CST PCB STUDIO - solutions for SI/PI and EMC/EMI applications

CST PCB STUDIO® (CST PCBS) incorporates three solver techniques in order to provide solutions for all kinds of printed circuit boards.

PEEC Solver

Single-layer or two-layer boards don’t have pure power/ground reference layers and are therefore only suitable for the low and medium frequency range. The best simulation method for this kind of application is the quasi-static Partial Element Equivalent Circuit (PEEC) technique. It generates SPICE equivalent circuits for selected nets by subdividing them into partial elements for resistance, inductance, capacitance, and conductance calculation. Skin effect and dielectric loss is correctly modeled in both the frequency and time domain.

Transmission Line Solver

When investigating signal integrity issues on high-speed multi-layer boards, a 2D transmission line modeling approach is recommended. This modeling technique automatically subdivides transmission lines along their length into homogeneous cross-sections and calculates the corresponding line parameters. The resulting sub-models are integrated into a hierarchical final simulation model that contains all parasitic electromagnetic effects for investigations like time delay, reflection, and crosstalk in multiple transmission line or bus structures. Skin effect and dielectric loss is correctly modeled in both the frequency and time domain.

PI Solver

For the analysis of power distribution networks (PDN) in multi-layer PCBs an outstanding 3D full-wave modeling technique has been implemented. It is based on the finite elements method in frequency domain (3D FE FD) and capable of analyzing the entire PCB design. Typical results are the input impedance at PWR/GND pins of microcontrollers or other components. With the built-in parts library, it is easy, for example, to investigate various decoupling capacitor strategies.