Analog Circuit Layout Selection for Parasitic-Aware Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Analogue circuit design is inefficient and prone to failure due to manual 'best guess' estimates and over-engineering, lacking automation and consideration of parasitic effects.
Innovation Solution
An analogue circuit design apparatus that automates the design process by selecting layouts and determining physical properties based on electrical requirements, using a hierarchical model with a primary and secondary design unit to optimize silicon use and minimize variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual 'best guess' estimates are used for analogue circuit design, then the design process is simple and quick, but the circuit reliability deteriorates and failures increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical design processes with an automated computer-based system. The processor automatically selects layouts, determines physical properties, and verifies electrical requirements, substituting human estimation with computational algorithms that consider parasitic effects and provide optimized designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The design system performs self-verification by automatically checking whether the selected layout and physical properties meet the electrical requirements. The system iterates through different layouts and automatically adjusts parameters without requiring manual intervention, enabling the system to serve itself in the design verification process.
2Productivity
If manual design with specification guard-banding is used, then the design process is straightforward, but the circuit becomes over-engineered and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent systematically varies physical parameters such as component spacing, layer thickness, and material properties to optimize the circuit design. The processor adjusts these parameters to meet electrical requirements precisely without excessive guard-banding, thereby reducing silicon usage while maintaining performance.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying excessive guard-banding across all specifications, the system applies minimal necessary protection only where required. The automated verification identifies precise parameter values that satisfy requirements without over-engineering, using only the necessary degree of action to achieve reliability.
3Manufacturing precision
If automated design is implemented, then the design process becomes reliable and optimized, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The design apparatus is segmented into distinct functional modules: a layout selection unit that identifies potential layouts, a physical property determination unit that calculates specific parameters, and a verification unit that checks electrical requirements. This segmentation reduces overall system complexity by dividing the automated design process into manageable, independent functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary verification layer that automatically checks whether selected layouts and physical properties meet electrical requirements. This intermediary function mediates between the design generation and final verification, ensuring precision while keeping the overall system architecture manageable through structured feedback loops.
4Reliability
If conventional manual design is used, then the design process is simple, but parasitic effects are not adequately considered
Solution Approach 1:
The automated system performs preliminary calculations of parasitic effects during the design generation phase. The processor pre-determines physical properties and verifies electrical requirements before final layout selection, incorporating parasitic considerations from the outset rather than as a later correction step, thereby maintaining reliability without significant time penalty.
Data Source
AI summary
An analogue circuit design apparatus is configured to receive information representing electrical requirements for the analogue circuit, identify a plurality of potential layout techniques such as symmetrical, common centroid, and interdigitated layout technique, select one of the potential layout technique as the current selected layout technique, and determine physical properties of the analogue circuit based on the electrical requirements and the current selected layout technique. The analogue circuit design apparatus is configured to determine whether the current selected layout technique and determined physical properties of the analogue circuits meet the electrical requirements, and in the event that they do meet the electrical requirements, produce and output a design, or if they do not meet the electrical requirements, to repeat the process with a different selected layout technique as the current selected layout technique.