An efficient thermal simulation tool for ICs, microsystem elements and MCMs:: the μS-THERMANAL

Integrated microsystems raise new problems in thermal simulation. The frequently used structures such as cantilevers and membranes have different heat transfer properties than the simple silicon cubes of conventional integrated circuits (ICs). To take advantage of this, numerous functions are realized on these structures based on the thermal principle. Quick and correct thermal simulation of these structures is needed during the design process. The paper presents the mu S-THERMANAL thermal simulation tool which is capable of simulating, beyond the IC chips and three-dimensional multi-chip module packaging structures, the cantilever, the bridge and the membrane structures as well, both in steady-state and in the frequency-domain case. The algorithms of the program, based on the Fourier method, are detailed in the paper and numerous examples illustrate the capabilities of the tool. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.