A symbolic approach to design centering of analog circuits

A geometrical approach to design centering of analog circuits is presented. This approach exploits symbolic analysis techniques, which permit one to perform only a single simulation of the circuit to determine a set of parameter values maximizing the manufacturing yield. For linear, or linearized, circuits, with constraints on the frequency response, this approach can be an advantageous alternative to existing techniques of design centering, whose major limiting factor is the considerable computational effort required for multiple simulations of the circuit under consideration. After a brief description of the program implementing the proposed design centering approach, benchmark circuit examples previously published by other researchers are reported in order to compare the results obtained through the developed procedure with those of existing techniques. An example of a circuit with relatively large dimensions is also included.