Ultra high-resolution FDTD modeling of a high-performance VLSI package

Integrated circuits are ever-increasing in complexity while also shrinking in size. Further, ultra mobile devices are ever-increasing in functionality while also becoming more compact in size. The goal of this work is to support these trends by computationally studying electromagnetic compatibility issues both on a device level, as well as on individual component level, since these issues are beginning to dominate the design process of ultra mobile devices. Specifically, as a first step, we are employing an ultra high-resolution full-vector 3-D finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) model having 343 million grid cells to simulate sample ICs. We are using this model to study undesirable induced resonances, coupling, and other electromagnetic phenomena within ICs. In subsequent work, we will be adding additional components to yield an ultra high-resolution 3-D FDTD model of a complete compact portable electronic device.