An efficient method for hot-spot identification in ULSI circuits

In this paper, we present a method to efficiently identify the onchip hot spots in ULSI circuits. A set of mathematical formulae were derived in analytical forms so that local temperature information can be fetched quickly. These formulae were based on the Green's function and error function approximation, and the resulting equations were further simplified to a tractable level by asserting different constraints. Experimental result shows that this method is able to accurately locate the hot spots with little time complexity. It is particularly useful for temperature-driven circuit macro placement in early chip design phase, for which a large number of design iterations is needed and simulation efficiency is much required.