Applying Random Walk Algorithm to Chip Thermal Analysis

A novel method for IC chip thermal analysis based on random walk algorithm is proposed to cope with the hotspot problem.Firstly, the random walk problem is introduced and the solution is schemed out theoretically.And then, the equivalent RC circuit for thermal analysis is discussed as the IC package is divided into many small blocks at the desired level of granularity.The techniques of analyzing the equivalent RC network by random walk algorithm are then discussed.At the same time, an equivalent model for thermal analysis is set up according to an IC chip.The proposed method is then applied to this model for both steady and transient analysis.Two speedup strategies, pseudo parallel walking and walk results reuse, are proposed sequentially to improve the algorithm performance.Experimental results indicated that the proposed method can afford large thermal equivalent RC network analysis with acceptable error, and the speedup strategies do effective work.