Switching-Current Measurement for Multiple ICs Sharing a Common Power Island Structure

Abstract

Switching currents in active integrated circuits (ICs) generate noise in the power distribution network (PDN), which is one of the main sources for many signal/power integrity and electromagnetic interference issues in high-speed electronic devices. Accurate knowledge of the switching currents is the key to ensure a good PDN design. This paper proposes a measurement methodology, when IC information is not available, to obtain the equivalent switching current of each IC in the case where multiple ICs are connected to a common power island structure. Time-domain oscilloscope measurements are used to capture the noise-voltage waveforms at a few locations in the power island. Combining with the multi-port frequency-domain S-parameter measurement among the same locations, an equivalent switching current for each IC is calculated. The proposed method is validated at a different location in the power island by comparing the calculated noise voltage using the equivalent switching currents as excitations with the actual measured noise voltage.

Meeting Name

2012 IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, EMC 2012 (2012: Aug. 5-10, Pittsburgh, PA)

Department(s)

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Center/Lab(s)

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Laboratory

Keywords and Phrases

Electromagnetic Compatibility; Electromagnetic Pulse; Scattering Parameters; Signal Interference

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

978-1-4673-2061-0; 978-1-4673-2060-3

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

2158-110X; 2158-1118

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2012 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Aug 2012

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