Call for Research in Analog, Digital and Mixed-Signal Circuit Design

Introduction

The SRC announces a call for original research in all aspects of Circuit Design. Details of submission requirements and schedule appear later in this announcement. This is an expanded, revised version of the Call for Research (CFR) for High Performance Digital Design, which was originally issued December 11, 2000. The areas of interest for the current CFR include all topics listed for the previous CFR, as well as an expanded list of topics in analog and mixed signal design, detailed in the research needs document.

Researchers should be aware that there is a related but separate CFR in progress at this time for Mixed Signal Technologies, on approximately the same time scale. The following table explains the differences between this CFR and the Mixed Signal program:

Special Requirements

• Proposals for circuit design concepts and techniques that are not applicable significantly beyond the 100 nm node of the ITRS will not be considered.
• The SRC sponsors an ongoing program to develop predictive SPICE models for sub-100 nm technologies and will make appropriate models available to researchers.
• Research which seeks to develop advanced logic families must address related issues of testability, scalability, and system-level performance, including power, noise, and manufacturability.
• Researchers are strongly encouraged to include plans for fabrication and evaluation of their designs, using MOSIS or SRC member company foundries.
• US university researchers are permitted to submit white papers under this CFR as well as to the Joint Initiative in Mixed Signal Electronic Technologies solicitation.
• The total annual budget for all projects funded under this call is approximately $1,000,000 annually. Individual projects will typically involve one or two faculty and one or two students. The budget for any single project may not exceed $200,000 annually for three years.

Submission Process

Submissions will be in two phases. In phase one, interested parties are invited to submit one-page white papers. A subset of the white papers received will be selected, and their authors invited to submit full proposals. A subset of the full proposals will be selected for funding. Details of this process, and examples of the required white paper contents and format, are given here.

Schedule

The solicitation and evaluation process will be conducted on a very compressed schedule. Please note the short times for submission of white papers and full proposals:

Reference Materials

Research Needs Document for Circuit Design