Method and apparatus for computer-aided design of different-sized RF modular hybrid circuits

• US 5,999,861 A
• Filed: 06/10/1997
• Issued: 12/07/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hewlett Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Miller, Daniel J., Dove, Lewis R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Robinson, Victoria
• Application Number:
  US08/872,285
• Time in Patent Office: 910 Days
• Field of Search: 364/474.24, 364/474.04, 364/474.28, 395/80
• US Class Current: 700/182
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/39 Circuit design at the physical level physical level design for reconfigurable circuits G06F30/347

Abstract

A method and apparatus is presented for designing an RF modular hybrid circuit assembly. The apparatus comprises a rule-based control mechanism, a graphical user interface and a library of RF hybrid elements including model front- and back-sides, and input/output instances. The method comprises the steps of initializing standardized front- and back-plane models, adding input/output instances along the perimeter of the back-plane, designing the hybrid circuit on the front-plane and combining the two planes to arrive at an RF modular hybrid layout design. A data library of RF hybrid elements is provided to facilitate rapid prototyping. The final design is then sent concurrently to a photo-plotter and a laser subsystem for printing the thick-film and cutting the PTHs respectively.

Claims

1. A method for designing an RF modular hybrid circuit using a computer-aided design tool, the tool having a processing unit, a data library and memory, the method comprising the steps of:

(1) creating a file within memory, the file for storing a design of an RF modular hybrid circuit assembly;

(2) initializing a back-side footprint, the back-side footprint being one of a plurality of generic footprints available from the data library;

(3) adding instances of I/Os to the back-side footprint according to a protocol associated with the tool, the I/Os being one of a plurality of I/Os available from the data library;

(4) initializing a front-side footprint, the front-side footprint being one of the plurality of generic footprints available from the data library;

(5) combining the back-side footprint with the front-side footprint;

(6) designing an initial layout of the RF modular hybrid circuit on the combined sides;

(7) modifying the back-side footprint by placing instances of printed through holes in areas required by the initial layout of the RF modular hybrid circuit; and

(8) finalizing the design of the RF modular hybrid circuit.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (3) comprises the further steps of:

(9) determining whether an RF transmission line is to be created;

(10) adding, if an RF transmission line is created, an RF signal I/O to the back-side footprint; and

(11) surrounding the RF signal I/O with two RF ground I/Os, thereby forming the RF transmission line.

3. A method for designing an RF modular hybrid circuit using a computer-aided design tool the tool having a processing unit, a data library and memory the method comprising the steps of

(1) initializing a first circuit footprint by selecting one of a plurality of standardized footprints from the data library;

(2) adding at least one I/O instance to the first circuit footprint the at least one I/O instance being one of a plurality of I/O instances being stored in the data library;

(3) initializing a second circuit footprint;

(4) combining first and second circuit footprints; and

(5) designing the RF modular hybrid circuit, the RF modular hybrid circuit having at least one connection to the at least one I/O, instance.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein step (2) further comprises the steps of:

(6) determining whether an RF transmission line is to be constructed;

(7) selecting an RF signal instance from the plurality of I/O instances being stored in the data library;

(8) adding the selected RF signal instance to a first section of the first circuit footprint;

(9) selecting two RF ground instances from the data library; and

(10) adding the two RF ground instances to adjacent sections of the first section of the first circuit footprint.