The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast #706 – Leading Edge Analog with Joren Vaes
Oct 18, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Joren Vaes, a design engineer at SOFICS with expertise in high-speed analog and wireline PHY/IP development, dives into the complexities of modern IC design. He emphasizes the crucial role of simulation in handling intricate parasitics across many metal layers and explains the challenges posed by massive DRC rules. Joren also shares insights into cutting-edge technologies like FinFETs and CFETs, the impact of electromigration on device reliability, and how to navigate the transition from digital to analog processes at high frequencies.
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Divide Responsibilities With Trusted Models
- As data rates rise, responsibilities split across specialists using agreed interfaces and models.
- Package, PHY and IC teams model their parts as black boxes to coordinate complex systems.
On-Chip Magnetics Matter At mmWave
- On-chip passive structures (coils/transformers) enable impedance matching at mmWave frequencies.
- These passives can dominate area compared with active circuitry at high speeds.
Waves Scale — Same Physics, Different Size
- Electromagnetic wave behavior is scale-dependent; mmWave and optical waveguides follow same physics but different wavelengths.
- Dielectric waveguides at high mmWave can hugely reduce loss versus coax, extending reach meters instead of centimeters.
