SEMCAD X Matterhorn Release V20.2

SEMCAD X Matterhorn V20.2 offers new features and major enhancements that further strengthen our customers’ in silico tool set for research, device design and optimization, and compliance evaluation.

The highlights of SEMCAD X Matterhorn V20.2 in a nutshell:

• Python scripting: discover the power, flexibility, and comfort of SEMCAD X’s integration with JupyterLab together with the upgrade to Python V3.8
• Dosimetry/compliance: SEMCAD X is compliant with the latest and forthcoming IEEE/IEC mmWave APD and SAR standards
• Reduced storage: results from full-wave simulations can now be automatically compressed, either on-the-fly or for already computed simulation results –
  resulting in massive file size savings (up to 20x)
• Productivity tools: explore a whole set of powerful new modelling tools and a streamlined graphical user interface (GUI) for an easier and more intuitive user experience

Finally, the new release includes various new additional features, general improvements as well as bug fixes, making your simulations once again more effective.

Feedback, as always, is greatly welcome – we listen!

New Power and Flexibility for SEMCAD X Python Scripting

• SEMCAD X Matterhorn V20.2 now allows users to develop and execute their Python scripts from a live-linked JupyterLab window.
• Users thus benefit from powerful script documentation features and can rapidly build widget-based custom applications.
• This allows for process automation, workflow sharing, sophisticated postprocessing, large-scale parameter space explorations, and much more.
• Code auto-completion now comes with type hints, reducing user errors and accelerating scripts development.
• The application programming interface (API) of SEMCAD X Matterhorn V20.2 has been upgraded to Python 3.8, for enhanced compatibility with a wide range of third-party tools.

The new Python Scripter (Jupyter Notebook) window (live-link) in SEMCAD X provides a modern environment for running Python notebooks while remaining fully synchronized with the main application.

Dosimetry and Compliance Assessment

While exposure assessment standards for specific absorption rate (SAR) and power density continue to evolve, we ensure that SEMCAD X Matterhorn is always up-to-date with the latest developments and ahead of upcoming changes.

mmWAVE ABSORBED POWER DENSITY

• Evaluation of the absorbed power density (APD), as established in ICNIRP (2020) and IEEC95.1 (2019), is being standardized also in the context of finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. The standard, IEC PAS 63446 ED1, is not yet finalized but the latest draft is implemented in SEMCAD X’s power density evaluator.
• The entire frequency range (6 – 300 GHz) is comprehensively covered.

SEMCAD X Matterhorn V20.2: Surface view of the absorbed power density generated by a 5G mobile phone at 28 GHz.

psSAR FOR HOMOGENEOUS PHANTOMS

• A preview of the new peak spatial SAR (psSAR) averaging algorithm for homogeneous phantoms according to the latest draft of the IEEE/IEC 62704-1 standard is available. The new algorithm postulates averaging cubes that are not aligned with the grid anymore, allowing for direct comparison with data from dosimetric measurement systems, such as DASY8.
• The original psSAR evaluator remains unchanged and should continue to be used in regulatory applications for now.

psSAR evaluation in the homogeneous SAM head phantom, according to the latest draft of IEEE/IEC 62704-1, now available in SEMCAD X Matterhorn V20.2.

Productivity and Performance Tools

POWERFUL MODELING ENHANCEMENTS

• New tools permit extruding mesh patches, creating thin solid layers, detecting mirror symmetries, and creating symmetric models.
• A new snapping mode was added that allows to snap slice field viewers for aligned visualizations.
• Advanced entity sorting is now supported in the model tree.
• Support for various import/export of formats was added/extended (MMF voxel, Slicer 3D colortable, Gmsh).
• The Python API continues to be extended (e.g., numpy interfacing, parametric sweeping around axes, as well as API interfaces to the Mesh Doctor).

Illustration of the new snapping functionality to viewer objects in SEMCAD X Matterhorn V20.2.

DATA COMPRESSION

• SEMCAD X Matterhorn V20.2 can now compress 3D field data in output files without affecting usage. This can be done in two different ways:
  • In-place compression of existing simulation results
  • On-the-fly compression of new simulation results (FDTD solver only)
• The compression level can be defined independently for each sensor.
• Lossless compression yields 2–5x disk space savings, without accuracy loss.
• Compression schemes with user-controlled precision are also available and permit storage space savings in the range of 8–20x at negligible accuracy cost (typically less than 0.1% for electric/magnetic fields).

Field compression in SEMCAD X Matterhorn V20.2: Two representative examples highlighting how the output file size is drastically reduced at different compression levels.

GUI ENHANCEMENTS

• SEMCAD X Matterhorn V20.2 comes with a set of streamlined GUI elements to produce a more intuitive user experience and facilitate use:
  • cleaned up Tabs, Ribbons
  • intuitive Action Bar
  • simplified UI elements

Streamlined and more intuitive GUI in SEMCAD X Matterhorn V20.2.

A more comprehensive list of improvements, fixes, and new features is included in the Release Notes.

To experience the power and elegance of SEMCAD X Matterhorn V20.2 or for further information, please email us at semx-sales@speag.swiss or call us at +41 44 245 9700.

The relevant SEMCAD X Matterhorn installers for Win7/Win8/8.1and /Win10/11 64-bit platforms can be downloaded here. Existing customers with an up-to-date annual maintenance and support plan will receive individually all pertinent information regarding the software installer download and updated licenses.

IMPORTANT: For the CUDA-based solver (CUDA P-EM-FDTD), SEMCAD X supports NVIDIA GPU models equipped with CUDA compute capability 3.5 up to 8.6, and requires device drivers that support the CUDA toolkit 11.0 and above. Note that NVIDIA may choose to discontinue certain drivers for specific operating systems, e.g., CUDA 11.0 drivers may not be available for Windows 8.1 for certain GPU series. In such a case, an update to Windows 10 or 11 may permit further usage of the GPU with Sim4Life. 

SPEAG is committed to empowering our customers to reach new heights of productivity and scientific achievement by providing outstanding innovative software solutions, testing equipment, and service.

We strongly recommend that users upgrade SEMCAD X to the full version of Sim4Life. If interested, please request a special upgrade price.

The SEMCAD X Matterhorn and Sim4Life Teams