Constant impedance scaling paradigm for scaling LC transmission lines

Constant impedance scaling paradigm for scaling LC transmission lines ■

Jayaprakash Balachandran, Jayaprakash Balachandran, Jayaprakash Balachandran, Steven Brebels, Steven Brebels, Steven Brebels, G. Carchon, G. Carchon, G. Carchon, Maarten Kuijk, Maarten Kuijk, Maarten Kuijk, Walter De Raedt, Walter De Raedt, Walter De Raedt, B. Nauwelaers, B. Nauwelaers, B. Nauwelaers, Eric Beyne, Eric Beyne, Eric Beyne

Abstract ■

Reverse scaled LC transmission lines are an effective alternative to on-chip global interconnects which severely limit the chip performance in nano-CMOS technologies. However, the main disadvantage of the LC transmission line approach is their poor wiring density. The scaling of LC transmission lines is formally analyzed with the proposed constant impedance scaling paradigm that simultaneously maximize performance and wiring density. With this paradigm, we show that the LC transmission line implementation would need a minimum pitch of 8 mu m for line lengths in the range of 10 to 20 mm, considering a low-k dielectric of relative dielectric constant of 2.7