From the very earliest days of 3D-IC development, experts have worried about thermal issues. A UCLA presentation stated in 2004: “Thermal Effects dramatically impact interconnect and device reliability.” Some years later, researchers reaffirmed: “The most important issue in 3-D IC is heat dissipation.”
Solutions offered over the years have been many and varied — heat sinks, thermal interfaces, extreme silicon thinning, heat spreaders, microfluidics — and it’s still a hot topic. In fact, the 2017 European 3D Summit devoted its entire R&D segment to Tackling the Thermal Management Challenge. Read more in 3D InCites: Using 3D Integration to Get the Heat Out