Setting Layer Thickness

The thickness of each layer is listed in the Thickness column of the Grid Control pane in the Edit Layers window. A layer’s thickness is measured on the point of elevation (e.g., if the elevation of a signal layer is 2 microns and the thickness is 4 microns, the layer begins at 2 microns and extends upwards for 4 microns to a height of 6). The units for the thickness is in the Units field of the Stackup pane.

Complete these steps to set a layer’s thickness.

  1. From the Thickness column of the Edit Layers window, double-click a layer’s Thickness field.
  2. Type a value and its units in the field. The value can be specified using a number (e.g., 0.5um), a variable (e.g., $H), or an expression (e.g., $H-0.5um+$W).
  3. Press Enter.The layer is assigned its new thickness.
Warning:

Assigning thickness to signal layers significantly increases the solution time. The number of unknowns that HFSS software must compute doubles when you increase the thickness from zero (infinitely thin) to a finite number. Therefore, if possible, model signal layers as infinitely thin objects.