“Green” On-chip Inductors in 3D ICs and Their Opportunistic Utilization: the Good, the Bad, and the Powerful

Tuesday, 6 October 2015 at 15:00 in INF 328

Yiyu Shi, Departments of CSE and EE, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana

 

Abstract:

Through-silicon-vias (TSVs) are the enabling technique for three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs). However, the large TSV area, due to process limitations, significantly reduces the benefits of 3D ICs. On the other hand, a major limiting factor of many on-chip circuits (such as DC-DC converters and a resonant clock) is the large area overhead induced by spiral inductors. In this talk, we will demonstrate that it is possible to utilize TSVs to form vertical inductors with a minimal footprint. We will further explain the challenges emerged with these TSV inductors, including the lossy substrate and the constrained availability.  Finally, we will present the strategies to overcome these challenges in an opportunistic way.

About the speaker:

Dr. Yiyu Shi is currently an associate professor in the Departments of Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. He received his B.S. degree (with honors) in Electronic Engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China in 2005, the M.S and Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2007 and 2009 respectively. He was with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon University from Dec 2009 to April 2010. He was then an assistant professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Missouri University of Science and Technology from 2010 to 2015, where he co-founded and co-directed the NSF I/UCRC Net-Centric Software and Systems Center.

His current research interests include three-dimensional integrated circuits, hardware security and renewable energy applications. In recognition of his research, seven of his papers have been nominated for the Best Paper Award and one paper have received the Best Paper in Track, all in top conferences (DAC'05, ICCAD'07, ICCD'08, ASPDAC'09, DAC'09, ISPD'13, ICCAD'14, ISPD'15). He was also the recipient of IBM Invention Achievement Award in 2009, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Faculty Invitation Fellowship, Humboldt Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers, IEEE St. Louis Section Outstanding Educator Award, Academy of Science (St. Louis) Innovation Award, Missouri S&T Faculty Excellence Award, National Science Foundation CAREER Award, IEEE Region 5 Outstanding Individual Achievement Award, all in 2014, and the Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship in 2015. He has served on the technical program committee of many international conferences including DAC, ICCAD, ISPD, ASPDAC and ICCD. He is also an associate editor of ACM Journal on Emerging Technologies in Computing Systems, IEEE VLSI Circuits and Systems Newsletter, and ACM SIGDA Newsletter. He is a senior member of IEEE.