  In this paper, a design space exploration of power delivery networks is
performed for multi-chip 2.5-D and 3-D IC technologies. The focus of the paper
is the effective placement of the voltage regulator modules (VRMs) for power
supply noise (PSN) suppression. Multiple on-package VRM configurations have
been analyzed and compared. Additionally, 3D IC chip-on-VRM and
backside-of-the-package VRM configurations are studied. From the PSN
perspective, the 3D IC chip-on-VRM case suppresses the PSN the most even with
high current density hotspots. The paper also studies the impact of different
parameters such as VRM-chip distance on the package, on-chip decoupling
capacitor density, etc. on the PSN.

Hardware Architecture;Signal Processing