Investigation of Interconnect Characteristics in Mixed Signal Circuits

Abstract

Up to the early 1990s on chip digital signals had components much below 1 GHz,relatively short run lengths and widths of several microns. This situation has changed because of three main developments, primarily for digital circuits, but affecting analog circuitry because of the rise of mixed signal systems. The main developments are faster clocks, longer interconnect and fine lithography leading to interconnects having cross sectional dimensions of less than a micron. Planar structures such as microstrip lines are assuming very important role in the design of MICs and mixed signal circuits. Various design formulas for microstrip lines are investigated in this thesis. These formulas can be evaluated quickly and provide a designer with an intuitive feel for the various design parameters for microstrip lines. Various analytical formulas for microstrip dispersion are also compared with simulated results. Electromagnetic modeling tool from Sonnet® is used for high frequency electromagnetic analysis.