Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Master of Engineering Science

Program

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Supervisor

Dr. Anestis Dounavis

Abstract

As feature sizes for VLSI technology is shrinking, associated with higher operating frequency, signal integrity analysis of on-chip interconnects has become a real challenge for circuit designers. For this purpose, computer-aided-design (CAD) tools are necessary to simulate signal propagation of on-chip interconnects which has been an active area for research. Although SPICE models exist which can accurately predict signal degradation of interconnects, they are computationally expensive. As a result, more effective and analytic models for interconnects are required to capture the response at the output of high speed VLSI circuits. This thesis contributes to the development of efficient and closed form solution models for signal integrity analysis of on-chip interconnects. The proposed model uses a delay extraction algorithm to improve the accuracy of two-pole Elmore based models used in the analysis of on-chip distributed RLC interconnects. In the proposed scheme, the time of fight signal delay is extracted without increasing the number of poles or affecting the stability of the transfer function. This algorithm is used for both unit step and ramp inputs. From the delay rational approximation of the transfer function, analytic fitted expressions are obtained for the 50% delay and rise time for unit step input. The proposed algorithm is tested on point to point interconnections and tree structure networks. Numerical examples illustrate improved 50% delay and rise time estimates when compared to traditional Elmore based two-pole models.

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