System design requires experienced designers that use heuristics and built up knowledge to propose a high order solution. Behavioral models can help to formalise, optimise and speed up this design cycle. A design case is presented that shows how behavioral models are used to support system design. Models of two basic analog functions (operational amplifier and switch) are developed in Verilog-A and used in the design of a 1st -order switched-capacitor low-pass filter. This allows to find a first-order system solution on a higher level than the fully designed transistor schematic. The specifications of the subblocks can then rapidly be refined into a transistor netlist by an analog designer.
Erik Lauwers, Georges G. E. Gielen, Koen Lampaert,