Performance-Driven Analog Layout Automation: Current Status and Future Directions (Invited Paper)

Optimizing circuit performance presents a pivotal challenge in the realm of automatic analog physical design. The intricacy of analog performance arises from its sensitivity to layout implementation, frequently lacking a viable approach for direct optimization. This talk initiates with a comprehensive overview of the present challenges and the techniques currently in use. The emphasis will be laid on the recent advancements in employing black-box optimization for enhancing analog performance. Subsequently, we will delve into a detailed case study and analysis of post-layout performance distribution for a typical analog circuit. This study will showcase various layout implementations generated by the open-source analog layout generator, MAGICAL. Future directions will be discussed based on the case study.