ThruChip interface for 3D system integration

ThruChip Interface (TCI) employing inductive coupling bares comparison with Through Silicon Via (TSV) in terms of data rate (11Gb/s/ch), reliability (BER≪10-14), and energy dissipation (0.14pJ/b). It is less expensive than TSV by 20c/chip, though, since it is implemented by digital circuits in a standard CMOS. ESD protection devices can be eliminated to further lower delay, power, and area. It exhibits high noise immunity and alignment tolerance. It provides with an AC coupling link to make interface design easy under multiple/variable VDD´s. The cost/performance will further be improved exponentially by thinning chip thickness. Applications include Solid-State Drive (SSD) by stacking NAND Flash memories, a high-speed low-power DRAM interface, bus probing through package for debugging, and non-contact wafer testing. Wireless power delivery by using inductive coupling will further widen the applications. This talk will cover basics, applications, and future perspectives of the TCI.