Thermal characteristic of Cu–Cu bonding layer in 3-D integrated circuits stack

Copper (Cu) thermo-compression bonding of wafers can be used to fabricate multi-layer three-dimensional (3-D) integrated circuits (ICs). This work examines the thermal characteristic of the Cu bonding layer and demonstrates experimentally that Cu bonding layer can act as a spreading layer that helps in heat dissipation of bonded 3-D ICs stack more efficiently compared to silicon dioxide bonding layer. The use of Cu bonding layer in a double-layer stack of ICs provides better cooling by as much as 9 °C compared to oxide bonding interface.