Integrated circuit (IC) dies may be tested as a part of the manufacturing process. Such tests may include mechanical tests and circuitry performance tests.
Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, like reference numerals designate like structural elements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.
Disclosed herein are structures and techniques for exposing circuitry in die testing. For example, in some embodiments, an integrated circuit (IC) die may include: first conductive contacts at a first face of the die; second conductive contacts at a second face of the die, wherein the second face is opposite to the first face; circuitry; and a switch coupled between the second conductive contacts and the circuitry, wherein the circuitry is not electrically exposed by the second conductive contacts when the switch is open, and the circuitry is electrically exposed by the second conductive contacts when the switch is closed.
Some IC structures, such as IC packages, may include multiple dies stacked on top of one another. In such structures, power may be delivered to an upper die through a lower die in a stack. When determining how to stack dies, it may be desirable to position a die that consumes more power (and therefore generate more heat) “higher up” in a stack relative to a die that consumes less power so that the heat of the power intensive die may be more readily dissipated (e.g., by a thermal management device). Further, conducting the power needed by the upper die through the lower die may involve the use of many of the die-to-die interconnects between the lower die and the upper die, as well as the thicker “top metal” of the lower die, in order to achieve a suitably low resistance power delivery network for the upper die. Others of the die-to-die interconnects between the lower die in the upper die may be used for signaling between the dies.
When some or all of the die-to-die interconnects between a lower die and an upper die are used for power delivery to the upper die or die-to-die signaling, there may be few or no conductive contacts available at the top surface of the lower die that may be used to test certain circuitry of the lower die. For example, the lower die may include its own power delivery network, but this power delivery network may not be exposed by the conductive contacts available at the top surface of the lower die. If it is desired to test the power delivery network of the lower die (e.g., during SORT or other testing as part of a high-volume manufacturing process), the power delivery network of the lower die may be inaccessible from the top surface of the lower die. Testing the power delivery network of the lower die from its bottom surface may not be feasible or possible (e.g., because not all power planes of the bottom die are exposed at its bottom surface, because the interconnects at the bottom surface of the lower die may be damaged during such testing, and/or because the signaling circuitry is not exposed at the bottom surface and it is desirable to perform all testing of the lower die at only one face).
The structures and techniques disclosed herein may allow circuitry that is otherwise “hidden” from conductive contacts at a face of a die to be exposed to those conductive contacts (and therefore testable) by selectively shorting such circuitry to those conductive contacts by a dedicated switch. Such a switch may be closed during testing, and opened during normal operation. Such structures and techniques may decouple testing needs from operational needs, allowing a die to be designed for its desired operation while still maintaining testability. For example, the structures and techniques disclosed herein may improve the performance of IC structures that include die stacks by allowing higher power delivery to upper dies in the stacks (and therefore higher performance) than achievable by die stacks limited by conventional testing requirements. Although the examples discussed above relate to the testing of power delivery networks in a lower die, these structures and techniques may be used to test any suitable “hidden” circuitry in a die, in accordance with any of the embodiments disclosed herein.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, embodiments that may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and structural or logical changes may be made, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense.
Various operations may be described as multiple discrete actions or operations in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the claimed subject matter. However, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations may not be performed in the order of presentation. Operations described may be performed in a different order from the described embodiment. Various additional operations may be performed, and/or described operations may be omitted in additional embodiments.
For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “A and/or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “A, B, and/or C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C). The drawings are not necessarily to scale. Although many of the drawings illustrate rectilinear structures with flat walls and right-angle corners, this is simply for ease of illustration, and actual devices made using these techniques will exhibit rounded corners, surface roughness, and other features.
