Handling the Effects of Variability and Layout Parasitics in the Automatic Synthesis of LNAs

This paper exposes the problematic issue of not considering device variability and layout parasitic effects in optimization-based design of radiofrequency integrated circuits. Therefore, in order to handle these issues, a new design methodology that performs an all-inclusive optimization is proposed, by taking into account the process variability, and, performing the complete layout automatically while performing an accurate parasitic extraction during the optimization for each candidate solution. Furthermore, the problematic inductor parasitics are also taken into account with EM-accuracy, by using a state-of-the-art surrogate modelling technique. The methodology was applied in the design and optimization of a low-noise amplifier, obtaining a set of extremely robust designs ready for fabrication.