Abstract
This paper presents an RTL design and evaluation framework allowing the designer to easily build and analyze 3D NoC models with customizable defect threshold on Through-Silicon-Via (TSV) vertical links. The framework provides enough flexibility for addressing 3D NoC design issues, such as process variability, which can introduce open-resistive TSVs in the design, caused by impurities and/or defect during manufacturing process. Such TSVs lead to slower data transfers compared to non defective TSVs. To illustrate the usage of the framework usage, we evaluate typical application mappings in a 3D NoC multicore system to mitigate the performance penalty related to process variability.