The description uses the phrases “in an embodiment” or “in embodiments,” which may each refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. Furthermore, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like, as used with respect to embodiments of the present disclosure, are synonymous. As used herein, a “package” and an “IC package” are synonymous. As used herein, a “die” and an “IC die” are synonymous. When used to describe a range of dimensions, the phrase “between X and Y” represents a range that includes X and Y. For convenience, the phrase “
The die 100 may include multiple sets of circuitry. For example,
In some embodiments, different sets of circuitry in the die 100 may be power delivery circuitry or signal circuitry. Power delivery circuitry may provide a positive supply voltage, ground, and/or a negative supply voltage. Signal circuitry may perform signal processing, communications, computing, or other operations. In some embodiments, some power delivery circuitry included in the die 100 may be used to provide a power delivery network for signal circuitry in the die 100, while other power delivery circuitry included in the die 100 may be part of a power delivery network for another die (not shown) that may be coupled to the die 100. For example, as discussed below with reference to
Although
The die 100 may include a circuitry exposure switch 150. The circuitry exposure switch 150 may be coupled between hidden circuitry and other circuitry (hidden or exposed) so that, when the circuitry exposure switch 150 is closed, the hidden circuitry is exposed. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in
Although a single circuitry exposure switch 150 is depicted in
A die 100 may include one or more switch control contacts 410. In some embodiments, each switch control contact 410 may be associated with a different set of circuitry exposure switches 150; providing an appropriate electrical signal to a switch control contact 410 may control the behavior of the associated set of circuitry exposure switches 150. A single circuitry exposure switch 150 may be included in multiple different sets of circuitry exposure switches 150 (associated with multiple different switch control contacts 410. More generally, a die 100 may include multiple switch control contacts 410 that may have different logical functionalities (individually and/or in combination with each other) to control the behavior of different sets of circuitry exposure switches 150 in the die 100. For example, a first set of circuitry exposure switches 150 may be associated with a low voltage applied to each of two different switch control contacts 410, a second set of circuitry exposure switches 150 may be associated with a high voltage applied to each of the two different switch control contacts 410, a third set of circuitry exposure switches 150 may be associated with a low voltage applied to one of the switch control contacts 410 and a high voltage applied to the other of the switch control contacts 410, etc.
Any suitable circuit architecture may provide the circuitry exposure switch 150. For example, in some embodiments, the circuitry exposure switch 150 may include a slow start (“soft start”) power gate whose power-up time constant may be selected to mitigate any high current spikes that may damage the die 100 or the testing device. In some embodiments, the circuitry exposure switch 150 may include buffers to support the distribution of control signals from the switch control contact 410 to some or all of the circuitry exposure switches 150.
The die 100 may have any suitable structure. For example,
As noted above, in some embodiments, the die 100 may be part of a larger assembly. For example,
A die 102 may be coupled to the second face 144 of the die 100. In particular, conductive contacts 400 at the second face 144 of the die 100 may be electrically coupled to conductive contacts 402 at a first face 145 of the die 102 by die-to-die interconnects 122 (e.g., micro-C4 bumps). The switch control contact 410 at the second face 144 of the die 100 may be electrically coupled to a conductive contact 402 at the first face 145 of the die 102; the die 102 may provide a suitable electrical signal (e.g., ground) to the switch control contact 410 to cause the circuitry exposure switch 150 to remain open. The die 100 and the die 102 may together provide a die stack 154. In some embodiments, an underfill material 126 may be disposed around the first-level interconnects 120 and/or the die-to-die interconnects 122. Example materials that may be used for the underfill material 126 may include epoxy materials.
A thermal management device 134 may be disposed around the die stack 154. The thermal management device 134 may include a heat spreader or heat sink, and may make thermal contact with the die 102 via a thermal interface material 130 at a second face 147 of the die 102. In some embodiments, a sealant 132 may couple the foot of the thermal management device 134 to the second face 112 of the package substrate 106. In some embodiments, an overmold material (not shown) may be disposed around the die stack 154 instead of or in addition to a thermal management device 134. Other thermal management structures may be included in the IC package 500; for example, heat pipes may be included in the die 100 and/or the die 102.
In
The die stack 154 may have any suitable structure. For example,
Although the die stacks 154 depicted in
Although the IC package 500 illustrated in
At 602, an electrical signal may be provided to a switch control contact on a face of a die to expose circuitry in the die at that face. For example, an electrical signal may be provided to a switch control contact 410 on the second face 144 of a die 100 (e.g., by a testing device) to cause a circuitry exposure switch 150 to close, shorting conductive contacts at the second face of the die 100 to the hidden circuitry 200 and thereby exposing the hidden circuitry 200 in the die 100 at the second face 144.
