Microwave Engineering

- 3. The Physical Basis -

of R, C, and L
Yo-Shen Lin
[email protected]
E1-414

MWEng113 – Y.-S. Lin

Prologue
• The electrical performances of every interconnect and passive device
are based on just three ideal lumped circuit elements (R, C, and L)
and one distributed element (transmission line).
• The electrical properties of the interconnections/passive devices are
all due to the precise layout of conductors and dielectrics, and
how they interact with the electric and magnetic fields of signals.
– The electrical properties can be completely described by the
application of Maxwell’s Equations.
– The equivalent electric model should be established based on the
electric and magnetic field distribution of the circuit under
investigation.

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 I. The Physical Basis of Resistance
• The electrical resistance of an electrical conductor is the opposition
to the passage of an electric current through that conductor.
• The inverse quantity is electrical conductance, the ease at which an
electric current passes.
• The International System of Units (SI) unit of electrical resistance is
the ohm (Ω), while electrical conductance is measured in siemens (S).
• The ohm is defined as a resistance between two points of a conductor
when a constant potential difference of 1 volt, applied to these points,
produces in the conductor a current of 1 ampere.

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Ideal v.s. Physical Resistor

• The impedance across the ends of the real copper trace behaves
very much like an ideal resistor.
• The axial lead ‘resistor’ behaves very much unlike an ideal resistor
at high frequencies.
Axial

Freq, Hz
Electrical Model

4 IPD: Integrated Passive Device MWEng113 – Y.-S. Lin

 Analytical Approximation for the Resistance
• Analytical approximation for a conductor that has a uniform cross-section
down its length:

Direction of current

R=ρ•d/A
where R = the resistance, in Ohms
ρ = the bulk resistivity of the conductor, in Ohm-cm (or Ohm-m)
d = the distance between the ends, in cm (or m)
A = the cross-section area, in cm2 (or m2)
• A good rule of thumb to remember: the resistance of a 1-mil
diameter wire bond, 80 mils long, is about 0.1 ohms.
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Bulk Resistivity
• Bulk resistivity (ρ) is an intrinsic material property that all conductors
have, with unit in Ohm-cm or Ohm-m.
• Conductivity (σ): σ = 1 / ρ, unit in 1/(Ohm-m)
or S/m
• Bulk resistivity of most interconnect metals
will vary as much as 10% due to different
processing conditions.
• Ex.: The ρ for copper is reported as
between 1.5 and 1.8 μ Ohm-cm
depending on whether it is
electroplated, deposited,
sputtered, or annealed.

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 Resistance Per Unit Length
• For conductor with uniform cross section:
RL = R / d = ρ / A
where RL = resistance per unit length
• RL of a wire bond is about 1 Ohm/inch.
• Ex.: What is the resistance of a wire bond of 50-mil
long?
• Ex.: “R” in the RLGC model means the resistance
per unit length of a transmission line.

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Sheet Resistance
• For printed-circuit boards, cofired ceramic substrates, thin-film substrates,
and IC substrate, the uniform sheets of conductors are patterned into
traces.

R =ρ× d / (t • w) = (ρ/ t) × (d / w)
– (ρ/ t): constant for every trace on the same layer;
defined as the sheet resistance, Rsq
– (d / w) : number of squares that can be
drawn down the trace;
dimensionless number, n Same R!
– R = Rsq • n;
8 n = 1, Rsq = R, unit in Ohms! MWEng113 – Y.-S. Lin
 Cont’d
• In typical printed circuit boards, the thickness of copper is described by
the weight of copper per square foot.
• Ex.: The thickness of 1-ounce copper is about 35 μm
(Note: Density of copper ~ 8230 kg/m3 )
=> Rsq = 1.6 × 10-6 Ohm-cm / 35 × 10-4 cm
= 0.5 mOhm per sq.
• Rule of thumb: The sheet resistance of ½-ounch copper is 1 mOhm/sq.
• RL = R / d = Rsq / w

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DC v.s. High Frequency Resistance

