Due to continued technology scaling, electromigration has become a serious reliability concern in modern integrated circuits. This is further aggravated by the pervasive use of inaccurate models for electromigration based on traditional empirical black-box models. We will review the modern approach to electromigration verification, with emphasis on recent physical models, then summarize our work on a finite-difference based approach for power grid electromigration checking using these models. The method simulates the electromigration damage across the power grid, much like simulating for voltage or current. The lifetimes found using this physics-based approach are on average about twice or more than those based on the traditional empirical approaches. Because this approach is computationally efficient, one is able to handle large grids with millions of branches. We then present detailed analysis of the steady-state stress and its relation to voltages and currents in the grid, along with a number of design considerations that follow from this analysis.

中文翻译：

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集成电路电网的电迁移仿真和设计考虑

由于持续的技术扩展，电迁移已成为现代集成电路中严重的可靠性问题。普遍使用基于传统经验黑盒模型的不准确的电迁移模型进一步加剧了这种情况。我们将回顾电迁移验证的现代方法，重点是最近的物理模型，然后总结我们在使用这些模型的基于有限差分的电网电迁移检查方法方面的工作。该方法模拟跨电网的电迁移损坏，很像模拟电压或电流。使用这种基于物理学的方法发现的寿命平均是基于传统经验方法的寿命的两倍或更多。因为这种方法计算效率高，一种能够处理具有数百万个分支的大型网格。然后，我们详细分析了稳态应力及其与电网中电压和电流的关系，以及由此分析得出的一些设计注意事项。