Estimation of Product Lifetime with Highly Varying Die Temperature

This paper examines the impact of temperature gradient (TG) in integrated circuit (IC) blocks with high power densities, focusing on their effect on electromigration (EM) lifetime. Thermal simulations reveal significant local temperature variations, which greatly increase the risk of EM failure. The study highlights the need for refined mesh sizes in power maps to accurately capture TG amount. We present a new approach for predicting IC lifetimes by incorporating temperature variations into the failure rate model. The results highlight the critical importance of early-stage thermal evaluations in ensuring the reliability of advanced IC designs.