RF noise modeling and analysis - Session 17

The increasing demand for low cost, high performance, highly-integrated solution for RF mobile communication products and the time-to-market pressure have made the design cycle much shorter. It becomes a challenge to predict noise accurately at the early stages of a top down design. In digital circuits, noise can cause the circuit to switch incorrectly and also causes other concerns on power, timing and reliability. The circuit needs to be optimized with careful consideration of noise in addition to accounting for other important factors such as delay, power and area. In RF circuits, noise, generated either within the devices or in other parts of the IC (such as from digital switching noise coupled through the power supply lines, the chip interconnect and the IC substrate) can cause distortions and interference with other signals in the spectrum. Noise modeling is becoming increasingly important in circuit design and optimization.