BBVC-3D-NoC: An Efficient 3D NoC Architecture Using Bidirectional Bisynchronous Vertical Channels

Abstract

In this paper, a 3D NoC architecture based on Bidirectional Bisynchronous Vertical Channels (BBVC) is proposed as a solution to mitigate area footprints of vertical interconnects. BBVCs, which can be dynamically self-configured to transmit flits in either direction, enable the system to benefit from a high-speed bidirectional channel instead of a pair of unidirectional channels for inter-layer communication. By exploiting the high-speed nature of the vertical links in 3D ICs, this substitution indicates better bandwidth utilization, lower area footprint, and improved routability at each layer. Our results reveal that the proposed architecture helps to achieve up to 47% savings in TSV area footprint at the 65nm technology node.