3D Integration for VLSI Systems

Chapter 14 THERMAL-AWARE 3D IC DESIGNS

Xiaoxia Wu, Yuan Xie and Vijaykirshnan Narayanan

Penn State University

Power and thermal issues have become the primary concerns in traditional 2D IC design. Although emerging 3D technology offers several benefits over 2D, the stacking of multiple active layers in 3D design leads to higher power densities than its 2D counterpart, exacerbating the thermal issue. Therefore, it is essential to conduct thermal-aware 3D IC designs. This chapter presents an overview of thermal modeling for 3D IC and outlines solution schemes to overcome the thermal challenges at Electrical Design Automation (EDA) and architectural levels.

14.1 INTRODUCTION

3D technology offers several benefits compared to traditional 2D ...