Nuno Horta - Böcker

This book presents a novel logarithmic conversion architecture based on cross-coupled inverter.

This book investigates the application of promising machine learning techniques to address two problems: (i) how to find profitable pairs while constraining the search space and (ii) how to avoid long decline periods due to prolonged divergent pairs.

This approach yields device-level descriptions of the input topology that, for each device, focus on describing its relation to every other device in the topology. By means of thesedescriptions, an unfamiliar overall topology can be broken down into devices that are subject to the same constraints as a device in one of the training topologies.

This book consists of the research, design and implementation, from sizing to layout with parasitic extraction and yield estimation, of a low-power, low-noise amplifier for biomedical and healthcare applications of bio-potential signals, particularly focusing on the electromyography and electrooculography.

The proposed solution implements three approaches to multi-objective multi-constraint optimization, namely, an evolutionary approach with NSGAII, a swarm intelligence approach with MOPSO and stochastic hill climbing approach with MOSA.

To obtain stocks with high valuation potential it is necessary to choose companies with a lower or average market capitalization, low PER, high rates of revenue growth and high operating leverage

This book introduces readers to a variety of tools for analog layout design automation. After discussing the placement and routing problem in electronic design automation (EDA), the authors overview a variety of automatic layout generation tools, as well as the most recent advances in analog layout-aware circuit sizing. The discussion includes different methods for automatic placement (a template-based Placer and an optimization-based Placer), a fully-automatic Router and an empirical-based Parasitic Extractor. The concepts and algorithms of all the modules are thoroughly described, enabling readers to reproduce the methodologies, improve the quality of their designs, or use them as starting point for a new tool. All the methods described are applied to practical examples for a 130nm design process, as well as placement and routing benchmark sets.

This book introduces readers to a variety of tools for automatic analog integrated circuit (IC) sizing and optimization. The authors provide a historical perspective on the early methods proposed to tackle automatic analog circuit sizing, with emphasis on the methodologies to size and optimize the circuit, and on the methodologies to estimate the circuit’s performance. The discussion also includes robust circuit design and optimization and the most recent advances in layout-aware analog sizing approaches. The authors describe a methodology for an automatic flow for analog IC design, including details of the inputs and interfaces, multi-objective optimization techniques, and the enhancements made in the base implementation by using machine leaning techniques. The Gradient model is discussed in detail, along with the methods to include layout effects in the circuit sizing. The concepts and algorithms of all the modules are thoroughly described, enabling readers to reproduce the methodologies, improve the quality of their designs, or use them as starting point for a new tool. An extensive set of application examples is included to demonstrate the capabilities and features of the methodologies described.

This Brief presents a study of SAX/GA, an algorithm to optimize market trading strategies, to understand how the sequential implementation of SAX/GA and genetic operators work to optimize possible solutions. This study is later used as the baseline for the development of parallel techniques capable of exploring the identified points of parallelism that simply focus on accelerating the heavy duty fitness function to a full GPU accelerated GA.

This book introduces readers to a variety of tools for analog layout design automation. After discussing the placement and routing problem in electronic design automation (EDA), the authors overview a variety of automatic layout generation tools, as well as the most recent advances in analog layout-aware circuit sizing.

The authors provide a historical perspective on the early methods proposed to tackle automatic analog circuit sizing, with emphasis on the methodologies to size and optimize the circuit, and on the methodologies to estimate the circuit’s performance.

The microelectronics market, with special emphasis to the production of complex mixed-signal systems-on-chip (SoC), is driven by three main dynamics, time-- market, productivity and managing complexity. Pushed by the progress in na- meter technology, the design teams are facing a curve of complexity that grows exponentially, thereby slowing down the productivity design rate. Analog design automation tools are not developing at the same pace of technology, once custom design, characterized by decisions taken at each step of the analog design flow, - lies most of the time on designer knowledge and expertise. Actually, the use of - sign management platforms, like the Cadences Virtuoso platform, with a set of - tegrated CAD tools and database facilities to deal with the design transformations from the system level to the physical implementation, can significantly speed-up the design process and enhance the productivity of analog/mixed-signal integrated circuit (IC) design teams. These design management platforms are a valuable help in analog IC design but they are still far behind the development stage of design automation tools already available for digital design. Therefore, the development of new CAD tools and design methodologies for analog and mixed-signal ICs is ess- tial to increase the designer’s productivity and reduce design productivitygap. The work presented in this book describes a new design automation approach to the problem of sizing analog ICs.