Analog circuits are critical blocks which permeate complex electronic systems. In the span of 50 years the field of analog circuits and systems has developed and matured. Even if advances in digital VLSI techniques enabled digital circuits and systems to assume roles which were largely filled in the past by analog systems, analog circuits are increasingly important.The real world is analog and analog circuits are necessary whenever the need arises of interfacing with the analog world (e.g. sensors and actuators). Moreover, analog systems are needed in order to process analog signals for conversion to digital format. With respect to digital systems, analog circuits are harder to design, requiring more skills and expertise. In fact, the analog circuit design relies heavily on insight firstly gained from hand calculations. Computer analysis is used in conjunction with hand analysis as a tool to check detailed circuit behavior. SPICE is the standard CAD tool to verify both discrete and integrated circuit performance.
CADENCE® SPECTRE® VIRTUOSO® and LAYOUT and CADENCE® ORCAD® ALLEGRO® are the main CAD tools we use to design and develop both discrete and integrated analog circuits and systems.
Our group has experience in integrated and discrete circuit design, validation and test. Academic courses are held on these subjects.
