Modeling, design, fabrication and characterization of power delivery networks and resonance suppression in double-sided 3-D glass interposer packages

Abstract

Effective power delivery in Double-sided 3-D glass interposer packages was proposed, investigated, and demonstrated towards achieving high logic-to-memory bandwidth. Such 3-D interposers enable a simpler alternative to direct 3-D stacking by providing low-loss, wide-I/O channels between the logic device on one side of the ultra-thin glass interposer and memory stack on the other side, eliminating the need for complex TSVs in the logic die. A simplified PDN design approach with power-ground planes was proposed to overcome resonance challenges from (a) added parasitic inductance in the lateral power delivery path from the printed wiring board (PWB), due to die placement on the bottom side of the interposer, and (b) the low-loss property of the glass substrate. Based on this approach, this dissertation developed three important suppression solutions using, (a) the 3-D interposer package configuration, (b) the selection of embedded and SMT-based decoupling capacitors, and (c) coaxial power-ground planes with TPVs. The self-impedance of the 3-D glass interposer PDN was simulated using electromagnetic solvers, including printed-wiring-board (PWB) and chip-level models. Two-metal and four-metal layer test vehicles were fabricated on 30-μm and 100-μm thick glass substrates using a panel-based double-side fabrication process, for potential lower cost and improved electrical performance. The PDN test structures were characterized upto 20 GHz, to demonstrate the measured verification of (a) 3-D glass interposer power delivery network and (b) resonance suppression. The data and analysis presented in this dissertation prove that the objectives of this research were met successfully, leading to the first demonstration of effective PDN design in ultra-thin (30-100μm), and 3-D double-sided glass BGA packages, by suppressing the PDN noise from mode resonances.