Integrated Circuits

S. Simon Wong

The research in my group bridges the technology and design issues of high-speed integrated circuits. The various projects concentrate on understanding and overcoming the performance limiting factors in devices, interconnections and packages. See recent publications for current emphasis.

Device Technology | SOI Power Integrated Circuits | Multilevel Interconnection Technology | Interconnection Design | 3DIC

Multichip Module Technology | Optical Interconnects | Wafer Scale DSP System

Device Technology
Somnuk Ratanaphanyarat (PhD 89, currently with TSMC, San Jose, CA)
Sophie Verdonckt-Vanderbroek (PhD 90, currently with Xerox, Webster, NY)
Cuong Nguyen (PhD 93, currently with ACTgent, Selanger, Malaysia)
Stephen Kuehne (PhD 96, currently with Agere, Minneapolis, MN)

No current student

The switching speed of today's devices is limited not only by the carrier transit time, but more importantly, also by the parasitic capacitors and resistors. In this project, we develop and model novel transistor structures for high-speed applications such as RF communications. Our emphasis is on using advanced processing technologies to significantly reduce parasitic elements.

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SOI Power Device and Process
Ying-Keung Leung (PhD 97, currently with TSMC, Taiwan)

No current student

The integration of power devices with digital and analog electronics promises to revolutionize the power control industry and other related applications. This project explores the performance advantages (breakdown voltage, on resistance, and switching speed) of power devices fabricated on SOI, and develops various processing technologies (e.g., wafer bonding) which are essential to power integrated circuits.

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Multilevel Interconnection Technology
Dave Thomas(PhD 90, currently with IBM Essex Junction, VT)
Victor Lee(PhD 91, currently with IBM, Boston, MA)
Ho Kang (PhD 93, currently with Samsung, Korea)
James Cho (PhD 94, currently with Atheros Communications, Sunnyvale, CA)
Changsup Ryu (PhD 98, currently with Samsung, Korea)
Alvin Loke (PhD 99, currently with Agilent, Fort Collins, CO)
Haebum Lee (PhD 01, currently with Intel, Santa Clara, CA)
Dae-Yong Kim (PhD 03)

No current student

Interconnection is a critical factor that limits the performance and reliability of today's integrated circuits. The commonly used aluminum alloy is not expected to meet the future requirements. In this project, we develop the technology, and characterize the physical and electrical behavior of multilevel copper interconnections. Emphasis is on chemical vapor deposition and electroplating techniques. The integration of Cu interconnections with various low-K dielectrics is also under investigation.

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Interconnection Design
Patrick Yue (PhD 98, currently with Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA)
Bendik Kleveland (PhD 00, currently with Matrix Semiconductor, CA)
Theerachet Soorapanth (PhD 02, currently with National Electronic and Computer Technology Center, Thailand)
Richard Chang (PhD 02, currently with Atheros Communications, Santa Clara, CA>
Frank Kolor (PhD 03, currently with Intel, Hillsboro, OR)
Niranjan Talwalkar (PhD 03, currently with IRF Semiconductor, CA)
So-Young Kim (PhD 04, currently with Intel, Santa Clara, CA)
Haitao Gan (PhD 06, currently with Atheros Communications, Santa Clara, CA)
Paul Park (phpark@stanford.edu)
Yun Bai (baiyun@stanford.edu)
Andrew Poon (megapoon@stanford.edu)

As multiple levels of interconnections are packed in ever-closer proximity, the electromagnetic interactions become significant and affect signal propagation and integrity. Furthermore, at above GHz, high-frequency effects (skin depth, dielectric and substrate losses, etc.) are no longer negligible. In this project, the characteristics of copper and low-K dielectrics at above GHz frequencies are studied. Appropriate models are developed for predicting the high-frequency performance of advanced multilevel interconnection network. The applications of advanced metallization technology to fabricate critical elements such as inductors, transformers and strip-lines for RF communication circuits are being studied. Novel design concepts to extend the operational frequency of integrated circuits are also being explored.

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3D IC
Wei Wang (mailvv@stanford.edu)
Aaron Gibby (agibby@stanford.edu)

Prof. Wong is the principal investigator of a DARPA sponsored project on 3-dimensional integrated circuits. This project involves over 10 faculty members. The overall goals are to

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Multichip Module Technology
Mark Beiley (PhD 93, currently with Intel, Chandler, AZ)
Wheling Cheng (PhD 95)
Justin Leung (PhD 97, currently with Intel, Santa Clara, CA)

No current student

On and off chip data transmission is a bottleneck of communication in many high speed systems. In this project, we study the utilization of multichip module technology to eliminate the packages and reduce the spatial distances between chips. Testing of the bare chips before they are mounted on the module is widely regarded as the most critical problem plaguing the adoption of the technology. Our present emphasis is to develop an active array probe card technology for high speed and high resolution testing of integrated circuits that have a large number of input/output pads.

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Optical Interconnection
Abbas Behfar-Rad (PhD 90, currently with BinOptics, Ithaca, NY)
Steve Biellak (PhD 95, currently with Teleoptics)

No current student

Optical interconnection is expected to play a major role in data communication within and between chips. This project aims at developing GaAs/AlGaAs lasers and appropriate interfacing techniques to achieve optical interconnections between chips. The work emphasizes the monolithic fabrication of laser structures.

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Wafer Scale DSP System
Jaehee You (PhD 90, currently with Hongik University, Seoul, Korea)

No current student

In this project, a pipelined digital signal processing system is designed with systolic array approach for multichip module.

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