PAnDA: Programmable Analogue and Digital Array
CMOS technology scaling has allowed a simultaneous increase in the integration density and
performance of many electronics systems while also significantly lowering their cost. Device
sizes are now approaching the atomistic scale where structural irregularities are likely to
affect the behaviour of the device in a random manner. This makes reliable circuit design and
fabrication an extremely challenging task.
The PAnDA project aims to develop an understanding of how stochastic variability affects
circuit design in deep sub-micron processes and to propose novel design methodologies to
overcome these intrinsic variations. As part of this work a novel reconfigurable variability
tolerant FPGA architecture has been developed which allows variability aware hardware
design and implementation. This is made possible by allowing post fabrication reconfiguration
of the transistor sizes which make up the reconfigurable logic blocks. In combination with bioinspired optimisation techniques this provides a platform which allows online performance
optimisation as well as the recovery from faults induced by process variation.
Biography
Dr. Simon Bale obtained his M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of York, UK in 2004
and 2012 respectively. He is currently employed as a Research Fellow in the Department of
Electronics at the University of York on the EPSRC funded ‘Bio-inspired Adaptive Architectures
and Systems Platform Grant.’ His research interests include microelectronic design
optimisation using bio-inspired methods and techniques, nano-scale analogue and digital
design, as well as high frequency microwave circuit design and low noise measurement
techniques.