• The discussions so far are limited to resistances at DC.
• At higher frequencies, the resistance will increase with frequency due to
skin-depth-related effects, which will be addressed in Unit 4.
– Left: Current distribution on the cross-section of
a single round wire at high frequency
– Right: Changes in current distribution with frequency
on the cross-section of two round wires carrying
currents in the opposite direction Two wires
Single wire
10KHz

1MHz

100MHz
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 II. The Physical Basis of Capacitance
• A capacitor is physically made up of two conductors, and between every
two conductors there is some capacitance.
• The capacitance between every two conductors is basically a measure of
their capacity to store charge at the cost of voltage between them
C=Q/V
where C = the capacitance, in Farads
Q = total amount of charge, in Coulombs
V = voltage between the conductors, in Volts

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MWEng113 – Y.-S. Lin

Current Flow in Capacitors

• The current through a capacitor is given by
I = ΔQ / Δt = C × dV / dt
where I = the current through the capacitor
ΔQ = the change in charge on the capacitor
Δt = the time it takes the charge to change
– Capacitance is also a measure of how much current we can get
through a pair of conductors when the voltage between them changes
• Current flow through the empty space of the capacitor is also called the
“displacement current”.
– It is named by James Clerk Maxwell, who imagined the charges in the ‘ether’
between two conductors were pulled apart slightly, or displaced.

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 Capacitance
• The actual capacitance between two conductors is determined by
their geometry and the material properties of any dielectrics nearby.
– It is voltage independent!
– It is related to how many electric field lines
would connect the two conductors.
– The closer the spacing, the greater area of
overlap, the larger the capacity to store charge.
• Even though there may be no direct wire connection
between two conductors, there will always be some
capacitance between them.
– It may allow current flow in some cases, which
can contribute to cross talk.
I
– Ex:
13 TX RX
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Calculation of Capacitance
• In general, a field solver can be used to accurately calculate the
capacitance between every pair of conductors.
• Electric field lines of a parallel plate capacitor:

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 Parallel Plate Approximation
• Parallel plate approximation of capacitance:
A h
assume that there are no fringing fields
C = ε0 •εr • A / h r
where C = capacitance, in pF
ε0 = permittivity of free space = 8.854 pF/m
or 0.225 pF/inch
εr = dielectric constant
A = area of the plates
h = separation between the plates
– The larger “A/h”, the better the approximation
– For square plates of size w • w, with h = w, the actual capacitance
can be as large as twice the parallel plate approximation predicts!

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Dielectric Constant
• The presence of an insulating material between the conductors will
increase the capacitance between them.
• Dielectric constant: an intrinsic bulk property of an insulator
εr = C / C0
where εr = relative permittivity or dielectric
constant of the material
C = capacitance when conductors are
completely surrounded by the material
C0 = capacitance when air completely
surrounds the conductors
• εr is frequency dependent.
Ex.: εr of FR4 (a common material for PCBs)
varies from 4.8 to 4.4 from 1 to 10GHz.

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 Capacitance Per Length for Interconnections
• For interconnects having a signal path and a return path with a fixed
cross section, the capacitance between signal trace and return path is:
C = CL • line length, where CL = capacitance per length
2b
• CL is an important factor in characterizing the transmission line
behavior of an interconnection 2a

• As a rough rule of thumb, the capacitance per length of a

Coaxial
50-Ohm transmission line in FR4 is about 3.5pF/inch.
• For coaxial cable, a very good approximation of CL is:
CL = 2π ε0 εr / ln(b/a)
• Ex.: For a RG58 coax cable (BNC), b=1.62 mm, a=0.54 mm,
with polyethylene insulation (εr = 2.3)
CL= 2π • 0.225 • 2.3 / ln(3)
= 116.5 pF/m or 2.96 pF/inch

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Approximations of CL for Other

Interconnections
• I. Capacitance between two parallel rods:

if s >> r :

Ex.: What is the CL between two wire bonds

in air with r = 0.5 mil, s = 5 mil?

