An integrated environment for the simulation of electrical, thermal and electromagnetic interactions in high-performance integrated circuits

Joint computer simulation of circuit, thermal and electromagnetic interactions in high performance integrated circuits and systems is of particular importance for the modeling of electronic packaging, since packages are complex coupled systems where all of these aspects interact in a dynamic sense. This paper describes a computer environment that supports the simultaneous simulation of thermal, electromagnetic and circuit interactions in complex microwave circuits. Locally referenced modules have been used to enable disparate modeling tools to interact, and suggest possible paths to include mechanical interactions in the future. Two methods are presented for the simulation of electro-thermal interaction. The first is based on coupling of electrical and thermal environments using a lumped-parameter model of the heat dissipation dynamics. The second technique, consisting of the run-time coupling of a circuit simulator and a finite-element thermal solver, is based on an application program interface (API) that synchronizes the transfer of information between the two. Through this technique, simultaneous simulation of electrical, thermal and electromagnetic interactions has been achieved.