Automated migration of analog and mixed-signal VLSI design

An apparatus for migrating an electronic circuit from a source technology to a target technology, the apparatus comprising:

• an input interface, which is arranged to accept a source circuit in the source technology, the source circuit comprising source components interconnected at nodes in accordance with a source topology;
• and
• a migration processor, which is arranged to determine source voltages at the nodes of the source circuit, to transform the determined source voltages at the nodes of the source circuit to produce respective target voltages suitable for corresponding nodes of a target circuit in accordance with the target technology, to separate the source circuit into sub-circuits, which are interconnected at the nodes, each sub-circuit comprising one or more of the source components, to individually convert in each separated sub-circuit the one or more of the source components to one or more respective target components in the target technology subject to a constraint that the respective target voltages at the corresponding nodes interconnecting each sub-circuit serve as biasing voltages of the one or more target components in that sub-circuit, thereby producing migrated sub-circuits, and to reconnect migrated sub-circuits to produce the target circuit in the target technology, the target circuit having a target topology identical to the source topology, while preserving the biasing voltages at the nodes interconnecting the migrated sub-circuits, whereby performance of the target components is unaffected by reconnection of the sub-circuits.

A computer software product for migrating an electronic circuit from a source technology to a target technology, the product comprising a computer-readable medium, in which program instructions are stored, the program instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to accept a source circuit in the source technology, the source circuit comprising source components interconnected at nodes in accordance with a source topology, to determine source voltages at the nodes of the source circuit, to transform the determined source voltages at the nodes of the source circuit to produce respective target voltages suitable for corresponding nodes of a target circuit in accordance with the target technology, to separate the source circuit into sub-circuits, which are interconnected at the nodes, each sub-circuit comprising one or more of the source components, to individually convert in each separated sub-circuit the one or more of the source components to one or more respective target components in the target technology subject to a constraint that the respective target voltages at the corresponding nodes interconnecting each sub-circuit serve as biasing voltages of the one or more target components in that sub-circuit, thereby producing migrated sub-circuits, and to reconnect migrated sub-circuits to produce the target circuit in the target technology, the target circuit having a target topology identical to the source topology, while preserving the biasing voltages at the nodes interconnecting the migrated sub-circuits, whereby performance of the target components is unaffected by reconnection of the sub-circuits.