IR-drop analysis of graphene-based power distribution networks

Electromigration (EM) has been indicated as the killer effect for copper interconnects. ITRS projections show that for future technologies (22nm and beyond) the on-chip current demand will exceed the physical limit copper metal wires can tolerate. This represents a serious limitation for the design of power distribution networks of next generation ICs. New carbon nanomaterials, governed by ballistic transport, have shown higher immunity to EM, thereby representing potential candidate to replace copper. In this paper we make use of compact conductance models to benchmark Graphene Nanoribbons (GNRs) against copper. The two materials have been used to route a state-of-the-art multi-level power-grid architecture obtained through an industrial 45nm physical design flow. Although the adopted design style is optimized for metal grids, results obtained using our simulation framework show that GNRs, if properly sized, can outperform copper, thus allowing the design of reliable circuits with reduced IR-drop penalties.