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Interconnect RC Delay Calculator

Work out interconnect rc delay instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Interconnect RC Delay Calculator

Distributed RC delay is 0.38 x R x C for a wire, and both R and C are proportional to length, so delay grows with the square of length. Splitting a wire into k segments with repeaters cuts delay by roughly k, which is why long global wires are always buffered.

Formula

RC wire delay

delay = 0.38 x R x C; with k equal segments the total falls to roughly 1/k of the unbuffered delay

Worked example

With the default values below, Interconnect RC Delay Calculator returns RC delay of 4,750.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Wire length
500 µm
Resistance per micron
0.25 Ω/µm
Capacitance per micron
0.2 fF/µm
Repeater stages
1 stages

Results

RC delay
4,750.00 ps
Total resistance
125.00 Ω
Total capacitance
100.00 fF
Delay with a single segment
4,750.00 ps

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2RC wire delay
  3. 3RC delay= 4,750.00 ps
  4. 4Total resistance= 125.00 Ω
  5. 5Total capacitance= 100.00 fF
  6. 6Delay with a single segment= 4,750.00 ps

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does wire delay grow quadratically?

Because resistance and capacitance each scale linearly with length, so their product — and therefore the delay — scales with length squared.

How many repeaters are optimal?

Enough that the repeater delay equals the segment RC delay. Beyond that, repeater delay and power dominate and total delay rises again.

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