Sonnet Suites - Detailed Features

Read about the New Features added in the most recent release.

Most accurate planar EM solver in the industry

Sonnet provides the industry standard for 3D planar electromagnetic software. Analysis accuracy and speed are combined with powerful features to give you an analysis suite which will consistently provide answers you can trust during the design process. This results in timely products with reduced development costs.

Feature		Sonnet Pro	Level3 Gold	Level2 Silver	Level2 Basic	Sonnet Lite
FFT Based Solver		Because no numerical integration is required, the FFT-based solver calculates all coupling to full numerical precision, yielding the most robust and accurate analysis.
Accuracy Quantified		Proven monotonic convergence to an exact solution - to less than 0.1% error.
Pushes the Limits		Asymptotically exact analyses are provided for ultra-thin dielectrics and vias.
Noise Free Plots		High accuracy current distributions means high accuracy results.
Dynamic Range		Sonnet pushes the limit to over 100 dB dynamic range.
Accurate Loss		Accurate frequency-dependent metal and dielectric loss.
Reliable		State-of-the-art technology used for testing.
Multi-layer		Layer-to-layer coupling calculated at full precision for all layers.
Metal Levels Allowed		Unlimited	3 + GND	2 + GND	2 + GND	2 + GND
Published Papers		Sonnet's solver (em) is quoted in more technical papers than any other planar EM solver.
Documented Approach		Sonnet's theory is published in the open domain. No hidden mysteries concerning the technical method used.
Via modeling		Sonnet calculates electromagnetic effects of arbitrarily placed vias embedded in planar dielectric
Anisotropic Materials
Rough Metal Modeling
Circuit Ports		Unlimited	Unlimited	8	6	6
Internal Ports		Accurate modeling at polygon edge where the port is located with coupling between all components accounted for.
Co-calibrated™ Ports
Ideal Components						3
Components Vendor SMD Models
TrueVolume

Fast and Efficient for Demanding Applications

For a given level of analysis accuracy, Sonnet provides one to two orders of magnitude speed advantage over other planar EM software packages. Sonnet uses the most accurate and fastest frequency domain technology in the industry.

Feature		Sonnet Pro	Level3 Gold	Level2 Silver	Level2 Basic	Sonnet Lite
Adaptive Band Synthesis (ABS)		With Sonnet’s unique ABS technique, you can achieve detailed simulation results in a small fraction of the time required by point-by-point EM simulation
Efficient for Multi-Layer Circuits		Extra dielectric layers have little or no impact on simulation time. Circuits with hundreds (at the Pro level) of layers are reasonable.
Flexible Mesh		You can specify coarse mesh in non-critical locations to save analysis time.
Conformal Mesh
Enhanced Meshing		The meshing engine efficiently meshes regions around vias, diagonal transmission lines and edges, and over extended ground planes.
RFIC Micro Via Array Simpification		+	+	+	+	+
Parallel Processing for Multicore Processors
emCluster® (Distributed Computing)		option
Remote em Processing
Analysis Memory Allowed		Unlimited	2 GB	256MB	128 MB	64 MB

Easy to Use and Learn

Sonnet is designed by RF engineers who understand your unique design challenges and who add features that streamline your high frequency design process.  Our user-oriented features are designed to simplify your high frequency engineering tasks and make your job easier.

We take the mystery out of electromagnetics and provide features that make it easy to learn without requiring a Ph.D. in electromagnetics. Most users are up and running Sonnet in less than an hour. All levels of the Sonnet Suites provide both feature-based context sensitive help and concept-based manuals that really help in you getting started with tutorials and explanation of background theory. You also get tutorials and example files.

Feature		Sonnet Pro	Level3 Gold	Level2 Silver	Level2 Basic	Sonnet Lite
Easy to use user interface		Geometry editor designed to be easy to learn and to use.
AWR Microwave Office Interface		option	option	option	option
Improved Keysight ADS Interface		option	option	option	option
Keysight Genesys Interface		Available from Keysight
Cadence Virtuoso Interface		option
DXF Translator		option
GDSII Translator			option	option	option
Gerber/ODB++ Translator		option	option	option	option
SonnetLab toolbox for MATLAB		Free MATLAB® toolbox that enables users to control and automate Sonnet's 3D planar electromagnetic simulator.
Broadband Spice		option	option	option	option
Transmission Line Model Extraction		Provides transmission line models for multi-conductor 2.5D transmission lines.
Inductor Model Extractor		option	option	option	option
DC S-Parameters
Industry Standard Response File Formats		Output formats include Touchstone, Data Bank, and SPICE.
Box Resonance Detection		Check your packages for resonances ahead of time.
Libraries		Includes libraries of standard materials for Dielectrics and Metals.
Dimension Callouts		Dimension Callouts let you read and watch dimensions directly.
Palette of Standard Geometries		Standard artwork elements can be quickly and automatically created
Example Browser		Quickly find examples that are relevant to your work.
Visual Continuity Checker		Check your model for unintentional opens and shorts.
3D Viewer		View your model and current density in 3D.
Response Viewer		Sonnet provides an easy-to-use tool for presenting S-, Y-, and Z-parameter data in either Smith chart or Cartesian plot format.
Plot Equation Curves		Predefined equations such as inductance, Q, capacitance, power ratios and phase difference. (Starting with Level 2 Basic you can define your own custom equations)
Far-field Radiation Pattern Display		option	option	option	option
Technology Layers		Groups common attributes such as orginal CAD drawing layer, physical location within the technology stackup, metal properties & meshing controls.
Stackup Manager		Provides an intuitive interface for creating or editing the process stackup.

Versatile and Flexible

Sonnet is designed to solve your most difficult problems within a tight schedule and with limited resources. The following features provide the versatility and flexibility you need to get the job done.

Feature		Sonnet Pro	Level3 Gold	Level2 Silver	Level2 Basic	Sonnet Lite
Ideal Components						3
Components Vendor SMD Models
Flexible ports		Standard ports, de-embedded internal ports, even-mode and odd-mode ports.
Diagonal Ports and Componets			All Versions allow rotated components.
Independent Reference Planes
Thick Metal
Uniaxially Anisotropic Dielectric Modeling
Causal Dielectric Modeling
Circuit Parameters		With Dimension Parameters, you can easily modify lengths, widths and gaps.
Variables		Many circuit properties and geometry parameters can be driven by variables.
Equation-Driven Parameters		All variables can be set to equations and can be frequency dependent.
Material Parameters		Control your materials parametrically using variables to control material properties and thicknesses, as well as for lumped element values.
Parameter Sweeps		unlimited	4	2	2	1
Circuit Optimization		unlimited	4	2	2	1
Automated User-Guided Circuit Subdivision
Hybrid Netlists		Analyze networks consisting of Sonnet geometry projects, lumped elements, ideal transmission lines and external data files such as S-parameters.
Flexible Licensing		Support of single-user and multi-user network environments, including floating licensing at the Professional level.
OS Supported		PC Windows, Linux				PC Windows

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