Opportunities and Challenges for 3D Systems and Their Design

by Philip Emma and Eren Kursun

Although it's not a new concept, 3D integration increasingly receives widespread interest and focus as lithographic scaling becomes more challenging, and as the ability to make miniature vias greatly improves. Like Moore's law, 3D integration improves density. With improvements in packaging density, however, come the challenges associated with its inherently higher power density. And though it acts somewhat as a scaling accelerator, the vertical integration also poses new challenges to design and manufacturing technologies.