Design considerations for three dimensional integrated circuits for aerospace applications
Three dimensional integrated circuits (3DICs) allow for increased device density and performance while also facilitating heterogeneous integration of different functionalities into one 3D stack. These features can be leveraged in the implementation of innovative multi-purpose 3DICs for aerospace applications which often require high performance multi-functional chips for a variety of applications. This work will detail our in-house technological capabilities for the implementation of high performance 3DICs, with an example of an asynchronous field programmable gate array (AFPGA) prototype that was fabricated using our state-of-the-art facilities for prototyping a multitude of asynchronous applications. The 3D AFPGA architecture has shown great promise for the realization of logic in a fast and variation-tolerant manner which is especially critical for aerospace applications. Our in-house 3D technology will be illustrated and details on the technology modeling and CAD framework will be provided. The framework developed can be utilized by other users in the design of 3D integrated circuits for our 3D technology. This work will also showcase the various design constraints to be considered for the implementation of high performance 3DICs, in particular speed, area and power. Different transmission techniques for ultra-high speed signal communication within the 3DIC stack will be explored and results will detail considerations for choice of transmission schemes. Layout schemes will illustrate how design layout complexity can be tailored for gains with respect to area, speed and power. Also illustrated are ways to extend existing 2D layouts for manufacturing better-performing 3D counterparts. Detailed analyses of the design complexity versus performance optimization will show how the final 3DIC implementation would be based on given time and cost constraints. This work will also detail ways to integrate heterogeneous dies in a 3D stack, in particular sensors, for multi-functional aerospace applications.