Modeling the analog circuit design feature variety

This paper presents a method to model the design feature variety in analog circuits, such as the various topological structures present in a set of circuits devised for the same purpose (like OpAmps or OTAs). The insight is important to characterize the novel and similar features in a circuit, the conditions under which existing design features can be reused in new circuits, and the exploration of new conceptual designs. The paper introduces the four basic operators used in modeling: circuit comparison, circuit instantiation-abstraction, circuit combination, and design feature induction. A case study presents the circuit feature variety modeling for a set of modern OpAmps.