Patent Grant
8378715
Three dimensional integrated circuits are known in the art, though the field is in its infancy with a dearth of commercial products. Many manufacturers sell multiple standard two dimensional integrated circuit (2DIC) devices in a single package known as a Multi-Chip Modules (MCM) or Multi-Chip Packages (MCP). Often these 2DICs are laid out horizontally in a single layer, like the Core 2 Quad microprocessor MCMs available from Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. In other products, the standard 2DICs are stacked vertically in the same MCP like in many of the moviNAND flash memory devices available from Samsung Electronics of Seoul, South Korea like the illustration shown in
Devices where multiple layers of silicon or some other semiconductor (where each layer comprises active devices and local interconnect like a standard 2DIC) are bonded together with Through Silicon Via (TSV) technology to form a true 3D IC have been reported in the literature in the form of abstract analysis of such structures as well as devices constructed doing basic research and development in this area.
Constructing future 3DICs will require new architectures and new ways of thinking In particular, yield and reliability of extremely complex three dimensional systems will have to be addressed, particularly given the yield and reliability difficulties encountered in complex Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) built in recent deep submicron process generations.
Fortunately, current testing techniques will likely prove applicable to 3D IC manufacturing, though they will be applied in very different ways.
In the test architecture of
Another prior art technique that is applicable to the yield and reliability of 3DICs is Triple Modular Redundancy. This is a technique where the circuitry is instantiated in a design in triplicate and the results are compared. Because two or three of the circuit outputs are always assumed in agreement (as is the case assuming single error and binary signals) voting circuitry (or majority-of-three or MAJ3) takes that as the result. While primarily a technique used for noise suppression in high reliability or radiation tolerant systems in military, aerospace and space applications, it also can be used as a way of masking errors in faulty circuits since if any two of three replicated circuits are functional the system will behave as if it is fully functional. A discussion of the radiation tolerant aspects of Triple Modular Redundancy systems, Single Event Effects (SEE), Single Event Upsets (SEU) and Single Event Transients (SET) can be found in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0204933 to Rezgui (“Rezgui”).
In one aspect, a method to construct first and second configurable systems including: providing a first configurable system including a first die and a second die, where the first die is diced from a first wafer and the second die is diced from a second wafer and the first die is connected to the second die using at least one through-silicon-via (TSV); providing a second configurable system including a third die and a fourth die, where the third die is diced from a third wafer and the fourth die is diced from a fourth wafer and the third die is connected to the fourth die using at least one through-silicon-via (TSV); where processing the first wafer and the third wafer utilizes a majority of masks that are substantially same; and where the first die is larger than the third die.
In another aspect, a method to construct first and second configurable systems including: providing a first configurable system including a first die and a second die, where the first die is diced from a first wafer and the second die is diced from a second wafer and the first die is connected to the second die using at least one through-silicon-via (TSV); providing a second configurable system including a third die and a fourth die, where the third die is diced from a third wafer and the fourth die is diced from a fourth wafer and the third die is connected to the fourth die using at least one through-silicon-via (TSV); where the second die and the fourth die are adapted to connect the configurable systems to at least one external device, and the second die is larger than the fourth die, and processing the second wafer and the fourth wafer utilizes a majority of masks that are substantially same.
In another aspect, a method to construct first and second systems including: providing a first system including a first die and a second die, where the first die is diced from a first wafer and the second die is diced from a second wafer and the first die is connected to the second die using at least one through-silicon-via (TSV); providing a second system including a third die and a fourth die, where the third die is diced from a third wafer and the fourth die is diced from a fourth wafer and the third die is connected to the fourth die using at least one through-silicon-via (TSV); where the first die is larger than the third die, and processing the first wafer and the third wafer utilizes a majority of masks that are substantially same.
Embodiments of the present invention are now described with reference to the drawing figures. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the description and figures illustrate rather than limit the invention and that in general the figures are not drawn to scale for clarity of presentation. Such skilled persons will also realize that many more embodiments are possible by applying the inventive principles contained herein and that such embodiments fall within the scope of the invention which is not to be limited except by the spirit of the appended claims.
Some monolithic 3D approaches and other inventive concepts relevant to this document are described in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0129301 (allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/273,712) and pending U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 13/441,923 and 13/099,010. The contents of the foregoing applications are incorporated herein by reference.
One should recognize that the regular pattern of
Unlike prior art for designing Field Programmable Gate Array (“FPGA”), the current invention suggests constructing the programming transistors and much or all of the programming circuitry at a level above the one where the functional diffusion level circuitry of the FPGA resides, hereafter referred to as an “Attic.”. This provides an advantage in that the technology used for the functional FPGA circuitry has very different characteristics from the circuitry used to program the FPGA. Specifically, the functional circuitry typically needs to be done in an aggressive low-voltage technology to achieve speed, power, and density goals of large scale designs. In contrast, the programming circuitry needs high voltages, does not need to be particularly fast because it operates only in preparation of the actual in-circuit functional operation, and does not need to be particularly dense as it needs only on the order of 2N transistors for N*N programmable AFs. Placing the programming circuitry on a different level from the functional circuitry allows for a better design tradeoff than placing them next to each other. A typical example of the cost of placing both types of circuitry next to each other is the large isolation space between each region because of their different operating voltage. This is avoided in the case of placing programming circuitry not in the base (i.e., functional) silicon but rather in the Attic above the functional circuitry.
It is important to note that because the programming circuitry imposes few design constraints except for high voltage, a variety of technologies such as Thin Film Transistors (“TFT”), Vacuum FET, bipolar transistors, and others, can readily provide such programming function in the Attic.
A possible fabrication method for constructing the programming circuitry in an Attic above the functional circuitry on the base silicon is by bonding a programming circuitry wafer on top of functional circuitry wafer using Through Silicon Vias. Other possibilities include layer transfer using ion implantation (typically but not exclusively hydrogen), spraying and subsequent doping of amorphous silicon, carbon nano-structures, and similar. The key that enables the use of such techniques, that often produce less efficient semiconductor devices in the Attic, is the absence of need for high performance and fast switching from programming transistors. The only major requirement is the ability to withstand relatively high voltages, as compared with the functional circuitry.
Another advantage of AF-based FPGA with programming circuitry in an Attic is a simple path to low-cost volume production. One needs simply to remove the Attic and replace the AF layer with a relatively inexpensive custom via or metal mask.
Another advantage of programming circuitry being above the functional circuitry is the relatively low impact of the vertical connectivity on the density of the functional circuitry. By far, the overwhelming number of programming AFs resides in the programmable interconnect and not in the Logic Blocks. Consequently, the vertical connections from the programmable interconnections need to go upward towards the programming transistors in the Attic and do not need to cross downward towards the functional circuitry diffusion area, where dense connectivity between the routing fabric and the LBs occurs, where it would incur routing congestion and density penalty.
Logic Blocks are constructed to implement programmable logic functions. There are multiple ways of constructing LBs that can be programmed by AFs. Typically LBs will use low metal layers such as metal 1 and 2 to construct its basic functions, with higher metal layers reserved for the programmable routing fabric.
Each logic block needs to be able to drive its outputs onto the programmable routing.
Antifuse-programmable logic elements such as described in
The depiction of the AF-based programmable tile above is just one example, and other variations are possible. For example, nothing limits the LB from being rotated 90 degrees with its inputs and outputs connecting to short vertical wires instead of short horizontal wires, or providing access to multiple long wires 724 in every tile.
