor

A capacitor is a passive two-terminal electrical component used to store energy in an electric field. The forms of practical capacitors vary widely, but all contain at least two electrical conductors separated by a dielectric ; for example, one common construction consists of metal foils separated...

s, circulator

Circulator

A circulator is a passive non-reciprocal three- or four-port device, in which microwave or radio frequency power entering any port is transmitted to the next port in rotation...

s, combiners, coupler

Coupler

Coupler is a word used to describe any of a number of things:* A railway coupling device;** A Janney coupler;* An electronic device, more properly, an acoustic coupler;* A telecommunications device known as a directional coupler;...

s, connector

Electrical connector

An electrical connector is an electro-mechanical device for joining electrical circuits as an interface using a mechanical assembly. The connection may be temporary, as for portable equipment, require a tool for assembly and removal, or serve as a permanent electrical joint between two wires or...

s, DC block

DC block

DC Blocks are coaxial components that prevent the flow of audio and direct current frequencies while offering minimum interference to RF signals. There are three basic forms of DC blocks...

s, delay lines, detectors, diode

Diode

In electronics, a diode is a type of two-terminal electronic component with a nonlinear current–voltage characteristic. A semiconductor diode, the most common type today, is a crystalline piece of semiconductor material connected to two electrical terminals...

s, dividers, ferrites

Ferrite (magnet)

Ferrites are chemical compounds consisting of ceramic materials with iron oxide as their principal component. Many of them are magnetic materials and they are used to make permanent magnets, ferrite cores for transformers, and in various other applications.Many ferrites are spinels with the...

, filter

Electronic filter

Electronic filters are electronic circuits which perform signal processing functions, specifically to remove unwanted frequency components from the signal, to enhance wanted ones, or both...

s, inductor

Inductor

An inductor is a passive two-terminal electrical component used to store energy in a magnetic field. An inductor's ability to store magnetic energy is measured by its inductance, in units of henries...

s, isolator

Isolator

Isolator may refer to:* Isolator , by Two Hours Traffic* Isolator switch, used in electrical circuits* Isolator a two-port device that transmits microwave power in one direction only...

s, limiter

Limiter

In electronics, a limiter is a circuit that allows signals below a specified input power to pass unaffected while attenuating the peaks of stronger signals that exceed this input power....

s, mixer

Mixer

Mixer may refer to:An electronics device:* DJ mixer, a type of audio mixing console used by disc jockeys* Electronic mixer, a device for adding or multiplying signal voltages together...

s, oscillators, phase shifters, resistor

Resistor

A linear resistor is a linear, passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element.The current through a resistor is in direct proportion to the voltage across the resistor's terminals. Thus, the ratio of the voltage applied across a resistor's...

s, rotary joints, switch

Switch

In electronics, a switch is an electrical component that can break an electrical circuit, interrupting the current or diverting it from one conductor to another....

es, transistor

Transistor

A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...

s, terminator

Terminator

-Science:*Terminator , the line between the day and night sides of a planetary body*Terminator , the end of a gene for transcription-Technology:*Terminator , a resistor at the end of a transmission line to prevent signal reflection...

s, and waveguides.