Operational-amplifier compilation with performance optimization

A method for designing analog circuits in which topological design is followed by simultaneous device sizing and layout design is described. By merging circuit and layout design into a single design process, analog circuits can be optimally designed taking layout parasitics fully into account. Using the method, a CMOS operational-amplifier compiler (OAC) has been developed. Given a set of performance specifications and process parameters, OAC generates a layout with circuit performance optimized to meet specified performance constraints. A procedural layout technique is employed to generate a compact and practical layout. A nonlinear optimization method for device sizing which relies on the results of simulations based on the circuit extracted from the layout is applied. Design experiments have shown that OAC can produce satisfactory results with respect to both circuit performance and layout density     

A Signal-Flow Driven Automatic Physical Synthesis Methodology for Analog Circuits

This paper introduces a novel automatic physical synthesis methodology for analog circuits based on the signal-flow analysis.Circuit analysis sub-system adopts the newly advanced methodology,circuit topology analysis,and circuit sensitivity analysis to generate layout constraints and control performance degradations.Considering the heuristic information about signalflow，complexity of the methodology is less than the pure performance-driven methodology.And then these constraints are implemented in device generation,placement，and routing sub-systems separately,which makes the different constraints be satisfied at most easily implemented stages.Excellent circuit performance obtained by the methodology is demonstrated by practical circuit examples.     

信号流驱动的模拟电路版图综合方法

提出了一种新的基于信号流分析的模拟电路版图综合方法.电路分析子系统采用新提出的信号流分析方法再结合已有的电路拓扑分析和电路灵敏性分析方法生成布图约束控制电路性能的衰减.由于考虑了电路中有关信号流的启发式信息,该方法的复杂性较一般的纯粹性能驱动方法小.然后分别在器件生成子系统、布图子系统和布线子系统中实现这些约束,使得这些约束在最容易实现的阶段得到满足.实际的电路例子已经证明了这一方法可以获得出色的电路性能.     

ALGA: Automated layout generator for analog CMOS circuits

A computer-aided design (CAD) system called ALGA for an analog circuit layout is presented. The main contribution of this paper is to construct a weight graph that represents the topological connectivity of a given analog circuit. By using the weight graph, some efficient techniques can be designed to avoid devices mismatch and place all devices according to the device size constraints. Moreover, an algorithm is presented to perform the device placement step and propose an effective approach to reduce noise coupling in the routing step. A design method has been implemented in several Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) analog circuits. It is seen that the proposed system can generate good analog circuit design.     

Reliability optimization of analog integrated circuits considering the trade-off between lifetime and area

The reliability of analog integrated circuits becomes a major concern for the semiconductor industry as technology continuously scales. Among the many contributing factors, manufacturing process induced parameter variations and lifetime operational-condition-dependent transistor aging are two major hurdles limiting the reliability of analog circuits. Process variations mainly influence the parametric yield value of the fresh circuits, while transistor aging due to physical effects, such as Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) and Hot Carrier Injection (HCI), will cause another yield loss during circuit lifetime. In the past decades, the two issues were mainly studied separately by various communities, but analog designers nowadays need an accurate yet efficient method to analyze and optimize their circuits during the design phase, to ensure a more robust design tolerant of such joint effects.This paper proposes an efficient method for sizing of analog circuits for reliability. It is based on the analysis and optimization of the fresh worst-case distance value for each circuit performance, which can be used to characterize the robustness of circuits considering process variations and aging effects in terms of x-sigma. The fresh and aged sizing rules as well as the maximum area constraints are checked during the optimization. The trade-off between the circuit lifetime and the price we pay in terms of layout area is studied in detail. According to the result of this trade-off analysis, a longer circuit lifetime requires more total area to be spent in layout, and designers can ensure the circuit robustness with certain layout area consumption.     

模拟集成电路版图中的对称检测与提取方法

新一代模拟集成电路版图自动化系统在重用原有版图时,迫切需要提取其中的匹配设计信息,以保证其输出版图的质量.在角勾链数据结构的基础上,提出了新的对称检测、提取算法及数据结构.该算法检测出器件之间的对称关系,进一步提取出模块之间的对称关系,并将器件级和模块级对称关系及底层的角勾链结构以独特的数据结构统一存储.结果表明,该算法与数据结构能够有效地提取并表示设计者在版图中渗透的匹配设计思想,为版图的生成提供多级对称约束条件,从而有力地保证重用系统所输出的模拟版图的性能.     

Performance-constrained analogue layout retargeting and optimisation with geometric programming

Layout parasitic has crucial influence on the performance of analogue integrated circuits. The paper presents a performance-constrained analogue layout retargeting and optimisation scheme. Geometric programming (GP), is a kind of nonlinear optimisation problem, is used in the method, which can be transferred or fitted into a convex optimisation problem based on mathematical analyses. Then, a global optimum solution can be achieved. To achieve the desired circuit performance, performance sensitivities based on layout parasitic are carried out in the analogue layout optimisation. In addition, a central difference method is applied to control parasitic-related layout geometries by constructing a set of performance constraints subject to maximum performance deviation. At last, a two-stage Miller-compensated operational amplifier and a single-ended folded cascode operational amplifier are simulated with the proposed scheme. The automatically generated target layouts can satisfy performance constraints to ensure the desired specifications. The experimental results show that the scheme can achieve effective retargeting of analogue circuit with less layout area and better circuit performance.     

