Trends in Analog Mixed Signal Circuits from 5G to AI

Technical seminar by Professor Antonio Liscidini from University of Toronto with the following abstract: In this talk, we’ll delve into some fundamental aspects of signal processing to understand how they will shape the future of IC mixed-signal design. In the first part of the lecture, we’ll compare power efficiency and technology evolution, discussing the dualism of analog/digital and voltage/time in terms of signal processing and dynamic range achievable. In the second part of the presentation, we’ll explore two examples of how analog mixed-signal can achieve the flexibility of digital signal processing while maintaining higher speed and power efficiency. We’ll present a novel topology of a MAC analog accelerator for digital computation in AI and a quantized analog TX for 5G wireless communication that exploits a power-scalable band-pass RF DAC. These solutions outperform the state of the art and suggest new directions for future development in mixed-signal computation and software-defined analog front-ends. Speaker(s): Antonio Liscidini, Room: MCLD 3038, Bldg: Macleod Building, 2356 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1Z4