FaStack® Creates 3D Integrated Circuits (3D-ICs)
Tezzaron's groundbreaking FaStack technology creates fast, dense, highly integrated 3D
chips. The
heart of the process is wafer-level stacking. Device circuitry is divided into sections that are
built on separate wafers using standard processing. Hundreds of thousands of vertical "Super-Contact™"
connectors are built into the wafers. Finished wafers are metallized with a
proprietary bonding pattern. They are then aligned with a precision of 0.5 micron,
bonded, and thinned. Additional wafers may be bonded and thinned in
turn. The finished stack is diced
into individual 3D-IC devices.
Wafer Stacking
Wafer Stacked SoC (proposed)
A variation on the FaStack process stacks individual dies onto
an uncut wafer that is then diced into 3D-ICs. The dies may themselves be
FaStack 3D-ICs, and the uncut wafer may be a FaStack wafer stack; this
"stack of stacks" scenario allows for extremely flexible integration
projects.
Die-on-Wafer Stacking
Hyper-Integrated Stack of Stacks (in progress)
A Superior Technology
FaStack devices have many advantages over their single-layer counterparts. They are much more dense
and their short vertical interconnects allow them to operate at higher speeds with a lower power
budget. In addition, FaStack allows disparate elements to be processed on separate wafers for
simpler production and greater optimization.
Unlike the separate chips in a "System-in-Package" (SiP) component, FaStack layers are
fully integrated into a single IC by a dense system of through-silicon interconnects. FaStack
devices match the tight integration of SoC devices while out-doing SiPs for high speed, low power
budget, and tiny footprint.
Although other 3D-IC technologies exist, FaStack offers several important
benefits:
> No exotic process requirements
> Extremely high interconnect density
> High-precision alignment
> Low-stress tungsten TSV for reduced thermal mismatch
> No thin-wafer handling requirements
> Extreme thinning allows 3D-ICs to fit in standard packaging
> Real working devices since 2004 - with no failures to date!
Applications for FaStack®
FaStack’s wafer stacking offers benefits to a variety of applications. Sensor arrays, for example,
achieve unprecedented density by moving the support circuitry to a different layer than the sensors
themselves. “System-on-Chip” (SoC) devices built with FaStack reduce power consumption, footprint,
and interconnect delays. Microprocessors built with FaStack incorporate a huge, fast memory cache
on a separate layer. FaStack also enables enormous improvements in memory technology and allows seamless integration of
differing process technologies. As 3D-ICs move into the mainstream, entirely new products will emerge
to capitalize on this technology.
Getting the FaStack® Advantage
Tezzaron is currently exploiting the benefits of FaStack in three ways:
1) joint development projects with technology partners and systems designers,
2) licensing the production technology to manufacturers, and
3) producing our own FaStack-based products.
Contact Tezzaron to discuss how you can become a partner or
customer.
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