TIDEWIRE
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Capabilities · Build 0.21 · 1 Oct 2026

Everything it does.
And what it doesn't, yet.

The full list, for engineers who read the spec sheet first. Each row says what you can set yourself and whether it's available now, in development, or planned.

Available now In development Planned
Capability What it does You can set Status

Import

Gerber (RS-274X) Industry-standard board outlines, pads and copper fills, plus solder mask and silkscreen.Fab stackups can be chosen or imported alongside. Layer-to-stackup map Available now
Excellon drill files Through-holes and via drill data. Drill tool diameters Available now
ODB++ / IPC-2581 Richer EDA export formats with net and layer stack info.Mapped automatically; everything can be overridden. Net names, stackup Available now
STEP (manufacturer parts) 3D CAD bodies for connectors, cables and mounts, mapped to pads. Orientation, pad map Available now

Models

Fab stackups (JLCPCB) Preset layer stackups for JLCPCB 2, 4 and 6 layers, with per-layer dielectric constants. Thicknesses, εr Available now
Coax connectors (12 families) SMA, SMB, U.FL, MMCX, N, BNC and more; edge, through-hole and top launches. Family, launch style Available now
Standard cables (22) Coax, FFC ribbons, twisted pairs — length, bend, strain relief. Length, bend, routing Available now
SPICE parts (R, L, C, ferrite) Discrete components fitted with two R-L-C branches.Multi-pin SPICE is mapped, not yet simulated. Per-part values In development

Meshing

Automatic Yee grid Uniform cells on a Yee grid, with per-region refinement. Target cell size Available now
Focus regions Fine cells around signals and connectors, coarser elsewhere. Region boxes, ratios Available now
Conformal FDTD Round and off-grid metal edges without staircasing. Per-edge toggle Planned

Solvers

2D quasi-static solver Cross-section impedance, in seconds, for microstrip, stripline and coplanar. Loss frequency Available now
3D FDTD on GPU Full-wave time-domain solver, with CPML absorbing boundaries. Time step, run length Available now
Multi-GPU on one host Scale across every GPU installed in one computer (Pro and Team). GPU selection In development
FEM / MoM solvers Frequency-domain alternatives for narrowband and antenna-pattern work. Solver choice Planned

Ports

Lumped ports Resistive, inductive and capacitive excitations with full control. Impedance, waveform Available now
Modal ports Modal excitation of connector launches with real mode shapes. Port face, mode Available now

Results

TDR Impedance along the path, step and risetime configurable. Risetime, step amplitude Available now
S-parameters Multi-port S-parameters to the frequency you ask for. Freq range, points Available now
Eye diagrams with masks PRBS-7 eye on the step response, with standard or custom masks (D-PHY, USB, HDMI).Statistical eye and IBIS AMI are planned. Data rate, mask Available now
Crosstalk (NEXT / FEXT) Near- and far-end coupling between any pair of lanes. Aggressor, victim Available now
Far-field patterns Antenna gain and beam patterns from the same time-domain run. Freq, azimuth / elevation cuts Available now

Export

Touchstone (.sNp) Multi-port S-parameters for your channel simulator. Port count Available now
openEMS model Export the whole model to openEMS and get a second opinion. Output folder Available now
PDF report Branded report with all plots and settings, for sign-off. Template, logo Planned
Known limits

Read this too

What Tidewire doesn't do well yet, stated plainly. Most of these have a planned fix in the table above.

  • Metal and dielectric edges that aren't on grid lines are staircased; round parts need fine cells until conformal FDTD arrives.
  • No FEM or method-of-moments solver yet, and no automatic mesh-convergence loop.
  • The 2D solver handles one signal layer, without radiation, with loss taken at one frequency.
  • Eyes come from PRBS-7 on the step response: no IBIS, equalisation or statistical eye yet.
  • Gap (differential) ports have no line reference plane, and multiport results are referenced to port resistances.
  • SPICE parts are fitted with two R-L-C branches; multi-pin SPICE models are mapped but not simulated.
  • A filled-wire dipole resonates a few percent low; the thin-wire model matches NEC-2.

What differs by edition

Every edition has every analysis tool above. Community caps 3D models at about 1.5 million cells, enough for cross-sections and small 3D runs, for non-commercial use. Maker removes the size cap on one GPU. Pro and Team add commercial use, support, the validation pack, and multi-GPU and distributed runs when they ship. All editions are the same signed desktop app; the differences are what each licence unlocks.

Compare editions →

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