Patent ID: 8543967

Claim:
A computer system for analyzing an integrated circuit (IC) design to determine whether a temperature rise caused by Joule heating in alternating current (AC) conductor lines is acceptable, the system comprising: a user interface; a memory subsystem that stores a representation of at least a portion of the IC design and computer code for performing a verification analysis; and a processor subsystem, the processor subsystem programmed to: select a characteristic finite area in said representation, the selected characteristic finite area corresponding to an area having a particular shape and size and having a particular direct current (DC) conductor line configuration that is repeated throughout said representation; compute a characteristic function for the selected characteristic finite area, the characteristic function characterizing a temperature rise of the selected characteristic finite area as a function of Joule heating power produced by an alternating current (AC) conductor line configuration of the selected characteristic finite area; for each actual finite area in said representation that has a size and shape and a DC conductor line configuration that matches the size and shape and DC conductor line configuration of the selected characteristic finite area: calculate a total Joule heating power of the AC conductor line configuration of the actual finite area, apply the respective total Joule heating power of each respective actual finite area to said characteristic function to calculate a respective temperature rise value for each respective actual finite area, and compare each respective temperature rise value with a predetermined threshold (TH) value to determine whether the respective temperature rise value exceeds the TH value.