RF characterization of substrate coupling between TSV and MOS transistors in 3D integrated circuits

The introduction of TSVs is a major change of paradigm, which electrical impact on circuit functionality has to be carefully investigated. Specific test structures dedicated to characterize the substrate noise transfer function between aggressor TSVs and sensitive MOS transistors (N or P) were designed. For the first time, TSV to MOS gate and drain couplings were characterized through scattering parameter measurements up to 40 GHz. Substrate attenuation of perturbation generated by TSV increases from -60 dB to -20 dB with frequency. Coupling mechanism strongly depends on the MOS transistor state, up to 10 dB in difference being observed between ON and OFF. Coupling transfer function according of MOS transistor type is also extracted considering N, P, and isolated N MOS. Electrical coupling mechanism and dependency are explained through MOS to substrate coupling models, based on semi-conductor theory, enabling noise-based 3D design for future circuits.