A hybrid random walk algorithm for 3-D thermal analysis of integrated circuits

Abstract

In this work, a hybrid random walk method is proposed for the thermal analysis of integrated circuits. Preserving the advantage of generic random walk method (GRW), i.e. the suitability for simulating local hot-spots, the proposed techniques largely reduce its runtime for accurate high-resolution simulation, and is suitable for the realistic pyramid-shape IC model. This is achieved by combining the GRW and the floating random walk techniques, and a novel usage of rectangular cuboid transition domain. The techniques to handle the Neumann boundary and convective boundary in thermal simulation are also discussed. Numerical experiments on several IC test cases validate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed techniques, and demonstrate more than 100X speedup over the GRW method. © 2014 IEEE.