Three-dimensional integrated circuits and the future of system-on-chip designs

Three-dimensional integrated circuits (3-D ICS) offer significant improvements over two-dimensional circuits, and promise a solution to the severe problems that are being, and will be, encountered as monolithic process geometries are reduced to below 65 nm. Several methods associated with the fabrication of 3-D ICs are discussed in this paper, and the techniques developed by Tezzaron Semiconductor Corp., are described in detail. Four successful 3-D ICs are described, along with the anticipated benefits of applying 3-D design to future system-on-chip (SoC) devices.