Abstract
Although a through-silicon via (TSV) is widely used in three-dimensional integrated circuit systems, one of its major design challenges is noise coupling between TSVs and active devices. This paper investigates noise coupling between TSVs and active devices for 20/14-nm technology nodes. The effect of variations of structural parameters on noise coupling was examined using a three-dimensional full-wave electromagnetic field solver and its result was explained. Additionally, transient analysis on coupling noise was conducted with Synopsys TCAD. Furthermore, a combined strategy employing doped signal TSVs and ‘bare’ ground TSVs was proposed and compared with conventional signal/ground schemes. Demonstrated to improve noise isolation effectively, the proposed strategy is inherently advantageous to circuits of advanced technology nodes compared with other noise isolation schemes, for it demands no modification of the original circuit design, placement and routing.
Highlights
As Moore’s law continues to hold true, device scaling is pushing beyond the 14-nm technology node
This paper investigates noise coupling between through-silicon via (TSV) and active devices for 20/14-nm technology nodes
A 3D full-wave electromagnetic field solver was applied to obtain the noise coupling coefficient according to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) prediction for the 20/14-nm technology node and estimate noise coupling between TSVs and devices in advanced technology scenarios
Summary
As Moore’s law continues to hold true, device scaling is pushing beyond the 14-nm technology node. The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) predicts that, for the 3D Stacked Integrated Circuit (3D-SIC) scheme, the diameter and pitch of TSVs will be 1–2 and 2–4 μm for 20- and 14-nm technology nodes respectively.[1] The increasing complexity of interconnection between different intellectual-property blocks and stacking layers makes it necessary for TSVs to serve as global interconnects and as intermediate interconnects. This shifting role of TSVs signifies a change in the manufacturing process.
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