✅ IVCAD Suite 4.0 Key Highlights & New Features: 

With the release of IVCAD Suite 4.0, we’re excited to share a major step forward in RF and microwave design innovation. Following the merger of AMCAD Engineering with Dassault Systèmes in May 2024, our combined teams have worked closely to merge the best of both worlds — uniting IVCAD’s measurement and modeling expertise with the powerful simulation capabilities of CST Studio Suite.

This collaboration has resulted in a significantly enhanced IVCAD experience, introducing new features that streamline workflows from component-level characterization to system-level design.

In this article, we’ll take you through some of the most impactful updates in IVCAD 4.0 — from subtle improvements that make daily work easier, to breakthrough innovations that redefine the future of RF simulation.

Whether you’re an existing user or new to IVCAD, we hope you enjoy exploring how these developments can elevate your engineering projects and accelerate your path to next-generation RF solutions.

1) Discover the Smarter, Faster RF Test Bench Configuration Menu

The latest release of the IVCAD Suite delivers a major leap in usability and workflow efficiency for RF and power device testing. Whether you’re characterizing transistors or evaluating power amplifiers, IVCAD now provides a seamless experience for controlling mixed-vendor test instruments within a single, unified environment.

With the new version, users can configure test benches for multiple applications — including synchronized Pulse IV & S-parameter measurements, load-pull analysis, and modulated signal testing — all through one interface. No more navigating through complex modal windows. Instead, an intuitive interactive wiring system ensures that instrument configurations are always clear, consistent, and reliable.

A fully customizable configuration tree gives you complete control over every element of the measurement setup, while an enhanced control panel allows quick enabling/disabling of instruments directly from the bench view.

To streamline workflows further, IVCAD now includes dedicated tabs for each measurement category, such as:

• IV and synchronized IV measurements
• S-parameter characterization
• Active and passive load-pull under various bias conditions
• Small-signal parameter testing under defined operating points

2) Better Manage RF Power Levels for Accurate VNA Measurements

When characterizing RF devices at high power levels, proper signal conditioning is essential to protect instrumentation and preserve measurement accuracy. In many cases, attenuators must be inserted between the external couplers — used to monitor incident and reflected waves at the DUT input and output — and the VNA receivers.

During a full power sweep, the signal reaching the VNA receivers must remain well below the maximum permitted input power. Applying a safety margin ensures that the receivers operate strictly within their linear region, preventing compression and safeguarding measurement integrity.

For best performance, it is typically recommended to keep the receiver input power below –20 dBm. Achieving this requires a carefully defined power budget, balancing two critical constraints:

• The receiver noise floor, which limits sensitivity
• The compression threshold, beyond which measurements become unreliable

This balance will guide the selection of the appropriate attenuator values on each of the VNA’s direct receiver ports.

Additionally, when testing high-power amplifiers, power budgeting must also consider any external driver amplifiers needed to reach the target operating power. This ensures the optimal compromise between measurement accuracy and security to preserve your CAPEX related to test equipment.

3) Perform Smarter DC Measurements 

Measuring DC voltage and current may seem straightforward — but supporting every possible laboratory setup in software is anything but simple. Modern test environments rely on a wide variety of components and measurement techniques, each with unique configuration requirements.

Different applications demand flexibility in:

• The number of bias inputs to be controlled
• Measurement methods: voltage or current, direct or differential sensing, current probes, remote sensing, and more
• The diverse mix of DC power supplies, DMMs, oscilloscopes, and other bench instruments found across today’s labs

Compounding this complexity, many key parameters — such as total DC power consumption — must be derived from multiple synchronized measurements, not captured directly

4) Advanced and Customizable Test Safety Controls

During RF power sweeps, stop conditions must adapt to changing test conditions such as load impedances and device behavior. A one-size-fits-all approach is not enough — especially when working with high-power devices or sensitive components.

The latest IVCAD Suite empowers users to define fully customizable protection rules that automatically halt a measurement when safety limits are exceeded. These safeguards go far beyond standard stop triggers like gain compression or maximum current thresholds.

