Study of TSV leakage current and breakdown voltage

Three potential contributing factors to the TSV leakage and breakdown are discussed and analyzed in this study. In addition, an in-line testing methodology is put forward so that leakage and breakdown data could be easily obtained. Finite element method simulation was used to illustrate the testing principle, and experimental test were carried out for validation. It was found that the most contributing factor to the TSV leakage and breakdown is the uniformity of the insulator layer thickness, while via-diameter and pitch between TSVs are factors of failure mechanism of the low-frequency characteristics.