Reducing temperature variability by routing heat pipes

ABSTRACT

A significant increase in power density in modern nano-electronic VLSI circuits has lead to increased localized heating and generation of hot spots. These temperature effects can lead to reliability and performance problems. This paper presents a novel design time temperature aware methodology which consists of using additional routing known as Heat Pipes, to transfer heat from hot to cold regions. In order to evaluate the effect of Heat Pipes, a thermal model to simulate effect of metal interconnect on heat distribution is also developed. Results show a 5% to 7% decrease in temperature variation through-out and 2 to 3 degree reduction in hotspot temperature as a result of Heat Pipes.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  B. Hardware
  B.8 Performance and Reliability
      B.8.1 Reliability, Testing, and Fault-Tolerance

General Terms:
Algorithms, Design, Measurement, Reliability

Keywords:
physical design, reliability, thermal modeling, thermal simulation