Comprehensive broad-band electromagnetic modeling of on-chip interconnects with a surface discretization-based generalized PEEC model

Abstract

A surface integral equation formalism is proposed for broad-band electromagnetic modeling of on-chip signal and power distribution networks. The discrete model is developed in the spirit of the partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) model, which is extended with several attributes that lead to enhanced modeling versatility, modeling accuracy, and numerical solution robustness from dc to multigigahertz frequencies. Instead of the volumetric discretization model, which has dominated the PEEC-based schemes for handling the tall and slim cross sections of the on-chip wiring, the proposed model relies on a computationally more efficient conductor surface discretization. Key to the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed surface discretization is the definition of a frequency- and position-dependent impedance quantity on the conductor surface. Its numerical computation over the frequency bandwidth of interest is expedited through the implementation of a complex frequency-hopping algorithm. The resulting effective surface impedance is combined with a mixed triangular/rectangular meshing of the conducting surfaces for the approximation of the surface electric current and charge densities. A systematic strategy for the identification of loops in the resulting discrete model is used to ensure a numerically stable mesh analysis-based PEEC formulation for on-chip signal and power distribution modeling with electromagnetic accuracy from dc to multigigahertz frequencies.