TRICAP - a three dimensional capacitance solver for arbitrarily shaped conductors on printed circuit boards and VLSI interconnections

A simulator is presented for computing the interconnect capacitances of ICs and PCBs using Green's functions. The capacitance simulator forms part of a simulation program [1] for a complete signal analysis of PCBs and ICs. The tool is suitable for computing discrete and coupling capacitances of arbitrary geometries. The model approximates the charge density of the conductors by dividing the surface into triangular elements. In each triangle, the surface charge is approximated with shape functions. Owing to the use of triangular elements together with the Boundary Elements method, it is not only possible to split more complex structures, but the algorithm also provides more accurate values than a split into rectangular elements.