At 604, the newly exposed circuitry in the die may be tested at the face. For example, the hidden circuitry 200 (exposed by the closing of the circuitry exposure switch 150) may be tested by a probe card or other testing device making electrical contact with conductive contacts at the second face 144 of the die 100.
The circuitry exposure switches 150 and related arrangements disclosed herein may be included in any suitable electronic structure.
The IC device 1600 may include one or more device layers 1604 disposed on the substrate 1602. The device layer 1604 may include features of one or more transistors 1640 (e.g., metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs)) formed on the substrate 1602. The device layer 1604 may include, for example, one or more source and/or drain (S/D) regions 1620, a gate 1622 to control current flow in the transistors 1640 between the S/D regions 1620, and one or more S/D contacts 1624 to route electrical signals to/from the S/D regions 1620. The transistors 1640 may include additional features not depicted for the sake of clarity, such as device isolation regions, gate contacts, and the like. The transistors 1640 are not limited to the type and configuration depicted in
Each transistor 1640 may include a gate 1622 formed of at least two layers, a gate dielectric and a gate electrode. The gate dielectric may include one layer or a stack of layers. The one or more layers may include silicon oxide, silicon dioxide, silicon carbide, and/or a high-k dielectric material. The high-k dielectric material may include elements such as hafnium, silicon, oxygen, titanium, tantalum, lanthanum, aluminum, zirconium, barium, strontium, yttrium, lead, scandium, niobium, and zinc. Examples of high-k materials that may be used in the gate dielectric include, but are not limited to, hafnium oxide, hafnium silicon oxide, lanthanum oxide, lanthanum aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, zirconium silicon oxide, tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, barium strontium titanium oxide, barium titanium oxide, strontium titanium oxide, yttrium oxide, aluminum oxide, lead scandium tantalum oxide, and lead zinc niobate. In some embodiments, an annealing process may be carried out on the gate dielectric to improve its quality when a high-k material is used.
The gate electrode may be formed on the gate dielectric and may include at least one p-type work function metal or n-type work function metal, depending on whether the transistor 1640 is to be a p-type metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS) or an n-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) transistor. In some implementations, the gate electrode may consist of a stack of two or more metal layers, where one or more metal layers are work function metal layers and at least one metal layer is a fill metal layer. Further metal layers may be included for other purposes, such as a barrier layer. For a PMOS transistor, metals that may be used for the gate electrode include, but are not limited to, ruthenium, palladium, platinum, cobalt, nickel, conductive metal oxides (e.g., ruthenium oxide), and any of the metals discussed below with reference to an NMOS transistor (e.g., for work function tuning). For an NMOS transistor, metals that may be used for the gate electrode include, but are not limited to, hafnium, zirconium, titanium, tantalum, aluminum, alloys of these metals, carbides of these metals (e.g., hafnium carbide, zirconium carbide, titanium carbide, tantalum carbide, and aluminum carbide), and any of the metals discussed above with reference to a PMOS transistor (e.g., for work function tuning).
In some embodiments, when viewed as a cross-section of the transistor 1640 along the source-channel-drain direction, the gate electrode may consist of a U-shaped structure that includes a bottom portion substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate and two sidewall portions that are substantially perpendicular to the top surface of the substrate. In other embodiments, at least one of the metal layers that form the gate electrode may simply be a planar layer that is substantially parallel to the top surface of the substrate and does not include sidewall portions substantially perpendicular to the top surface of the substrate. In other embodiments, the gate electrode may consist of a combination of U-shaped structures and planar, non-U-shaped structures. For example, the gate electrode may consist of one or more U-shaped metal layers formed atop one or more planar, non-U-shaped layers.
In some embodiments, a pair of sidewall spacers may be formed on opposing sides of the gate stack to bracket the gate stack. The sidewall spacers may be formed from materials such as silicon nitride, silicon oxide, silicon carbide, silicon nitride doped with carbon, and silicon oxynitride. Processes for forming sidewall spacers are well known in the art and generally include deposition and etching process steps. In some embodiments, a plurality of spacer pairs may be used; for instance, two pairs, three pairs, or four pairs of sidewall spacers may be formed on opposing sides of the gate stack.
