This book presents an innovative methodology for the automatic generation of analog integrated circuits (ICs) layout, based on template descriptions and on evolutionary computational techniques. A design automation tool, LAYGEN II was implemented to validate the proposed approach giving special emphasis to reusability of expert design knowledge and to efficiency on retargeting operations.
In the last years, the world has observed the increasing complexity of integrated circuits
(ICs), strongly triggered by the proliferation of consumer electronic devices. The
design of complex system on a chip (SoC) is widespread in multimedia and communication
applications, where the analog and mixed-signal (AMS) blocks are integrated
together with digital circuitry. However, the analog blocks development cycles are
largerwhen compared to the digital counterpart.The twomain reasons identified are the
lack of effective computer-aided design (CAD) tools for electronic design automation
(EDA), and that analog circuits are being integrated using technologies optimized for
digital circuits.Given the economic pressure for high-quality yet cheap electronics and
challenging time-to-market constraints, there is an urgent need for CAD tools that
increase the analog designers’ productivity and improve the quality of resulting ICs.