Reliable routing schemes in 3D network on chip

Abstract

3D network on chip (3D-NoC) is the replacement of traditional infrastructures and the new design paradigm for communication in future very large-scale system on chip (SoC), due to the fact that it provides flexibility, extensibility and low power consumption. One of the most important issues of a 3D-NoC design is the implementation of an efficient and reliable routing algorithm, which has a direct impact on the overall network performance. A routing algorithm aims predominantly at fulfilling three distinct objectives: deadlock freedom, congestion awareness and fault tolerance, which is a highly desired but somewhat a challenging task. In this paper, a non-exhaustive list of the most relevant routing algorithms in 3D-NoC are surveyed and classified based on their objectives, the advantages and drawbacks of each algorithm are also presented, as well as the possible enhancements to improve their reliability.