ABSTRACT
The growth of personal communication and the internet industries along with the need for portability has resulted in an ever increasing demand for low cost high volume microwave circuitry. The commercialization of GaAs and SiGe wafer processing and the simultaneous reduction in the physical size of the silicon devices has enabled the development of complex microwave circuitry which can, no longer, be designed without the aid of sophisticated computer aided design (CAD) circuit simulators. This chapter will discuss the typical steps involved in a design cycle, some basic requirements a CAD program should have, and a look at the theory behind the most popular CAD programs in use today.
