EM.Picasso is intended for construction and modeling of planar layered structures. By a planar structure we mean one that contains a background substrate of laterally infinite extents, made up of one or more material layers all stacked up vertically along the Z-axis. Planar objects of finite size are interspersed among these substrate layers. The background structure in EM.Picasso is called the "'''Layer Stack-up'''". The layer stack-up is always terminated from the top and bottom by two infinite half-spaces. The terminating half-spaces might be the free space, or a perfect conductor (PEC ground), or any material medium. Most planar structures used in RF and microwave applications such as microstrip-based components have a PEC ground at their bottom. Some structures like stripline components are sandwiched between two grounds (PEC half-spaces) from both their top and bottom.
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=== Planar Object Types ===
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EM.Picasso groups objects by their trace type and their hierarchical location in the substrate layer stack-up. All the planar objects belonging to the same trace group are located on the same substrate layer boundary and have the same color. All the embedded objects belonging to the same embedded set lie inside the same substrate layer and have the same color and same material composition.
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EM.Picasso provides the following types of objects for building a planar layered structure:
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# '''PEC Traces''': These represent infinitesimally thin metallic planar objects that are deposited or metallized on or between substrate layers. PEC objects are modeled by surface electric currents.
# '''Slot Traces''': These are used to model slots and apertures in PEC ground planes. Slot objects are always assumed to lie on an infinite horizontal PEC ground plane with zero thickness (which is not explicitly displayed in the project workspace). They are modeled by surface magnetic currents.
# '''Conductive Sheet Traces:''' These represent imperfect metals. They have a finite conductivity and a very small thickness. A surface impedance boundary condition is enforced on the surface of such traces.
# '''PEC Via Sets:''' These are metallic objects such as shorting pins, interconnect vias, plated-through holes, etc. that are grouped together as prismatic object sets. The embedded objects are modeled as vertical volume conduction currents.
# '''Embedded Dielectric Sets:''' These are prismatic dielectric objects inserted inside a substrate layer. You can define a finite permittivity and conductivity for such objects, but their height is always the same as the height of their host layer. The embedded dielectric objects are modeled as vertical volume polarization currents.
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[[Image:Info_icon.png|40px]] Click here to learn more about '''[[Planar Traces & Object Types]]'''.
=== Defining the Layer Stack-Up ===
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=== Planar Object Types ===
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EM.Picasso groups objects by their trace type and their hierarchical location in the substrate layer stack-up. All the planar objects belonging to the same trace group are located on the same substrate layer boundary and have the same color. All the embedded objects belonging to the same embedded set lie inside the same substrate layer and have the same color and same material composition.
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EM.Picasso provides the following types of objects for building a planar layered structure:
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# '''PEC Traces''': These represent infinitesimally thin metallic planar objects that are deposited or metallized on or between substrate layers. PEC objects are modeled by surface electric currents.
# '''Slot Traces''': These are used to model slots and apertures in PEC ground planes. Slot objects are always assumed to lie on an infinite horizontal PEC ground plane with zero thickness (which is not explicitly displayed in the project workspace). They are modeled by surface magnetic currents.
# '''Conductive Sheet Traces:''' These represent imperfect metals. They have a finite conductivity and a very small thickness. A surface impedance boundary condition is enforced on the surface of such traces.
# '''PEC Via Sets:''' These are metallic objects such as shorting pins, interconnect vias, plated-through holes, etc. that are grouped together as prismatic object sets. The embedded objects are modeled as vertical volume conduction currents.
# '''Embedded Dielectric Sets:''' These are prismatic dielectric objects inserted inside a substrate layer. You can define a finite permittivity and conductivity for such objects, but their height is always the same as the height of their host layer. The embedded dielectric objects are modeled as vertical volume polarization currents.
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[[Image:Info_icon.png|40px]] Click here to learn more about '''[[Planar Traces & Object Types]]'''.
=== Defining Traces & Object Sets ===