The present invention is a system and method for optimizing electrical
circuits by means of derivative-free optimization. Tunable parameters
such as component values, transistor sizes or model parameters are
automatically adjusted to obtain an optimal circuit. Any method of
measuring the performance of the circuit, including computer simulation,
can be incorporated into the optimization technique, with no derivative
requirements. An arbitrary continuous optimization problem can be posed,
including an objective function, equality and inequality constraints, and
simple bounds on the tunable parameters. The optimization technique is
efficient and guarantees that it will find a locally optimal solution
from any starting point. Further, the procedure includes a method of
automatically recovering from electrical failure to enable automatic and
productive circuit optimization. A set of measurement widgets is provided
to automatically introduce the checking required to recover from
electrical failure. The automated circuit optimization leads to higher
quality circuits, increases designer productivity, results in a better
understanding of the tradeoffs inherent in the circuit and lifts the
thinking of the circuit designer to a higher level.