Microwave-Based Test Method for Computer Chips

A new approach was developed that overcomes the limitation of conventional chip-testing methods on 3D chips, which include many thin horizontal “floors” connected to one another by vertical pathways called through-substrate vias (TSVs). TSVs help 3D chips do three essential things: speed up, shrink down, and cool off. By allowing elements on different floors to communicate with each other, signals no longer need to travel all the way across a comparatively sprawling 2D chip, meaning calculations go faster and electrons heat up far less conducting material as they move.