The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Keysight’s January 2015 announcement described a way to work on silicon RFIC designs across Advanced Design System (ADS) and Cadence Virtuoso: engineers could edit and simulate schematics in either tool, while opening a Virtuoso layout cell view in ADS for use in package or module electromagnetic (EM) analysis. The workflow depended on an interoperability-enabled foundry PDK and a Virtuoso baseline PDK; it was not a promise that ADS could open every Virtuoso design without qualification. Keysight now lists the W2319EP interoperability product as obsolete with no replacement found, so current availability and compatibility need to be confirmed before planning a new flow.
What silicon RFIC interoperability in ADS meant
Silicon RFIC interoperability connected parts of the ADS and Virtuoso design flows so a team could use each environment where it was useful. It addressed a growing co-design challenge: RF designs were bringing together GaAs and silicon technologies, operating at higher silicon frequencies, and integrating more tightly with packages and modules. The feature set was introduced with ADS 2015 on January 8, 2015, as described in Microwave Journal’s coverage of the announcement.
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In practical terms, the advertised flow had two central pieces: schematic collaboration between ADS and Virtuoso, and use of a Virtuoso IC layout cell in ADS package or module EM analysis. It was aimed at silicon foundry processes and depended on an enabled Virtuoso PDK. Keysight’s W2319EP product documentation describes the interoperability element and its baseline-PDK requirement.
How the schematic workflow worked
Keysight described a single OpenAccess schematic-view representation for interoperable designs. A designer could edit or simulate the schematic in ADS or Virtuoso, with changes saved to the same design database. This shared-database behavior is different from treating each tool’s schematic as a one-way file export: the intended benefit was to let a team move between the supported environments while working on the same design data.
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That does not establish universal, lossless compatibility for every Virtuoso schematic, library, or version. The flow depended on PDK enablement and the relevant tool and technology support. Before adopting it, a design team would need to qualify its actual cells, views, hierarchy, and simulation setup in the versions it planned to use.
How Virtuoso layout cells fit into ADS EM analysis
The layout workflow was intended for package and module co-design. A Virtuoso IC layout cell view could be opened in ADS, instantiated within a package or module design, and included in an EM simulation of the larger assembly. This let engineers analyze the RFIC layout in the context of its surrounding interconnect and module rather than treating the chip as an isolated schematic block.
The announcement supports this specific layout-cell and system-EM workflow; it should not be read as a claim that all Virtuoso layout editing or every layout construct was fully supported in ADS. Later ADS 2017 release notes document a limitation involving some wide wires created in Virtuoso, among other version-specific issues.
What PDK and foundry support the flow required
The interoperability element targeted silicon foundry processes and required an enabled Virtuoso baseline PDK. In 2015, coverage named TSMC, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, TowerJazz, IBM, and IHP as sources of PDK support validated through Keysight’s alpha program. That is a historical list, not confirmation that each foundry supports the same flow, tool versions, or products today. TowerJazz’s May 20, 2015 announcement said its ADS/Virtuoso PDKs let customers edit or simulate schematics in either tool using a single design database (TowerJazz announcement).
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Keysight’s foundry-partner material distinguishes three PDK categories. They are not interchangeable labels: the applicable type determines how the foundry technology is represented and which design flow is enabled.
| PDK category | What the documentation says | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| ADS/Virtuoso interoperable PDK | Supports the ADS/Virtuoso interoperability flow; the 2015 announcements describe shared-database schematic work. Source: Keysight foundry-partner documentation. | Confirm the exact foundry process, supported ADS and Virtuoso releases, views, and licensing with Keysight and the foundry. |
| Silicon iPDK | Based on OpenAccess, with Python and Tcl customization. Source: Keysight foundry-partner documentation. | Confirm whether the particular iPDK enables the cross-tool workflow you need; the category alone does not establish it. |
| ADS-native PDK | ADS-native and validated with foundries. Source: Keysight foundry-partner documentation. | Check the foundry’s current validation and whether Virtuoso interoperability is included; ADS-native support alone does not prove that it is. |
What the 2015 launch added to ADS
Alongside the interoperability flow, ADS 2015 introduced GoldenGate-in-ADS, bringing Keysight’s silicon RFIC circuit-simulation technology into the ADS platform. Joe Civello, then ADS product manager for Keysight EEsof EDA, described the combination of GoldenGate-in-ADS and foundry interoperable PDKs as giving customers access to that simulation technology within ADS (Electronic Design’s 2015 coverage).
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The same 2015 feature coverage reported Keysight’s claim of 2 to 16 times faster FEM simulation performance. That is a vendor-reported product-performance claim; the cited coverage does not provide an independent benchmark methodology, so the range should not be treated as a general measured speedup for customer designs. The available sources also do not establish an adoption rate, revenue impact, overall design-cycle reduction, or interoperability success rate.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Later documented capabilities and limitations
ADS 2017 release notes record continued work on interoperability, including support for config views that define netlist hierarchy, interoperable technology data through Technology and display files, four parasitic components in the analog library, and OpenAccess 22.50 compatibility. The same notes identify limitations and failure modes that matter when qualifying a specific legacy flow:
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- Some wide wires from Virtuoso were not fully supported.
- Editing display resources was limited.
- Unforced net-name changes could break saved signals and measurements; the notes say a small edit and rerun could restore them.
These are ADS 2017-era notes, not a definitive statement about every later ADS release. Consult the ADS 2017 Release Notes for the precise release context, then verify the behavior in the version and PDK actually under consideration.
Is the interoperability product available now?
Keysight marks W2319EP Silicon RFIC Interoperability w/Virtuoso Element obsolete and lists no replacement found on its product page. As a result, the historical feature description is not enough to establish that a new purchase or deployment is available. Current ADS editions, license entitlements, supported Virtuoso and OpenAccess versions, and foundry PDK support must be checked with Keysight and the relevant foundry.
For an existing design or a proposed migration, assess the concrete flow rather than relying on the word “interoperability.” Confirm bidirectional schematic fidelity and shared-database behavior, the layout-cell-to-package/module EM workflow, the required baseline Virtuoso PDK, supported software versions, known limitations, and the current license and replacement path. If any one of those does not match the design environment, the 2015 feature description may not describe a usable present-day workflow.
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