Apparatus for bypassing faulty connections
Apparatus are disclosed, such as those involving a 3-D integrated circuit. One such apparatus includes a first die including a plurality of vertical connectors formed therethrough. The apparatus also includes a first circuit configured to encode multiple data bits into a multi-bit symbol, and provide the multi-bit symbol to two or more of the vertical connectors. The apparatus further includes a second circuit configured to receive the multi-bit symbol from at least one of the two or more vertical connectors, and decode the multi-bit symbol into the multiple data bits. The apparatus provides enhanced repairability with no or less redundant vertical connectors, thus avoiding the need for “on the fly” or field repair of defective vertical connectors.
1. An apparatus of comprising:
a first die having a plurality of vertical connectors formed thereon, wherein the first die is formed of silicon, and wherein the plurality of vertical connectors comprise through-silicon vias;
a second die encapsulated within a same package as the first die;
a first data path for a multi-bit symbol configured to carry data between the first and second die; and
a second data path configured to carry the same multi-bit symbol between the first die and the second die for redundancy with the first data path, wherein the plurality of vertical connectors provide at least part of the first and second data paths.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising one or more decoders at a receive end of the first data path and the second data path, wherein the data is decoded when at least one of the first data path or the second data path is operational.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the multi-bit symbol comprises multiple voltage levels.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the multi-bit symbol comprises multiple relative signal phases.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first data path and the second data path are bi-directional.
6. An apparatus of comprising:
a first die having a plurality of vertical connectors formed thereon;
a second die encapsulated within a same package as the first die;
a first data path for a multi-bit symbol configured to carry data between the first and second die;
a second data path configured to carry the same multi-bit symbol between the first die and the second die for redundancy with the first data path, wherein the plurality of vertical connectors provide at least part of the first and second data paths;
a first circuit configured to encode multiple data bits into the multi-bit symbol, and provide the multi-bit symbol to two or more of the vertical connectors; and
a second circuit configured to receive the multi-bit symbol from at least one of the two or more vertical connectors, and decode the multi-bit symbol into the multiple data bits.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein two or more of the vertical connectors are adjacent to one another.
8. The apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising:
a first IC on the first die; and
a second IC on the second die,
wherein the first IC is configured to provide the multiple data bits to the first circuit, and
wherein the second IC is configured to receive the multiple data bits from the second circuit.
9. The apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising transmission drivers, the transmission drivers being configured to receive at least one control signal from the first circuit and to provide the multi-bit symbol to the two or more of the vertical connectors.
10. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the multi-bit symbol comprises multiple voltage levels.
11. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the multi-bit symbol comprises multiple relative signal phases.
12. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the first data path and the second data path are bi-directional.
13. An apparatus comprising:
a first die having a plurality of vertical connectors formed thereon;
a second die encapsulated within a same package as the first die;
a first data path for a multi-bit symbol configured to carry data between the first and second die;
a second data path configured to carry the same multi-bit symbol between the first die and the second die for redundancy with the first data path, wherein the plurality of vertical connectors provide at least part of the first and second data paths; and
a set of two or more comparators, the set of comparators being configured to detect the signal level of the multi-bit symbol from the at least one of the two or more vertical connectors.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising one or more decoders at a receive end of the first data path and the second data path, wherein the data is decoded when at least one of the first data path or the second data path is operational.
15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the multi-bit symbol comprises multiple voltage levels.
16. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the multi-bit symbol comprises multiple relative signal phases.
17. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the first data path and the second data path are bi-directional.
18. An apparatus comprising:
a first die having a plurality of vertical connectors formed thereon;
a second die encapsulated within a same package as the first die;
a first data path for a multi-bit symbol configured to carry data between the first and second die;
a second data path configured to carry the same multi-bit symbol between the first die and the second die for redundancy with the first data path, wherein the plurality of vertical connectors provide at least part of the first and second data paths; and
a set of two or more comparators, the set of comparators being configured to detect the signal phase of the multi-bit symbol from the at least one of the plurality of vertical connectors.
19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the die does not include a repair vertical connector to replace any one of the vertical connectors when any one of the vertical connectors is defective.
20. The apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising one or more decoders at a receive end of the first data path and the second data path, wherein the data is decoded when at least one of the first data path or the second data path is operational.
21. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the multi-bit symbol comprises multiple voltage levels.
22. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the multi-bit symbol comprises multiple relative signal phases.
23. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the first data path and the second data path are bi-directional.
24. An apparatus comprising:
a first die comprising a plurality of vertical connectors formed thereon, wherein the first die further includes a repair vertical connector to replace any one of the plurality of vertical connectors when any one of the plurality of vertical connectors is defective;
a second die encapsulated within a same package as the first die;
a first data path for a multi-bit symbol configured to carry data between the first and second die; and
a second data path configured to carry the same multi-bit symbol for redundancy,
wherein the plurality of vertical connectors provide at least part of the first and second data paths.
25. The apparatus of claim 24 , further comprising one or more decoders at a receive end of the first data path and the second data path, wherein the data is decoded when at least one of the first data path or the second data path is operational.
26. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the multi-bit symbol comprises multiple voltage levels.
27. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the multi-bit symbol comprises multiple relative signal phases.
28. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the first data path and the second data path are bi-directional.