Thermo-Mechanical Reliability of TSV based 3D-IC

The three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D-IC) is a general trend for the miniaturized and high-performance electronic devices. The through-silicon-via (TSV) is the advanced interconnection method to achieve 3D integration, which uses vertical metal via through silicon substrate. However, the TSV based 3D-IC undergoes severe thermo-mechanical stress due to the CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) mismatch between via and silicon. The thermo-mechanical stress induces mechanical failure on silicon and silicon-via interface, which reduces the device reliability. In this paper, the thermo-mechanical reliability of TSV based 3D-IC is reviewed in terms of mechanical fracture, heat conduction, and material characteristic. Furthermore, the state of the art via-level and package-level design techniques are introduced to improve the reliability of TSV based 3D-IC.