20,810 research outputs found
Stochastic Testing Simulator for Integrated Circuits and MEMS: Hierarchical and Sparse Techniques
Process variations are a major concern in today's chip design since they can
significantly degrade chip performance. To predict such degradation, existing
circuit and MEMS simulators rely on Monte Carlo algorithms, which are typically
too slow. Therefore, novel fast stochastic simulators are highly desired. This
paper first reviews our recently developed stochastic testing simulator that
can achieve speedup factors of hundreds to thousands over Monte Carlo. Then, we
develop a fast hierarchical stochastic spectral simulator to simulate a complex
circuit or system consisting of several blocks. We further present a fast
simulation approach based on anchored ANOVA (analysis of variance) for some
design problems with many process variations. This approach can reduce the
simulation cost and can identify which variation sources have strong impacts on
the circuit's performance. The simulation results of some circuit and MEMS
examples are reported to show the effectiveness of our simulatorComment: Accepted to IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference in June 2014.
arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1407.302
A Structural Analysis of Field/Circuit Coupled Problems Based on a Generalised Circuit Element
In some applications there arises the need of a spatially distributed
description of a physical quantity inside a device coupled to a circuit. Then,
the in-space discretised system of partial differential equations is coupled to
the system of equations describing the circuit (Modified Nodal Analysis) which
yields a system of Differential Algebraic Equations (DAEs). This paper deals
with the differential index analysis of such coupled systems. For that, a new
generalised inductance-like element is defined. The index of the DAEs obtained
from a circuit containing such an element is then related to the topological
characteristics of the circuit's underlying graph. Field/circuit coupling is
performed when circuits are simulated containing elements described by
Maxwell's equations. The index of such systems with two different types of
magnetoquasistatic formulations (A* and T-) is then deduced by showing
that the spatial discretisations in both cases lead to an inductance-like
element
Status of the differential transformation method
Further to a recent controversy on whether the differential transformation
method (DTM) for solving a differential equation is purely and solely the
traditional Taylor series method, it is emphasized that the DTM is currently
used, often only, as a technique for (analytically) calculating the power
series of the solution (in terms of the initial value parameters). Sometimes, a
piecewise analytic continuation process is implemented either in a numerical
routine (e.g., within a shooting method) or in a semi-analytical procedure
(e.g., to solve a boundary value problem). Emphasized also is the fact that, at
the time of its invention, the currently-used basic ingredients of the DTM
(that transform a differential equation into a difference equation of same
order that is iteratively solvable) were already known for a long time by the
"traditional"-Taylor-method users (notably in the elaboration of software
packages --numerical routines-- for automatically solving ordinary differential
equations). At now, the defenders of the DTM still ignore the, though much
better developed, studies of the "traditional"-Taylor-method users who, in
turn, seem to ignore similarly the existence of the DTM. The DTM has been given
an apparent strong formalization (set on the same footing as the Fourier,
Laplace or Mellin transformations). Though often used trivially, it is easily
attainable and easily adaptable to different kinds of differentiation
procedures. That has made it very attractive. Hence applications to various
problems of the Taylor method, and more generally of the power series method
(including noninteger powers) has been sketched. It seems that its potential
has not been exploited as it could be. After a discussion on the reasons of the
"misunderstandings" which have caused the controversy, the preceding topics are
concretely illustrated.Comment: To appear in Applied Mathematics and Computation, 29 pages,
references and further considerations adde
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