An explicit model for delay and rise time for distributed RC on-chip VLSI interconnect

In this paper, simple explicit delay and rise time expressions for uniformly distributed RC on-chip interconnect line are derived based on Elmore´s approximations. Here, an n-cell RC ladder network with capacitive load is used. Transfer function for the n-cell RC ladder network is obtained by using the transmission line parameter matrix for each cell. In order to deduce the transfer function, the transmission line is modeled by a lumped parameter network. From this transfer function, explicit delay and rise time expressions are derived by using Elmore´s definitions. The calculated delay and rise times by our proposed closed form expressions are compared with the results obtained by SPICE simulation for n = 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 cell ladder networks with capacitive load.