On top of layer 806 comes configurable interconnect fabric 807 with a second Antifuse layer. This connectivity is done similarly to the way depicted in
The advantage of this alternative implementation is that two layers of AFs provide increased programmability (and hence flexibility) for FPGA, with the lower AF layer close to the base substrate where LB configuration needs to be done, and the upper AF layer close to the metal layers comprising the configurable interconnect.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,374,564 and 6,528,391, describe the process of Layer Transfer whereby a few tens or hundreds nanometer thick layer of mono crystalline silicon from “donor” wafer is transferred on top of a base wafer using oxide-oxide bonding and ion implantation. Such a process, for example, is routinely used in the industry to fabricate the so-called Silicon-on-Insulator (“SOI”) wafers for high performance integrated circuits (“IC”s).
Yet another alternative implementation of the current invention is illustrated in
In contrast to the typical SOI process where the base substrate carries no circuitry, the current invention suggest to use base substrate 814 to provide high voltage programming circuits that will program the lower level low metal layers 804 of AFs. We will use the term “Foundation” to describe this layer of programming devices, in contrast to the “Attic” layer of programming devices placed on top that has been previously described.
The major obstacle to using circuitry in the Foundation is the high temperature potentially needed for Layer Transfer, and the high temperature needed for processing the primary silicon layer 802A. High temperatures in excess of 400° C. that are often needed cause damage to pre-existing copper or aluminum metallization patterns that may have been previously fabricated in Foundation base substrate 814. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0224364 proposes using tungsten-based metallization to complete the wiring of the relatively simple circuitry in the Foundation. Tungsten has very high melting temperature and can withstand the high temperatures that may be needed for both for Layer Transfer and for processing of primary silicon layer 802A. Because the Foundation provides mostly the programming circuitry for AFs in low metal layers 804, its lithography can be less advanced and less expensive than that of the primary silicon layer 802A and facilitates fabrication of high voltage devices needed to program AFs. Further, the thinness and hence the transparency of the SOI layer facilitates precise alignment of patterning of primary silicon layer 802A to the underlying patterning of base substrate 814.
Having two layers of AF-programming devices, Foundation on the bottom and Attic on the top, is an effective way to architect AF-based FPGAs with two layers of AFs. The first AF layer low metal layers 804 is close to the primary silicon base substrate 802 that it configures, and its connections to it and to the Foundation programming devices in base substrate 814 are directed downwards. The second layer of AFs in configurable interconnect fabric 807 has its programming connections directed upward towards Attic TFT layer 810. This way the AF connections to its programming circuitry minimize routing congestion across layers 802, 804, 806, and 807.
In general, logic devices need varying amounts of logic, memory, and I/O. The continuous array (“CA”) of U.S. Pat. No. 7,105,871 allows flexible definition of the logic device size, yet for any size the ratio between the three components remained fixed, barring minor boundary effect variations. Further, there exist other types of specialized logic that are difficult to implement effectively using standard logic such as DRAM, Flash memory, DSP blocks, processors, analog functions, or specialized I/O functions such as SerDes. The continuous array of prior art does not provide effective solution for these specialized yet not common enough functions that would justify their regular insertion into CA wafer.
Embodiments of the current invention enable a different and more flexible approach. Additionally the prior art proposal for continuous array were primarily oriented toward Gate Array and Structured ASIC where the customization includes some custom masks. In contrast, the current invention proposes an approach which could fit well FPGA type products including options without any custom masks. Instead of adding a broad variety of such blocks into the CA which would make it generally area-inefficient, and instead of using a range of CA types with different block mixes which would require large number of expensive mask sets, the current invention allows using Through Silicon Via to enable a new type of configurable system. Modern integrated circuits mask sets may include more than 20 masks and typically may include more than 40 masks. In general any metal interconnect layer is associated with two masks so a device that has eight metal layers would comprise 16 masks just for these interconnection layers.
The technology of “Package of integrated circuits and vertical integration” has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,903 issued to Oleg Siniaguine and Sergey Savastiouk on Nov. 27, 2001. Accordingly, embodiment of the current invention suggests the use of CA tiles, each made of one type, or of very few types, of elements. The target system is then constructed using desired number of tiles of desired type stacked on top of each other and connected with TSVs comprising 3D Configurable System.
In some types of CA wafers it may be advantageous to have metal lines crossing perpendicularly the potential dicing lines, which will allow connectivity between individual tiles. This requires cutting some such lines during wafer dicing. Alternate embodiment may not have metal lines crossing the potential dicing lines and in such case connectivity across uncut dicing lines can be obtained using dedicated mask and custom metal layers accordingly to provide connections between tiles for the desired die sizes.
It should be noted that in general the lithography over the wafer is done by repeatedly projecting what is named reticle over the wafer in a “step-and-repeat” manner. In some cases it might be preferable to consider differently the separation between repeating tile 102 within a reticle image vs. tiles that relate to two projections. For simplicity this description will use the term wafer but in some cases it will apply only to tiles within one reticle.
Person skilled in the art will appreciate that a major benefit of the approaches illustrated by
M—Maximum number of TSVs available for a given IC
MC—Number of nets (connections) between two partitions
S(n)—Timing slack of net n
N(n)—The fanout of net n
K1, K2—constants determined by the user
min-cut—a known algorithm to split a graph into two partitions each of about equal number of nodes with minimal number of arcs between the partitions.
The key idea behind the flow is to focus first on large-fanout low-slack nets that can take the best advantage of the added three-dimensional proximity. K1 is selected to limit the number of nets processed by the algorithm, while K2 is selected to remove very high fanout nets, such as clocks, from being processed by it, as such nets are limited in number and may be best handled manually. Choice of K1 and K2 should yield MC close to M.
A partition is constructed using min-cut or similar algorithm. Timing slack is calculated for all nets using timing analysis tool. Targeted high fanout nets are selected and ordered in increasing amount of timing slack. The algorithm takes those nets one by one and splits them about evenly across the partitions, readjusting the rest of the partition as needed.
Person skilled in the art will appreciate that a similar process can be extended to more than 2 vertical partitions using multi-way partitioning such as ratio-cut or similar.
There are many manufacturing and performance advantages to the flexible construction and sizing of 3D Configurable System as described above. At the same time it is also helpful if the complete 3D Configurable System behaves as a single system rather than as a collection of individual tiles. In particular it is helpful is such 3D Configurable System can automatically configure itself for self-test and for functional operation in case of FPGA logic and the likes.
The described uniform approach to configuration, test, and initialization is also helpful for designing SoC dies that include programmable FPGA array of one or more tiles as a part of their architecture. The size-independent self-configuring electrical interface allows for easy electrical integration, while the autonomous FPGA self test and uniform configuration approach make the SoC boot sequence easier to manage.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0224364 describes methods to create 3D systems made of stacking very thin layers, of thickness of few tens to few hundreds of nanometers, of monocrystalline silicon with pre-implanted patterning on top of base wafer using low-temperature (below approximately 400° C.) technique called layer transfer.
An alternative of the invention uses vertical redundancy of configurable logic device such as FPGA to improve the yield of 3DICs.
