New RF System Planning Tool

By DE Editors

Applied Wave Research, Inc. (El Segundo, CA), a provider of high-frequency electronic design automation tools, has introduced RFA, a system-level architectural planning tool. This new entry-level product is the latest addition to the company’s Visual System Simulator (VSS) design suite.

One key component of RFA is the RF Budget Analysis feature that provides the ability to make traditional RF cascaded measurements such as gain, noise figure, and third-order intercept, inclusive of image noise, along a communication link.

The RF Inspector technology, another component of RFA, is a new frequency-domain simulation tool that helps determine the root cause or heritage of any inter-modulation product of an RF link. It enables users to isolate the sources of unwanted interferers, and includes the effects of conversions, harmonics, inter-modulation, and noise.

RFA also allows engineers to use the full suite of capabilities offered in VSS, including error vector magnitude, eye diagrams, and bit error rate.

The RFA product will be available directly from AWR through its direct sales offices and worldwide distribution channels, starting at $4,000 per year depending on configuration. A beta version of the RFA software will be available Q3 2006 and the full production release is scheduled for Q1 2007. For more information, go to appwave.com.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.