Process parameter calibration for millimeter-wave CMOS back-end device design with electromagnetic field analysis

This paper presents a systematic procedure for calibrating process parameters for electromagnetic field analysis. A few CMOS back-end material parameters are first chosen as fitting parameters by sensitivity analysis, and then their values are unambiguously determined from contour maps showing electrical characteristics versus effective material parameters. Calibration with measured data for 1-170 GHz is shown to give reasonably predictive simulation even at higher frequencies. Extraction of effective complex permittivities are also attempted up to 325 GHz in the presence of dummy metal fills for two filling patterns. The results indicate that the effective-parameter approach to dummy metal fills can reproduce measured propagation constants of transmission lines. The predictive power of such a simple approach is yet to be assessed.