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

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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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Microelectrónica de Sevilla, Centro Nacional de Microelectrónica, Edificio CNM, Avda. Reina Mercedes sn, 41012-, Sevilla, Spain

    R. Castro-López, O. Guerra, F.V. Fernández & A. Rodríguez-Vázquez

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  1. R. Castro-López
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  3. F.V. Fernández
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  4. A. Rodríguez-Vázquez
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Castro-López, R., Guerra, O., Fernández, F. et al. Synthesis of a Wireless Communication Analog Back-End Based on a Mismatch-Aware Symbolic Approach. Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing 40, 215–233 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ALOG.0000034825.47829.04

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