HFSS

 TUTORIAL  

DESIGN  OF  A  LOOP  INDUCTOR  

Design  and  simulate  using  HFSS  the  loop  inductor  with  thickness  of  2µm  and  metal  width  of  
4µm.  The  inductor  is  located  on  an  oxide  layer  with  thickness  of  8µm  on  a  10-­‐Ω-­‐cm  silicon  
wafer  of  thickness  200µm.  The  conductivity  of  metal  is  5.8x107  Siemens/m.  

  50µm  

50µm   50µm  
     6µm  

  50µm  

A) Calculate  Q  theoretically  and  plot  Q  using  HFSS  at  60  Ghz  

B) Calculate  L  theoretically  and  plot  L  using  HFSS  at  60  Ghz  
C) Calculate  Cp  for  the  model  
D) Calculate  Rp  for  the  model  
E) Calculate  R  series.  

HFSS Software Setup

Follow these steps to set up your EE account for using the RF tools

1. Log on to apache server

NOTE: If you are working in ECSN 4.324, you can skip this section and go to number 2

Using SSH connect to apache.utdallas.edu server with your net ID username and
password:

NOTE: You can use the apache server from just about any machine in ECSN Building,
although it is recommended that you use the SunRay terminals in ECSN 4.324. If you use
a Windows PC, make sure an X-Window System Server program is installed such as X-
Win32 is installed and running, and that Tunnel X11 connections is enabled in your
program.

2. Set up your environment

Set up your environment by entering following command.

 . /proj/cad/startup/profile.hfss

Each time you open a shell to start HFSS, you need to enter this command.

Now type hfss on the terminal window to start HFSS

Once  you  have  done  this  a  new  window  with  hfss  interface  will  open  as  shown  below  

Opening and Renaming a New Project

To open a new project:
1. In an Ansoft HFSS window, select the menu item File - > New .
To rename the project:
2. You can rename the project to a suitable name
-To do this select the project in the project manager window and right click
rename.
3. Select the Menu Modeler -> Units and change the units to um
Creating the inductor
To create the inductor
1) Select the menu item Draw -> Box

Now double click on the CreateBox options you will get a window as shown
below.
Set the values as shown in the figure
Repeat step 1 and draw a new box
Set the values of the box to be as shown in the figure below

Repeat step 1 and draw a new box

Set the values of the box to be as shown in the figure below
Your final drawing should look like this

25µ
m  

50µm  

22µ
m  
2) Select the three Boxes (Box1,2,3) by holding the CTRL key and then click the
menu Modeler -> Boolean -> Unite .
You will not see the intersection of all the boxes if the unite is done successfully
and also a new unite button will be created as shown

No  
intersections  

3) Now you can mirror the same structure on the –Y direction

4) To mirror select the Box3 and select the menu Edit -> Duplicate -> Mirror
5) The first click tells the anchor point to the tool so move the cursor to the origin of
(X,Y,Z) plane and click it , the second click tells the tool the direction in which the
mirror has to be done so move the cursor in –Y direction and then click again.
6) After doing this successfully you will see a DuplicateMirror button and the picture
should look like this
7) Repeat step 2 to unite the mirror structure with the original structure , the mirror
structure will be name as the (Box3_1 )
8) Select Box 3 and right click and select Assign materials now choose Copper from
the list of materials press ok after it is done
Creating the Silicon-Oxide layer
To create Silicon-Oxide
1) Select the menu item Draw -> Box
Now double click on the CreateBox options you will get a window as shown
below.
Set the values as shown in the figure

2) Select Box 4 and right click and select Assign materials now choose Silicon
dioxide from the list of materials press ok after it is done

Creating the Silicon Substrate layer

To create Silicon-Substrate
1) Select the menu item Draw -> Box
Now double click on the CreateBox options you will get a window as shown
below.
Set the values as shown in the figure
2) Select Box 5 and right click and select Assign materials. You will not see a silicon
substrate material so you need to create a new material. Now click on the add
material tab and in the Material Name type silicon_substrate and fill the other
details as shown below and press ok. Assign this material to Box 5

