Definition
Analog design in the context of integrated circuit (IC) design is a discipline that focuses on the creation of circuits that operate in and are optimized for continuous time-domain behavior. Typical objectives of analog design include:
- Signal fidelity
- Amplification
- Filtering
When the term “integrated circuit design” is mentioned, most people think of the design of complex microprocessors. These circuits are designed using digital design techniques, which focus on the propagation of discrete values, i.e., “ones and zeros.” It’s important to understand that this model of propagating “ones and zeros” is used to simplify the analysis of huge networks. The actual devices in any circuit are responding to continuously varying stimulus, so analog circuit design is really the foundation of the design of digital circuits.