Functional connection 1704 connects the output of LB (1,0,0) through switches 1706 and 1708 to the input of LB (2,0,0). In case LB (1,0,0) malfunctions, which can be found by testing, the corresponding LB (1,0,1) on the redundancy/repair layer can be programmed to replace it by turning off switch 1706 and turning on switches 1707, 1717, and 1716 instead. The short vertical distance between the original LB and the repair LB guarantees minimal impact on circuit performance. In a similar way LB (1,0,1) could serve to repair malfunction in LB (1,0,2). It should be noted that the optimal placement for the repair layer is about the center of the stack, to optimize the vertical distance between malfunctioning and repair LBs. It should be also noted that a single repair layer can repair more than two functional layers, with slowly decreasing efficacy of repair as the number of functional layers increases.
In a 3D IC based on layer transfer in U.S. Patent Applications Publications 2006/0275962 and 2007/0077694 we will call the underlying wafer a Receptor wafer, while the layer placed on top of it will come from a Donor wafer. Each such layer can be patterned with advanced fine pitch lithography to the limits permissible by existing manufacturing technology. Yet the alignment precision of such stacked layers is limited. Best layer transfer alignment between wafers is currently on the order of 1 micron, almost two orders of magnitude coarser than the feature size available at each individual layer, which prohibits true high-density vertical system integration.
This concept of small effective alignment error is only valid in the context of fine grain repetitive device structure stretching in both north-south and east-west directions, which will be described in the following sections.
Such structure is conducive for creation of customized CMOS circuits through metallization. Horizontally adjacent transistors can be electrically isolated by properly biasing the gate between them, such as grounding the NMOS gate and tying the PMOS to Vdd using custom metallization.
Using F to denote feature size of twice lambda, the minimum design rule, we shall estimate the repetition steps in such terrain. In the east-west direction gates 2022 are of F width and spaced perhaps 4F from each other, giving east-west step Wx 2026 of 5F. In north-south direction the active regions width can be perhaps 3F each, with isolation regions 2010, 2016 and 2018 being 3F, 1F and 5F respectively yielding 18F north-south step Wy 2024.
It should be noted that in all these alternatives of
Person skilled in the art will recognize that it is now possible to assemble a true monolithic 3D stack of monocrystalline silicon layers or strata with high performance devices using advanced lithography that repeatedly reuse same masks, with only few custom metal masks for each device layer. Such person will also appreciate that one can stack in the same way a mix of disparate layers, some carrying transistor array for general logic and other carrying larger scale blocks such as memories, analog elements, and I/O.
The concept of dense Continuous Array concept can be also applied to memory structure. Memory arrays have non-repetitive elements such as bit and word decoders, or sense amplifier, that need to be tailored to each memory size. The idea is to tile the whole wafer with a dense pattern of memory cell, and then customize it using selective etching as before, and providing the required non-repetitive structures through an adjacent logic layer below or above the memory layer. The memory array may include configurable memory.
In such way a single expensive mask set can be used to build many wafers for different memory sizes and finished through another mask set that is used to build many logic wafers that can be customized by few metal layers.
Another alternative of the invention for general type of 3D logic IC is presented on
It is important to note that substantially all the sequential cells like, for example, flip flops (FFs), in the logic layers as well as substantially all the primary output boundary scan have certain extra features as illustrated in
The way the repair works can be now readily understood from
Direct-Write e-Beam technology to customize the uncommitted logic through writing VIA6, and the replicated output is fed down to the faulty FF from the Repair Layer replacing the original faulty logic cone. It should be noted that because the physical location of the replicated logic cone can be made to be approximately the same as the original logic cone and just vertically displaced, the impact of the repaired logic on timing should be minimal. In alternate implementation additional features of uncommitted logic such as availability of variable strength buffers, may be used to create repair replica of the faulty logic cone that will be slightly faster to compensate for the extra vertical distance.
People skilled in the art will appreciate that Direct-Write e-Beam customization can be done on any metal or via layer as long as such layer is fabricated after the BCC construction and metallization is completed. They will also appreciate that for this repair technique to work the design can have sections of logic without scan, or without special circuitry for FFs such as described in
It should be noted that the repair flow just described can be used to correct not only static logic malfunctions but also timing malfunctions that may be discovered through the scan or BIST test. Slow logic cones may be replaced with faster implementations constructed from the uncommitted logic on the Repair Layer further improving the yield of such complex systems.
An alternative embodiment of the invention may use a small photovoltaic cell 24C10 to power the power supply unit instead of RF induction and RF to DC converter.
An alternative approach to increase yield of complex systems through use of 3D structure is to duplicate the same design on two layers vertically stacked on top of each other and use BIST techniques similar to those described in the previous sections to identify and replace malfunctioning logic cones. This should prove particularly effective repairing very large ICs with very low yields at manufacturing stage using one-time, or hard to reverse, repair structures such as antifuses or Direct-Write e-Beam customization. Similar repair approach can also assist systems that require self-healing ability at every power-up sequence through use of memory-based repair structures as described with regard to
It should be noted that the multiplexer control points 2641 and 2642 can be implemented using a memory cell, a fuse, an Antifuse, or any other customizable element such as metal link that can be customized by a Direct-Write e-Beam machine. If a memory cell is used, its contents can be stored in a ROM, a flash memory, or in some other non-volatile storage mechanism elsewhere in the 3D IC or in the system in which it is deployed and loaded upon a system power up, a system reset, or on-demand during system maintenance.
Upon power on the BCC initializes all multiplexer controls to select inputs A and runs diagnostic test on the design on each layer. Failing FF are identified at each logic layer using scan and BIST techniques, and as long as there is no pair of corresponding FF that fails, the BCCs can communicate with each other (directly or through an external tester) to determine which working FF to use and program the multiplexer controls 2641 and 2642 accordingly.
It should be noted that if multiplexer controls 2641 and 2642 are reprogrammable as in using memory cells, such test and repair process can potentially occur at every power on instance, or on demand, and the 3D IC can self-repair in-circuit. If the multiplexer controls are one-time programmable, the diagnostic and repair process may need to be performed using external equipment. It should be noted that the techniques for contact-less testing and repair as previously described with regard to
An alternative embodiment of this concept can use multiplexer 2514 at the inputs of the FF such as described in
Person skilled in the art will appreciate that this repair technique of selecting one of two possible outputs from two essentially similar blocks vertically stacked on top of each other can be applied to other type of blocks in addition to FF described above. Examples of such include, but are not limited to, analog blocks, I/O, memory, configurable memory, and other blocks. In such cases the selection of the working output may require specialized multiplexing but it does not change its essential nature.
Such person will also appreciate that once the BIST diagnosis of both layers is complete, a mechanism similar to the one used to define the multiplexer controls can be also used to selectively power off unused sections of a logic layers to save on power dissipation.
Yet another variation on the invention is to use vertical stacking for on the fly repair using redundancy concepts such as Triple (or higher) Modular Redundancy (“TMR”). TMR is a well known concept in the high-reliability industry where three copies of each circuit are manufactured and their outputs are channeled through a majority voting circuitry. Such TMR system will continue to operate correctly as long as no more than a single fault occurs in any TMR block. A major problem in designing TMR ICs is that when the circuitry is triplicated the interconnections become significantly longer slowing down the system speed, and the routing becomes more complex slowing down system design. Another major problem for TMR is that its design process is expensive because of correspondingly large design size, while its market is limited.
Vertical stacking offers a natural solution of replicating the system image on top of each other.
Person skilled in the art will appreciate that variations on this configuration are possible such as dedicating a separate layer just to the voting circuitry that will make layers 2701, 2702 and 2703 logically identical; relocating the voting circuitry to the input of the FFs rather than to its output; or extending the redundancy replication to more than 3 instances (and stacked layers).
