Some Experiences from Working with Electromagnetic Simulation Software

Dr. G. Kevin Zhu
Ansys, USA

Abstract: Electromagnetic simulation softwares are integral tools in the electronic manufacturing process. It is the decade-long condensation of talents from physics, electrical engineering (EE), computer science, and applied mathematics. In the first half, I will present cases to show that questions arising from using these softwares can trace their answers to fundamental EE concepts. Solid grasps of these concepts is essential for one to have meaningful results from simulations. In the second half, I will show that developing simulation softwares requires rigorous verification. This entails comparisons of numerical accuracy across multiple methods. It also demands abundant simulation time on diverse hardware platforms to check for robustness. Knowledge beyond classical EE curriculum deepens one’s understanding of these softwares.

Speaker’s Bio: G. Kevin Zhu received his B.Sc. degree and M.Sc. degree from University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada, in 2003 and 2005, in computer engineering and electrical engineering. He received his Ph.D. degree from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, in 2011. From2002 to 2003, he was an intern with the IBM Toronto Software Lab. In the summer of 2011, he was a research associate in the Physics Department at McGill University, working on the parallel direct linear solver. He was a post-doctoral fellow in the Electromagnetics Group at University of Toronto from 2011 to 2012, working on wave propagation in dispersive media. He joined Ansys Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, in 2013.Currently, he is a lead research and development engineer, working on SIwave and Q3D. Dr. Zhu received McGill Graduate Studies Fellowship in 2005 and the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Graduate Fellowship in 2008.

This webinar is organized by the MTT-S TC-28 Young Professionals subcommittee.