Investigation of the numerical accuracy of transmission line-based transient analysis of high-speed interconnects and cables

The numerical accuracy of the transient response of high-speed interconnects and cables is dependent on both the accuracy and validity of the transmission-line model used and the numerical scheme used for the transient simulation. This paper concerns itself with the latter. In particular, results from two different transient analysis tools, developed using entirely different methodologies and integration algorithms, are used to investigate the types of errors introduced by the numerical integration algorithms and draw conclusions on the error margins one should expect to observe in the transient response prediction of high-speed interconnects using state-of-the-art simulators.