First Steps

Obtaining your first results within CST DESIGN STUDIO™ is rather simple because working with it is quite intuitive, in particular due to the user-friendly interface. Here, we point out some basic aspects concerning its use and some facts you should be aware of.

Creating a design

Follow the link Creating a Design to obtain detailed information about synthesizing a valid layout for your design purpose. After proceeding as described there, your schematic view should contain a net of blocks and — except for some basic circuit simulation tasks — of external ports that are properly connected. Advanced topics in the context of synthesis are the use of library blocks and of simulated blocks, like the CST MICROWAVE STUDIO block and the CST MICROWAVE STUDIO file block, and the application of the CST DESIGN STUDIO block to deal with hierarchical models.

Analysis

CST DESIGN STUDIO offers several simulation tasks. A task encapsulates simulation settings and result options. During the execution of such a task, a suitable simulation method is chosen and the selected results are produced. However, by choosing Home: Simulation Update, you may sequentially execute all defined (and enabled) tasks.

Visualization

CST DESIGN STUDIO offers some standard result plots to visualize the results. A user-defined result plot can be added by choosing Navigation Tree: Results Add Result Plot. To insert result data of the current result set, customize the Add Result Data dialog box. Follow the link Visualizing Results for detailed information.

Parameterization

Dealing with parameters in CST DESIGN STUDIO is quite simple. Using the parameter list, you can define new parameters, modify the parameter values or delete them. To use a parameter in your design, assign it either to a block's property, to a simulation task's property, or to a global project property. Follow Using Parameters for further explanations.

Parameter sweep and optimization

After understanding the parameterization of a design, you are able to use the advanced analysis features that are implemented in CST DESIGN STUDIO. To perform a parameter sweep, open the Parameter Sweep dialog box, select the parameters to vary, define at least one watch to record some results during the sweep and press start. Obtaining optimization results is a bit more sophisticated and you are advised to review the Optimizer Overview site.