Incremental IC Solver Using Segmented Mesh and Grid Models
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current IC modeling tools for RF circuits are computationally intensive and inefficient for incremental design changes, making them more suitable for verification rather than design tools due to the complexity of fullwave solutions and large matrix sizes.
Innovation Solution
A method for modeling integrated circuits that approximates operating points by separating voltage values into nearby and far-away components using equivalent matrix operations, with basis-function expansions for electromagnetic field modeling across mesh elements and spatial-frequency expansions across grid points, allowing for flexible incremental design adaptations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If fullwave electromagnetic solvers are used to model RF integrated circuits, then modeling accuracy is improved, but computational time and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the electromagnetic field calculation into two distinct components: nearby field components calculated using basis-function expansions on mesh elements, and far-away field components calculated using spatial-frequency expansions on grid points. This segmentation allows each component to be computed using optimized methods, reducing overall computational complexity while maintaining fullwave accuracy for nearby interactions and efficient approximation for far-away interactions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a spatial-frequency domain representation alongside the traditional spatial domain mesh. By transforming far-away field calculations into the spatial-frequency domain using Fourier transforms, the method efficiently handles distant interactions that would be computationally expensive in the spatial domain, thereby reducing computational time while preserving accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If fullwave electromagnetic solvers are used to model RF integrated circuits, then modeling accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases due to large matrix sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the impedance matrix into nearby and far-away components, allowing the large dense matrix to be replaced by a combination of smaller sparse matrices and frequency-domain representations. This segmentation dramatically reduces the memory requirements and computational complexity while maintaining the accuracy of fullwave solutions for nearby elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses pre-computed spatial-frequency expansion coefficients that can be reused for multiple far-away interactions. Instead of calculating each far-away field interaction individually, the method copies and reuses the pre-computed frequency-domain Green's function coefficients, significantly reducing the complexity of handling large numbers of far-away mesh element pairs.
3Adaptability or versatility
If incremental design changes are made to the layout, then design flexibility is improved, but recalculating fullwave solutions from scratch increases computational time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary calculations of the spatial-frequency expansion coefficients and nearby field matrices once for the base layout. When incremental design changes are made, these pre-computed values serve as a starting point, requiring only updates to the affected regions rather than complete recalculation, thus enabling fast incremental design exploration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains continuity by using the previously computed fullwave solution as the foundation for incremental updates. The nearby and far-away field decompositions allow the solution to be continuously updated as design changes are made, preserving the useful computational work already performed while adapting to new design configurations.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for modeling an IC (integrated circuit) employs a mesh model and a grid model for separating impedance effects between nearby and far-away pairs of mesh elements. Models for relating currents and voltages can be incrementally adapted from other designs or design elements in applications including mixed-signal, analog and RF (radio frequency) circuits.