The abovementioned method for designing TMR addresses both of the mentioned weaknesses. First, there is essentially no additional routing congestion in any layer because of TMR, and the design at each layer can be optimally implemented in a single image rather than in triplicate. Second, any design implemented for non high-reliability market can be converted to TMR design with minimal effort by vertical stacking of three original images and adding a majority voting circuitry either to one of the layers, to all three layers as in
The exemplary embodiments discussed so far are primarily concerned with yield enhancement and repair in the factory prior to shipping a 3D IC to a customer. Another aspect of the present invention is providing redundancy and self-repair once the 3D IC is deployed in the field. This is a desirable product characteristic because defects may occur in products that tested as operating correctly in the factory. For example, this can occur due to a delayed failure mechanism such as a defective gate dielectric in a transistor that develops into a short circuit between the gate and the underlying transistor source, drain or body. Immediately after fabrication such a transistor may function correctly during factory testing, but with time and applied voltages and temperatures, the defect can develop into a failure which may be detected during subsequent tests in the field. Many other delayed failure mechanisms are known. Regardless of the nature of the delayed defect, if it creates a logic error in the 3D IC then subsequent testing according to the present invention may be used to detect and repair it.
Regardless of the details of their construction, Layer 1 and Layer 2 in 3D IC 3100 perform substantially identical logic functions. In some embodiments, Layer 1 and Layer 2 may each be fabricated using the same masks for all layers to reduce manufacturing costs. In other embodiments there may be small variations on one or more mask layers. For example, there may be an option on one of the mask layers which creates a different logic signal on each layer which tells the control logic blocks on Layer 1 and Layer 2 that they are the controlling Layer 1 and Layer 2 respectively in cases where this is important. Other differences between the layers may be present as a matter of design choice.
Layer 1 comprises Control Logic 3110, representative scan flip flops 3111, 3112 and 3113, and representative combinational logic clouds 3114 and 3115, while Layer 2 comprises Control Logic 3120, representative scan flip flops 3121, 3122 and 3123, and representative logic clouds 3124 and 3125. Control Logic 3110 and scan flip flops 3111, 3112 and 3113 are coupled together to form a scan chain for set scan testing of combinational logic clouds 3114 and 3115 in a manner previously described. Control Logic 3120 and scan flip flops 3121, 3122 and 3123 are also coupled together to form a scan chain for set scan testing of combinational logic clouds 3124 and 3125. Control Logic blocks 3110 and 3120 are coupled together to allow coordination of the testing on both Layers. In some embodiments, Control Logic blocks 3110 and 3120 may be able to test either themselves or each other. If one of them is bad, the other can be used to control testing on both Layer 1 and Layer 2.
Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the scan chains in
As with previously described embodiments, the Layer 1 and Layer 2 scan chains may be used in the factory for a variety of testing purposes. For example, Layer 1 and Layer 2 may each have an associated Repair Layer (not shown in
The SE, LAYER_SEL and CLK signals are not shown coupled to input ports on scan flip flop 3200 to avoid over complicating the disclosure—particularly in drawings like
When asserted, the SE signal places scan flip flop 3200 into scan mode causing multiplexer 3204 to gate the SI input to the D input of D-type flip flop 3202. Since this signal goes to all scan flip flops 3200 in a scan chain, this has the effect of connecting them together as a shift register allowing vectors to be shifted in and test results to be shifted out. When SE is not asserted, multiplexer 3204 selects the output of multiplexer 3206 to present to the D input of D-type flip flop 3202.
The CLK signal is shown as an “internal” signal here since its origin will differ from embodiment to embodiment as a matter of design choice. In practical designs, a clock signal (or some variation of it) is typically routed to every flip flop in its functional domain. In some scan test architectures, CLK will be selected by a third multiplexer (not shown in
The LAYER_SEL signal determines the data source of scan flip flop 3200 in normal operating mode. As illustrated in
XOR gate 3314 has a first input coupled to DATA1, a second input coupled to DATA2, and an output coupled to signal ERROR1. Similarly, XOR gate 3324 has a first input coupled to DATA2, a second input coupled to DATA1, and an output coupled to signal ERROR2. If the logic values present on the signals on DATA1 and DATA2 are not equal, ERROR1 and ERROR2 will equal logic-1 signifying there is a logic error present. If the signals on DATA1 and DATA2 are equal, ERROR1 and ERROR2 will equal logic-0 signifying there is no logic error present. Persons of ordinary skill in art will appreciate that the underlying assumption here is that only one of the Logic Cones 3310 and 3320 will be bad simultaneously. Since both Layer 1 and Layer 2 have already been factory tested, verified and, in some embodiments, repaired, the statistical likelihood of both logic cones developing a failure in the field is extremely unlikely even without any factory repair, thus validating the assumption.
In 3D IC 3300, the testing may be done in a number of different ways as a matter of design choice. For example, the clock could be stopped occasionally and the status of the ERROR1 and ERROR2 signals monitored in a spot check manner during a system maintenance period. Alternatively, operation can be halted and scan vectors run with a comparison done on every vector. In some embodiments a BIST testing scheme using Linear Feedback Shift Registers to generate pseudo-random vectors for Cyclic Redundancy Checking may be employed. These methods all involve stopping system operation and entering a test mode. Other methods of monitoring possible error conditions in real time will be discussed below.
In order to effect a repair in 3D IC 3300, two determinations are typically made: (1) the location of the logic cone with the error, and (2) which of the two corresponding logic cones is operating correctly at that location. Thus a method of monitoring the ERROR1 and ERROR2 signals and a method of controlling the LAYER_SEL signals of scan flip flops 3312 and 3322 are may be needed, though there are other approaches. In a practical embodiment, a method of reading and writing the state of the LAYER_SEL signal may be needed for factory testing to verify that Layer 1 and Layer 2 are both operating correctly.
Typically, the LAYER_SEL signal for each scan flip flop will be held in a programmable element like, for example, a volatile memory circuit like a latch storing one bit of binary data (not shown in
Various methods of monitoring ERROR1 and ERROR2 are possible. For example, a separate shift register chain on each Layer (not shown in
The cost of monitoring the ERROR1 and ERROR2 signals can be reduced further if it is combined with the circuitry necessary to write and read the latches storing the LAYER_SEL information. In some embodiments, for example, the LAYER_SEL latch may be coupled to the corresponding scan flip flop 3200 and have its value read and written through the scan chain. Alternatively, the logic cone, the scan flip flop, the XOR gate, and the LAYER_SEL latch may all be addressed using the same addressing circuitry.
Illustrated in
Also present in
The ERROR2 line 3372 may be read at the same address as latch 3370 using the circuit comprising N-channel transistors 3382, 3384 and 3386 and P-channel transistors 3390 and 3392. N-channel transistor 3382 has a gate terminal coupled to ERROR2 line 3372, a source terminal coupled to ground, and a drain terminal coupled to the source of N-channel transistor 3384. N-channel transistor 3384 has a gate terminal coupled to COL_ADDR line 3374, a source terminal coupled to N-channel transistor 3382, and a drain terminal coupled to the source of N-channel transistor 3386. N-channel transistor 3386 has a gate terminal coupled to ROW_ADDR line 3376, a source terminal coupled to the drain N-channel transistor 3384, and a drain terminal coupled to the drain of P-channel transistor 3390 and the gate of P-channel transistor 3392 through line 3388. P-channel transistor 3390 has a gate terminal coupled to ground, a source terminal coupled to the positive power supply, and a drain terminal coupled to line 3388. P-channel transistor 3392 has a gate terminal coupled to line 3388, a source terminal coupled to the positive power supply, and a drain terminal coupled to COL_BIT line 3378.
