Radio-frequency circular integrated inductors sizing optimization using bio-inspired techniques

In this article, a comparative study is accomplished between three of the most used swarm intelligence (SI) techniques; namely artificial bee colony (ABC), ant colony optimization (ACO), and particle swarm optimization (PSO) to carry out the optimal design of radio-frequency (RF) spiral inductors, the three algorithms are applied to the cost function of RF circular inductors for 180 nm beyond 2.50 GHz, the aim is to ensure optimal performance with less error in inductance, and a high-quality factor when compared to electromagnetic simulation. Simulation experiments are achieved and performances regarding convergence velocity, robustness, and computing time are checked. Also, this paper shows an impact study of technological parameters and geometric features on the inductance and the quality factor of the studied integrated inductor. The building method of constraints design with algorithms used has given good results and electromagnetic simulations are of good accuracy with an error of 2.31% and 4.15% on the quality factor and inductance respectively. The simulation shows that ACO provides more accuracy in circuit size and fewer errors than ABC and PSO, while PSO and ABC are better in terms of convergence velocity

An automated design methodology of RF circuits by using Pareto-optimal fronts of EMsimulated inductors

A new design methodology for radiofrequency circuits is presented that includes electromagnetic (EM) simulation of the inductors into the optimization flow. This is achieved by previously generating the Pareto-optimal front (POF) of the inductors using EM simulation. Inductors are selected from the Pareto front and their S-parameter matrix is included in the circuit netlist that is simulated using an RF simulator. Generating the EM-simulated POF of inductors is computationally expensive, but once generated, it can be used for any circuit design. The methodology is illustrated both for a singleobjective and a multiobjective optimization of a low noise amplifierMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad TEC2013-45638-C3-3-R, TEC2013-40430-RJunta de Andalucía PIC12-TIC-1481Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 201350E05

Analysis of the impact of metal thickness and geometric parameters on the quality factor-Q in integrated spiral inductors by means of artificial bee colony technique

The goal of this present paper is to design, analysis the influence of the inductor geometrical parameters and the effect of the metal thickness on the quality factor-Q in integrated square spiral inductor using an efficient application of the artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm. The inductors were optimized at 2.4 GHz to determinate their major geometrical dimensions (sp, w, din…) and their number of turns, for uses in radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). The optimization results are validated by the simulation using an electromagnetic simulator (ADS-Momentum). Using matlab software, the study on the impact of the effect of geometrical parameters and the effect of metal thickness, on the factor of quality-Q of spiral inductors, is shown. We first reported that it is possible to improve Q-factors further by increasing the metal thickness, and in the design of inductor; a compromise must be reached between the value of w, n, sp and din to achieve the desired quality factor-Q and other electrical parameters

Parametric macromodeling of integrated inductors for RF circuit design

Nowadays, parametric macromodeling techniques are widely used to describe electromagnetic structures. In this contribution, the application of such parametric macromodeling techniques to the design of integrated inductors and radio-frequency circuit design is investigated. In order to allow such different operations, a new modeling methodology is proposed, which improves the modeling accuracy when compared to former techniques. The new methodology is tailored to the unique characteristics of the devices under study. The obtained parametric macromodel is then used in a synthesis methodology and in the design of a voltage controlled oscillator in a 0.35-μm CMOS technologyMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad TEC2013-45638-C3- 3-RJunta de Andalucía P12-TIC-148

5GHz MMIC LNA Design Using Particle Swarm Optimization

This research presents an optimization study of a 5 GHz Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) design using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). MMIC Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) is a type of integrated circuit device used to capture signal operating in the microwave frequency. This project consists of two stages: implementation of PSO using MATLAB and simulation of MMIC design using Advanced Design System (ADS). PSO model that mimics the biological swarm behavior is developed to optimize the MMIC design variables in order to achieve the required circuit performance and specifications such as power gain, noise figure, drain current and circuit stability factor. Simulation results show that the proposed MMIC design fulfills the circuit stability factor and achieves a power gain of 19.73dB, a noise figure of 1.15 dB and a current of 0.0467A

