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Analog Design 101

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Good analog design is one of the basic foundations of successful ASIC production and circuit design. But if you’re a consumer, you might not fully understand what it really means and how it can benefit you. Here’s everything you need to know about it:

Analog design: An overview

So, what exactly is analog design? It is the process of creating circuits that are then used for different applications requiring continuous time-domain behavior.

All devices using integrated circuit design require analog design. So, this is why it plays a crucial role in the creation of circuits and processors for different applications.

The nitty-gritty of analog design

Components

Analog design consists of different components including:

Resistor.

  • This component works by converting electrical current to electrical voltage or the other way around. From its name, a resistor helps to limit current, cut-off frequencies, control amplifiers, and condition signals.

Capacitor.

  • A capacitor stores electrical energy between two metal plates to maintain a consistent ratio between charge and voltage. In analog design, a capacitor offers local access to energy and creates modifications in the dynamics of an electric signal.

Inductor.

  • An inductor mainly stores magnetic energy and offers a constant relation between the current derivative and voltage. It’s used mostly to control systems and modify signal dynamics in circuit design.

Transistor.

  • This component is a crucial part of any good analog design because it controls the amount of current that passes between two terminals through a signal that’s applied to a third terminal. Depending on its use, a metal oxide-silicon field transistor (MOSFET), bipolar junction transistor (BJT), and junction field transistor (JFET).  

Tools

There was a time when the process of analog design relied solely on handmade calculations and schematics. Although these were effective, they also posed a lot of challenges for designers, especially since there was no possibility of a simulation before the actual testing.

But it’s a different story today because designers can already rely on different tools to help make the process easy and more accurate than ever.

You’ll find schematic, simulation, and layout tools that are part of Schematic CAD (Computer-Aided Design) to help designers create designs from scratch, make proper calculations and even conduct simulations to help them create the best circuitry products in the market today.

Importance

Analog design is a very important part of good IC design, especially in ensuring these three basic qualities are met: consistency, fidelity, and performance. These three factors are strong determinants of how a circuit will perform once it’s used in real-world applications.

Conclusion

Good analog design will continue to play a pivotal role in the success of ASIC design. So, if you’re using circuits as a component of your product, it’s very important to understand this process, its benefits, and the best company to work with in ensuring that you will get the best circuits to use in different applications within your business.

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