Research Needs for TSV-Based 3D IC Architectural Floorplanning

This article presents key research needs in three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D IC) architectural floorplanning. Architectural floorplaning is done at a very early stage of 3D IC design process, where the goal is to quickly evaluate architectural designs described in register-transfer level (RTL) in terms of power, performance, and reliability. This evaluation is then fed back to architects for further improvement and/or modifications needed to meet the target constraints. We discuss the details of the following research needs in this article: block-level modeling, through-silicon-via (TSV) insertion and management, and chip/package co-evaluation. The goal of block-level modeling is to obtain physical, power, performance, and reliability information of architectural blocks. We then assemble the blocks into multiple tiers while connecting them using TSVs that are placed in between hard IPs and inside soft IPs. Once a full-stack 3D floorplanning is obtained, we evaluate it so that the feedback is provided back to architects.