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Title: Silicon Microsystem Platform with Low-loss Through-silicon Vias and Microfluidic Cooling
Committee:
Dr. Bakir,Dr. May, Advisors
Dr. Wang, Chair
Dr. Brand
Abstract:
The objective of the proposed research is to fabricate and characterize high-density through-silicon vias (TSVs) integrated within a microfluidic heat sink that exhibit low electrical loss for high-performance 3D IC applications. To complete the research objective, the contribution of this research includes the fabrication and characterization of 1) high-aspect ratio TSVs (aspect ratio of 23:1) embedded in a microfluidic pin-fin heat sink and 2) low-loss TSVs using partial air isolation between signal and ground TSVs. The developed technologies in this research are described as follows. With respect to the first approach, TSVs with the aspect ratio of 23:1 are demonstrated using two types of silicon etch masks within a microfluidic pin-fin heat sink, followed by void-free TSV validation using X-ray inspection and four-point resistance measurements. With respect to the second approach, the low-loss TSVs are demonstrated by partially etching silicon between TSVs. Since TSVs are partially isolated by an air, TSV loss and TSV capacitance reduce significantly.
Moreover, to analyze the impact of microfluidic cooling on the electrical performance of TSVs, high-frequency measurements of TSVs within distilled water (distilled water presents between signal and ground TSVs) are performed from 10 MHz to 20 GHz using an Agilent network analyzer and Cascade microprobes. Extracted TSV capacitance and conductance from measurements are compared with conventional TSVs in silicon; TSVs within distilled water have larger capacitances and conductance than TSVs in silicon due to the lossy characteristics of distilled water at high frequencies.
