An overview of wafer-level three-dimensional (3D) integration technology is provided. The basic reasoning for pursuing 3D integration is presented, followed by a description of the possible process variations and integration schemes, as well as the process technology elements needed to implement 3D integrated circuits. Detailed descriptions of two wafer-level integration schemes implemented at IBM are given, and the challenges of bringing 3D integration into a production environment are discussed.
IntroductionThe last few decades have seen an astonishing increase in the functionality of computational systems. This capability has been driven by the scaling of semiconductor devices, which has enabled the number of transistors on a single chip to grow at a geometric rate, following Moore's Law [1]. In particular, the scaling of silicon metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) [2] drives the effort to continue this trend into the future.However, several serious roadblocks exist. The first is the difficulty and expense of continued lithographic scaling, which could make it economically impractical to scale devices beyond a certain pitch. The second is that even if lithographic scaling can continue, the power dissipated by the transistors will bring clock frequency scaling to a halt. In fact, it could be argued that clock frequency scaling has already stopped, and microprocessor designs have increasingly relied on new architectures to improve performance. These factors suggest that in the near future, it will no longer be possible to improve system performance through scaling alone, and that additional methods to achieve the desired enhancement will be needed. Three-dimensional (3D) integration technology offers the promise of being a new way of increasing system performance, even in the absence of scaling. This promise is due to a number of characteristic features of 3D integration, including decreased total wiring length (and thus reduced interconnect delay times), a dramatically increased number of interconnects between chips, and the ability to allow dissimilar materials, process technologies, and functions to be integrated.
Motivation for 3D integration
Electrical Integrity of State-of-the-Art 0.13 prn SO1 CMOS Devices a n d Circuits T r a n s f e r r e d f o r Three-Dimensional (3D) I n t e g r a t e d C i r c u i t (IC) Fabrication
AbstractWe introduce a new scheme for building threedimensional (3D) integrated circuits (ICs) based on the layer transfer of completed devices. We demonstrate for the fmt time that the processes required for stacking active device layers preserve the intrinsic electrical characteristics of stateof-the-art short-channel MOSFETs and ring oscillator circuits, which is critical to the success of high performance 3D ICs.
Abst t racThe effect of Cu microstructure on electromigration (EM) has been investigated. A variation in the Cu grain size distributions between wafers was achieved by adjusting the wafer annealing process step after Cu electroplating and before Cu chemical mechanical polishing. Void growth morphology was observed by in-situ and ex-situ scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques. The Cu lifetime and mass flow in samples with bamboo, near bamboo, bamboo-polycrystalline mixture, and polycrystalline grain structures were measured. The introduction of polycrystalline Cu line grain structure in fine lines for the 65 nm node technology and beyond markedly reduced the Cu EM reliability. The smaller Cu grain size distribution resulted in a shorter EM lifetime and a faster mass flow. The EM activation energies for Cu along Cu/amorphous a-SiC x N y H z interface and grain boundary were found to be .95 and 0.79 eV, respectively. 0
A 300-mm wafer-level three-dimensional integration (3DI) process using tungsten (W) through-silicon vias (TSVs) and hybrid Cu/adhesive wafer bonding is demonstrated. The W TSVs have fine pitch (5 μm), small critical dimension (1.5 μm), and high aspect ratio (17:1). A hybrid Cu/adhesive bonding approach, also called transfer-join (TJ) method, is used to interconnect the TSVs to a Cu BEOL in a bottom wafer. The process also features thinning of the top wafer to 20 μm and a Cu backside BEOL on the thinned top wafer. The electrical and physical properties of the TSVs and bonded interconnect are presented and show RLC values that satisfy both the power delivery and high-speed signaling requirements for high-performance 3D systems.
Introduction3DI is a promising technology to further improve the performance of computational systems [1][2][3]. 3DI enables increased functions per physical die area, and can dramatically increase the available cache memory in multicore architectures. Previously, W TSVs for silicon carrier applications have been demonstrated with both high yield and reliability [4]. In addition, a hybrid metal/adhesive TJ process has been shown to be a highly reliable inter-chip connection process in multi-chip modules [5]. However, neither of these technologies has been demonstrated in a full integrated process on a 300-mm platform. In this paper, we utilize the combination of W TSVs and transfer-join assembly on 300-mm wafers, and demonstrate the functionality and robustness of this process.
Nanopatterning as a surface area enhancement method has the potential to increase signal and sensitivity of biosensors. Platinum-based bulk metallic glass (Pt-BMG) is a biocompatible material with electrical properties conducive for biosensor electrode applications, which can be processed in air at comparably low temperatures to produce nonrandom topography at the nanoscale. Work presented here employs nanopatterned Pt-BMG electrodes functionalized with glucose oxidase enzyme to explore the impact of nonrandom and highly reproducible nanoscale surface area enhancement on glucose biosensor performance. Electrochemical measurements including cyclic voltammetry (CV) and amperometric voltammetry (AV) were completed to compare the performance of 200 nm Pt-BMG electrodes vs Flat Pt-BMG control electrodes. Glucose dosing response was studied in a range of 2 mM to 10 mM. Effective current density dynamic range for the 200 nm Pt-BMG was 10-12 times greater than that of the Flat BMG control. Nanopatterned electrode sensitivity was measured to be 3.28 μA/cm/mM, which was also an order of magnitude greater than the flat electrode. These results suggest that nonrandom nanotopography is a scalable and customizable engineering tool which can be integrated with Pt-BMGs to produce biocompatible biosensors with enhanced signal and sensitivity.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.