High Performance Power Distribution Systems

Supplying power to high performance integrated circuits has become a challenging task. The system supplying power to an integrated circuit greatly affects the performance, size, and cost characteristics of the overall electronic system. This system is comprised of interconnect networks with decoupling capacitors on a printed circuit board, an integrated circuit package, and a circuit die. The entire system is henceforth referred to as the power distribution system. The design of power distribution systems is described in this chapter. The focus of the discussion is the overall structure and interaction among the various parts of the system. The impedance characteristics and design of on-chip power distribution networks, the most complex part of the power distribution system, are discussed in greater detail in the following chapters.