从芯片实验室到聚光灯下：ADI 女工程师的电路设计之路

Many engineers are more comfortable working behind the scenes developing technology than speaking to consumers about products. But Preethi Ashwath has learned to take center stage, talking about the “hearable” and wearable devices she has had a hand in developing as an analog integrated circuit designer in the consumer electronics division at Analog Devices of Wilmington, Mass. The IEEE member is one of the few women who work in the specialized field , where about 11 percent are female, according to career platform Zippia . Preethi Ashwath Employer Analog Devices, in Boston Title Integrated circuit designer Member grade Member Alma maters SJB Institute of Technology in Bengaluru, India; University of California, Irvine Ashwath stepped out from behind the scenes last year to meet with attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. She demonstrated Analog’s new earbuds, which track people’s heart and lung health through vibrations in their ear canals. After she demonstrated her ability to explain the technology to consumers in simple terms, Analog selected her to represent the company at other events. She says she has “come to see speaking as part of contributing to the field, rather than something separate from technical work.” She also gives technical talks on various aspects of electrostatic discharge (ESD) and other topics, as well as participates in panel discussions, she says, because they “reach engineers well beyond my immediate team.” Ashwath is an active volunteer with the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society . “Whether through designing semiconductor products, publishing technical articles, reviewing conference papers, or speaking at industry events, I try to contribute to the growth of the engineering community and the advancement of the field,” she says. Discovering circuit design at Intel Ashwath, who grew up in Bengaluru, India, learned about electronics engineering from her high school physics tutor. That introduction led her to take electronics as one of her core courses in her final years there. At the time, Ashwath’s older sister was pursuing an engineering degree. “Between my interest in electronics and seeing her already on that path, it became clear to me that engineering was the way to go,” Ashwath says. After earning a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications engineering at the SJB Institute of Technology , in Bengaluru, she wanted to pursue a career in very-large-scale integration . But that changed once she moved to the United States and began her master’s program in electrical engineering at the University of California, Irvine . She discovered her passion for circuits and devices during an internship at Intel in Santa Clara, Calif. She learned about circuit design, package design, and reliability verification tools such as Ansys Totem. “Seeing every layer of the chip development process gave me a more complete picture of what goes into building a semiconductor product,” she says. “Through that experience, I realized I felt most connected to design. “It was the hard work and creativity that drew me in. You start with a specification, build a circuit, simulate it, then wait for the chip to come back from fabrication. When your design works, it’s a real feeling of satisfaction. It teaches you patience and perseverance.” After attaining her master’s degree, she was hired by Intel as an analog design engineer. She gained experience in mixed-signal circuit design before joining Analog. In her current role, she works on consumer hearables such as earbuds and wearables including fitness trackers and health monitors. Her main focus is designing ESD pad rings, the borders of specialized circuits built around a microchip’s outermost edge to protect it from the discharge , which can damage circuit paths or introduce latent defects that lead to failures later in the chip’s life cycle. “On a chip with multiple voltage domains, you have to plan how the protection structures are placed and connected across the whole pad ring—and get it right,” Ashwath says. “A mistake there could cause a chip to fail in the field in ways that are very hard to debug afterward. “It’s detailed work that requires understanding both the device physics and how the whole chip fits together.” Part of the job is designing and creating an integrated circuit’s building blocks, including ESD protection structures and other mixed-signal blocks. Ashwath conducts rigorous checks to verify they work as intended before being integrated into a chip. She collaborates with ESD advisors, layout designers, and the digital team that designs the chip’s digital logic. “I work with them to make sure my analog circuits and their digital blocks work together correctly,” she says. “No two days look exactly the same.” In 2024 she was recognized with the company’s Impact Award for her “exceptional work on a critical project with significant cross-functional business impact.” Presenting the final product Ashwath was selec