ARIADNE: A constraint-based approach to computer-aided synthesis and modeling of Analog integrated circuits

The ARIADNE approach to computer-aided synthesis and modeling of analog circuits is presented. It is a mathematical approach based on the use of equations. Equations are regarded as constraints on a circuit's design space and analog circuit design is modeled as a constraint satisfaction problem. To generate and efficiently satisfy constraints, advanced computational techniques such as constraint propagation, interval propagation, symbolic simulation, and qualitative simulation are applied. These techniques cover design problems such as topology construction, modeling, nominal analysis, tolerance analysis, sizing and optimization of analog circuits. The advantage of this approach is the clear separation of design knowledge from design procedures. Design knowledge is modeled in declarative equation-based models (DEBMs). Design procedures are implemented into general applicable CAD tools. The ARIADNE approach closely matches the reasoning style applied by experienced designers. The integration of synthesis and modeling into one frame and the clear separation of design knowledge from design procedures eases the process of extending the synthesis system with new circuit topologies, turning it into an open design system. This system can be used by both inexperienced and experienced designers in either interactive or automated mode.     

Automated hierarchical CMOS analog circuit stack generation withintramodule connectivity and matching considerations

An efficient automated layout for CMOS transistors in analog circuits is described. The matching requirements are used as the primary constraint on the analog layout; however, parasitic capacitances and area considerations are also included. A designer-chosen arbitrary circuit partition from the schematic can be used to generate the corresponding layout as an optimum stack of transistors with complete intramodule connectivity. The transistor stack generation is performed by representing the circuit with a diffusion graph and recursively fragmenting the graph until the base constructs are reached. For each of the modules, the port structures are also created. These port structures are considered as part of the module area and parasitic optimization procedure. With aspect-ratio-related constraints, the procedure allows optimal floorplanning. The results are demonstrated through several examples     

An active power filter and unbalanced current compensator

This paper presents the synthesis and performance of a shunt active power filter based on the three-phase pulsewidth modulation (PWM) voltage converter connected to the AC mains. Current harmonics and asymmetries caused by nonlinear loads can be compensated. A decoupled system in Park's variables is achieved and so simple controllers with excellent performance can be used. The controllers are implemented directly in the Park's referential. Expressions for the controller's synthesis are derived. Experimental results from a 2 kVA IGBT prototype showing excellent dynamic and steady-state system's performances are presented. The control circuit is implemented with analog and digital electronic circuits. A considerable amount of electronic circuits are needed. The method presented in this paper can also be implemented with a digital signal processor     

Analog circuit design optimization based on symbolic simulation andsimulated annealing

A methodology for the automatic design optimization of analog integrated circuits is presented. A non-fixed-topology approach is realized by combining the optimization program OPTIMAN with the symbolic simulator ISAAC. After selecting a circuit topology, the user invokes ISAAC to model the circuit. ISAAC generates both exact and simplified analytic expressions, describing the circuit's behavior. The model is then passed to the design optimization program OPTIMAN. This program is based on a generalized formulation of the analog design problem. For the selected topology, the independent design variables are automatically extracted and OPTIMAN sizes all elements to satisfy the performance constraints, thereby optimizing a user-defined design objective. The global optimization method used on the analytic circuit models is simulated annealing. Practical examples show that OPTIMAN quickly designs analog circuits, closely meeting the specifications, and that it is a flexible and reliable design and exploration tool     

Directly performance-constrained template-based layout retargeting and optimization for analog integrated circuits

Due to intrinsic intricacy, layout parasitics exhibit a significant impact on the performance of analog integrated circuits. In this paper a directly performance-constrained parasitic-aware automatic layout retargeting and optimization algorithm is presented. Unlike the conventional sensitivity analysis, a general central-difference based scheme using any simulator for sensitivity computation is deployed. We propose a piecewise sensitivity model to enforce more accurate sensitivity computation during parasitic optimization. Moreover, mixed-integer performance constraints due to parasitics are included in the formulated mixed integer nonlinear programming problem rather than through either indirect parasitic-bound constraints or inaccurate worst-case sensitivities. A graph technique and mixed-integer nonlinear programming are effectively combined to solve the formulated parasitic optimization problem. The automatically generated target layouts can satisfy performance constraints to ensure the desired specifications. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve effective retargeting of analog circuits with less layout area and significant reduction in execution time.     

S－域行为描述的模拟集成电路综合方法

本文提出了一种通用的、从Ｓ－域传输函数入手进行模拟集成电路结构级综合的方法，并详细地讨论了提高电路性能和合格率的电路技巧。此外，本文还给出了生成物理版图的一点建议，本文采用该方法完成了切比雪夫滤波器的综合，ＳＰＩＣＥ模拟结果表明该方法是可行的。     

A performance-driven placement tool for analog integrated circuits

This paper presents a new approach toward performance-driven placement of analog integrated circuits. The freedom in placing the devices is used to control the layout-induced performance degradation within the margins imposed by the designer's specifications. This guarantees that the resulting layout will meet all specifications by construction. During each iteration of the simulated annealing algorithm, the layout-induced performance degradation is calculated from the geometrical properties of the intermediate solution. The placement tool inherently handles symmetry constraints, circuit loading effects and device mismatches. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated with practical circuit examples     

一种单刀双掷高速模拟开关的研制

介绍了一种单刀双掷高速模拟开关;描述了电路工作原理、线路设计、版图设计及可靠性设计。该高速模拟开关具有速度快、功耗低、隔离度高、关断漏电流小等特点。其内部电路设计有控制输入级、电平转换级、高速模拟开关管及静电保护电路。该电路可广泛应用于雷达接收机和发射机、通信系统和数据采集系统,以及通用模拟开关等领域。