Automatic Circuit Characterization through Computer Experiments

In order to design high performance circuits, the relationship between circuit performance and design parameters must be precisely established. Previously, experimental design techniques have been employed for performance modeling of MOS VLSI devices and circuits. In this paper we describe a new computer-aided methodology for characterizing a family of electrical circuits. This methodology is based on multi-stage experimental design and prediction through data interpolation. The technique presented here is fully automated and hence helps the designer in e ciently characterizing any circuit response based on full circuit simulations. Through examples, we show the power of this technique in characterizing highly non-linear relationships between circuit performance and the design parameters, in a variety of applications. 1 This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under grant MIP-901704 and by Cadence Design Systems 1