If the particular ERROR2 line 3372 in
A weak pull-down (not shown in
If the particular ERROR2 line 3372 in
An advantage of the addressing scheme of
At each location where a faulty logic cone is present, if any, the defect is isolated to a particular layer so that the correctly functioning logic cone may be selected by the corresponding scan flip flop on both Layer 1 and Layer 2. If a large non-volatile memory is present in the 3D IC 3300 or in the external system, then automatic test pattern generated (ATPG) vectors may be used in a manner similar to the factory repair embodiments. In this case, the scan itself is capable of identifying both the location and the correctly functioning layer. Unfortunately, this requires a large number of vectors and a correspondingly large amount of available non-volatile memory which may not be available in all embodiments.
Using some form of Built In Self Test (BIST) has the advantage of being self contained inside 3D IC 3300 without needing the storage of large numbers of test vectors. Unfortunately, BIST tests tend to be of the “go” or “no go” variety. They identify the presence of an error, but are not particularly good at diagnosing either the location or the nature of the fault. Fortunately, there are ways to combine the monitoring of the error signals previously described with BIST techniques and appropriate design methodology to quickly determine the correct values of the LAYER_SEL latches.
Present in
Present in LFB 3400 is Linear Feedback Shift Register (LFSR) 3430 circuit for generating pseudo-random input vectors for LFB 3400 in a manner well known in the art. In
Thus during a BIST test, all the inputs of LFB 3400 may be exercised with pseudo-random input vectors generated by LSFR 3430. As is known in the art, LSFR 3430 may be a single LSFR or a number of smaller LSFRs as a matter of design choice. LSFR 3430 is preferably implemented using a primitive polynomial to generate a maximum length sequence of pseudo-random vectors. LSFR 3430 needs to be seeded to a known value, so that the sequence of pseudo-random vectors is deterministic. The seeding logic can be inexpensively implemented internal to the LSFR 3430 flip flops and initialized, for example, in response to a reset signal.
Also present in LFB 3400 is Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) 3432 circuit for generating a signature of the LFB 3400 outputs generated in response to the pseudo-random input vectors generated by LFSR 3430 in a manner well known in the art. In
Thus during a BIST test, all the outputs of LFB 3400 may be analyzed to determine the correctness of their responses to the stimuli provided by the pseudo-random input vectors generated by LSFR 3430. As is known in the art, CRC 3432 may be a single CRC or a number of smaller CRCs as a matter of design choice. As known in the art, a CRC circuit is a special case of an LSFR, with additional circuits present to merge the observed data into the pseudo-random pattern sequence generated by the base LSFR. The CRC 3432 is preferably implemented using a primitive polynomial to generate a maximum sequence of pseudo-random patterns. CRC 3432 needs to be seeded to a known value, so that the signature generated by the pseudo-random input vectors is deterministic. The seeding logic can be inexpensively implemented internal to the LSFR 3430 flip flops and initialized, for example, in response to a reset signal. After completion of the test, the value present in the CRC 3432 is compared to the known value of the signature. If all the bits in CRC 3432 match, the signature is valid and the LFB 3400 is deemed to be functioning correctly. If one or more of the bits in CRC 3432 does not match, the signature is invalid and the LFB 3400 is deemed to not be functioning correctly. The value of the expected signature can be inexpensively implemented internal to the CRC 3432 flip flops and compared internally to CRC 3432 in response to an evaluate signal.
As shown in
Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other BIST test approaches are known in the art and that any of them may be used to determine if LFB 3400 is functional or faulty.
In order to repair a 3D IC like 3D IC 3300 of
In Layer 1, scan flip flops 3511 and 3512 are coupled in series with Control Logic block 3510 to form a scan chain. Scan flip flops 3511 and 3512 can be ordinary scan flip flops of a type known in the art. The Q outputs of scan flip flops 3511 and 3512 are coupled to the D1 data inputs of multiplexers 3513 and 3514 respectively. Representative logic cone 3515 has a representative input coupled to the output of multiplexer 3513 and an output coupled to the D input of scan flip flop 3512.
In Layer 2, scan flip flops 3521 and 3522 are coupled in series with Control Logic block 3520 to form a scan chain. Scan flip flops 3521 and 3522 can be ordinary scan flip flops of a type known in the art. The Q outputs of scan flip flops 3521 and 3522 are coupled to the D1 data inputs of multiplexers 3523 and 3524 respectively. Representative logic cone 3525 has a representative input coupled to the output of multiplexer 3523 and an output coupled to the D input of scan flip flop 3522.
The Q output of scan flip flop 3511 is coupled to the D0 input of multiplexer 3523, the Q output of scan flip flop 3521 is coupled to the D0 input of multiplexer 3513, the Q output of scan flip flop 3512 is coupled to the D0 input of multiplexer 3524, and the Q output of scan flip flop 3522 is coupled to the D0 input of multiplexer 3514. Control Logic block 3510 is coupled to Control Logic block 3520 in a manner that allows coordination between testing functions between layers. In some embodiments the Control Logic blocks 3510 and 3520 can test themselves or each other and, if one is faulty, the other can control testing on both layers. These interlayer couplings may be realized by TSVs or by some other interlayer interconnect technology.
The logic functions performed on Layer 1 are substantially identical to the logic functions performed on Layer 2. The embodiment of 3D IC 3500 in
Layer 1 Logic Cone 3610 and Layer 2 Logic Cone 3620 implement substantially identical logic functions. In order to detect a faulty logic cone, the output of the logic cones 3610 and 3620 are captured in scan flip flops 3612 and 3622 respectively in a test mode. The Q outputs of the scan flip flops 3612 and 3622 are labeled Q1 and Q2 respectively in
All the methods of evaluating ERROR1 and ERROR2 described in conjunction with the embodiments of
Each instance of LFB 3720 has a plurality of multiplexers 3722 associated with its inputs and a plurality of multiplexers 3724 associated with its outputs. These multiplexers may be used to programmably or selectively replace the entire instance of LFB 3720 on either Layer 1 or Layer 2 with its counterpart on the other layer.
On power up, system reset, or on demand from control logic located internal to 3D IC 3700 or elsewhere in the system where 3D IC 3700 is deployed, the various blocks in the hierarchy can be tested. Any faulty block at any level of the hierarchy with BIST capability may be programmably and selectively replaced by its corresponding instance on the other Layer. Since this is determined at the block level, this decision can be made locally by the BIST control logic in each block (not shown in
Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that significant area can be saved by employing this embodiment. For example, since LFBs are evaluated instead of individual logic cones, the interlayer selection multiplexers for each individual flip flop like multiplexer 3206 in
Even the scan chains may be removed in some embodiments, though this is a matter of design choice. In embodiments where the scan chains are removed, factory testing and repair would also have to rely on the block BIST circuits. When a bad block is detected, an entire new block would need to be crafted on the Repair Layer with Direct-Write e-Beam. Typically this takes more time than crafting a replacement logic cone due to the greater number of patterns to shape, and the area savings may need to be compared to the test time losses to determine the economically superior decision.