Relative  permittivity  =  11.9  

Bulk  Conductivity  =  10  

Creating the Air layer
To create Air layer
1) Select the menu item Draw -> Box
Now double click on the CreateBox options you will get a window as shown
below.
Set the values as shown in the figure

2) Select Box 6 and right click and select Assign materials. Select air and click ok
3) Now select Box 6 and right click and select Assign Boundary and click radiation
you will see a new form press ok
4) You can verify that the boundary is assign from the project manager window
select your project -> hfss design -> Boundary it should show Rad1
After you click Rad1 in the project manager this is how the picture should look
Creating the GND layer
To create GND layer
1) Select the menu item Draw -> Box
Now double click on the CreateBox options you will get a window as shown
below.
Set the values as shown in the figure
 2) Select Box 7 and right click and select Assign materials. Select copper and click
ok

Creating the two port network

To create two port network
1) Select the menu item Draw -> rectangle
Now double click on the CreateRectangle options you will get a window as shown
below.
Set the values as shown in the figure
2) Select Rectangle 1 and zoom to the Rectangle 1 such that rectangle 1 fits in the
window
3) Now select the Rectangle 1 and right click select assign excitation -> Lumped
port you will see a new form assign Lump port1 as the name and click next
4) In the Integration line column choose new line
5) As soon as you select the New line you will jump to the main window now move
the cursor to the edge of the rectangle (towards gnd) you will see a small triangle
click once on the triangle then move cursor to opposite side you will see a small
triangle click again and you will see the same form you saw in step 4 but now the
integration line column will have Defined as the value and click next and then
finish. Your window should look like this

6) Repeat step1-5 for the next rectangle and assign the following values
 7) You can verify that the Lumped Port is assign from the project manager window
select your project -> hfss design -> Excitation it should show LumpPort1,
LumpPort2

Setting the Analysis

1) To set the analysis from the project manager window select your project ->
hfss design -> analysis right click on analysis and select add solution
setup
Assign the following values and click ok
 Solution  Frequency  =  60  Ghz  

Maximum  Number  of  Passes  =  10  

Maximum  Delta  S  =  0.02  

2) Right click on the analysis again and select add frequency sweep you will see
the form shown below assign the values and press ok
Checking and Running the Design
1) Once you have done the layout of inductor you need to check the design for any
errors so select the Menu HFSS -> Validation check and you should get the
following figure if everything is right. If there is a red cross across any of them that
means that part is not done properly
 2) After this done close the dialog box and then select the menu HFSS ->
Analyze all to run the simulation

Checking the results

After the simulation is done need to check that the simulation is run in normal
completion at the bottom left of the window.
Now right click on the results tab in the Project manager window and select Create
Modal solution Data report and then select rectangular plot, you should get a new
window as shown below
Now click on the output variables tab on the form and you will see the following window

Insert the following in the form, to do so insert Zseries as name and add the expression
in the expression tab and click add, after you finish entering all the terms the form
should look like shown above then press done

Zseries = -2/(Y(LumpPort1,LumpPort2)+Y(LumpPort2,LumpPort1))
Zp1 = 1/(Y(LumpPort1,LumpPort1)+Y(LumpPort1,LumpPort2))
Zp2 = 1/(Y(LumpPort2,LumpPort2)+Y(LumpPort2,LumpPort1))
Q = abs(im(Y(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))/re(Y(LumpPort1,LumpPort1)))
Ls = im(Zseries)/(2*pi*freq)*1e12
Rs = re(Zseries)
Cp = -1/(im(Zp1)*2*pi*freq)*1e15
Rp = re(Zp1)

Now you will see all the values in the Output Variables tab as shown below
To see the result select the value you want to plot and hit New report
You should get the following results

The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.

1) Plot of Q
2) Plot of Ls in pH
The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.

3) Plot of Rs in Ω
The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.

4) Plot of Cp in fF
The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.

5) Plot of Rp in Ω

The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.