STUDY ON-CHIP METAL-INSULATOR-SEMICONDUCTOR-METAL INTERCONNECTS WITH THE ALTERNATING-DIRECTION-IMPLICIT FINITE-DIFFERENCE TIME-DOMAIN METHOD

Abstract

The Alternating-Direction-Implicit Finite-Difference Time-Domain method is used to analyze the on-chip Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor-Metal interconnects by solving Maxwell's equations in time domain. This method is efficient in solving problems with fine geometries much smaller than the shortest wavelength of interest. The iteration algorithm is evaluated thoroughly with respects to stability, numerical dispersion, grid size, time-step size etc..

The dielectric quasi-TEM mode, the slow wave mode, and the skin-effect mode of the MISM structure are all analyzed. We find that semiconductors can readily operate from the slow wave mode, to the transition region, to the skin effect mode in state of art technology. This thesis shows that the silicon substrate losses and the metal line losses can be modeled with high resolution. Signal dispersion and attenuation over a wide range of doping densities and operating frequencies is discussed. Accurate prediction of interconnect losses is critical for high-frequency design with highly constrained timing requirements.