The S/D regions 1620 may be formed within the substrate 1602 adjacent to the gate 1622 of each transistor 1640. The S/D regions 1620 may be formed using an implantation/diffusion process or an etching/deposition process, for example. In the former process, dopants such as boron, aluminum, antimony, phosphorous, or arsenic may be ion-implanted into the substrate 1602 to form the S/D regions 1620. An annealing process that activates the dopants and causes them to diffuse farther into the substrate 1602 may follow the ion-implantation process. In the latter process, the substrate 1602 may first be etched to form recesses at the locations of the S/D regions 1620. An epitaxial deposition process may then be carried out to fill the recesses with material that is used to fabricate the S/D regions 1620. In some implementations, the S/D regions 1620 may be fabricated using a silicon alloy such as silicon germanium or silicon carbide. In some embodiments, the epitaxially deposited silicon alloy may be doped in situ with dopants such as boron, arsenic, or phosphorous. In some embodiments, the S/D regions 1620 may be formed using one or more alternate semiconductor materials such as germanium or a group III-V material or alloy. In further embodiments, one or more layers of metal and/or metal alloys may be used to form the S/D regions 1620.
Electrical signals, such as power and/or input/output (I/O) signals, may be routed to and/or from the devices (e.g., transistors 1640) of the device layer 1604 through one or more interconnect layers disposed on the device layer 1604 (illustrated in
In some embodiments, one or more circuitry exposure switches 150 may be disposed in the device layer 1604, in accordance with any of the techniques disclosed herein. In particular, a circuitry exposure switch 150 may include one or more transistors 1640.
The interconnect structures 1628 may be arranged within the interconnect layers 1606-1610 to route electrical signals according to a wide variety of designs (in particular, the arrangement is not limited to the particular configuration of interconnect structures 1628 depicted in
In some embodiments, the interconnect structures 1628 may include lines 1628a and/or vias 1628b filled with an electrically conductive material such as a metal. The lines 1628a may be arranged to route electrical signals in a direction of a plane that is substantially parallel with a surface of the substrate 1602 upon which the device layer 1604 is formed. For example, the lines 1628a may route electrical signals in a direction in and out of the page from the perspective of
The interconnect layers 1606-1610 may include a dielectric material 1626 disposed between the interconnect structures 1628, as shown in
A first interconnect layer 1606 may be formed directly on the device layer 1604. In some embodiments, the first interconnect layer 1606 may include lines 1628a and/or vias 1628b, as shown. The lines 1628a of the first interconnect layer 1606 may be coupled with contacts (e.g., the S/D contacts 1624) of the device layer 1604. In some embodiments, the first interconnect layer 1606 may be part of the routing metal 140 (
A second interconnect layer 1608 may be formed above the first interconnect layer 1606. In some embodiments, the second interconnect layer 1608 may include vias 1628b to couple the lines 1628a of the second interconnect layer 1608 with the lines 1628a of the first interconnect layer 1606. Although the lines 1628a and the vias 1628b are structurally delineated with a line within each interconnect layer (e.g., within the second interconnect layer 1608) for the sake of clarity, the lines 1628a and the vias 1628b may be structurally and/or materially contiguous (e.g., simultaneously filled during a dual-damascene process) in some embodiments.
A third interconnect layer 1610 (and additional interconnect layers, as desired) may be formed in succession on the second interconnect layer 1608 according to similar techniques and configurations described in connection with the second interconnect layer 1608 or the first interconnect layer 1606. In some embodiments, the interconnect layers that are “higher up” in the metallization stack 1619 in the IC device 1600 (i.e., farther away from the device layer 1604) may be thicker. In some embodiments, the third interconnect layer 1610 may be part of the top metal 138 (
The IC device 1600 may include a solder resist material 1634 (e.g., polyimide or similar material) and one or more conductive contacts 400 formed on the interconnect layers 1606-1610 at the second face 144. In
In some embodiments, the circuit board 1702 may be a printed circuit board (PCB) including multiple metal layers separated from one another by layers of dielectric material and interconnected by electrically conductive vias. Any one or more of the metal layers may be formed in a desired circuit pattern to route electrical signals (optionally in conjunction with other metal layers) between the components coupled to the circuit board 1702. In other embodiments, the circuit board 1702 may be a non-PCB substrate.
