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Downscaling of integrated circuits to the deep sub-micron regimes increases
the influence of interconnects on circuit behavior [1].
As devices are getting smaller and faster the RC-delay of the interconnects
becomes the dominant factor for further improvements in circuit speed.
From the aspect of circuit reliability the knowledge of the current density
and temperature distribution in the wiring structures is important to
prevent electromigration.
Since experimental measurements of these physical effects are often expensive,
too inexact or impossible at all (as in the case of temperature distribution),
there is a need for numerical calculation.
Interconnect resistances and capacitances of complex VLSI circuits
extracted by conventional ECAD tools, based on one-dimensional analytical
methods, proved as too inaccurate.
Hence, a full three-dimensional approach becomes necessary.
Rainer Sabelka
1998-01-30