An Equivalent Circuit Model With Current Return Path Effects for ON-Chip Interconnect up to 80 GHz

A lumped-element model for ON-chip interconnects is proposed in this paper. The effect of current return path of interconnects is analyzed. An efficient analytical parameter extraction method for the model is proposed. The inductor L-g was adopted in the shunt branch of this model to characterize the induced time-varying magnetic field. Thus, the bandwidth of the model is extended over the resonance frequency. A group of interconnects with different structures were fabricated in a 0.18-mu m CMOS process to investigate the effects of current return path. The good agreement of S-parameters between the model and measurements suggests that the proposed model can accurately predict the performance of interconnect in a wide frequency band up to 80 GHz, even over the resonance frequency.