Interconnection system requirements and modeling

Rapid technological advances in electronic systems technologies are placing increasingly severe demands on interconnection media. One primary driving force is the evolutionary advance in the scale of integration in silicon with its inherent cost and performance advantages. Another is the revolutionary development of photonics, which is rapidly integrating into most levels of the interconnection hierarchy. Increasingly, the interconnection environment dominates and limits the performance of large-scale electronic systems. This paper explores traditional levels of interconnection from IC chip packages to frames. It shows how the interconnection levels interrelate and must be improved simultaneously to achieve full performance and cost benefits. The first major step in this evolution is well underway with the rapid transition to surface mounting of devices. We describe advanced modeling tools and relate the results of modeling analysis to the challenges faced by interconnection technology hardware and materials.