The expansion of wireless services and other telecom applications increases the need for low-cost highly integrated solutions with very demanding performances and specifications. This requires the development of intelligent front-end architectures that circumvent the physical limitations posed by the semiconductor technology. In addition, with the evolution towards nanometer CMOS technologies, the design of complex systems-on-chip (SoC) is emerging in consumermarket applications such as telecom and multimedia. These integrated systems are increasingly mixed-mode signal designs, embedding high-performance analog blocks and possibly sensitive RF front-ends together with complex digital circuitry on the same chip. These complex RF and mixed-signal SOC designs require accurate prediction early in the design schedule, and time-tomarket pressures dictate that design iterations be kept to a minimum. As an example, emerging wireless applications for logistics (e.g., RFID, intelligent home networks, smart dusts, & wireless body area networks) will need integration and fusion of a diverse set of technologies. These technologies include digital CMOS circuits, analog/RF circuits, sensors, MEMS components, embedded software, memories, antennas, displays, polymers, packaging and interconnections, new materials, and new integration process. True system-level integration requires a new Multidisciplinary design methodology that defines the optimal miniaturization path of a wireless device when product design begins. It spans the development cycle, from device- to system-level design, through electrical, thermal and mechanical analysis including characterization, and on to component selection, product assembly and test. However, the main challenge remains cost and power consumption. For RF IC design, optimizing the architecture for a given application is a key requirement when considering ultralow-power consumption. The RF-analog-digital mixed signal co-simulation environment is one of the major challenges since many functional blocks depend on both analog and digital designs, to fully exercise and verify the proper functionality of those tunable and programmable loops. To have short and reliable design cycles, efficient verification methods and tools are necessary. Modeling and simulation need to accompany the design steps from the specification to the overall system verification in order to bridge the gaps between system specification, system simulation, and circuit level simulation. Very high carrier frequencies together with long observation periods result in extremely large computation times and requires, therefore, specialized modeling methods and simulation tools on all design levels.
