Embedding Mixed-Signal Design in Systems-on-Chip

With semiconductor technology feature size scaling below 100 nm, mixed-signal design faces some important challenges, caused among others by reduced supply voltages, process variation, and declining intrinsic device gains. Addressing these challenges requires innovative solutions, at the technology, circuit, architecture, and design-methodology level. We present some of these solutions, including a structured platform-based design methodology to enable a meaningful exploration of the broad design space and to classify potential solutions in terms of the relevant metrics.