Optimal resistance determination method for RL damper circuits in power distribution network of ICs

We investigated a method using parallel RL circuits inserted into power distribution network (PDN) of integrated circuits (ICs) to enhance the IC in EMI and PI performance. Optimal damping resistances of the parallel RL circuit were derived from a characteristic equation of an equivalent circuit of a partial PDN that contributed to PDN resonances dominantly. The parallel RL circuit with the optimal resistances damps the PDN resonances as quickly as possible and reduces peaks in simultaneous switching current that will cause EMI and in input impedance of PDN related to PI. We validated the parallel RL circuit with respect to EMI and PI performance of ICs numerically and experimentally. Results of these validation showed that the proposed method descend the simultaneous switching current at both chip-package-board and on-board resonant frequency. It is also confirmed that insertion of the parallel RL circuits into the power trace reduced the impedance peak due to the chip-package-board resonance.