Do CAD Tools Help or Hurt Analog Design? 

Prof. Franco Maloberti, University of Pavia, Italy

Past President of IEEE Circuits and Systems Society, Life Fellow of IEEE 

Abstract: It is said that the world is analog and not digital. This assertion is true not only because the signals of the real world are continuous in time and amplitude but also because they are imprecise, affected by noise, and limited in speed. On the contrary, the digital world is very precise, using increasing bits, avoiding noise, and employing tens of GHz clocks.

As analog designers, we navigate a complex landscape of high dynamic range, low noise, and speed to follow the trend. To tackle these challenges, we rely on sophisticated and often obscure CAD tools, recognizing their crucial role in our work.

Even if this tendency seems inevitable, it is vital to meditate on the role and correct use of CAD tools to avoid possibly deteriorating the analog designer's genuine role.

In the early days of electronics, the designer worked 'with his bare hands' and advanced with the sole help of his intellect. Now, powerful tools aid him but continuously replace his role. This escalating battle between man and robot in our field raises concerns about the future of analog design.

Reflecting on the past and present role of CAD tools in analog design is not just a suggestion but a necessity. This introspection could lead to a more accurate understanding of analog design's essence, compelling us to take action to preserve it.

Biography: Franco Maloberti (Life Fellow, IEEE) received the laurea degree (summa cum laude) in physics from the University of Parma, Parma, Italy, in 1968, and the Dr. Honoris Causa degree in electronics from the Inaoe, Puebla, Mexico, in 1996. He was a Visiting Professor at ETH-PEL, Zurich, Switzerland, and at EPFL-LEG, Lausanne, Switzerland. He was the TI/J.Kilby Analog Engineering Chair Professor at the Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA, and the Distinguished Microelectronic Chair Professor at University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA. He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy. He is an Honorary Professor with the University of Macau, Macao, China, SAR. He is the Chairman of the Academic Committee of the AMSV State Key Laboratory, Macao. His professional expertise is in the design, analysis, and characterization of integrated circuits and analog-digital applications, mainly in the areas of switched capacitor circuits, data converters, interfaces for telecommunication and sensor systems, and CAD for analog and mixed A-D design. He has authored more than 600 published articles, ten books and holds 39 patents. Dr. Maloberti was the Past President of the IEEE CAS Society from 2017 to 2018 and the President from 2015–2016, a VP of the Region 8 of the IEEE CAS from 1995 to 1997, an Associate Editor of the IEEE-TCAS-II, the President of the IEEE Sensor Council from 2002 to 2003, the IEEE CAS BoG member from 2003 to 2005, the VP of the Publications IEEE CAS from 2007 to 2008. He was the DL IEEE SSC Society from 2009 to 2010 and the DL IEEE CAS Society from 2006 to 2007 and 2012 to 2013. He is the Director-elect Division I IEEE.  In 2024 he received a second Honoris Causa doctorate in Science from the University of Macau.

Evolution of integrated switched-capacitor converters  

Prof. Toru Tanzawa, Waseda University, Japan

Fellow of IEEE 

Abstract: Without a low-cost, highly efficient power conversion circuit system, the current achievements in Information and Communication Technology would not have been possible. The integration of power conversion circuit systems began with data writing for non-volatile semiconductor memories. Utilizing a switched-capacitor converter has enabled full integration due to its configuration of switch, capacitor, oscillator, and regulator components. 

With the scaling of CMOS technology, the supply voltage for LSIs has started to decrease. The voltage drop across switches has relatively increased, resulting in escalating costs and power losses. To address this, a shift from passive switches to active ones has been made to mitigate voltage drops and ensure scalability. Reconfigurability has been developed to maintain low cost and high power efficiency even in applications with significant fluctuations in input-output voltage ratios. On the other hand, digital circuits used to operate on power supplies downscaled inefficiently by linear regulators. 

As the integration density of digital circuits reached the power density limits, more efficient switched-capacitor voltage-down converters have become prevalent to enhance power efficiency. Nowadays, power supply voltages and clock frequencies are adjusted dynamically based on computational loads. Thus, reconfigurability remains crucial even in switched-capacitor voltage-down converters due to demands for variable input-output voltage ratios. 

The semiconductor industry is currently advancing chiplet integration. One direction for power conversion circuit systems is the densification of high power densities in-package for data centers and EV applications. Another direction involves extremely low power and low voltage circuit technologies for energy harvesting purposes. 

Biography: Toru Tanzawa is a professor in Graduate School of Information, Production and Systems at Waseda University. He pursues the Greening of integrated circuits and systems from a circuit design perspective. He has been engaged in research and development of memory, analog, and power circuits at Toshiba and Micron for 23 years and at Shizuoka university for seven years. Dr. Tanzawa holds 280 U.S. patents and has published 60 papers in IEEE conferences and journals. Toru Tanzawa is a Fellow of IEEE. He received the B.S. degree in physics from Saitama University, Saitama, Japan, in 1990, the M.S. degree in physics from Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, in 1992, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, in 2002.