High-frequency-measurement-based IC package performance evaluation

Abstract

The frequency-variant characteristics of a pair of package power and ground net are experimentally investigated and modeled by using frequency-variant grid-type equivalent circuits, where each cell of the grid is modeled with vertically stacked RLC-ladder circuits. The test patterns are characterized by using TDR/TDT and VNA. Based on the experimental characterizations, not only are material constants and circuit model parameters determined, but also the conductor roughness and other frequency-variant effects are modeled. It is shown that the SPICE-based circuit simulation using the proposed circuit model has an excellent agreement with the measurement data in the range of 100MHz ~ 15GHz. Then, it is also shown that the various types of package performance evaluations can be very efficiently as well as accurately achieved with the proposed technique.