Thermal aware Graphene based Through Silicon Via design for 3D IC

Heat transfer and consistent power delivery are the two most critical issues in 3D stacked IC technology. In order to ensure consistent and reliable power delivery to all the components of the 3D stacked IC while suppressing the power supply noise to a minimum level, a highly efficient power distribution network is essential. But complex thermal and power networks weaken signal integrity in 3D IC. Through Silicon Via (TSV) is an important limiting factor for 3D integrated circuit (IC) performance. TSVs are used mainly for power distribution, signal delivery, clock distribution and heat conduction. In this paper, a new design of multi-layer Graphene nanoribbon (MLGNR) based TSV for 3D IC has been proposed. Power distribution and thermal management of the TSV has been investigated. Graphene has unique electrical properties and superior heat conduction capability. These exceptional characteristics make the MLGNR bundle a perfect candidate for TSV design in 3D IC. The results and analysis indicate that MLGNR would perform better than copper (Cu) and carbon naotube (CNT) based TSVs.