[[Image:PMOM80.png|thumb|400px|EM.Picasso's Simulation Run dialog.]]
The first step of planning a planar MoM simulation is defining your planar structure. This consists of the background structure plus all the finite-sized metal and slot trace objects and possibly embedded metal or dielectric objects that are interspersed among the substrate layers. The next step is to decide on the excitation scheme. If your planar structure has one or more ports and you seek to calculate its port characteristics, then you have to choose one of the lumped source types or a de-embedded source. Before you run a planar MoM simulation, you also need to decide on the project's observables. These are the simulation data that you expect EM.Picasso to generate as the outcome of the numerical simulation. If you run a simulation without having defined any observables, no data will be generated at the end of the simulation. === Planar Module's Simulation Modes === The simplest simulation type in EM.Picasso is a single-frequency analysis. In this mode, the planar structure in your project workspace is meshed at the center frequency of the project. After the completion of the planar MoM simulation, a number of data files are generated depending on the observables you have defined in your project. An analysis is a single-run simulation. EM.Picasso offers a number five types of multi-run simulation modes. In those cases, the Planar MoM simulation engine is run multiple times. At each engine run, certain [[parameters]] are varied and a collection of simulation data are generated. At the end of a multi-run simulation, you can graph the simulation results in EM.Grid or you can animate the 3D simulation data from the navigation tree. For example, in a frequency sweep, the frequency of the project is varied over its specified bandwidth. Port characteristics are usually plotted vs. frequency, representing your planar structure's frequency response. EM.Picasso currently provides the following types of multi-run simulation modessimulations:
* Single-Frequency Analysis
* Frequency Sweep
* Parametric Sweep
* [[Optimization]]
* HDMR Sweep
A single-frequency analysis is the simplest type of EM.Picasso simulation and involves the following steps:
* Set the units of your project and the frequency of operation. Note that the default project unit is '''millimeter'''.
* Define you background structure and its layer properties and trace types.
* Construct your planar structure using [[CubeCAD]]'s drawing tools to create all the finite-sized metal and slot trace objects and possibly embedded metal or dielectric objects that are interspersed among the substrate layers.
* Define an excitation source and observables for your project.
* Examine the planar mesh, verify its integrity and change the mesh density if necessary.
* Run the Planar MoM simulation engine.
* Visualize the output simulation data.
If you run a simulation without having defined any observables, no data will be generated at the end of the simulation. An analysis is a single-run simulation. In multi-run simulation modes, certain [[parameters]] are varied and a collection of simulation data are generated. At the end of a multi-run simulation, you can graph the simulation results in EM.Grid or you can animate the 3D simulation data from the navigation tree.
=== Running A Planar MoM Analysis ===