A. Ege Engin

Finite-difference modeling of noise coupling between power/ground planes in multilayered packages and boards

Multilayered packages and boards, such as high performance server boards, contain thousands of signal lines, which have to be routed on and through several layers with power/ground planes in between. There can be noise coupling not only in the transversal direction through the power/ground planes in such a structure, but also vertically from one plane pair to another through the apertures and via holes. In addition, the continuous increase in power demand along with reduced Vdd values results in significant current requirement for the future chips. Hence, the parasitic effects of the power distribution system become increasingly more critical regarding the signal integrity and electromagnetic interference properties of cost-effective high-performance designs. We present a multilayer finite-difference method (M-FDM), which is capable of characterizing such noise coupling mechanisms. This method allows considering realistic structures, which would be prohibitive to simulate using full-wave simulators

Closed-form network representations of frequency-dependent RLGC parameters

In this paper, equivalent circuit representations for frequency-dependent RLGC (resistance, inductance, conductance and capacitance) parameters of interconnects are presented. Several novel approaches are proposed and compared with each other to model the frequency-dependent behaviour of interconnects due to substrate and conductor losses. The network representations are obtained by network synthesis of suitable non-rational immittances based on analytical methods. Due to the closed-form description of the circuit elements, which consist of positive-valued resistors, inductors, and capacitors, the proposed models can be conveniently implemented in generic circuit simulators. Copyright

Analysis for Signal and Power Integrity Using the Multilayered Finite Difference Method

We present a method for fast analysis of signal and power integrity based on a recently developed multilayered finite difference method (M-FDM). In order to accurately model multilayered planar structures, which are three dimensional, M-FDM combines two-dimensional models for power/ground planes using a multilayered unit cell approach. In this way, noise coupling can be considered not only in the transversal direction between two planes, but also vertically from one plane pair to another through the apertures and via holes. For a cosimulation of signal and power integrity, transmission line models also need to be included. The interaction between the signal transmission and power distribution modes is taken into account using a modal decomposition technique. An equivalent circuit model becomes available based on this finite difference approximation as well. Based on this network representation, second order effects such as fringe and gap fields can be included in M-FDM using equivalent circuit models for these fields. This results in a very accurate method that can be used for fast analysis of signal and power integrity in arbitrary package and board designs having any stack-up configuration and number of layers.

Power Delivery Networks for Semiconductor Systems: Design, Modeling and Simulation Methods

Course Objective: Future systems supporting multi-gigahertz processors and communication devices require the design of the power delivery network with a careful understanding of the chip, package and board and the interaction between them. The focus of this course is on the design of advanced packages and systems for power delivery with emphasis on modeling and simulation methods. The use of various commercial tools for modeling and simulation will also be discussed as part of the course.