Interconnect Tuning Strategies for High-Performance Ics

Interconnect tuning is an increasingly critical degree of freedom in the physical design of high-performance VLSI systems. By interconnect tuning, we refer to the selection of line thicknesses, widths and spacings in multi-layer interconnect to simultaneously optimize signal distribution, signal performance, signal integrity, and interconnect manufacturability and reliability. This is a key activity in most leading-edge design projects, but has received little attention in the literature. Our work provides the first technology-specific studies of interconnect tuning in the literature. We center on global wiring layers and interconnect tuning issues related to bus routing, repeater insertion, and choice of shielding/spacing rules for signal integrity and performance. We address four basic questions. (1) How should width and spacing be allocated to maximize performance for a given line pitch? (2) For a given line pitch, what criteria affect the optimal interval at which repeaters should...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1998
• Where: DATE
• Authors: Andrew B. Kahng, Sudhakar Muddu, Egino Sarto, Rahul Sharma
• Keywords: DATE 1998, Hardware, Interconnect Tuning, Multi-layer Interconnect, Signal Integrity