- Transient Thermal Simulation

The HeatWave transient electro-thermal simulator computes both the spatial and temporal temperature distribution within the full-chip, with resolution down to the device and interconnect levels, and integrates smoothly into standard analog, mixed-signal and custom IC design flows.

The output is a full-chip, 3-D temperature map, which varies as a function of time according to the operations of the circuitry, and can be used to expose hotspots and excessive temperature variations in mixed signal designs at different points in time. The temperature data can also be used to add thermal awareness to circuit simulation and other electrical analysis tools. The tool has features for automatic monitoring of temperature values and its variations to help detect hazards in the designs.

To run HeatWave, you need to provide a thermal technology file (die stack-up) for the foundry process, and thermal information for the package. HeatWave obtains the design layout and the power source information from your design environment to compute a full 3D temperature profile of the design. It outputs instance-specific temperatures and wire temperatures as a function of time, synchronized with the electrical power waveform. This information can be annotated into simulation to determine the thermal impact on the circuit's performance and reliability, and to account for the time-dependent electro-thermal effects within the chip.

Gradient is unique in its ability to calculate interconnect temperatures due to Joule heating, which allows designers to evaluate the impact on chip design and package reliability as well as headroom between operating peak temperature and allowed maximum temperature limit.

HeatWave takes into account the influence of the package thermal characteristics on the die temperatures.

Benefits

• HeatWave provides accurate chip temperature data, which varies dynamically with the operations of the circuitry. This exposes opportunities to neutralize the adverse temperature effects at different points in time, and improve design quality.
• By providing nanoscale temperatures throughout the chip, as a function of time, HeatWave enhances your ability to avoid reliability issues.
• Smooth integration with analog design flow.
• HeatWave accurately accounts for package thermal characteristics, including bond wire/bumps, die-attach, ambient temperature, and airflow.

3D Visualization Capability

HeatWave can be run in interactive GUI mode, allowing the user to navigate in three dimensions throughout the entire chip and to visually inspect the temperatures on the substrate and the metal layers. It can be also run in a text mode, allowing for scripting and integration of results into other analysis tools.

Visit us at the 2008 IEEE Compound Semiconductor IC Symposium in Monterey, California.

Booth # 508
Date: October 13-14, 2008

Please send email to: sales@gradient-da.com to schedule a demo session.

"We collaborated with Gradient on HeatWave, which is a full-chip transient electro-thermal simulator. Simulation results for a chip containing power transistors and temperature sensors, taken over a two second interval, correlated well with measured data.

Yves Depret,
DST Mixed Signal & Digital Flows Manager,
ON Semiconductor Corp.