Pre-routing estimation of shielding for RLC signal integrity

The formula-based K_eff model is a figure of merit for inductive coupling, and has been used to solve the simultaneous shield insertion and net ordering (SINO) and simultaneous signal and power routing (SPR) problems. The authors first show that the K_eff model has a high fidelity compared to the SPICE-computed noise under an accurate RLC circuit model. We then develop simple yet accurate formulae to estimate numbers of shields needed by optimal SINO solutions under the K_eff model. Extensive experiments show that our pre-routing estimation has errors less than 10% compared to solutions given by detailed SINO algorithms. These formulae can be used effectively as a pre-routing congestion estimation for layout planning and synthesis