86230086 © Flynt | Dreamstime.com
65fb0548b509cf001ebef1f1 Dreamstime Flynt 86230086promo

Packaging Chiplets for Performance and Profit

March 20, 2024
When it comes to chiplets, it’s all about packaging technology.

This article is part of TechXchange: Chiplets - Electronic Design Automation Insights

What you’ll learn:

  • Why are chiplets important?
  • Where do chiplets stand now and where are we headed?

 

Multi-die systems utilizing technologies such as chiplets and the Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) are essential to deliver high-performance solutions as well as compact applications that require a mix of different technologies like memory, compute, and analog. Advanced packaging fosters die-to-die, die-to-chip, and chip-to-chip solutions often referred to as chiplet technology.

Chiplets are used regularly in high-performance solutions where the cost of using new technology is offset by cutting-edge performance. NVIDIA’s latest Blackwell GPU and AMD’s Ultrascale FPGAs are examples of chiplet-based solutions that incorporate features like high bandwidth memory version 3 (HBMv3) to deliver the speed and capacity that would not be possible with a single monolithic chip.

I hosted the Chiplets in 2029: How We Get There webinar at this year’s Chiplet Summit, where we talked about chiplet-related technologies such as UCIe and interposers. We’re just at the start of the chiplet revolution, but it will be getting more affordable and gaining wider support. It can potentially reduce the cost of developing a new chip while offering a way for companies to deliver their intellectual property (IP) in the form of a chiplet.

Though the comparison of integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs) to chiplet technology is easy to understand, the comparatively low pin count of ICs pales in comparison with a die-to-die connection that might include thousands of connections. There’s also a variety of techniques that enable connecting from the Intel/Altera Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) to vertical stacking with direct bonding.

The idea of a chiplet store is still that—an idea—but it may play out within the next decade. Designing a chiplet may be easier than a very large SoC, though not by much. While EDA remains an expensive game, it’s one where utilizing the latest chiplet technology can have a big payoff.

Read more articles in the TechXchange: Chiplets - Electronic Design Automation Insights.

About the Author

William G. Wong | Senior Content Director - Electronic Design and Microwaves & RF

I am Editor of Electronic Design focusing on embedded, software, and systems. As Senior Content Director, I also manage Microwaves & RF and I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, programmers, developers and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

You can send press releases for new products for possible coverage on the website. I am also interested in receiving contributed articles for publishing on our website. Use our template and send to me along with a signed release form. 

Check out my blog, AltEmbedded on Electronic Design, as well as his latest articles on this site that are listed below. 

You can visit my social media via these links:

I earned a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Masters in Computer Science from Rutgers University. I still do a bit of programming using everything from C and C++ to Rust and Ada/SPARK. I do a bit of PHP programming for Drupal websites. I have posted a few Drupal modules.  

I still get a hand on software and electronic hardware. Some of this can be found on our Kit Close-Up video series. You can also see me on many of our TechXchange Talk videos. I am interested in a range of projects from robotics to artificial intelligence. 

Sponsored Recommendations

Comments

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Electronic Design, create an account today!