Removing the scan chains also entails a risk in the early debug and prototyping stage of the design, since BIST circuitry is not very good for diagnosing the nature of problems. If there is a problem in the design itself, the absence of scan testing will make it harder to find and fix the problem, and the cost in terms of lost time to market can be very high and hard to quantify. Prudence might suggest leaving the scan chains in for reasons unrelated to the field repair aspects of the present invention.
Another advantage to embodiments using the block BIST approach is described in conjunction with
Present in
Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that there are many ways to programmably or selectively power down a block inside an integrated circuit known in the art and that the use of power select multiplexer 3730 in the embodiment of
In some embodiments, control logic (not shown in
Alternatively, if a layer, for example, Layer 1 is designated as the primary layer, then the BIST controllers in each block can independently determine which version of the block is to be used. Then the settings of the pluralities of multiplexers 3722 and 3724 are set to couple the used block to Layer 1 and the settings of multiplexers 3730 can be set to power down the unused block. Typically, this should reduce the power consumption by half relative to embodiments where power select multiplexers 3730 or equivalent are not implemented.
There are test techniques known in the art that are a compromise between the detailed diagnostic capabilities of scan testing with the simplicity of BIST testing. In embodiments employing such schemes, each BIST block (smaller than a typical LFB, but typically comprising a few tens to a few hundreds of logic cones) stores a small number of initial states in particular scan flip flops while most of the scan flip flops can use a default value. CAD tools may be used to analyze the design's net-list to identify the necessary scan flip flops to allow efficient testing.
During test mode, the BIST controller shifts in the initial values and then starts the clocking the design. The BIST controller has a signature register which might be a CRC or some other circuit which monitors bits internal to the block being tested. After a predetermined number of clock cycles, the BIST controller stops clocking the design, shifts out the data stored in the scan flip flops while adding their contents to the block signature, and compares the signature to a small number of stored signatures (one for each of the stored initial states.
This approach has the advantage of not needing a large number of stored scan vectors and the “go” or “no go” simplicity of BIST testing. The test block is less fine than identifying a single faulty logic cone, but much coarser than a large Logic Function Block. In general, the finer the test granularity (i.e., the smaller the size of the circuitry being substituted for faulty circuitry) the less chance of a delayed fault showing up in the same test block on both Layer 1 and Layer 2. Once the functional status of the BIST block has been determined, the appropriate values are written to the latches controlling the interlayer multiplexers to replace a faulty BIST block on one if the layers, if necessary. In some embodiments, faulty and unused BIST blocks may be powered down to conserve power.
While discussions of the various exemplary embodiments described so far concern themselves with finding and repairing defective logic cones or logic function blocks in a static test mode, embodiments of the present invention can address failures due to noise or timing. For example, in 3D IC 3100 of
Another approach is to use block BIST testing at power up, reset, or on-demand to over-clock each block at ever increasing frequencies until one fails, determine which layer version of the block is operating faster, and then substitute the faster block for the slower one at each instance in the design. This has the more modest time, intelligence and memory requirements generally associated with block BIST testing, but it still requires placing the 3D IC in a test mode.
XOR gate 3826 has a first input coupled to Q1, a second input coupled to Q2, and an output coupled to a first input of AND gate 3846. AND gate 3846 also has a second input coupled to TEST_EN line 3848 and an output coupled to the Set input of RS flip flop 3828. RS flip flop also has a Reset input coupled to Layer 2 Reset line 3830 and an output coupled to a first input of OR gate 3832 and the gate of N-channel transistor 3838. OR gate 3832 also has a second input coupled to Layer 2 OR-chain Input line 3834 and an output coupled to Layer 2 OR-chain Output line 3836.
Layer 2 control logic (not shown in
Layer 2 Reset line 3830 is used to reset the internal state of RS flip flop 3828 to logic-0 along with all the other RS flip flops associated with other logic cones on Layer 2. OR gate 3832 is coupled together with all of the other OR-gates associated with other logic cones on Layer 2 to form a large Layer 2 distributed OR function coupled to all of the Layer 2 RS flip flops like 3828 in
The control logic can then use the stack of N-channel transistors 3838, 3840 and 3842 to determine the location of the logic cone producing the error. N-channel transistor 3838 has a gate terminal coupled to the Q output of RS flip flop 3828, a source terminal coupled to ground, and a drain terminal coupled to the source of N-channel transistor 3840. N-channel transistor 3840 has a gate terminal coupled to the row address line ROW_ADDR line, a source terminal coupled to the drain of N-channel transistor 3838, and a drain terminal coupled to the source of N-channel transistor 3842. N-channel transistor 3842 has a gate terminal coupled to the column address line COL_ADDR line, a source terminal coupled to the drain of N-channel transistor 3840, and a drain terminal coupled to the sense line SENSE.
The row and column addresses are virtual addresses, since in a logic design the locations of the flip flops will not be neatly arranged in rows and columns. In some embodiments a Computer Aided Design (CAD) tool is used to modify the net-list to correctly address each logic cone and then the ROW_ADDR and COL_ADDR signals are routed like any other signal in the design.
This produces an efficient way for the control logic to cycle through the virtual address space. If COL_ADDR=ROW_ADDR=logic-1 and the state of RS flip flop is logic-1, then the transistor stack will pull SENSE=logic-0. Thus a logic-1 will only occur at a virtual address location where the RS flip flop has captured an error. Once an error has been detected, RS flip flop 3828 can be reset to logic-0 with the Layer 2 Reset line 3830 where it will be able to detect another error in the future.
The control logic can be designed to handle an error in any of a number of ways. For example, errors can be logged and if a logic error occurs repeatedly for the same logic cone location, then a test mode can be entered to determine if a repair is necessary at that location. This is a good approach to handle intermittent errors resulting from marginal logic cones that only occasionally fail, for example, due to noise, and may test as functional in normal testing. Alternatively, action can be taken upon receipt of the first error notification as a matter of design choice.
As discussed earlier in conjunction with
An alternative TMR approach is shown in exemplary 3D IC 3900 in
The logic cones 3910, 3920 and 3930 all perform a substantially identical logic function. The flip flops 3914, 3924 and 3934 are preferably scan flip flops. If a Repair Layer is present (not shown in
One advantage of the embodiment of
Another TMR approach is shown in exemplary 3D IC 4000 in
The logic cones 4010, 4020 and 4030 all perform a substantially identical logic function. The flip flops 4014, 4024 and 4034 are preferably scan flip flops. If a Repair Layer is present (not shown in
One advantage of the embodiment of
Another TMR embodiment is shown in exemplary 3D IC 4100 in
The logic cones 4110, 4120 and 4130 all perform a substantially identical logic function. The flip flops 4114, 4124 and 4134 are preferably scan flip flops. If a Repair Layer is present (not shown in
One advantage of the embodiment of
The present invention can be applied to a large variety of commercial as well as high reliability, aerospace and military applications. The ability to fix defects in the factory with Repair Layers combined with the ability to automatically fix delayed defects (by masking them with three layer TMR embodiments or replacing faulty circuits with two layer replacement embodiments) allows the creation of much larger and more complex three dimensional systems than is possible with conventional two dimensional integrated circuit (IC) technology. These various aspects of the present invention can be traded off against the cost requirements of the target application.
In order to reduce the cost of a 3D IC according to the present invention, it is desirable to use substantially (or a majority) the same set of masks to manufacture each Layer. This can be done by creating an identical structure of vias in an appropriate pattern on each layer and then offsetting it by a desired amount when aligning Layer 1 and Layer 2.
