Synthesis of high-performance analog circuits in ASTRX/OBLX

TLDR

The authors introduce a fully automated synthesis strategy that transforms an analog circuit topology and performance specifications into a sized schematic, implemented in the ASTRX and OBLX tools. The strategy uses asymptotic waveform evaluation to predict performance and simulated annealing to solve an unconstrained optimization formulation of the synthesis problem. ASTRX/OBLX successfully resynthesized all recent analog benchmarks in an afternoon, matched expert‑designed high‑performance op‑amps, and generated component cells for a pipelined ADC that are 2–3 times more complex than previously published designs.

Abstract

We present a new synthesis strategy that can automate fully the path from an analog circuit topology and performance specifications to a sized circuit schematic. This strategy relies on asymptotic waveform evaluation to predict circuit performance and simulated annealing to solve a novel unconstrained optimization formulation of the circuit synthesis problem. We have implemented this strategy in a pair of tools called ASTRX and OBLX. To show the generality of our new approach, we have used this system to resynthesize essentially all the analog synthesis benchmarks published in the past decade; ASTRX/OBLX has resynthesized circuits in an afternoon that, for some prior approaches, had required months. To show the viability of the approach on difficult circuits, we have resynthesized a recently published (and patented), high-performance operational amplifier; ASTRX/OBLX achieved performance comparable to the expert manual design. And finally, to test the limits of the approach on industrial-sized problems, we have synthesized the component cells of a pipelined A/D converter; ASTRX/OBLX successfully generated cells 2-3/spl times/ more complex than those published previously.