Spatiotemporal thermal characterization for 3D stacked chiplet systems based on transient thermal simulation
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Vertically dominant heat flow in three-dimensional stacked chiplet systems (3D SCSs), driven by high heat flux density, induces severe hotspots and pronounced temperature non-uniformities, posing critical challenges to performance stability and long-term reliability. Transient thermal characterization thus requires accurate and fast simulation coupled with analysis of heat conduction mechanisms. To address this, we propose a unified framework integrating an explicit 3D general high-order finite difference (GHOFD) method with cone-fused heat flux streamlines (CFHFSs). The GHOFD method achieves a numerical error of less than 0.01 °C relative to the analytical solution. It demonstrates a computational speedup of more than 50x compared to the state-of-the-art alternating direction implicit (ADI) method. Applied to two representative 3D SCS models under Dirichlet and Robin boundary conditions, the framework reveals an inherently anisotropic and spatially non-uniform thermal behavior, dominated by vertical conduction yet modulated by the chiplets' layout and power distribution. The CFHFS elucidates 3D thermal behavior through qualitative streamline attributes (e.g., density, deflection) and cone size proportional to local heat flux magnitude. This integrated approach not only predicts thermal behavior with high accuracy and speed but also reveals the underlying 3D heat conduction mechanisms, offering actionable insights for thermal design, thermal analysis, and thermal management of next-generation heterogeneous chiplet systems. Transient 3D isothermal surface maps, 2D and 3D CFHFS maps for Model 1 under the Dirichlet boundary condition at various times (t = 0.015 s, 0.045 s, 0.075 s, and 0.3 s).(a) 3D transient isothermal surface maps; (b) 3D cone-fused heat flux streamlines maps; (c) 2D CFHFS mapsCompared to conventional volumetric temperature rendering, isothermal surfaces offer a more precise and intuitive representation of both global and local transient thermal behaviors in 3D stacked chiplet systems. These figures confirms that the non-uniformity of the temperature and heat flux fields is inherently time-dependent.
Authors: Yanrong Pei, Wenchang Li, Rong Chen
Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Semiconductors
Language: English
Topic: 3D IC and TSV technologies
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,620
OpenAlex ID: W7129062622