A Modified Genetic Algorithm for the Selection of Decoupling Capacitors in PDN Design

Decoupling capacitors are used to provide adequate and stable power for integrated circuits in printed circuit boards (PCB). For complicated and large designs, it is difficult to select capacitors to meet voltage ripple limits while also minimizing cost because the search space is too large. In this work, a new genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed for the selection and placement of capacitors to meet a target impedance using as few capacitors as possible. The GA is centered around controlling the number of unused port locations in the GA population solutions, with the result of smoothing out the GA convergence and speeding up the convergence rate. A result comparison is made of the proposed GA against other algorithms and found the GA competitive if not better for the select test cases.