Mitigating TSV-induced substrate noise coupling in 3-D IC using buried interface contacts

Substrate noise coupling induced by Through Silicon Vias in SOI substrates is modeled and analyzed in frequency- and time-domain. In addition to a buried oxide layer, a highly doped N+ epi layer used for deep trench devices is taken into account in full-wave electromagnetic simulations. Equivalent circuit models are extracted to assess the impact of noise coupling on active circuit performance. A noise mitigation technique of using CMOS process compatible buried interface contacts is proposed and studied. Simulation results demonstrate that a low impedance ground return path can be readily created for effective substrate noise reduction in 3D IC design. © 2012 IEEE.