Study of different optimization strategies for analogue circuits

Purpose In this paper, we propose further development of the generalized methodology for analogue circuit optimization. This methodology is based on optimal control theory. This approach generates many different circuit optimization strategies. We lead the problem of minimizing the CPU time needed for circuit optimization to the classical problem of minimizing a functional in optimal control theory. Design/methodology/approach The process of analogue circuit optimization is defined mathematically as a controllable dynamical system. In this context, we can formulate the problem of minimizing the CPU time as the minimization problem of a transitional process of a dynamical system. To analyse the properties of such a system, we propose to use the concept of the Lyapunov function of a dynamical system. This function allows us to analyse the stability of the optimization trajectories and to predict the CPU time for circuit optimization by analysing the characteristics of the initial part of the process. Findings We present numerical results that show that we can compare the CPU time for different circuit optimization strategies by analysing the behaviour of a special function. We establish that, for any optimization strategy, there is a correlation between the behaviour of this function and the CPU time that corresponds to that strategy. Originality/value The analysis shows that Lyapunov function of optimization process and its time derivative can be informative sources for searching a strategy, which has minimal processor time expense. This permits to predict the best optimization strategy by analyzing only initial part of the optimization process.