Simulations and measurements of picosecond signal transients, propagation, and crosstalk on lossy VLSI interconnect

Signal transients, propagation, and crosstalk simulations of coupled interconnect lines have been performed, and the results verified by time-domain measurements. These simulations include frequency dependent interconnect circuit parameters, arbitrary loads, and 30 ps rise times. A generalized interconnect transfer function is used to calculate circuit responses in the frequency domain. Then an inverse Fourier transform is employed to predict the time-domain signals. Frequency variant TC interconnect models and PISCES-II simulations are used to determine the interconnect circuit model parameters. The simulation results are compared with conventional interconnect circuit models such as LC, RC, and RLC networks. Time-domain interconnect measurements using a HP54121T sampling oscilloscope show excellent agreement with simulations. Thus, signal transients, propagation, and coupling noise of on-chip interconnects are predicted. >