Synthesis of a Wireless Communication Analog Back-End Based on a Mismatch-Aware Symbolic Approach

ABSTRACT

In this paper, a methodology to automate the synthesis of an industrial-purpose analog integrated circuit, namely the back-end of an I & Q transmit interface, is presented. A good matching between both I and Q channels is desirable to ensure the correct circuit functioning.

The proposed methodology combines the use of symbolic expressions with numerical approaches. While the symbolic expressions allow a fast iterative evaluation of the circuit performance, the numerical capabilities ensure a rapid optimization of the results. Unlike other approaches, the methodology uses symbolic expressions explicitly considering device mismatch, which are evaluated performing a Monte-Carlo analysis. The expressions have been obtained using an error-control process guided by the mean and standard deviation values of the circuit performance characteristics. This provides two benefits. First, smaller expressions are obtained. Second, expression evaluation is faster: smaller number of operations—symbol products and term sums—are carried out since, at each Monte-Carlo run, only those symbols related to device mismatch are to be changed, while the rest remains constant.

A comparison between the presented synthesis technique and other purely numerical and numerical/symbolic approaches is also given.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  B. Hardware
  B.7 INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
      B.7.2 Design Aids
          Subjects: Layout

Additional Classification:
  B. Hardware
  B.8 Performance and Reliability
      B.8.1 Reliability, Testing, and Fault-Tolerance

  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.1 SYMBOLIC AND ALGEBRAIC MANIPULATION
      I.1.1 Expressions and Their Representation
          Subjects: Representations (general and polynomial)
  I.6 SIMULATION AND MODELING
      I.6.8 Types of Simulation
          Subjects: Monte Carlo

General Terms:
Algorithms, Design, Performance

Keywords:
analog synthesis, device mismatch, symbolic analysis