Move in-depth reliability checks to the earliest, most flexible phase of the design flow.
The semiconductor industry is undergoing a transformation as 3D integrated circuits (ICs) and heterogeneous packaging become mainstream. With these advances comes the promise of higher functional density, a smaller footprint and enhanced system performance. However, these same innovations introduce new mechanical stressors within complex assemblies, posing novel reliability risks across the device, die and package domains. The industry needs an automated solution to help design teams uncover, understand and manage stress-induced reliability risks in 3D ICs and chiplet-based architectures.
Stacking multiple dies vertically, incorporating diverse materials, interposers and ultra-fine interconnects all amplify challenges like package warpage, die fracturing, solder joint fatigue and delamination. Such failures can erode both manufacturing yield and the long-term performance of a device. Making matters more complex, many stress-related issues escape detection, such as reduced circuit mobility, causing circuit performance failures under thermal or mechanical cycling.
Traditional 2D verification platforms—and even some assembly simulators—can miss these subtle yet critical effects. They often simplify chip geometry, overlook stress within advanced die structures or fail to link assembly conditions with behaviors inside the final system. A thorough multi-level analysis is needed to address these gaps, capturing both mechanical and electrical consequences across the entire physical stack (figure 1).
Fig. 1: Multi-scale simulation considers impacts of stress from device to die to package assembly.
Leaving stress checks until final sign-off or assembly can delay discovery of issues, leading to expensive late-stage redesigns or even requiring a respin. Instead, the industry is rapidly turning to shift-left verification: moving in-depth reliability checks to the earliest, most flexible phase of the design flow, enabling teams to identify and resolve vulnerabilities when adjustments are still manageable.
Effective 3D IC development now requires early, automated stress analysis to support fast architectural pathfinding and iterative chip/package co-design.
A state-of-the-art 3D stress analysis solution constructs a model of the entire assembly—from millimeter-scale substrates to core nanometer device features. By extracting and considering die layouts, material definitions and advanced features such as TSVs, solder bumps, interposers and underfill, it delivers a multi-scale representation suitable for accurate finite element analysis.
Simulations of mechanical stresses propagate through the stack, revealing:
This approach surpasses older “black box” methods that treat the die as a simple silicon block, providing deeper insight and ensuring that no latent risk points are overlooked.
Calibre 3DStress is easy to add to existing IC flows, supporting verification needs from early exploration to final sign-off. In the early design phase, engineers can quickly assess many packaging, placement and material options, identifying potential stress risks while there is still freedom to adjust the architecture. These early insights guide designers to avoid or mitigate high-stress regions before costly steps are taken.
As implementation proceeds, “what-if” analyses allow for virtual placement of key devices or blocks. Designers can directly compare stress profiles based on different device locations, using global stress variation data to inform the best layout decisions.
In the closing stages, Calibre 3DStress performs rigorous sign-off analysis, ensuring that all assembly elements meet reliability thresholds for thermo-mechanical stress. This significantly reduces the risk of post-assembly failures or subpar performance, supporting robust, reliable market delivery.
Early-stage 3D IC projects frequently operate with incomplete data and evolving package requirements. Modular input options allow teams to refine design and process assumptions over time, using successive simulation results to facilitate informed tradeoffs between chip and package design.
As the project progresses and the data matures, simulation accuracy improves, enabling detailed “what-if” analysis—experimenting with block locations, material choices or process tweaks to minimize warpage and reinforce reliability.
This iterative, shift-left strategy keeps feedback relevant and actionable, helping teams make optimal assembly decisions before entering sign-off.
Once package architectures and die placements are finalized, 3D stress analysis tools must scale up to deliver comprehensive, full-stack verification. Siemens EDA’s Calibre 3DStress, for example, uses proven physical models to integrate stress effects at every material interface, delivering high-resolution views for sign-off reliability checks.
Visualization plays a significant role: Calibre 3DStress presents spatial maps highlighting stress, warpage and marginal regions, empowering chip, package and reliability engineers to target their reviews and interventions (figure 2).
Fig. 2: Interactive stress visualization example: Calibre DESIGNrev display of device level stress results for two cells show heatmap for stress in x direction. All properties can be highlighted interactively as shown in the Calibre RVE window on the right.
A distinctive advantage of Calibre 3DStress is its ability to feed mechanical stress information—like mobility changes or piezoresistive effects—directly into netlists and device models. This back-annotation enables concurrent evaluation of mechanical and electrical reliability, so design teams can perform holistic, shift-left verification of the full system’s dependability.
Such capabilities are crucial for a wide range of designs, whether automotive, high-performance computing, stacked memory or any environment where the package/circuit relationship defines product success.
Achieving first-pass silicon success increasingly defines competitive advantage in semiconductors. By enabling teams to tackle reliability risks during design rather than in late debug or after release, Calibre 3DStress helps organizations:
As heterogeneous 3D architectures become foundational for scaling and performance, stress-aware analysis at the earliest stages is no longer optional. Tools like Calibre 3DStress empower design and reliability teams with hierarchical modeling, automation, shift-left verification and electrical integration. This robust approach ensures reliability and trust in the next generation of advanced semiconductor solutions.
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