Efficient characterization of TSV-to-transistor noise coupling in 3D ICs.

A methodology is proposed to characterize TSV induced noise coupling in three-dimensional (3D) integrated circuits. Different substrate biasing schemes (such as a single substrate contact versus regularly placed substrate contacts) and TSV fabrication methods (such as via-first and via-last) are considered. A compact π model is proposed to efficiently estimate the coupling noise at a victim transistor. Each admittance within the compact model is approximated with a closed-form expression consisting of logarithmic functions. The methodology is validated using a 3D transmission line matrix (3D-TLM) method, demonstrating, on average, 4.8% error. The compact model and the closed-form expressions are utilized to better understand TSV induced noise as a function of multiple parameters such as TSV type and placement of substrate contacts.