Architectural Impact of 3D Configuration and Routing Schemes

Abstract

In this chapter, the architectural impact of the 3D enhanced memories and routing resources were carefully studied. The traditional FPGA architecture was enhanced by the technologies presented in the previous chapter. The envisaged technologies move devices in 3D. Devices can be passive (e.g. resistive phase-change memories) or active (e.g. monolithic 3D integration or vertical NWFET). Performance estimations were carried out by benchmarking simulations of the improved FPGA architecture. The benchmarking tool is based on standard tools and tuned according to the technological parameters. We showed that, implemented in FPGAs, the resistive configuration memory node, coupled to the routing structure, yields a delay reduction up to 51%, thanks to the reduction of dimensions and low on-resistance of PCMs. This result was also reached by the vertical NWFET technology, because of the ability to size a large transistor vertically without a large impact on the projected area. In this case, the critical path delay may be reduced up to 49% compared to the traditional scaled MOS. Regarding the area metric, the best improvement was reached by the vertical NWFET technology with an improvement of about 46%. Vertical NWFET technology allowed moving all the peripheral circuits above the IC. By opposition, the PCM technology leads to a much tighter area improvement of 13%. Indeed, this technology requires a large programming transistor per node.Among the different technologies, we should remark that 3D monolithic integration process yields in an area improvement of 21% on average and in a delay improvement of 22% on average. Such a technology represents a good trade-off process for short term micro-electronics evolutions.