In the world of RF/Microwave engineering, there are some really cool tools that can help engineers do their job better, and the best part is, many of them are free! These tools are like superpowers for engineers, helping them design and improve their projects. Whether you’re a pro or just starting out, this article will show you some awesome and mostly free tools that can make your work in radio frequency and microwave technology much easier. From simulating ideas on the computer to measuring things accurately, these tools have got you covered!
Software Tools:
- QUCS: Circuit simulator (https://qucs.sourceforge.net/)
- KiCAD: EDA design suite (https://www.kicad.org)
- SciLab: This suite has 3 components (https://www.scilab.org):
- Scilab for numerical analysis
- Xcos for systems modeling
- Atoms for additional toolboxes
- LTSpice: Spice simulations (LTSpice)
- Qspice: Qorvo’s spice simulator (https://www.qorvo.com/)
- kLayout: Mask layout tool (https://www.klayout.de)
- GNUradio: Software development toolkit that provides signal processing blocks to implement software radios (https://www.gnuradio.org/)
Python Libraries:
- Scikit RF: python package for RF/microwave analysis (https://scikit-rf.org/)
- Pyvisa: python package to write instrument drivers (https://pyvisa.readthedocs.io)
- Pymeasure: pre-existing drivers for popular lab instruments / high level PyVISA wrapper (https://pymeasure.readthedocs.io)
- PyAEDT (not free): Python API for Ansys Electronics Desktop (https://aedt.docs.pyansys.com/)
- Python for ADS (not free): Python API for ADS 2024 (https://muehlhaus.com/)
- Plotly for Smith charts: One of the few plotting libraries that support smith charts (https://plotly.com/)
- Signal Integrity by Teledyne: python package for SI analysis (SignalIntegrity)
Electromagnetics:
- OpenEMS: Open source FDTD field solver (https://www.openems.de/)
- Sonnet Lite: Feature-limited EM solver (https://www.sonnetsoftware.com/)
- CST Studio Learning version: Feature-limited EM solver (https://edu.3ds.com)
- Ansys Electronics Desktop: Free student version (https://www.ansys.com)
Projects:
- LibreVNA: Everything you need to build your own 6 GHz VNA (https://github.com/jankae/LibreVNA)
- MyriadRF: Family of open source hardware and software projects for wireless communications (https://myriadrf.org/)