Electromigration Analysis of VLSI Circuits Using the Finite Element Method
Abstract
Addressing electromigration (EM) during physical design has become crucial to ensure reliable integrated circuits. Simulation methods, such as the finite element method (FEM), are increasingly overwhelmed by the complexity of the task. With further technology scaling, it is predicted that FEM will not be usable anymore for a full-chip EM analysis due to complexity reasons. To address this bottleneck, we present a new methodology enabling an FEM-based full-chip EM analysis for future technologies down to 10 nm feature sizes. Our solution reduces analysis costs significantly by establishing pre-validated layout patterns without losing accuracy of the verification results. We thoroughly evaluate the necessary pattern geometries, pattern library size and the calculation time savings. We show that a number of 10 to 20 different patterns is sufficient for generation and analysis of layouts provided that the same pitch is used for each metal layer. Our full-chip meta-model EM analysis allows speedups of at least 10X compared to current FEM-based verification methods.
Domains
Computer Science [cs]Origin | Files produced by the author(s) |
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