Continuous twin screw granulation : robustness of lactose/MCC-based formulations

In recent years, significant progress has been made in the field of continuous twin screw granulation. However, only limited knowledge is currently available on the impact of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) properties on granule quality and processability. In this study, the response behavior of four formulations containing APIs (5–10% drug load) with diverse characteristics was compared to the behavior of the corresponding placebo formulation consisting of lactose, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC). API selection was based on extensive material characterization, combining conventional testing with in silico descriptors. For each formulation, a design of experiments was set up, evaluating the impact of liquid to solid (L/S) ratio and screw speed. Response ranges, response behavior and processability of each of the four formulations proved very similar to the placebo formulation when an appropriate center point L/S ratio was chosen. Hence, this robust placebo formulation could prove useful by decreasing drug product development time and consequently providing patients with a faster access to innovative medicine. Additionally, APIs with similar properties exhibited highly comparable response behavior at similar L/S ratios, indicating the potential use of surrogate APIs in novel drug product development

A Multi-objective Simulation Based Tool: Application to the Design of High Performance LC-VCOs

Part 16: Optimization Techniques in EnergyInternational audienceThe continuing size reduction of electronic devices imposes design challenges to optimize the performances of modern electronic systems, such as: wireless services, telecom and mobile computing. Fortunately, those design challenges can be overcome thanks to the development of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools. In the analog, mixed signal and radio-frequency (AMS/RF) domains, circuit optimization tools have demonstrated their usefulness in addressing design problems taking into account downscaling technological aspects. Recent advances in EDA have shown that the simulation-based sizing technique is a very interesting solution to the ‘complex’ modelling task in the circuit design optimization problem. In this paper we propose a multi-objective simulation-based optimization tool. A CMOS LC-VCO circuit is presented to show the viability of this tool. The tool is used to generate the Pareto front linking two conflicting objectives, namely the VCO Phase Noise and Power Consumption. The accuracy of the results is checked against HSPICE/RF simulations

Transmitter Architectures Based on Near-Field Direct Antenna Modulation

A near-field direct antenna modulation (NFDAM) technique is introduced, where the radiated far-field signal is modulated by time-varying changes in the antenna near-field electromagnetic (EM) boundary conditions. This enables the transmitter to send data in a direction-dependent fashion producing a secure communication link. Near-field direct antenna modulation (NFDAM) can be performed by using either switches or varactors. Two fully-integrated proof-of-concept NFDAM transmitters operating at 60 GHz using switches and varactors are demonstrated in silicon proving the feasibility of this approach

Data-Driven Modeling with Experimental Augmentation for the Modulation Strategy of the Dual-Active-Bridge Converter

For the performance modeling of power converters, the mainstream approaches are essentially knowledge-based, suffering from heavy manpower burden and low modeling accuracy. Recent emerging data-driven techniques greatly relieve human reliance by automatic modeling from simulation data. However, model discrepancy may occur due to unmodeled parasitics, deficient thermal and magnetic models, unpredictable ambient conditions, etc. These inaccurate data-driven models based on pure simulation cannot represent the practical performance in physical world, hindering their applications in power converter modeling. To alleviate model discrepancy and improve accuracy in practice, this paper proposes a novel data-driven modeling with experimental augmentation (D2EA), leveraging both simulation data and experimental data. In D2EA, simulation data aims to establish basic functional landscape, and experimental data focuses on matching actual performance in real world. The D2EA approach is instantiated for the efficiency optimization of a hybrid modulation for neutral-point-clamped dual-active-bridge (NPC-DAB) converter. The proposed D2EA approach realizes 99.92% efficiency modeling accuracy, and its feasibility is comprehensively validated in 2-kW hardware experiments, where the peak efficiency of 98.45% is attained. Overall, D2EA is data-light and can achieve highly accurate and highly practical data-driven models in one shot, and it is scalable to other applications, effortlessly.Comment: 11 page