With the integrated script-based safety editor, engineers can now implement advanced, multi-parameter protection equations — all tailored to their own device requirements and measurement strategy when multidimensional sweeps are launched using the “Sweep Plan” menu.

5) Unified Data Management and Compatibility with Industry Standards

In previous versions of IVCAD, measurement and simulation data were stored across a wide range of proprietary formats — each tailored to a specific type of test or analysis. For example:

• *.cst for VNA-based load-pull measurements
• *.lp / *.lp2 / *.lp3 for Scalar load-pull data with varying harmonic content
• *.sp / *.sp2 / *.sp3 for S-parameter files for different port counts

• *.mes / *.mps / *.mtp — Synchronized Pulse IV and Pulse S-parameter measurements, including optional time- and frequency-domain traces

To ensure seamless integration with RF design workflows, IVCAD has also long supported industry-standard formats such as MDIF and CITI files, allowing engineers to easily export data into commercial circuit and system simulators.

By unifying diverse legacy formats and maintaining compatibility with widely adopted standards, IVCAD continues to simplify data handling — making measurement results more accessible, shareable, and ready for immediate use in downstream design environments.

6) Transform Measurement Data into Actionable Insight with the IVCAD Whiteboard

Once you’ve captured all the rich information inside a modern measurement file, the real value comes from how efficiently you can analyze, explore, and share that data. That’s where the Whiteboard tool in IVCAD makes a difference.

Whiteboard allows you to import, visualize, and process data with ease — and export results in the format that best suits your workflow.

In just a few clicks, you can build custom analysis workspaces tailored to your application. Unlock advanced processing with integrated scripting tools, enabling automated actions and specialized calculations. Add dynamic elements such as:

• Filters and sliders
• Interactive charts
• Action buttons
• Real-time processing steps

These features help you quickly extract the most meaningful insights from complex datasets.

Once your analysis template is ready, you can deploy it across your entire organization — ensuring consistent results and saving engineering time. Secure sharing options even allow effortless collaboration with suppliers, customers, and industry partners.

Whiteboard turns raw measurement data into knowledge you can act on, accelerating every stage of your RF design and validation process of your custom workspaces using the free and standalone Whiteboard Reader software to share your results with the rest of the team.

7) 20 Years of Innovation in Load-Pull Measurements 

For over two decades, IVCAD has set the benchmark for professional load-pull measurements. 

While Dassault Systèmes doesn’t manufacture tuners, we can confidently say that IVCAD stands as the most advanced and trusted software platform for this type of RF characterization.

Initially designed to control the wide variety of instruments found in research and production laboratories.

 IVCAD now goes even further — offering native support for tuner systems from all major industry suppliers.

8) Next-Generation Pulsed IV and Synchronized Measurements 

How to configure Pulse IV measurement parameters using SIMULIA IVCAD Suite 4.0, from defining IV networks to applying advanced protection rules and real-time visualization tools ?

Let’s start by sweeping the output voltage for multiple input-voltage steps, showing how IVCAD automatically builds and updates Pulse IV networks. A live preview window displays measurement density, helping refine sweep settings and add additional curves when needed.

Next, set measurements control at the Reference Plane of the DUT, where automatic voltage-control zones ensure the correct voltage is applied directly at the device terminals — compensating for voltage drops under high current. This guarantees accurate biasing at the transistor level.

This video also covers the Shutdown Conditions menu, where users can define safety limits to protect both the DUT and connected instruments. Thresholds such as maximum current, average power, or custom multi-parameter equations can be added using the integrated equation editor. These adaptive stop conditions ensure safe, reliable Pulse IV operation during complex sweeps.

Once the setup is complete, the measurement sequence begins with real-time monitoring tools, including IV, Interactive IV, and Time-Domain visualizers. These windows are fully customizable and can display pulsed S-parameters, transient waveforms, sub-curves, and timing diagrams generated by the AMCAD Pulse IV system. All visual layouts and measurement parameters can be saved as reusable profiles, ensuring consistent test procedures across.

9) Enhanced Transistor Modeling user experience  

IVCAD Suite continues to include the powerful RF transistor modeling tool that has long been a cornerstone of the platform — now featuring a refined, more intuitive user interface designed to make the modeling process faster and easier.

