Through-silicon vias: Drivers, performance, and innovations

To address the abating performance improvements from device scaling, innovative 2.5-D and 3-D integrated circuits with vertical interconnects called through-silicon vias (TSVs) have been widely explored. This paper reviews TSVs with focus on the following: 1) key drivers for TSV-based integration; 2) TSV fabrication techniques; 3) TSV electrical and thermomechanical performance fundamentals and characterization techniques; and 4) novel technologies to attain enhanced performance beyond the state-of-the-art TSVs.