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 Cont’d
• II. A rod over a plane:
if h >> r, CL = π ε0 εr / ln(2h/r)

• III. Microstrip line:

air (ε0) w
t …not suitable when the effect of
εr trace thickness t is important.
h

19 wg >> w MWEng113 – Y.-S. Lin

Numerical Simulation of Capacitance by

2D Field Solvers
• 2D field solvers are applied when accuracy and 2nd-order effects
(ex.: trace thickness, inhomogeneous dielectrics) are important.
• The solution process:
Gauss law:
 ( x, y )
D  
Source free:   D  0 φ=1V

Homogenous D   E     E  0
medium:
 E  
φ=0V
    ( )  0
     2  0 …Laplace’s Equation
ED Solve for  ( x, y ) under given B.C.
1 1 E ( x, y )
WE 
2 v
D  Edv  CV 2
2
2W
 C  2E
20 V
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 Verification of 2D Field Solver
• The accuracy of a 2D field solver can be verified by calculating a
geometry with an exact solution.

• Ex.: CL between two rods.

Exact solution v.s. Numerical simulation

Solid line: exact solution; circles: 2D field solver.

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Analytic Approximation v.s. 2D Field Solver

ε0
w t
• Ex.: Microstrip with 5-mil thick dielectric εr h

Solid line: analytic approx.; circles: 2D field solver.

Error of analytic approximation can vary from quite small to

very large!
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 III. The Physical Basis of Inductance
• Inductance:
1  1 
L   B ds    H ds
I area I area

ds

area

…but where are the coils in a signal path

or circuit board?
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3 Fundamental Principles of Inductance

• Inductance Principle #1:

There are circular magnetic-field line loops around all currents
…Ampère's circuital law
– Magnetic-field line loops are always complete circles and always
enclose some current. There must be some current encircled by the
field line loops.

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 Magnetic-Field Line Loop
• The number of magnetic-field line loops around a current
is counted in unit of Weber.
– Weber is the International System unit of magnetic flux, which
is a measure of the quantity of magnetism, being the total number of
magnetic field line loops passing through a specified area in a magnetic field.
• What influences the number of magnetic-field line loops (or the magnetic
flux)?
– The amount of current in the conductor
– The length of wire
– The cross section of the wire (2nd-order effect)
– The presence of other currents nearby
• Note:
– Magnetic fields do not interact with dielectric materials at all.
– The metal of which the wire is composed will affect the total number of
magnetic field lines around the current ONLY IF the metal contains
25 ferromagnetic metals such as iron, nickel, and cobalt. MWEng113 – Y.-S. Lin

Inductance Principle #2
• Inductance Principle #2:
Inductance is the number of Webers of field line loops around a
conductor per Amp of current through it
– Inductance is about the number of loops of magnetic-field lines
enclosing a current, not about the absolute value of the magnetic
field at any one point.
– The units we use to measure inductance are Webers of field lines
loops per Amp of current; Weber/Amp is named as Henry.
L=N/I
where L = the inductance in Henrys
N = the number of magnetic-field line loops around the
conductor, in Webers
I = the current through the conductor, in Amps.
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 Inductance Principle #2 (cont’d)
• Inductance is a measure of the efficiency of the conductor to create rings
of magnetic field lines, at the price of the current through the conductor.
• The inductance is completely independent of how much current is going
through the conductor.
– The inductance is really related to the geometry of the conductors.
The only thing that influences inductance is the distribution of the
conductors and in the case of ferromagnetic metals, their permeability.

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Self- and Mutual-Inductance

• Self-field line loops: magnetic-field line loops around a wire that arise
from its own current only.
• Mutual-field line loops: magnetic-field line loops completely
surrounding a wire that arise from another wire’s current.
• The mutual-field line loops “link” the two conductors.

