Computer system and method for determining a temperature rise in direct current (DC) lines caused by joule heating of nearby alternating current (AC) lines
AssigneeAvago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
InventorsJason T. Gentry, Brian C. Miller, William S. Burton, M. Jason Welch, Richard A. Krzyzkowski
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A computer system performs a verification process that quickly and efficiently determines a temperature rise of DC conductor lines of an IC design caused by Joule heating in nearby AC conductor lines of the IC design, and whether the temperature rise is acceptable in terms of an electromigration performance of the IC design.
Claims32
A computer system for analyzing an integrated circuit (IC) design to determine whether a temperature rise caused by Joule heating in alternating current (AC) conductor lines is acceptable, the system comprising:
- a user interface;
- a memory subsystem that stores a representation of at least a portion of the IC design and computer code for performing a verification analysis;
- and
- a processor subsystem, the processor subsystem programmed to:
- select a characteristic finite area in said representation, the selected characteristic finite area corresponding to an area having a particular shape and size and having a particular direct current (DC) conductor line configuration that is repeated throughout said representation;
- compute a characteristic function for the selected characteristic finite area, the characteristic function characterizing a temperature rise of the selected characteristic finite area as a function of Joule heating power produced by an alternating current (AC) conductor line configuration of the selected characteristic finite area;
- for each actual finite area in said representation that has a size and shape and a DC conductor line configuration that matches the size and shape and DC conductor line configuration of the selected characteristic finite area:
- calculate a total Joule heating power of the AC conductor line configuration of the actual finite area,
- apply the respective total Joule heating power of each respective actual finite area to said characteristic function to calculate a respective temperature rise value for each respective actual finite area, and
- compare each respective temperature rise value with a predetermined threshold (TH) value to determine whether the respective temperature rise value exceeds the TH value.
A method for analyzing an integrated circuit (IC) design in a computer system to determine whether a temperature rise caused by Joule heating in alternating current (AC) conductor lines is acceptable, the method comprising:
- in a memory subsystem of the computer system, storing a representation of at least a portion of the IC design and computer code for performing a verification analysis;
- and
- in a processor subsystem of the computer system:
- selecting a characteristic finite area in said representation, the selected characteristic finite area corresponding to an area having a particular shape and size and having a particular direct current (DC) line conductor configuration that is repeated throughout said representation;
- computing a characteristic function for the selected characteristic finite area, the characteristic function characterizing a temperature rise of the selected characteristic finite area as a function of Joule heating power produced by an alternating current (AC) conductor line configuration of the selected characteristic finite area;
- for each actual finite area in said representation that has a size and shape and a DC conductor line configuration that matches the size and shape and DC conductor line structure of the selected characteristic finite area:
- calculating a total Joule heating power of the AC conductor line configuration of the actual finite area,
- applying the respective total Joule heating power of the respective actual finite area to said characteristic function to calculate a respective temperature rise value for the respective actual finite area, and
- comparing the respective temperature rise value with a predetermined threshold (TH) value to determine whether the respective temperature rise value exceeds the TH value.
A computer program for analyzing an integrated circuit (IC) design in a computer system to determine whether a temperature rise caused by Joule heating in alternating current (AC) conductor lines of the IC design is acceptable, the computer program comprising computer instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-usable medium, the computer instructions comprising:
- computer instructions for selecting a characteristic finite area in a representation of at least a portion of the IC design to be used as a characteristic finite area in a verification analysis, the selected characteristic finite area corresponding to an area having a particular shape and size and having a particular direct current (DC) conductor line configuration that is repeated throughout said representation;
- computer instructions for computing a characteristic function for the selected characteristic finite area, the characteristic function characterizing a temperature rise of the selected characteristic finite area as a function of Joule heating power produced by an alternating current (AC) conductor line configuration of the selected characteristic finite area;
- computer instructions for analyzing each actual finite area in said representation that has a size and shape and a DC conductor line configuration that matches the size and shape and DC conductor line configuration of the selected characteristic finite area by:
- calculating a total Joule heating power of the AC conductor line configuration of the actual finite area,
- applying the respective total Joule heating power of the respective actual finite area to said characteristic function to calculate a respective temperature rise value for the respective actual finite area, and
- comparing the respective temperature rise value with a predetermined threshold (TH) value to determine whether the respective temperature rise value exceeds the TH value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.