Similarly,
As previously discussed, in some embodiments of the present invention it is desirable for the control logic on each Layer of a 3D IC to know which layer it is. It is also desirable to use substantially all (or a majority) of the same masks for each Layers. In an embodiment using the one interlayer via pitch offset between layers to correctly couple the functional and repair connections, we can place a different via pattern in proximity to the control logic to exploit the interlayer offset and uniquely identify each of the layers to its control logic.
Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the metal connections between Layer 1 and Layer 2 will typically be much larger comprising larger pads and numerous TSVs or other interlayer interconnections. This makes alignment of the power supply nodes easy and ensures that L1/V and L2/V will both be at the positive power supply potential and that L1/G and L2/G will both be at ground potential.
Several embodiments of the present invention utilize Triple Modular Redundancy distributed over three Layers. In such embodiments it is desirable to use substantially (or majority of) the same masks for all three Layers.
In via metal overlap pattern 4400, via metal overlap pads 4402, 4412 and 4416 are coupled to the X0 input of the MAJ3 gate on that layer, via metal overlap pads 4404, 4408 and 4418 are coupled to the X1 input of the MAJ3 gate on that layer, and via metal overlap pads 4406, 4410 and 4414 are coupled to the X2 input of the MAJ3 gate on that layer.
Thus there are three locations where a via metal overlap pad is aligned on all three layers.
Thus the interlayer vias 4430 and 4432 are vertically aligned and couple together the Layer 1 X2 MAJ3 gate input, the Layer 2 X0 MAJ3 gate input, and the Layer 3 X1 MAJ3 gate input. Similarly, the interlayer vias 4440 and 4442 are vertically aligned and couple together the Layer 1 X1 MAJ3 gate input, the Layer 2 X2 MAJ3 gate input, and the Layer 3 X0 MAJ3 gate input. Finally, the interlayer vias 4450 and 4452 are vertically aligned and couple together the Layer 1 X0 MAJ3 gate input, the Layer 2 X1 MAJ3 gate input, and the Layer 3 X2 MAJ3 gate input. Since the X0 input of the MAJ3 gate in each layer is driven from that layer, we can see that each driver is coupled to a different MAJ3 gate input on each layer assuring that no drivers are shorted together and the each MAJ3 gate on each layer receives inputs from each of the three drivers on the three Layers.
The present invention can be applied to a large variety of commercial as well as high reliability, aerospace and military applications. The ability to fix defects in the factory with Repair Layers combined with the ability to automatically fix delayed defects (by masking them with three layer TMR embodiments or replacing faulty circuits with two layer replacement embodiments) allows the creation of much larger and more complex three dimensional systems than is possible with conventional two dimensional integrated circuit (IC) technology. These various aspects of the present invention can be traded off against the cost requirements of the target application.
For example, a 3D IC targeted an inexpensive consumer products where cost is dominant consideration might do factory repair to maximize yield in the factory but not include any field repair circuitry to minimize costs in products with short useful lifetimes. A 3D IC aimed at higher end consumer or lower end business products might use factory repair combined with two layer field replacement. A 3D IC targeted at enterprise class computing devices which balance cost and reliability might skip doing factory repair and use TMR for both acceptable yields as well as field repair. A 3D IC targeted at high reliability, military, aerospace, space or radiation tolerant applications might do factory repair to ensure that all three instances of every circuit are fully functional and use TMR for field repair as well as SET and SEU filtering. Battery operated devices for the military market might add circuitry to allow the device to operate only one of the three TMR layers to save battery life and include a radiation detection circuit which automatically switches into TMR mode when needed if the operating environment changes. Many other combinations and tradeoffs are possible within the scope of the invention.
Some embodiments of the present invention may include alternative techniques to build IC (Integrated Circuit) devices including techniques and methods to construct 3D IC systems. Some embodiments of the present invention may enable device solutions with far less power consumption than prior art. These device solutions could be very useful for the growing application of mobile electronic devices or systems such as mobile phones, smart phone, cameras and the like. For example, incorporating the 3D IC semiconductor devices according to some embodiments of the present invention within these mobile electronic devices or systems could provide superior mobile units that could operate much more efficiently and for a much longer time than with prior art technology.
3D ICs according to some embodiments of the present invention could also enable electronic and semiconductor devices with much a higher performance due to the shorter interconnect as well as semiconductor devices with far more complexity via multiple levels of logic and providing the ability to repair or use redundancy. The achievable complexity of the semiconductor devices according to some embodiments of the present invention could far exceed what was practical with the prior art technology. These advantages could lead to more powerful computer systems and improved systems that have embedded computers.
Some embodiments of the present invention may also enable the design of state of the art electronic systems at a greatly reduced non-recurring engineering (NRE) cost by the use of high density 3D FPGAs or various forms of 3D array base ICs with reduced custom masks as been described previously. These systems could be deployed in many products and in many market segments. Reduction of the NRE may enable new product family or application development and deployment early in the product lifecycle by lowering the risk of upfront investment prior to a market being developed. The above advantages may also be provided by various mixes such as reduce NRE using generic masks for layers of logic and other generic mask for layers of memories and building a very complex system using the repair technology to overcome the inherent yield limitation. Another form of mix could be building a 3D FPGA and add on it 3D layers of customizable logic and memory so the end system could have field programmable logic on top of the factory customized logic. In fact there are many ways to mix the many innovative elements to form 3D IC to support the need of an end system and to provide it with competitive edge. Such end system could be electronic based products or other type of systems that include some level of embedded electronics, such as, for example, cars, remote controlled vehicles, etc.
It is worth noting that many of the principles of the present invention are also applicable to conventional two dimensional integrated circuits (2DICs). For example, an analogous of the two layer field repair embodiments could be built on a single layer with both versions of the duplicate circuitry on a single 2D IC employing the same cross connections between the duplicate versions. A programmable technology like, for example, fuses, antifuses, flash memory storage, etc., could be used to effect both factory repair and field repair. Similarly, an analogous version of some of the TMR embodiments are unique topologies in 2DICs as well as in 3DICs which would also improve the yield or reliability of 2D IC systems if implemented on a single layer.
Yet another variation on the invention is to use the concepts of repair and redundancy layers to implement extremely large designs that extend beyond the size of a single reticle, up to and inclusive of a full wafer. This concept of Wafer Scale Integration (“WSI”) was attempted in the past by companies such as Trilogy Systems and was abandoned because of extremely low yield. The ability of the current invention to effect multiple repairs by using a repair layer, or of masking multiple faults by using redundancy layers, makes WSI with very high yield a viable option.
One embodiment of the present invention improves WSI by using the Continuous Array (CA) concept described above. In the case of WSI, however, the CA may extend beyond a single reticle and may potentially span the whole wafer. A custom mask may be used to etch away unused parts of the wafer.
Particular care must be taken when a design such as WSI crosses reticle boundaries. Alignment of features across a reticle boundary may be worse than the alignment of features within the reticle, and WSI designs must accommodate this potential misalignment. One way of addressing this is to use wider than minimum metal lines, with larger than minimum pitches, to cross the reticle boundary, while using a full lithography resolution within the reticle.
Another embodiment of the present invention uses custom reticles for location on the wafer, creating a partial of full custom design across the wafer. As in the previous case, wider lines and coarser line pitches may be used for reticle boundary crossing.
In all WSI embodiments yield-enhancement is achieved through fault masking techniques such as TMR, or through repair layers, as illustrated in
In another variation on the WSI invention one can selectively replace blocks on one layer with blocks on the other layer to provide speed improvement rather than to effect logical repair.