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 Cont’d
• Effect of the direction of current in the two wires
– Same direction: total field line loops ￪

– Opposite direction: total field line loops ￬

• Self inductance: the number of field line loops around a wire per Amp of
current in its own wire.
– Independent of the presence of another conductor’s current
• Mutual inductance: the number of field line loops around a wire per Amp of
current in another wire.
– Symmetric; shared by the two conductors
– Can never be greater than the self-inductance of either conductors
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• Mutual inductance v.s. distance between the two wires
MWEng113 – Y.-S. Lin

Inductance Principle #3
• Inductance Principle #3:
When the number of field line loops around a conductor changes, there
will be a voltage induced across the ends of the conductor
• The voltage is directly related to how fast the total number of field line
loops changes

V = ΔN / Δt

where
V = the voltage induced across the
ends of a conductor
ΔN = the number of field line loops
that changes
Δt = the time in which they change

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 Definition of Inductor
• If the current in a wire changes, the number of self-field line loops around
it will change, and there will be a voltage generated (emf) across the ends
of the wire…Faraday’s law.
N = L  I, where L is the self inductance
V = ΔN / Δt = L  dI / dt … the definition of inductor
– A circuit will have an inductance value of one Henry when an emf of
one volt is induced in the circuit were the current flowing through the
circuit changes at a rate of one ampere/second.
– The induced voltage is the fundamental reason why inductance plays
such an important role in signal integrity.

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Mutual Inductance and Cross Talk

• The mutual inductance between two wires, M, will give rise to induced
voltage noise, or “cross talk”

Vnoise = M  dI / dt
where Vnoise = the voltage noise induced in the first, quiet wire
I = the current in the second wire
• Vnoise is sometimes called switching noise or
delta I noise.

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 Ex.: Ground Bounce in a IC Package
• Simulated waveforms with
- excitation at pin 1:
- transmission to pin 53,
- reflection back to pin 1
- ground bounces on the neighbored “ground” pins
2, 3, 52, 54, and 104
IC package
• How to reduce ground bounce? Vnoise = M  dI / dt

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Partial Inductance
• Partial inductance: the inductance of a section of wire and assuming
the rest of loop does not exist.
– Real currents only flow in complete circuit loop
– The concept of partial inductance is a powerful tool to understand
and calculate the other flavors of inductance, especially if we don’t
know what the rest of the loops looks like yet.
Ex.: Axial lead resistor
I v.s. SMT resistor

A section of wire carrying current I

• Partial self-inductance
• Partial mutual-inductance

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 Cont’d
• Partial inductance is a very well-defined quantity
– It just can’t be measured, but can be obtained mathematically.
– All the other forms of inductance can be described in terms of partial
inductance: Package and connector models, results of 3D static field
solvers, SPICE models are really based on partial-inductance terms.
• For a straight, round conductor, the partial self-inductance can be
approximated by
 2d 3
L  5d ln( )  
 r 4
where L = partial self-inductance of the wire, in nH
r = radius of the wire in inches
d = length of the wire in inches
• Rule of thumb: the partial self-inductance of a wire is about 25 nH/inch or
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1 nH/mm.
MWEng113 – Y.-S. Lin

Partial Self-Inductance
 2d 3
• L  5d ln( )   implies L increases with d faster than just linearly!
 r 4

• L decreases with r: Note:

– The more spread out of the current distribution, the
36 lower the partial self-inductance, and vice versa. MWEng113 – Y.-S. Lin
 Partial Mutual-Inductance
• The partial mutual-inductance between two thin wires can be
approximated by:
 2d s s 
M  5d ln( )  1   ( ) 2 ; 2nd-order model d
 s d 2d 
s
 2d 
M  5d ln( )  1, ( s  d ) 1st-order model
 s 
where
M = partial mutual
inductance, in nH
d = length of the two
rods, in inches
s = center-to-center
separation, in inches

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Equivalent Inductance
• Circuit topologies for combining partial inductances in series and in
parallel into an equivalent inductance.

Lseries = L1 + L2 + 2L12

Lparallel = (L1L2 - L122) / (L1+L2 - 2L12)

Ex.: For L1 = L2
Lseries = 2  (L1 + L12)
Lparallel = 0.5  (L1 + L12)

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 R, C, L and Transmission Line Analysis
• As will be detailed in the next chapter, the analysis of R, C, and L
for a interconnection (trace on board, I/O pin of IC, cables…etc.)
is crucial to the understanding of its transmission line behavior at
high frequencies.

i ( z, t ) i ( z, t ) RL  z LL  z i ( z  z , t )

v ( z, t )  v ( z, t ) GL  z
C L  z
v ( z  z, t )

z z

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