Designing TSVs for 3D Integrated Circuits, 2013 SpringerBriefs in Electrical and Computer Engineering Series

This book explores the challenges and presents best strategies for designing Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs) for 3D integrated circuits.  It describes a novel technique to mitigate TSV-induced noise, the GND Plug, which is superior to others adapted from 2-D planar technologies, such as a backside ground plane and traditional substrate contacts. The book also investigates, in the form of a comparative study, the impact of TSV size and granularity, spacing of C4 connectors, off-chip power delivery network, shared and dedicated TSVs, and coaxial TSVs on the quality of power delivery in 3-D ICs. The authors provide detailed best design practices for designing 3-D power delivery networks.  Since TSVs occupy silicon real-estate and impact device density, this book provides four iterative algorithms to minimize the number of TSVs in a power delivery network. Unlike other existing methods, these algorithms can be applied in early design stages when only functional block- level behaviors and a ?oorplan are available. Finally, the authors explore the use of Carbon Nanotubes for power grid design as a futuristic alternative to Copper.

Introduction.- Background.- Analysis and Mitigation of TSV-Induced Substrate Noise.- TSVs for Power Delivery.- Early Estimation of TSV Area for Power Delivery in 3-D ICs.- Carbon Nanotubes for Advancing TSV Technology.- Conclusions and Future Directions.

Introduces readers to challenges and best practices in designing TSVs for 3D integrated circuits Discusses how TSVs induce noise affecting neighboring devices, provides a methodology to evaluate noise and evaluates several techniques to eliminate and reduce TSV noise Investigates the impact of TSV size and granularity on power delivery for 3D ICs within a novel framework that considers architectural setups and benchmarks Explores the use of Carbon Nanotubes for power grid design