Including pattern-dependent effects in electromagnetic simulations of on-chip passive components

In advanced IC processes, the physical properties of wires (width, thickness, and resistance) vary depending on the surrounding wiring. We modified the EMX electromagnetic simulator to allow width- and spacing-dependent properties to be given in the process description. EMX automatically modifies the drawn layout to mimic the fabrication process. We validate our approach by comparing to measurements and showing that this significantly improves simulation accuracy for inductors and interdigitated capacitors.