The IC device assembly 1700 illustrated in
The package-on-interposer structure 1736 may include an IC package 1720 coupled to an interposer 1704 by coupling components 1718. The coupling components 1718 may take any suitable form for the application, such as the forms discussed above with reference to the coupling components 1716. Although a single IC package 1720 is shown in
In some embodiments, the interposer 1704 may be formed as a PCB, including multiple metal layers separated from one another by layers of dielectric material and interconnected by electrically conductive vias. In some embodiments, the interposer 1704 may be formed of an epoxy resin, a fiberglass-reinforced epoxy resin, an epoxy resin with inorganic fillers, a ceramic material, or a polymer material such as polyimide. In some embodiments, the interposer 1704 may be formed of alternate rigid or flexible materials that may include the same materials described above for use in a semiconductor substrate, such as silicon, germanium, and other group III-V and group IV materials. The interposer 1704 may include metal interconnects 1708 and vias 1710, including but not limited to through-silicon vias 1706. The interposer 1704 may further include embedded devices 1714, including both passive and active devices. Such devices may include, but are not limited to, capacitors, decoupling capacitors, resistors, inductors, fuses, diodes, transformers, sensors, electrostatic discharge (ESD) devices, and memory devices. More complex devices such as radio frequency devices, power amplifiers, power management devices, antennas, arrays, sensors, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices may also be formed on the interposer 1704. The package-on-interposer structure 1736 may take the form of any of the package-on-interposer structures known in the art. In some embodiments, an interposer 1704 may include one or more circuitry exposure switches 150 (and related circuitry), in accordance with any of the embodiments disclosed herein, to enable testing of the interposer 1704 during the manufacturing and design process.
The IC device assembly 1700 may include an IC package 1724 coupled to the first face 1740 of the circuit board 1702 by coupling components 1722. The coupling components 1722 may take the form of any of the embodiments discussed above with reference to the coupling components 1716, and the IC package 1724 may take the form of any of the embodiments discussed above with reference to the IC package 1720.
The IC device assembly 1700 illustrated in
Additionally, in various embodiments, the electrical device 1800 may not include one or more of the components illustrated in
The electrical device 1800 may include a processing device 1802 (e.g., one or more processing devices). As used herein, the term “processing device” or “processor” may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that may be stored in registers and/or memory. The processing device 1802 may include one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), cryptoprocessors (specialized processors that execute cryptographic algorithms within hardware), server processors, or any other suitable processing devices. The electrical device 1800 may include a memory 1804, which may itself include one or more memory devices such as volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM)), nonvolatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM)), flash memory, solid state memory, and/or a hard drive. In some embodiments, the memory 1804 may include memory that shares a die with the processing device 1802. This memory may be used as cache memory and may include embedded dynamic random access memory (eDRAM) or spin transfer torque magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM).
In some embodiments, the electrical device 1800 may include a communication chip 1812 (e.g., one or more communication chips). For example, the communication chip 1812 may be configured for managing wireless communications for the transfer of data to and from the electrical device 1800. The term “wireless” and its derivatives may be used to describe circuits, devices, systems, methods, techniques, communications channels, etc., that may communicate data through the use of modulated electromagnetic radiation through a nonsolid medium. The term does not imply that the associated devices do not contain any wires, although in some embodiments they might not.
