Investigation of the on-chip MISM interconnects with the alternating-direction-implicit finite-difference time-domain method

The alternating‐direction‐implicit finite‐difference time‐domain method is used to analyze the Metal‐Insulator‐ Semiconductor‐Metal interconnects by solving Maxwell's equations in the time domain. The dielectric quasi‐TEM mode, the slow wave mode, and the skin‐effect mode are all analyzed. This analysis shows that the silicon substrate losses and the metal line losses can be modeled with high resolution. The analysis provides attenuation and phase constant values versus semiconductor doping and frequency. We find that semiconductors readily operate in the slow wave mode and skin effect mode for selected doping densities. Accurate prediction of interconnect losses is critical to high‐frequency design with highly constrained timing requirements. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26085