In another variation on the WSI invention one can use vertical stacking techniques as illustrated in
The array of reticles comprising a WSI design may extend as necessary across the wafer, up to and inclusive of the whole wafer. In the case where the WSI is smaller than the full wafer, multiple WSI designs may be placed on a single wafer.
Another use of this invention is in bringing to market, in a cost-effective manner, semiconductor devices in the early stage of introducing a new lithography process to the market, when the process yield is low. Currently, low yield poses major cost and availability challenges during the new lithography process introduction stage. Using any or all three-dimensional repair or fault tolerance techniques described in this invention and illustrated in
Despite best simulation and verification efforts, many designs end up containing design bugs even after implementation and manufacturing as semiconductor devices. As design complexity, size, and speed grow, debugging modern devices after manufacturing, the so-called “post-silicon debugging,” becomes more difficult and more expensive. A major cause for this difficulty lies in the need to access a large number of signals over many clock cycles, on top of the fact that some design errors may manifest themselves only when the design is run at-speed. U.S. Pat. No. 7,296,201 describes how to overcome this difficulty by incorporating debugging elements into design itself, providing the ability to control and trace logic circuits, to assist in their debugging. DAFCA of Framingham, Mass. offers technology based on this principle.
The current invention of 3D devices, including monolithic 3D devices, offers new ways for cost-effective post-silicon debugging. One possibility is to use an uncommitted repair layer 2432 such as illustrated in
Designing customized DFDI is in itself an expensive endeavor.
Another variation on this invention uses logic layers or strata that do not include flip flops manufactured on a regular grid but still uses standardized DFDI 5032 as described above. In this case a relatively inexpensive custom metal interconnect masks can be designed just to create an interposer 5034 to translate the irregular flip flop pattern on logic layers 5002, 5012 and 5022 to the regular interconnect of standardized DFDI layer. Similarly to the previous cases, once the post-silicon debugging is completed, the interposer and the standardized DFDI are replaced by a regular repair layer 2432.
Another variation on the DFDI invention illustrated in
A person of ordinary skills in the art will recognize that the DFDI invention such as illustrated in
Another serious problem with designing semiconductor devices as the lithography minimum feature size scales down is signal re-buffering using repeaters. With the increased resistivity of metal traces in the deep sub-micron regime, signals need to be re-buffered at rapidly decreasing intervals to maintain circuit performance and immunity to circuit noise. This phenomenon has been described at length in “Prashant Saxena et al., Repeater Scaling and Its Impact on CAD, IEEE Transactions On Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems, Vol. 23, No. 4, April 2004.” The current invention offers a new way to minimize the routing impact of such re-buffering. Long distance signals are frequently routed on high metal layers to give them special treatment like wire size or isolation from crosstalk. When signals present on high metal layers need re-buffering, an embodiment of the present invention is to use the active layer or strata above to insert repeaters, rather than drop the signal all the way to the diffusion layer of its current layer or strata. This approach reduces the routing blockages created by the large number of vias created when signals repeatedly need to move between high metal layers and the diffusion below, and suggests to selectively replace them with fewer vias to the active layer above.
Manufacturing wafers with advanced lithography and multiple metal layers is expensive. Manufacturing three-dimensional devices, including monolithic 3D devices, where multiple advanced lithography layers or strata each with multiple metal layers are stacked on top of each other is even more expensive. The vertical stacking process offers new degree of freedom that can be leveraged with appropriate Computer Aided Design (“CAD”) tools to lower the manufacturing cost.
Most designs are made of blocks, but the characteristics of these block is frequently not uniform. Consequently, certain blocks may require fewer routing resources, while other blocks may require very dense routing resources. In two dimensional devices the block with the highest routing density demands dictates the number of metal layers for the whole device, even if some device regions may not need them. Three dimensional devices offer a new possibility of partitioning designs into multiple layers or strata based on the routing demands of the blocks assigned to each layer or strata.
Another variation on this invention is to partition designs into blocks that require a particular advanced process technology for reasons of density or speed, and blocks that have less demanding requirements for reasons of speed, area, voltage, power, or other technology parameters. Such partitioning may be carried into two or more partitions and consequently different process technologies or nodes may be used on different vertical layers or strata to provide optimized fit to the design's logic and cost demands. This is particularly important in mobile, mass-produced devices, where both cost and optimized power consumption are of paramount importance.
Synthesis CAD tools currently used in the industry for two-dimensional devices include a single target library. For three-dimensional designs these synthesis tools or design automation tools may need to be enhanced to support two or more target libraries to be able to support synthesis for disparate technology characteristics of vertical layers or strata. Such disparate layers or strata will allow better cost or power optimization of three-dimensional designs.
The partitioning starts with synthesis into APL with a target performance. Once complete, timing analysis may be done on the design and paths may be sorted by timing slack. The total estimated chip area A(t) may be computed and reasonable margins may be added as usual in anticipation of routing congestion and buffer insertion. The number of vertical layers S may be selected and the overall footprint A(t)/S may be computed.
In the first phase components belonging to paths estimated to require APL, based on timing slack below selected threshold Th, may be set aside (tagged APL). The area of these component may be computed to be A(apl). If A(apl) represents a fraction of total area A(t) greater than (S−1)/S then the process terminates and no partitioning into APL and RPL is possible—the whole design needs to be in the APL.
If the fraction of the design that requires APL is smaller than (S−1)/S then it is possible to have at least one layer of RPL. The partitioning process now starts from the largest slack path and towards lower slack paths. It tentatively tags all components of those paths that are not tagged APL with RPL, while accumulating the area of the marked components as A(rpl). When A(rpl) exceeds the area of a complete layer, A(t)/S, the components tentatively marked RPL may be permanently tagged RPL and the process continues after resetting A(rpl) to zero. If all paths are revisited and the components tentatively tagged RPL do not make for an area of a complete layer or strata, their tagging may be reversed back to APL and the process is terminated. The reason is that we want to err on the side of caution and a layer or strata should be an APL layer if it contains a mix of APL and RPL components.
The process as described assumes the availability of equivalent components in both APL and RPL technology. Ordinary persons skilled in the art will recognize that variations on this process can be done to accommodate non-equivalent technology libraries through remapping of the RPL-tagged components in a subsequent synthesis pass to an RPL target library, while marking all the APL-tagged components as untouchable. Similarly, different area requirements between APL and RPL can be accommodated through scaling and de-rating factors at the decision making points of the flow. Moreover, the term layer, when used in the context of layers of mono-crystalline silicon and associated transistors, interconnect, and other associated device structures in a 3D device, such as, for example, uncommitted repair layer 2432, may also be referred to as stratum or strata.
The partitioning process described above can be re-applied to the resulting partitions to produce multi-way partitioning and further optimize the design to minimize cost and power while meeting performance objectives.
While embodiments and applications of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The invention, therefore, is not to be limited except by the spirit of the appended claims.
This application is continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/098,997 filed on May 2, 2011, which is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. Nos. 12/423,214, filed Apr. 14, 2009, 12/577,532, filed Oct. 12, 2009, 12/706,520, filed Feb. 16, 2010, 12/847,911, filed Jul. 30, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,960,242, 12/859,665, filed Aug. 19, 2010, 12/894,252, filed Sep. 30, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,258,810, 12/900,379, filed Oct. 7, 2010, and 12/904,108, filed Oct. 13, 2010 the contents of which are incorporated by reference.
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