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Through Silicon Vias (TSVs) are crucial elements for the reliable operation and yield of three dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs). Defects are a serious concern in TSV structures. A post-bond, parallel testing and diagnosis scheme is proposed in this work, for the detection and location of resistive open or short to substrate defects in TSVs, which is based on easily synthesizable all digital testing circuitry. The new testing method provides tolerance over process and temperature variations that may influence the embedded circuits. Extensive typical model simulations and Monte-Carlo analysis results, using the 65 nm technology of TSMC, prove the effectiveness of the new method. Additionally, two representative methods from the literature are simulated and compared to the proposed one, in terms of effectiveness, robustness, tolerance, cost and design for testability effort. The proposed scheme is proven to perform better based on all presented criteria.

Testing of three-dimensional (3D) stacked ICs (SICs) is starting to receive considerable attention in the semiconductor industry. Since the die-stacking steps of thinning, alignment, and bonding can introduce defects, there may be a need to test multiple subsequent partial stacks during 3D assembly. We address the problem of test-architecture optimization for 3D stacked ICs to minimize overall test time when either the complete stack only, or the complete stack and multiple partial stacks, need to be tested. A general solution to this problem provides several options for 3D stack testing in a unified framework. We show that optimal test-architecture solutions and test schedules for multiple test insertions are different from their counterparts for a single final stack test. In addition, we present optimization techniques for the testing of TSVs and die-external logic in combination with the dies in the stack.