ABSTRACT
From the preceding chapters it will be evident that computer-aided design (CAD) plays a key part in the field of custom microelectronics, being used in the following three principal activities:
• in the circuit design (synthesis) process • in simulation before any manufacturing is commenced • in the silicon fabrication process
The CAD, or more strictly the CAE or CAM, used in the fabrication activities is normally the province of the vendor, and will not concern the OEM in any depth. We shall have no need to consider this area in any detail; instead, we will concentrate here on the design and simulation aspects of the custom circuits.
