Evolutionary analog circuit design on a programmable analog multiplexer array

Abstract

This work discusses an Evolvable Hardware (EHW) platform for the synthesis of analog electronic circuits. The EHW analog platform, named PAMA (Programmable Analog Multiplexer Array), is a reconfigurable platform that consists of integrated circuits whose internal connections can be programmed by Evolutionary Computation techniques, such as Genetic Algorithms, to synthesize circuits. The PAMA is classified as Field Programmable Analog Array (FPAA). FPAAs have just recently appeared, and most projects are being carried out in universities and research centers. They constitute the state of the art in the technology of reconfigurable platforms. These devices will become the building blocks of a forthcoming class of hardware, with the important features of self-adaptation and self-repairing, through automatic reconfiguration. The PAMA platform architectural details, concepts and characteristics are discussed. Three case studies, with promising results, are described: an operational amplifier, a logarithmic amplifier and a membership function circuit of a fuzzy logic controller.