Home 
Concerto
Electromagnetic design automation with Concerto
FDTD modelling of RF and microwave electromagnetic fields |
|
 Concerto provides the complete toolchain for RF and microwave electromagnetic design, for use on 32- or 64-bit Windows platforms. It consists of a pre-processing environment for creating design models (or importing them from CAD programs), plus a powerful FDTD (Finite Difference Time Domain) simulator*, post-processor for analysing results, and an optional automatic optimisation tool. Four versions of Concerto are available to suit different applications and budgets:
- Concerto AS (low cost version for axisymmetric applications)
Designed for the analysis of coaxial devices supporting TEM modes, Concerto AS includes the Concerto geometric modeller and FDTD solver and is ideal for rapid broadband characterisation and optimisation of coaxial devices. Read more...
- Concerto 2D (two dimensional version)
Has the features of Concerto AS plus the ability to analyse a wider range of axisymmetric geometries such as circular waveguides, windows and antennas. It includes the ability to model non-symmetric waveguide modes and radiation. Read more...
- Concerto ES (essential, entry-level 3D product)
Features the full 3D FDTD electromagnetic simulator with conformal mesh, and the Concerto geometric modeller. With a maximum of 500,000 numerical cells, it can be used for a wide range of applications. Read more...
- Concerto PR (full professional version)
For the most demanding applications, without limit on model size, and including the Optimiser+ and Prony modules for high Q device analysis. Also provides enhanced FDTD capability with multi-processor simulation that can use up to four processors to increase computational efficiency. Read more...
- Design optimisation
The optional Optimiser+ tool allows users to set design goals for several parameters simultaneously, and the software will automatically find the best solution to fine-tune performance, cost, real estate or other user-defined characteristics. Read more...
*Method of Moments or Finite Element Analysis simulators are optionally available, to suit particular design problems.
Click here to download the Concerto brochure.
How Concerto works
Concerto provides a complete design—simulate—analyse—optimise toolchain. Click on the function blocks to see a design cycle.
Vector Fields will advise and help you choose the right solver, or combination of solvers, for your application. |
|
Seeing is believing... |
|
Let us demonstrate the power of virtual prototyping via an online demonstration. Request demonstration |
|
VF User Group Conference |
|
Vector Fields announce this year's European User Group Conference, taking place in Vannes, France 14-18 September 2009 at Vannes Engineering School. Find out more...
|
|
Expand your design horizon |
|
|
|
Offers and links |
|
Powerful modelling capability
Component or system models may be imported from a company's existing CAD system, or created using Concerto's built-in modeller with its powerful ACIS geometry kernel. A key advantage is the ability to change any dimension of a model to a parameter. This allows searching “what If?” investigations to be performed, to optimize a design simply by changing values. The Opera model file contains a complete history of the commands that created it. This allows users to modify files and 'replay' them — providing a template that can be used to automate the design of variations of standard products.
Problem-solving simulation
When a model is ready, users have a choice of powerful simulation methods to characterise performance. As standard, Concerto offers a Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulator, which has very broad ranging applicability. A further time-saving feature comes in the form of adaptive meshing, which allows users to use the most efficient mesh resolution for the accuracy of solution required. An optional Method of Moments (MoM) tool provides a good platform for simulating large environment problems such as installed antenna performance. A comprehensive suite of interactive post-processing tools targeted at antenna design has been added in the latest series 6 version. These include a tool for investigating coupling/immunity between multiple antennas. To this capability, series 6 adds a further option in the form of a new Finite Element Method (FEM) tool, which provides an elegant means of performing eigenvalue analysis for problems such as characterising microwave resonator and cavity designs.
Concerto also operates with system-level EDA. Users of Applied Wave Research's popular Microwave Office (MWO) for wireless telecom circuit design can seamlessly call Concerto simulation to characterise critical components in the system model, all from a single user interface.
Post-processing of results
When simulation is complete, Concerto includes a purpose-designed post-processor that simplifies analysis of results, and informs decisions on design refinement. As well as displaying the field quantities, there are numerous functions to prepare and display derived quantities in forms and units familiar to the user.
Design optimisation
Refining designs is easy. You can manually change parameters in your model to view effects*. Or, this action can be performed automatically using the optional Optimiser module. The latest version of the tool allows users to set several design goals with multiple parameters simultaneously, and the software will automatically find the best solution to fine-tune performance, cost, real estate or other user-defined characteristics.
*Concerto allows you to set up 'macros', to automate your design process. You can create, run and analyse your designs with user-defined dialogs and menus for inputting dimensions, material properties, and simulation options. Elements of models can be saved, to form a library of component parts. If these parts are saved in parameterised form, key dimensions can be set in minutes as they are loaded — providing companies with the means to produce designs both fast, and extremely cost effectively.
