monolithic 3DIC

As 2D scaling becomes increasingly difficult, researchers reporting at VLSI Symposia have focused attention on what can be done in the third dimensions to improve density and performance without a sudden break from conventional CMOS processes.

Different forms of heterogeneous integration take center stage at the IEEE International Electron Device Meeting (IEDM) in December this year.

CEA-Leti claimed at IEDM to have achieved major steps in bringing monolithic 3D integration closer to production readiness.

Imec proposes using stacked CMOS transistors and buried power rails to improve density for the 3nm process node.

Two leading European research institutes presented their work on the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of monolithic 3D integration at this year's IEDM.

Machine learning, smarter cars, and the infrastructure to support a sixfold increase in IoT and edge devices have helped push up the number of teams doing finFET designs to more than 100, according to Tom Beckley of Cadence.

What will 3D integration look like? IEDM 2016 explored some of the options ranging from IoT sensors to advanced logic.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology adapted conventional 2D layout tools to a two-layer monolithic 3D process that resulted in sizeable space and power savings.

At IEDM 2014, CEA-Leti presented a technique that prevents damage to base-layer transistors in monolithic 3DIC processes. As work progresses, the institute is preparing to receive 3DIC designs in 2017.

Qualcomm is looking to monolithic 3D and smart circuit architectures to make up for the loss of traditional 2D process scaling as wafer costs for advanced nodes continue to increase.