# Practical Layout-Aware Analog/Mixed-Signal Design Automation with Bayesian Neural Networks

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.17073 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.17073/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 8 of its 27 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 Nov 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [PyTorch: An Imperative Style, High-Performance Deep Learning Library](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01703/) (2019)
- [Bayesian Neural Networks: An Introduction and Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.12024/) (2020)
- [GCN-RL Circuit Designer: Transferable Transistor Sizing with Graph Neural Networks and Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.00406/) (2020)
- [Scalable Constrained Bayesian Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.08526/) (2020)
- [Scaling Hamiltonian Monte Carlo Inference for Bayesian Neural Networks with Symmetric Splitting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.06772/) (2020)
- [AutoCkt: Deep Reinforcement Learning of Analog Circuit Designs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.01808/) (2020)
- [DNN-Opt: An RL Inspired Optimization for Analog Circuit Sizing using Deep Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.00211/) (2021)
- [BagNet: Berkeley Analog Generator with Layout Optimizer Boosted with Deep Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.10515/) (2019)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [HeaRT: A Hierarchical Circuit Reasoning Tree-Based Agentic Framework for AMS Design Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.19669/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The high simulation cost has been a bottleneck of practical analog/mixed-signal design automation. Many learning-based algorithms require thousands of simulated data points, which is impractical for expensive to simulate circuits. We propose a learning-based algorithm that can be trained using a small amount of data and, therefore, scalable to tasks with expensive simulations. Our efficient algorithm solves the post-layout performance optimization problem where simulations are known to be expensive. Our comprehensive study also solves the schematic-level sizing problem. For efficient optimization, we utilize Bayesian Neural Networks as a regression model to approximate circuit performance. For layout-aware optimization, we handle the problem as a multi-fidelity optimization problem and improve efficiency by exploiting the correlations from cheaper evaluations. We present three test cases to demonstrate the efficiency of our algorithms. Our tests prove that the proposed approach is more efficient than conventional baselines and state-of-the-art algorithms.
