Wireless Interconnects for Inter-tier Communication on 3D ICs

The feasibility of on-chip antennas for inter-tier communication on a 3D integrated circuit (IC) stack is shown for two different 3D integration processes. The on-chip antennas for inter-tier wireless interconnects are proposed to be used in conjunction with through silicon vias (TSVs) for global communication in 3D ICs. A 3D finite element method (FEM) based full wave electro-magnetic analysis of two different 3D IC models is presented: a fully depleted silicon on insulator (FDSOI) oxide-oxide bonding 3D circuit integration technology and a complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) silicon on insulator (SoI) Benzocyclobutene (BCB) polymer adhesive bonding 3D circuit integration technology. It is shown that the selected transmitting and receiving antennas provide a strong signal coupling at a radiation frequency of 10GHz for both 3D integration processes. In particular, the transmission gains between the antenna pair are -6.92 dB and -5.23 dB for communication between the first and the third IC tiers of a 3D IC for the oxide-oxide and the BCB polymer adhesive bonding techniques, respectively.