IR DROP &

ELECTROMIGRATION
Presented by
ABDUL NAEEM
 INTRODUCTIO
When we through lower technology nodes in the IC and chip design, the
wire width goes thinner along with transistor size. This makes the wire
resistance more dominant on modern technology nodes (below 28 nm).
This increasing resistance and the decreasing width of metal wires introduce
Electromigration and IR drop issues.
Electromigration (EM) is a molecular displacement due to the momentum
transfer between conducting electrons and ions over a period of time.
 IR drop is the voltage drop in the metal wires constituting the
power grid before it reaches the power pins of the standard cells.
 These two issues play major roles in reducing the lifespan of
an electronic device and are the causes of functionality
failure in any electronic devices with lower technology
nodes
 In this article, we will discuss the problems of electromigration
and IR drop, and techniques to prevent the occurrence of these
issues in electronic devices.
 Electromigration
When a high current density passes through a metal interconnect, the momentum of current-
carrying electrons may get transferred to the metal ions during the collision between them.
Due to the momentum transfer, the metal ions may get drifted in the direction of motion of
electrons. Such drift of metal ions from its original position is called the electromigration
effect. 
Current density J is defined as the current following per unit cross-section area. 
                       J = I/A

 Where I is the current and A is the cross-section of the area of interconnect.

Electromigration Phenomenon:

Figure: Electromigration phenomenon

 Mean Time To Failure (MTTF) is an indication of the life span of an
integrated circuit. MTTF is calculated using Black's equation as bellow.

Where A = Cross-Section area

            J = Current density
            N = Scaling factor (normally set to 2)
            Ea = Activation energy
            K = Boltzmann's constant
            T = Temperature in Kelvin
Effect of EM
Once the metal ions get started to shifting from its original position, these will
create problem in the interconnect. It could result in an excess of ions accumulation
in a particular location of deficient of ions. So either Hillocks or Void could occur in
the metal interconnect. 
Void: If the incoming ion flux is lesser than the outgoing ion flux, It will create a
void in interconnect. A void can lead a discontinuity in the interconnect and result
an open circuit. 
Hillocks: If incoming ion flux is greater than the outgoing ion flux, It will cause
the accumulation of ions and create a hillock in the interconnect. A hillock can
increase the width of a metal interconnect and touch the neighbouring metal
interconnect which may result in a short circuit.
Figure: Hillock and Void formation in Interconnect
Prevention techniques for  EM:
With the scaling of the technology node, the interconnect used is also changed.
Initially, pure Aluminium was used as interconnect then industry started using the
Al-Cu alloy and later shifted to  Copper interconnects. Copper interconnects can
withstand approximately 5 times more current as compared to Aluminium
interconnect while maintaining similar reliability requirements.

During the physical design, the following techniques could be used to prevent the
EM issue.
 Increase the metal width to reduce the current density
 Reduce the frequency
 Lower the supply voltage
 Keep the wire length sort
 IR Drop

When current flow through the power delivery network, a part of the applied
voltage will be dropped in PDN as per the Ohm's law. The amount of voltage
drop will be V = I.R, which is called the IR drop. Figure-1 shows the IR drop
in the Power net. Any metal net can be assumed as a combination of small R
and C. 
When current flow through the power delivery network, a part of the applied
voltage will be dropped in PDN as per the Ohm's law. The amount of voltage
drop will be V = I.R, which is called the IR drop. Figure-1 shows the IR drop
in the Power net. Any metal net can be assumed as a combination of small R
and C. 
V2 = V1 - I.R
Standard cells sometimes do not get the minimum operating voltage which is
required to operate them due to IR drop in power delivery network even the
application of sufficient voltage in the power port. Voltage drop in the power
delivery network before reaching the standard cells is called IR drop.
This drop may cause the poor performance of the chip due to the increase of
delay of standard cells and may cause the functional failure of the chip. When
the drop becomes excessive the voltage at the load may fail to meet necessary
device specifications.
Types of IR drop:
There are two types of IR drop in the ASIC design:
1.Static IR drop
2.Dynamic IR drop
Static IR drop is the voltage drop in the power delivery network (PDN) when there
are no inputs switching means the circuit is in the static stage. Whereas dynamic
IR drop is the voltage drop in the power delivery network when the inputs are
continuously switching means the circuit is in a functional state. Dynamic IR drop
will depend on the switching rate of instance.

When the inputs are switching continuously, more current would flow in the
instances and also in PDN. So there will be more IR drop in the PDN. Therefore
dynamic IR drop is more than the static IR drop.
Effect of IR drop
In short IR drop could result
 Change in the delay of cells
 Could violate the setup and hold timing 
 Introduction of power noise in power supply nets
THANK YOU