The communication chip 1812 may implement any of a number of wireless standards or protocols, including but not limited to Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) standards including Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 family), IEEE 802.16 standards (e.g., IEEE 802.16-2005 Amendment), Long-Term Evolution (LTE) project along with any amendments, updates, and/or revisions (e.g., advanced LTE project, ultra mobile broadband (UMB) project (also referred to as “3GPP2”), etc.). IEEE 802.16 compatible Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) networks are generally referred to as WiMAX networks, an acronym that stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, which is a certification mark for products that pass conformity and interoperability tests for the IEEE 802.16 standards. The communication chip 1812 may operate in accordance with a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Evolved HSPA (E-HSPA), or LTE network. The communication chip 1812 may operate in accordance with Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), or Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN). The communication chip 1812 may operate in accordance with Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), and derivatives thereof, as well as any other wireless protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond. The communication chip 1812 may operate in accordance with other wireless protocols in other embodiments. The electrical device 1800 may include an antenna 1822 to facilitate wireless communications and/or to receive other wireless communications (such as AM or FM radio transmissions).
In some embodiments, the communication chip 1812 may manage wired communications, such as electrical, optical, or any other suitable communication protocols (e.g., the Ethernet). As noted above, the communication chip 1812 may include multiple communication chips. For instance, a first communication chip 1812 may be dedicated to shorter-range wireless communications such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and a second communication chip 1812 may be dedicated to longer-range wireless communications such as global positioning system (GPS), EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, EV-DO, or others. In some embodiments, a first communication chip 1812 may be dedicated to wireless communications, and a second communication chip 1812 may be dedicated to wired communications.
The electrical device 1800 may include battery/power circuitry 1814. The battery/power circuitry 1814 may include one or more energy storage devices (e.g., batteries or capacitors) and/or circuitry for coupling components of the electrical device 1800 to an energy source separate from the electrical device 1800 (e.g., AC line power).
The electrical device 1800 may include a display device 1806 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). The display device 1806 may include any visual indicators, such as a heads-up display, a computer monitor, a projector, a touchscreen display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode display, or a flat panel display.
The electrical device 1800 may include an audio output device 1808 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). The audio output device 1808 may include any device that generates an audible indicator, such as speakers, headsets, or earbuds.
The electrical device 1800 may include an audio input device 1824 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). The audio input device 1824 may include any device that generates a signal representative of a sound, such as microphones, microphone arrays, or digital instruments (e.g., instruments having a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) output).
The electrical device 1800 may include a GPS device 1818 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). The GPS device 1818 may be in communication with a satellite-based system and may receive a location of the electrical device 1800, as known in the art.
The electrical device 1800 may include an other output device 1810 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). Examples of the other output device 1810 may include an audio codec, a video codec, a printer, a wired or wireless transmitter for providing information to other devices, or an additional storage device.
The electrical device 1800 may include an other input device 1820 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). Examples of the other input device 1820 may include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a compass, an image capture device, a keyboard, a cursor control device such as a mouse, a stylus, a touchpad, a bar code reader, a Quick Response (QR) code reader, any sensor, or a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader.
The electrical device 1800 may have any desired form factor, such as a hand-held or mobile electrical device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a mobile internet device, a music player, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook computer, an ultrabook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an ultra mobile personal computer, etc.), a desktop electrical device, a server or other networked computing component, a printer, a scanner, a monitor, a set-top box, an entertainment control unit, a vehicle control unit, a digital camera, a digital video recorder, or a wearable electrical device. In some embodiments, the electrical device 1800 may be any other electronic device that processes data.
The following paragraphs provide various examples of the embodiments disclosed herein.
Example 1 is an integrated circuit (IC) structure, including: a die, including: first conductive contacts at a first face of the die, second conductive contacts at a second face of the die, wherein the second face is opposite to the first face, circuitry, and a switch coupled between the second conductive contacts and the circuitry, wherein the circuitry is not electrically exposed by the second conductive contacts when the switch is in a first state, and the circuitry is electrically exposed by the second conductive contacts when the switch is in a second state different from the first state.
Example 2 may include the subject matter of Example 1, and may further specify that the second conductive contacts include a switch control contact to which electrical signals may be applied to change a state of the switch.
Example 3 may include the subject matter of Example 2, and may further specify that the switch is one of a plurality of switches, and electrical signals may be applied to the switch control contact to change states of the plurality of switches.
Example 4 may include the subject matter of Example 3, and may further specify that the switch control contact is a single switch control contact.
Example 5 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 1-4, and may further specify that the circuitry is a power delivery network for the die.