While the core modeling techniques for III-V semiconductor components remain the same if compared with the legacy IVCAD software version, significant usability improvements have been introduced to help engineers focus on results rather than setup complexity.

Through the use of IV and pulsed S-parameter measurements, IVCAD enables precise extraction of both extrinsic and intrinsic model elements — including current sources, capacitances, inductances, and other key nonlinear components. These extracted parameters can then be used for accurate DC, AC, and harmonic balance simulations, ensuring a seamless link between measurement and design.

For expert users, IVCAD offers the flexibility to define custom equations that describe the behavior of model elements, while maintaining full access to the platform’s tuning and optimization tools. This combination provides both precision and creative freedom in model development.

10) STAN: A Smarter Way to Analyze RF Circuit Stability   

Evaluating stability in RF circuits has traditionally relied on linear approaches such as the Rollet (K) factor or µ factor. While effective for small-signal, two-port systems, these methods fall short when dealing with complex, multi-stage, or nonlinear circuits.

For nonline

ar analysis, traditional techniques like Nyquist or NDF methods are often challenging to interpret and require access to internal transistor model data — a significant limitation in modern design environments.

The STAN tool, now fully integrated into the IVCAD Suite, delivers a modern, intuitive, and powerful alternative. By fitting the circuit’s frequency response to a rational polynomial model, STAN uses advanced vector fitting and pole-zero identification to precisely locate and characterize potential instabilities — all without needing access to internal device nodes.

11) Seamless Antenna Array Co-Design with IVCAD-CST Studio Suite Integration   

The latest IVCAD Suite takes a major leap forward in antenna array design and simulation, introducing a deep integration with CST Studio Suite that eliminates traditional workflow silos between electromagnetic (EM) simulation and RF front-end development.

Engineers can now import CST projects directly into IVCAD, instantly load any antenna array configuration, and automatically extract S-parameter data. 

Within IVCAD’s RF system schematic editor, users can design and simulate complete RF front-end architectures for each antenna port, including amplifiers, phase shifters, and step attenuators with the most advanced parametric behavioral models. Simulation results—such as port excitations—are then seamlessly exported back to CST, updating the excitation .

12) Measurement files preconfigure Simulation settings for accurate comparisons   

IVCAD now offers a powerful new feature that allows engineers to import measurement data directly into the System Architect schematic environment. This capability streamlines the process of model extraction and validation by automatically configuring the schematic based on imported data, such as load-pull measurements for model extraction/validation or 2-tone measurements on 50-Ohms.

The schematic is automatically set up with the appropriate stimuli, biases, and measurement conditions. Users only need to insert their model into the schematic to begin evaluation. After simulation, the results are formatted to match the original measurement file, enabling effortless comparison in IVCAD’s Whiteboard tool.

This feature simplifies the workflow for model extraction and validation, reducing setup time and minimizing the risk of errors. By providing a seamless transition from measurement to simulation, IVCAD empowers engineers to quickly validate and refine their models, ensuring accuracy and reliability in their RF system designs. 

13) Python, CST and IVCAD: Redefining RF Simulation and Model Integration   

By 2025, Python has evolved far beyond its origins as a simple prototyping language. It now stands as a unified integration platform, bridging the gap between physical-mathematical models, high-performance computing engines, and advanced machine learning and optimization algorithms.

Emerging trends such as differentiable simulation, GPU/TPU hardware acceleration, and FMI-based co-simulation continue to expand Python’s role in high-end engineering environments.

Within this ecosystem, the IVCAD Suite introduces a powerful capability: a unique algebraic electrical solver that enables the joint simulation of RF behavioral models to create a complete macro-model of an RF subsystem.

Thanks to its Python import API, these behavioral models benefit from a portable, order-reduction framework. The API allows direct parameterization of exported models, while ODE equations are efficiently solved by IVCAD’s embedded equation solver.

This tight integration opens new possibilities for advanced design tasks—such as structural optimization, power amplifier linearization, and agile antenna array tuning—bridging the gap between simulation, computation, and intelligent design.