Importing DXF file into ADS Layout

Hello all,

I have a problem of importing a dxf file of a filter into ADS layout. I designed a hair-pin filter in another Cad program, and exported its dxf file. When I try importing it into ADS however, ADS does not understand it as a component but random shapes .

I need to make Em simulations and get its s-parameters so I can model it as a n-port device with those s-parameters and put it into a bigger simulation.

When I try importing it and try setting up EM simulation I get error messages of "Bounding area mask 4 contains no shapes." and "Port setup needed to be corrected."

1- I am using ADS2016 as my software, designed the filters in HFSS 16.0.

Thanks and Regards.

DXF is not ideal for RF/microwave layout, because there is no clear definition of a filled area. From my experience, ADS does quite a good job in reading DXF, but it really depends what DXF shapes you have used. Closed POLYLINE with zero width for the boundary has become an inofficial standard for filles polygons in PCB systems when exporting to DXF, and that works fine in ADS.

If your DXF layout comes from HFSS, the problem might be in the DXF file already. Have you checked the file with a DXF viewer? If you want to upload the DXF file, I can have a closer look.

"Port setup needed to be corrected." does not sound like a DXF related problem.

Yes, It was a combination of my fault and some translation error from Hfss to ADS. Hfss used mm as its unit, my Ads library was using mil's. When translating the device their pin locations were translated to different spots, hence creating my netlist problem. When I defined a new library with mm as its unit and included some reference grounds it worked. My mistake was assuming ground is implicitly there.

Nevertheless, I read your advices on many different topics, thanks for info!

Why do you think DXF is not ideal for RF?

Before I started with EM tools, my company created tools for RF layout data exchange, and we sold them to CST and Ansoft who bundled our translators with their products. So I have had the pleasure and pain to work in details with all these formats

DXF is made for mechanical drawings. As I tried to explain above, there is nothing like a filled area in DXF, so everyone using DXF for electronics layout needs to find a workaround - usually using closed zero width POLYLINE for the boundary - and hopes that other tools will interpret that correctly. When it comes to finite width POLYLINEs for modelling traces, that's well defined in DXF, but some target systems don't interpret that correctly.

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