Experimental determination of the importance of inductance in sub-micron microstrip lines

Abstract

The importance of inductance in sub-micron cross-section interconnect lines is examined. We experimentally show that small cross-section, high-loss lines are RC dominated into the low GHz frequency range, and only begin to exhibit inductive effects above 10 GHz. We also show by comparing experimental data and a simple model that the skin effect and substrate effects are small, if present, in these lines up to 40 GHz.