Systematic Circuit Design Methodologies with Layout Considerations

Abstract

In Chap. 4, it was demonstrated that the modeling of passive components is very important for an accurate optimization-based design strategy. Furthermore, the offline strategy to design such passive components has demonstrated to provide superior results more efficiently. Also, the device corner performances have shown to have a high impact on the performances of the circuits, and, therefore, must be considered from a first design stage. In this Section, another important issue that should be considered in systematic circuit design methodologies is addressed: the layout parasitics. These layout parasitic effects, that appear in circuits (especially RF circuits), are in many cases devastating, and most times cause the circuit performances to degrade immeasurably. Hence, the automated sizing procedures which do not consider these effects are usually not enough to achieve robust circuit designs. Therefore, it is clear that the layout parasitic effects must also be taken into account during the design stage.