QUEST: Frequency-Dependent RLCG Extractor

Introduction

Signals propagated in actual and future IC’s interconnections are spreading, in terms of spectrum frequency, from DC to microwave domain because of the continually increasing clock frequencies of circuits. So, predictions of impedance, delay, rise/fall times and crosstalk levels need to be investigated within this whole spectrum. QUEST is a powerful two-dimensional extractor of the RLCG frequency dependent parameters of the transmission lines. This tool is based on a fast and accurate computation so-called ‘fictitious domain method’ [1]. In this article three examples of its use are presented:

• the variations of mutual/self inductance with the geometrical parameters,
• the crosstalk,
• the skin effect