3D inter-stratum connectivity robustness

• US 8,381,156 B1
• Filed: 08/25/2011
• Issued: 02/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Globalfoundries US Incorporated (GlobalFoundries, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lo, Shih-Hsien, Scheuermann, Michael R., Wordeman, Matthew R., Beakes, Michael P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Parihar, Suchin
• Application Number:
  US13/217,381
• Publication Number:
  US 20130055183A1
• Time in Patent Office: 544 Days
• Field of Search: 716/100, 716/110
• US Class Current: 716/110
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2113/18 Chip packaging
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/398 Design verification or optimisation, e.g. using design rule check [DRC], layout versus schematics [LVS] or finite element methods [FEM] optical proximity correction [OPC] design processes G03F1/36
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/0657 Stacked arrangements of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00

Abstract

There is provided a method for verifying inter-stratum connectivity for two or more strata to be combined into a 3D chip stack. Each of the two or more strata has 3D elements including active 3D elements, mechanical 3D elements, and dummy 3D elements. The method includes performing a respective 2D layout versus schematic verification on each of the two or more strata with respect to at least the 3D elements to pre-ensure an absence of shorts between the 3D elements when the two or more strata are subsequently stacked into the 3D chip stack. The method further includes checking inter-stratum interconnectivity between each adjacent pair of strata in the 3D chip stack.

Claims

1. A method for verifying inter-stratum connectivity for two or more strata to be combined into a 3D chip stack, each of the two or more strata having 3D elements including active 3D elements, mechanical 3D elements, and dummy 3D elements, the method comprising:

performing a respective 2D layout versus schematic verification on each of the two or more strata with respect to at least the 3D elements to pre-ensure an absence of shorts between the 3D elements when the two or more strata are subsequently stacked into the 3D chip stack; and

checking inter-stratum interconnectivity between each adjacent pair of strata in the 3D chip stack,

wherein said performing step comprises one or more of;

verifying an absence of 3D element overlapping on a same stratum side;

verifying an absence of a customized wire or shape above a 3D terminal pin layer at a last metal layer or a last wiring metal;

verifying pin and active element one-to-one correspondence and center-to-center alignment; and

verifying pin matching between an abstract representation and a layout of each of the two or more strata.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of verifying an absence of 3D element overlapping on the same stratum side is performed using cell bounding boxes or landing metal coordinates.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of verifying an absence of a customized wire or shape above a 3D terminal pin layer at a last metal layer or a last wiring metal comprises permitting, with respect to 3D terminal pins on the 3D terminal pin layer on a device mounting side of each of the two or more strata, only ones of the 3D terminal pins at a landing metal layer not generated by a design service process or at the last metal layer or at a via contact in a 3D element.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of verifying an absence of a customized wire or shape above a 3D terminal pin layer at a last metal layer or a last wiring metal comprises restricting from use, with respect to an active device mounting side of each of the two or more strata, custom drawn metal shapes between the 3D terminal pin layer and any C4 connections.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of verifying an absence of a customized wire or shape above a 3D terminal pin layer at a last metal layer or a last wiring metal comprises restricting from use, with respect to a non-active device mounting side of each of the two or more strata, custom drawn metal shapes between the 3D terminal pin layer and any C4 connections.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of verifying pin and active element one-to-one correspondence and center-to-center alignment comprises verifying that an inter-stratum interconnect pin touches only one of the active 3D elements that is fully covered by a same metal layer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of verifying pin and active element one-to-one correspondence and center-to-center alignment comprises restricting an inter-stratum interconnect pin from touching any of the mechanical 3D elements.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said performing step comprises restricting custom drawn non-routing shapes at layers above the 3D pin layer for an active device mounting side of each of the two or more strata.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said performing step comprises restricting custom drawn non-routing shapes at layers below the 3D pin layer for a non-active device mounting side of each of the two or more strata.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of verifying pin matching between an abstract representation and a layout of each of the two or more stratum comprises verifying that each 3D terminal pin on each of the two or more strata has a one-to-one correspondence between the abstract representation and the layout thereof with respect to name, layer, shape, coordinate, and net.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said checking step comprises verifying, for each adjacent pair of strata, a one-to-one correspondence between logically-connected ones of the active 3D elements and the mechanical 3D elements on mating sides thereof.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said checking step comprises ensuring an integrity of logical connections between each adjacent pair of strata based on physically aligned active 3D elements with matching net connectivity.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said checking step comprises ensuring an integrity of physical connections between each adjacent pair of strata based on physically aligned ones of the mechanical 3D elements.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said checking step comprises restricting an open terminated 3D pin in one stratum from touching any 3D terminal pin or any of the active 3D elements in an adjacent one of the two or more strata.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said checking step comprises identifying unconnected or misaligned ones of the 3D elements on each adjacent pair of strata.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein said checking step comprises identifying shorting connections between each adjacent pair of strata.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying redundant ones of the active 3D elements and the mechanical 3D elements on each of the two or more strata.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying overlapping ones of the active 3D elements and the mechanical 3D elements on each of the two or more strata.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying shorting same-stratum active 3D elements.

20. A computer readable storage medium comprising a computer readable program stored thereon, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform the following:

verify inter-stratum connectivity for two or more strata to be combined into a 3D chip stack, each of the two or more strata having 3D elements including active 3D elements, mechanical 3D elements, and dummy 3D elements,

wherein verify inter-stratum connectivity for two or more strata to be combined into a 3D chip stack comprises;

performing a respective 2D layout versus schematic verification on each of the two or more strata with respect to at least the 3D elements to pre-ensure an absence of shorts between the 3D elements when the two or more strata are subsequently stacked into the 3D chip stack; and

checking inter-stratum interconnectivity between each adjacent pair of strata in the 3D chip stack, and

wherein performing a respective 2D layout versus schematic verification comprises one or more of;

verifying an absence of 3D element overlapping on a same stratum side;

verifying an absence of a customized wire or shape above a 3D terminal pin layer at a last metal layer or a last wiring metal;

verifying pin and active element one-to-one correspondence and center-to-center alignment; and

verifying pin matching between an abstract representation and a layout of each of the two or more strata.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein said step of verifying an absence of 3D element overlapping on the same stratum side is performed using cell bounding boxes or landing metal coordinates.

22. An apparatus comprising at least a processor configured to perform the following:

verify inter-stratum connectivity for two or more strata to be combined into a 3D chip stack, each of the two or more strata having 3D elements including active 3D elements, mechanical 3D elements, and dummy 3D elements,

wherein verify inter-stratum connectivity for two or more strata to be combined into a 3D chip stack comprises;

perform a respective 2D layout versus schematic verification on each of the two or more strata with respect to at least the 3D elements to pre-ensure an absence of shorts between the 3D elements when the two or more strata are subsequently stacked into the 3D chip stack; and

check inter-stratum interconnectivity between each adjacent pair of strata in the 3D chip stack,

wherein perform a respective 2D layout versus schematic verification comprises one or more of;

verify an absence of 3D element overlapping on a same stratum side;

verify an absence of a customized wire or shape above a 3D terminal pin layer at a last metal layer or a last wiring metal;

verify pin and active element one-to-one correspondence and center-to-center alignment; and

verify pin matching between an abstract representation and a layout of each of the two or more strata.