A scalable compact model of interconnects self-heating in CMOS technology

High Joule heating during ESD transient is a major cause of failure in metal interconnects. In order to provide a realistic assessment of current and future interconnect performance, a scalable compact model of self heating in isolated metal lines, valid in the ESD time range (time < 100 ns), has been developed. This model turns out to be in very good agreement experimental results, and it can be used to forecast TLP I(V) characteristics of isolated metal wires.