A new approach for the calculation of line capacitances of two-layer IC interconnects

In this paper, a new method for computing the capacitance per unit length of a two-layer IC interconnect is suggested. The conductors are infinitesimally thin, and can be placed anywhere in the structure. The formulation is obtained by rising a potential-integral formalism that enables us ro express general solutions for the scalar potential in each layer of a multilayer model. In addition, the semianalytical evaluation of the entries of the Galerkin matrix leads to a very efficient and accurate computer code. Calculated results are given for some cases of the integrated-circuit interconnect to show the advantages and simplicity of the new approach as compared to the methods available in the literature. The method can be extended easily to multiconductor multilayer IC interconnects. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.