Linear and nonlinear macromodels for power/signal integrity

In this paper, a systematic methodology for the assessment of power/signal integrity effects in high-speed communication and information systems is presented. The proposed methodology leads to accurate and efficient macromodels for logic devices, transmission-line interconnects and discontinuities that can be easily implemented in any commercial tool and can be combined for the simulation of the whole system. The SPICE implementation of macromodels is used for the prediction of power/ground noise and signals propagating on interconnects. An assessment of the impact that possible simplifications in the macromodel generation phase have on the simulation of a realistic application example is discussed.