Ensuring consistency during front-end design using an object-oriented interfacing tool called NETLISP

The design of complex analog front-ends demands the exploration of a huge design space at different levels of abstraction and using a multitude of simulators. One of the main issues is to guarantee the consistency of the models and the model parameters between the different abstraction levels. A methodology and a tool, called NETLISP, has been developed for the purpose of guaranteeing the consistency between different levels of abstraction. The tool was successfully applied to the design of a multi-mode multi-band analog front-end, showing its applicability on real large-scale designs.