Analog vs RF IC design

[Tesla96]

Hello,
Could anyone give the differences between analog IC design and RF IC design? Is it easy to move from analog to RF?
Thank you in advance!

 

[dick_freebird]

You move from time- and voltage/current-domain,
to frequency domain. You work with integrated (low
quality PITA) inductors. You care deeply about
"second order" device attributes like gate resistance.
You may be pushed onto substrates which bring
their own bundle of weirdness (like SOI kink, RTN)
which may not be modeled well or at all.

You get to learn many new analytical methods and
tools (if you're the first guy making use of a new
device / passive, you may get to do 3D EM simulations
to extract a prediction of the parasitics; periodic
steady state and harmonic balance analyses for
harmonics, intercept-points, etc. which can't be
simply left to AC small signal analysis, especially
when talking about switch-mode PAs).

A good jump to make, if you're young and like learning
new tools and techniques. A lot to absorb if you're
of a crustier vintage.

 

[HardwareBee]

Hello,
Could anyone give the differences between analog IC design and RF IC design? Is it easy to move from analog to RF?
Thank you in advance!

Analog design and RF design are from the same category, in RF design, the signals and components behave differently because of the high frequency. One issue is parasitic that should take into account. If you would like to learn more about analog circuit design, try this step by step guide to analog design.

 

[crutschow]

RF is analog.
If it ain't digital, it's analog.