A4A: Asynchronous design for analogue electronics
Asynchronous design methods are traditionally focused on digital systems. We are exploring their application to the analogue world.
Project leader
Dates
September 2014 to August 2017
Project staff
Dr Victor Khomenko, Dr Andrey Mokhov, Dr Danil Sokolov
Sponsors
Description
Power management integrated circuits (ICs) are an area of rapid growth in research. The size, performance and energy requirements and the holistic nature of modern ICT systems are one such issue. They call for more radical innovation in power converter and controller design than ever before.
The market value for power management ICs had sales revenue of USD 16.9 billion in 2012. It is forecast to rise to USD 26 billion by 2018 (forecast CAGR ca. 7%). Total shipments of analogue devices are forecast to jump 14% in 2013, with a total sales revenue USD 41 billion. Errors in digital (data) paths are becoming less critical, thanks to techniques such as approximate computing and smarter quality of service management. Analogue blocks are becoming the weakest link in new ICT systems.
Analogue circuit design must be correct to avoid catastrophic failures that would affect the entire system. The functional correctness of design isn't the only issue. The efficiency of analogue circuits, particularly of the power converters themselves, is also a problem. They are a significant energy drain, particularly when the data processing parts are idle.
We are investigating new design methods and tools to support the digital electronics underneath the analogue circuits. If the data processing hardware is "big digital", then this layer of logic, responsible for controlling analogue blocks, is "little digital".
Provable correctness is lagging far behind in analogue engineering compared to digital systems. Analogue design with "little digital" is largely done by analogue engineers. There are no formal steps from the specification to netlists. No synthesis tools are available.
We will develop a new digital design methodology. This will be integrated into the process of developing analogue systems or subsystems of larger ICT systems. It will use asynchronous design principles, specifications, modelling and associated tool support. These will address four main criteria.
Robustness of the digital and the whole hybrid system solution
This will enable speed-independent building systems . They will operate according to specifications, without glitches and hazards, in a wide dynamic range of PVT variations.
Clarity of specifications
The new model will remove the current practice of ad hoc design with non-existent specification for digital control. Analogue signals are continuous. So we will need to modify models for asynchronous logic like Signal Transition Graphs (STGs). This will make them suitable for use by analogue designers.
Compositional design
Novel models based on Conditional Partial Order Graphs (CPOGs) will address the multitude of modes in analogue circuits. They will enable specification, synthesis and verification of complex hybrid systems.
Automation
Automation is crucial. It will remove the current practice of manual design of hybrid circuits. It will eliminate days of simulation to validate correctness. The new asynchronous for analogue (A4A) tools will improve design productivity. They will do this by introducing automated synthesis and formal verification flow.