Our report on 3D stacked memory technology covers the Intellectual Property (Patent) landscape of this rapidly evolving technology and monitors its various sub-domains for licensing activity. We have analyzed the IP portfolios of SanDisk, Micron, Samsung, IBM and other major players to find the focus areas of their patenting efforts. Using our proprietary patent analytics tool, LexScore™, we identify the front runners in this technology domain with strong patent portfolio quality as well as a heavy patent filing activity. Using our proprietary Licensing Heat-map framework, we also predict licensing activity trend in various technology sub domains.
This fourth volume of the landmark handbook focuses on the design, testing, and thermal management of 3D-integrated circuits, both from a technological and materials science perspective. Edited and authored by key contributors from top research institutions and high-tech companies, the first part of the book provides an overview of the latest developments in 3D chip design, including challenges and opportunities. The second part focuses on the test methods used to assess the quality and reliability of the 3D-integrated circuits, while the third and final part deals with thermal management and advanced cooling technologies and their integration.
This book explains for readers how 3D chip stacks promise to increase the level of on-chip integration, and to design new heterogeneous semiconductor devices that combine chips of different integration technologies (incl. sensors) in a single package of the smallest possible size. The authors focus on heterogeneous 3D integration, addressing some of the most important challenges in this emerging technology, including contactless, optics-based, and carbon-nanotube-based 3D integration, as well as signal-integrity and thermal management issues in copper-based 3D integration. Coverage also includes the 3D heterogeneous integration of power sources, photonic devices, and non-volatile memories based on new materials systems.
The large scale integration and planar scaling of individual system chips is reaching an expensive limit. If individual chips now, and later terrabyte memory blocks, memory macros, and processing cores, can be tightly linked in optimally designed and processed small footprint vertical stacks, then performance can be increased, power reduced and cost contained. This book reviews for the electronics industry engineer, professional and student the critical areas of development for 3D vertical memory chips including: gate-all-around and junction-less nanowire memories, stacked thin film and double gate memories, terrabit vertical channel and vertical gate stacked NAND flash, large scale stacking of Resistance RAM cross-point arrays, and 2.5D/3D stacking of memory and processor chips with through-silicon-via connections now and remote links later. Key features: Presents a review of the status and trends in 3-dimensional vertical memory chip technologies. Extensively reviews advanced vertical memory chip technology and development Explores technology process routes and 3D chip integration in a single reference
This book describes innovative techniques to address the testing needs of 3D stacked integrated circuits (ICs) that utilize through-silicon-vias (TSVs) as vertical interconnects. The authors identify the key challenges facing 3D IC testing and present results that have emerged from cutting-edge research in this domain. Coverage includes topics ranging from die-level wrappers, self-test circuits, and TSV probing to test-architecture design, test scheduling, and optimization. Readers will benefit from an in-depth look at test-technology solutions that are needed to make 3D ICs a reality and commercially viable.
The emerging three-dimensional (3D) chip architectures, with their intrinsic capability of reducing the wire length, promise attractive solutions to reduce the delay of interconnects in future microprocessors. 3D memory stacking enables much higher memory bandwidth for future chip-multiprocessor design, mitigating the "memory wall" problem. In addition, heterogenous integration enabled by 3D technology can also result in innovative designs for future microprocessors. This book first provides a brief introduction to this emerging technology, and then presents a variety of approaches to designing future 3D microprocessor systems, by leveraging the benefits of low latency, high bandwidth, and heterogeneous integration capability which are offered by 3D technology.
This book walks the reader through the next step in the evolution of NAND flash memory technology, namely the development of 3D flash memories, in which multiple layers of memory cells are grown within the same piece of silicon. It describes their working principles, device architectures, fabrication techniques and practical implementations, and highlights why 3D flash is a brand new technology. After reviewing market trends for both NAND and solid state drives (SSDs), the book digs into the details of the flash memory cell itself, covering both floating gate and emerging charge trap technologies. There is a plethora of different materials and vertical integration schemes out there. New memory cells, new materials, new architectures (3D Stacked, BiCS and P-BiCS, 3D FG, 3D VG, 3D advanced architectures); basically, each NAND manufacturer has its own solution. Chapter 3 to chapter 7 offer a broad overview of how 3D can materialize. The 3D wave is impacting emerging memories as well and chapter 8 covers 3D RRAM (resistive RAM) crosspoint arrays. Visualizing 3D structures can be a challenge for the human brain: this is way all these chapters contain a lot of bird’s-eye views and cross sections along the 3 axes. The second part of the book is devoted to other important aspects, such as advanced packaging technology (i.e. TSV in chapter 9) and error correction codes, which have been leveraged to improve flash reliability for decades. Chapter 10 describes the evolution from legacy BCH to the most recent LDPC codes, while chapter 11 deals with some of the most recent advancements in the ECC field. Last but not least, chapter 12 looks at 3D flash memories from a system perspective. Is 14nm the last step for planar cells? Can 100 layers be integrated within the same piece of silicon? Is 4 bit/cell possible with 3D? Will 3D be reliable enough for enterprise and datacenter applications? These are some of the questions that this book helps answering by providing insights into 3D flash memory design, process technology and applications.
The large scale integration and planar scaling of individual system chips is reaching an expensive limit. If individual chips now, and later terrabyte memory blocks, memory macros, and processing cores, can be tightly linked in optimally designed and processed small footprint vertical stacks, then performance can be increased, power reduced and cost contained. This book reviews for the electronics industry engineer, professional and student the critical areas of development for 3D vertical memory chips including: gate-all-around and junction-less nanowire memories, stacked thin film and double gate memories, terrabit vertical channel and vertical gate stacked NAND flash, large scale stacking of Resistance RAM cross-point arrays, and 2.5D/3D stacking of memory and processor chips with through-silicon-via connections now and remote links later. Key features: Presents a review of the status and trends in 3-dimensional vertical memory chip technologies. Extensively reviews advanced vertical memory chip technology and development Explores technology process routes and 3D chip integration in a single reference
