Robust and Energy-Efficient Circuit Design
The current development of fabrication technology has made it possible to achieve extraordinary integration densities. However, with technology scaling approaching the nanometer, circuit performance, reliability or power consumption have become critical constraints that condition the entire design. Transistors suffer significant variation from wafer to wafer, from circuit to circuit and within a circuit due to the non-idealities of the fabrication process. Additionally, device characteristics worsen with activity and corresponding wear and tear.
The LSI has been working in recent years in ultra-low power analog and mixed signal circuits. The emphasis is on autonomous self-powered systems where energy harvesting can be a solution and the reduction of power consumption is a must. Furthermore, we also focus on robust design in circuits against PVT variations, especially when dealing with nanometer technology nodes.
The LSI is actively involved in the research area of Robust and Energy-efficient Circuit Design. The projects TOLERA and TOLERA2 deal with this topic.