Thermal dissipation in stacked devices

Abstract

In this paper, we present thermal dissipation challenges in three dimensional (3D) stacked devices and discuss strategies to tackle these issues through innovations in materials, integrations, and designs. Back-end-of-line (BEOL) compatible aluminum nitride (AlN) and diamond are evaluated and found to be promising dielectric materials to improve thermal dissipation in 3D stacked devices. Insertion of phonon dispersion matched bridging layers is proposed to solve the thermal boundary resistance issue. We also propose a manufacturing compatible in-line metrology for monitoring the thermal conductivity (κ) and heat dissipation characteristics.