Power Distribution Networks In High Speed Integrated Circuits

Distributing power in high speed, high complexity integrated circuits has become a challenging task as power levels exceeding tens of watts have become commonplace while the power supply is plunging toward one volt. This book is dedicated to this important subject. The primary purpose of this monograph is to provide insight and intuition into the behavior and design of power distribution systems for high speed, high complexity integrated circuits.

This book provides insight into the behavior and design of power distribution systems for high speed, high complexity integrated circuits. Also presented are criteria for estimating minimum required on-chip decoupling capacitance. Techniques and algorithms for computer-aided design of on-chip power distribution networks are also described; however, the emphasis is on developing circuit intuition and understanding the principles that govern the design and operation of power distribution systems.

This book describes methods for distributing power in high speed, high complexity integrated circuits with power levels exceeding many tens of watts and power supplies below a volt. It provides a broad and cohesive treatment of power distribution systems and related design problems, including both circuit network models and design techniques for on-chip decoupling capacitors, providing insight and intuition into the behavior and design of on-chip power distribution systems. Organized into subareas to provide a more intuitive flow to the reader, this second edition adds more than a hundred pages of new content, including inductance models for interdigitated structures, design strategies for multi-layer power grids, advanced methods for efficient power grid design and analysis, and methodologies for simultaneously placing on-chip multiple power supplies and decoupling capacitors. The emphasis of this additional material is on managing the complexity of on-chip power distribution networks.

This book describes methods for distributing power in high speed, high complexity integrated circuits with power levels exceeding many tens of watts and power supplies below a volt. It provides a broad and cohesive treatment of power delivery and management systems and related design problems, including both circuit network models and design techniques for on-chip decoupling capacitors, providing insight and intuition into the behavior and design of on-chip power distribution systems. Organized into subareas to provide a more intuitive flow to the reader, this fourth edition adds more than a hundred pages of new content, including inductance models for interdigitated structures, design strategies for multi-layer power grids, advanced methods for efficient power grid design and analysis, and methodologies for simultaneously placing on-chip multiple power supplies and decoupling capacitors. The emphasis of this additional material is on managing the complexity of on-chip power distribution networks.

The appropriate interconnect model has changed several times over the past two decades due to the application of aggressive technology scaling. New, more accurate interconnect models are required to manage the changing physical characteristics of integrated circuits. Currently, RC models are used to analyze high resistance nets while capacitive models are used for less resistive interconnect. However, on-chip inductance is becoming more important with integrated circuits operating at higher frequencies, since the inductive impedance is proportional to the frequency. The operating frequencies of integrated circuits have increased dramatically over the past decade and are expected to maintain the same rate of increase over the next decade, approaching 10 GHz by the year 2012. Also, wide wires are frequently encountered in important global nets, such as clock distribution networks and in upper metal layers, and performance requirements are pushing the introduction of new materials for low resistance interconnect, such as copper interconnect already used in many commercial CMOS technologies. On-Chip Inductance in High Speed Integrated Circuits deals with the design and analysis of integrated circuits with a specific focus on on-chip inductance effects. It has been described throughout this book that inductance can have a tangible effect on current high speed integrated circuits. For example, neglecting inductance and using an RC interconnect model in a production 0.25 mum CMOS technology can cause large errors (over 35%) in estimates of the propagation delay of on-chip interconnect. It has also been shown that including inductance in the repeater insertion design process as compared to using an RC model improves the overall repeater solution in terms of area, power, and delay with average savings of 40.8%, 15.6%, and 6.7%, respectively. On-Chip Inductance in High Speed Integrated Circuits is full of design and analysis techniques for RLC interconnect. These techniques are compared to techniques traditionally used for RC interconnect design to emphasize the effect of inductance. emOn-Chip Inductance in High Speed Integrated Circuits will be of interest to researchers in the area of high frequency interconnect, noise, and high performance integrated circuit design.

A series of cogently written articles by 49 industry experts, this collection fills the void on Power Distribution Network (PDN) design procedures, and addresses such related topics as DC–DC converters, selection of bypass capacitors, DDR2 memory systems, powering of FPGAs, and synthesis of impedance profiles. Through these contributions from such leading companies as Sun Microsystems, Sanyo, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, and Rambus, readers will come to understand why books on power integrity are only now becoming available to the public and can relate these topics to current industry trends.

A hands-on troubleshooting guide for VLSI network designers The primary goal in VLSI (very large scale integration) power network design is to provide enough power lines across a chip to reduce voltage drops from the power pads to the center of the chip. Voltage drops caused by the power network's metal lines coupled with transistor switching currents on the chip cause power supply noises that can affect circuit timing and performance, thus providing a constant challenge for designers of high-performance chips. Power Distribution Network Design for VLSI provides detailed information on this critical component of circuit design and physical integration for high-speed chips. A vital tool for professional engineers (especially those involved in the use of commercial tools), as well as graduate students of engineering, the text explains the design issues, guidelines, and CAD tools for the power distribution of the VLSI chip and package, and provides numerous examples for its effective application. Features of the text include: * An introduction to power distribution network design * Design perspectives, such as power network planning, layout specifications, decoupling capacitance insertion, modeling, and analysis * Electromigration phenomena * IR drop analysis methodology * Commands and user interfaces of the VoltageStorm(TM) CAD tool * Microprocessor design examples using on-chip power distribution * Flip-chip and package design issues * Power network measurement techniques from real silicon The author includes several case studies and a glossary of key words and basic terms to help readers understand and integrate basic concepts in VLSI design and power distribution.