1 Signal and Design Integrity in the Design of Deep Sub-Micron Integrated Circuits

This paper is an overview of the main physical effects that can prevent a deep sub-micron IC from working, or impair its reliability. We will discuss both signal and design integrity problems. Signal Integrity problems are those DSM effects that prevent your chip from working as designed, even when new. Design integrity problems are those that cannot be detected by testing, but may cause your chip to fail in the field. This paper and the accompanying lecture describe each problem, the physics behind it, and how it can be avoided or worked around in the design. It also describe how automatic tools can help address these problems