Example 6 may include the subject matter of Example 5, and may further specify that the power delivery network is to provide power for signal circuitry of the die.
Example 7 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 1-6, and may further specify that the die is a first die and the IC structure further includes: a second die including conductive contacts at a first face of the second die; wherein the conductive contacts at the first face of the second die are electrically coupled to the second conductive contacts at the second face of the first die.
Example 8 may include the subject matter of Example 7, and may further specify that the conductive contacts at the first face of the second die are electrically coupled to the second conductive contacts at the second face of the first die by solder.
Example 9 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 7-8, and may further specify that: the circuitry is a first power delivery network for the first die; the first die further includes a first portion of a second power delivery network for the second die; and the second die further includes a second portion of the second power delivery network for the second die.
Example 10 may include the subject matter of Example 9, and may further specify that the switch is coupled between the first portion of the second power delivery network and the first power delivery network.
Example 11 may include the subject matter of Example 9, and may further specify that the second power delivery network is to provide power for signal circuitry of the second die.
Example 12 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 1-11, and may further include: a package substrate, including: first conductive contacts at a first face of the package substrate, and second conductive contacts at a second face of the package substrate, wherein the second face of the package substrate is opposite to the first face of the package substrate; wherein the second conductive contacts at the second face of the package substrate are electrically coupled to the first conductive contacts at the first face of the die.
Example 13 may include the subject matter of Example 12, and may further include: solder on the first conductive contacts at the first face of the package substrate.
Example 14 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 1-13, and may further specify that the die includes through-silicon vias.
Example 15 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 1-14, and may further specify that the first state of the switch is an open state and the second state of the switch is a closed state.
Example 16 is a method of manufacturing an integrated circuit (IC) structure, including: providing an electrical signal to a switch control contact on a face of a die to change a state of a switch in the die to expose circuitry in the die to conductive contacts at the face of the die; and testing the exposed circuitry.
Example 17 may include the subject matter of Example 16, and may further specify that the circuitry is a power delivery network of the die.
Example 18 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 16-17, and may further specify that the conductive contacts are first conductive contacts, the face of the die is a first face of the die, the die further includes second conductive contacts at a second face of the die, and the second face is opposite to the first face.
Example 19 may include the subject matter of Example 18, and may further include: coupling conductive contacts of a second die to the first conductive contacts of the first die.
Example 20 may include the subject matter of Example 19, and may further specify that: the circuitry is a first power delivery network for the first die; the first die further includes a first portion of a second power delivery network for the second die; the second die further includes a second power of the second power delivery network for the second die; and the switch is coupled between the first portion of the second power delivery network and the first power delivery network.
Example 21 is an integrated circuit (IC) package, including: a first die, including: conductive contacts at a face of the first die, circuitry, and a switch coupled between the conductive contacts and the circuitry, wherein the circuitry is not electrically exposed by the conductive contacts when the switch is in a first state, and the circuitry is electrically exposed by the conductive contacts when the switch is in a second state; and a second die, including:
conductive contacts at a face of the second die, wherein the conductive contacts of the second die are electrically coupled to the conductive contacts of the first die.
Example 22 may include the subject matter of Example 21, and may further specify that the circuitry is a first power delivery network for the first die; the first die further includes a first portion of a second power delivery network for the second die; and the second die further includes a second power of the second power delivery network for the second die.
Example 23 may include the subject matter of Example 22, and may further specify that the switch is coupled between the first portion of the second power delivery network and the first power delivery network.
Example 24 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 21-23, and may further include: a thermal management device in thermal contact with the second die.
Example 25 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 21-24, and may further include: a package substrate; wherein the conductive contacts at the face of the first die are first conductive contacts, the face of the first die is a first face, the first die further includes second conductive contacts at a second face of the first die, the second face of the first die is opposite to the first face of the first die; and the second conductive contacts at the second face of the first die are coupled to conductive contacts at a face of the package substrate.
Example 26 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 21-25, and may further specify that the second die includes a processing core.
Example 27 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 21-26, and may further specify that the first state of the switch is an open state and the second state of the switch is a closed state.