Modeling of metal-over-silicon microstrip interconnections: the effect of SiO/sub 2/ thickness on slow-wave losses

A theoretical model for a metal-over-silicon microstrip interconnection is presented using a quasi-TEM approximation. We consider in this paper several physical effects, including: SiO/sub 2/ insulator layer, slow-wave substrate coupling, conductor resistance, skin-effect degradation, distributed RC propagation, and signal dispersion. We have examined, in particular, the influence of an underlying SiO/sub 2/ insulator layer, as previous studies have not included such a layer. Pulse propagation has been studied for durations down to 50 ps, suitable for 10 GHz clocks. We have found that pulse attenuation is reduced dramatically as the thickness of the SiO/sub 2/ layer is increased.