Stacked Memory Package Rescue via SID Region Deactivation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Semiconductor packages face challenges in achieving higher reliability, performance, and capacity while maintaining miniaturization and lightweight design, particularly due to issues with failed memory chips leading to entire package discard.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a deactivation controller that classifies memory chips into stack-ID regions and uses fuse circuits to deactivate failed regions, allowing functional chips in other regions to operate, thereby rescuing usable semiconductor packages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If memory chips are classified into stack-ID regions and fuse circuits are used to deactivate failed regions, then yield is improved by rescuing usable packages, but device complexity increases due to additional control circuits and classification mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The memory chip stack is segmented into multiple stack-ID (SID) regions, where each region can be independently deactivated. This segmentation allows the system to isolate and deactivate only the failed region while keeping other regions functional, thereby improving yield without requiring complete package discard.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuse circuit implementation provides local quality by enabling selective deactivation of specific SID regions rather than uniform deactivation of the entire stack. Each SID region can be independently controlled through fuse circuits, allowing precise local control of chip functionality based on failure location.
2Reliability
If high-stage packages with failed chips are converted into lower-stage packages, then reliability is enhanced by removing failed components, but the capacity is reduced due to fewer operational memory chips
Solution Approach 1:
The failed SID region is extracted and deactivated from the functional memory stack. By taking out only the failed portion rather than the entire stack, the system maintains the remaining functional chips, thus preserving capacity while eliminating the reliability issue caused by failed components.
Solution Approach 2:
The system discards only the failed SID region while recovering and maintaining the functional SID regions. This selective discarding approach allows the package to be rescued and reused with reduced but still significant capacity, rather than complete discard of the entire package.
3Manufacturing precision
If fuse circuits are used to deactivate specific SID regions, then manufacturing precision is improved through selective deactivation, but loss of substance increases due to permanent deactivation of functional chips in the same SID region
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the memory stack into smaller SID regions, the system minimizes the number of chips deactivated per failure event. Instead of deactivating entire stacks, only the specific failed SID region is deactivated, reducing the loss of functional chips while maintaining precision in failure isolation.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a semiconductor package of which yield may be improved through rescuing and a test method and a rescue method for the semiconductor package. The semiconductor package includes a base chip, a plurality of memory chips stacked on the base chip, and a deactivation controller configured to deactivate the memory chips, wherein the memory chips are classified into at least two stack-ID (SID) regions, each of the at least two SID regions includes a subset of the plurality (set number) of memory chips, and, when a fail-SID region including a failed memory chip, from among the at least two SID regions, exists, the deactivation controller is configured to deactivate all memory chips included in the fail-SID region, and activate memory chips in remaining SID regions other than the fail-SID region.