Effect of Radiation on Reliability of Through-Silicon via for 3-D Packaging Systems

In this paper, radiation reliability of through-silicon via (TSV) was studied experimentally. Characterization of leakage current between adjacent TSVs and capacitance of an array of TSVs was used to evaluate the effects of radiation on reliability of TSVs. All samples were exposed to
⁶⁰
Co γ radiation with a total radiation dose of 500 Gy. It was observed that leakage current increased and coupling capacitance decreased. The increase of leakage current was explained based on the percolation model for thin oxide layers. The decrease of capacitance was analyzed with the theory of coupling capacitance and equation of flat-band voltage and charge in the oxide layer. It is important and necessary to consider the effect of radiation on reliability of TSV for TSV-based applications under radiation conditions.