# cktFormer: Transformer-Based Approach for Automated Analog Circuit Design

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.36752 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.36752/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 12 of its 18 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 29 Sep 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [VeriGen: A Large Language Model for Verilog Code Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.00708/) (2023)
- [GCN-RL Circuit Designer: Transferable Transistor Sizing with Graph Neural Networks and Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.00406/) (2020)
- [AnalogCoder: Analog Circuit Design via Training-Free Code Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.14918/) (2024)
- [CktGNN: Circuit Graph Neural Network for Electronic Design Automation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.16406/) (2023)
- [AutoCkt: Deep Reinforcement Learning of Analog Circuit Designs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.01808/) (2020)
- [AnalogGenie: A Generative Engine for Automatic Discovery of Analog Circuit Topologies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.00205/) (2025)
- [LaMAGIC: Language-Model-based Topology Generation for Analog Integrated Circuits](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.18269/) (2024)
- [Pretraining Graph Neural Networks for few-shot Analog Circuit Modeling and Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.15913/) (2022)
- [AI/ML Algorithms and Applications in VLSI Design and Technology](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.10015/) (2022)
- [Supervised Learning for Analog and RF Circuit Design: Benchmarks and Comparative Insights](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.11839/) (2025)
- [Pushing the Limits of Machine Design: Automated CPU Design with AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.12456/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Circuit design is a complex and iterative process that requires expertise in electronic engineering. It involves selecting components while meeting performance constraints, such as power efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and signal integrity. However, manual design is time-consuming and prone to errors. Although other stages of the manufacturing pipeline have benefited from AI-driven optimizations, circuit design remains a bottleneck, limiting overall productivity. Generative AI and machine learning offer the potential to automate and improve this stage, boosting efficiency and accuracy. To address this, we introduce a dual transformer architecture that bridges the gap between AI and circuit design by leveraging attention mechanisms to model complex, non-sequential circuit relationships. Our approach structures netlist data into graph-based representations, enabling effective learning of circuit topology and component interactions. The system consists of two interlinked models: a node prediction model that proposes components and an edge prediction model that infers valid connections. This collaborative and decoupled design captures both component-level semantics and global structural coherence. In our experiments, this architecture outperforms recent models such as AnalogGenie and cktGNN in the validity of generated circuits. By addressing key limitations in existing methods, our work advances automation in electronics engineering and contributes a benchmark for AI-driven circuit synthesis.