Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

The ever increasing demand for bandwidth and information management is necessitating newer generations of electronic circuits and systems that operate at higher frequencies and with sharper excitations. With the increasing signal-speed and decreasing feature sizes, high-frequency effects become the dominant factors limiting overall performance of microelectronic and communication systems. Also the desire for multifunction and miniature products warrant mixed-domain integration of heterogeneous circuit components such as analog, digital, RF, microwave and optical devices. As a result, advanced simulation and design methodologies become increasingly indispensable in achieving the next generation of wireless and wireline communication networks. However, the existing computer-aided design tools and techniques do not adequately handle the large-scale, mixed-domain problems and concurrent analysis needs. This is mainly because they are sequential in nature and are designed for single processor platforms. A paradigm shift is required in the development of the CAD methodologies to exploit the rapidly emerging parallel computing platforms, so as to meet the high-frequency design needs. The proposed research will develop parallel computer-aided design tools and algorithms targeting large-scale, mixed-domain and high-frequency designs. The new research is built on the recent breakthroughs in design automation. Comprehensive frameworks will be developed to serve as the foundation for next generation of simulation, modeling and optimization tools that are fast, accurate and concurrent. The proposed research will develop technologies that stimulate innovations in communications and information processing. The work will be carried out in close interaction with Canadian industry, strengthening Canadian competitiveness in next generation electronic products and communication networks.