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44 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2023 predicted during the early stages of develop- ment), will not be practical. So, a chip maker may have a menu of modu- lar dies, or chiplets, in a library similar to the traditional plastic-encased, pre-packaged semi- conductors. Using an uncased die, the designer is able to mix-and-match the chiplets and con- nect them using an ultra-high-density, die-to- die interconnect scheme only possible with silicon and glass interposers. To ensure that chiplets supplied from different manufactur- ers can work together, significant issues must be defined. Standards will need to describe the physical connectivity required between chiplet elements, and define compatible sig- nal levels, operating voltages, and data transfer rates as well as digital compatibility aspects. Also required: the number of lanes in a bus, the coding sublayer for error correction, and how individual devices will know to automatically connect and exchange data with one another. Change in Semiconductor Package Strategies e industry front runners agree that as the electronics industry moves forward, more and more products will reflect this chiplet building-block approach for highly complex semiconductor packaging applications. Every major foundry has a technology roadmap addressing the interconnect densities for both the 2.5D and 3D integration. ese roadmaps will also forecast the progression of both logic and memory stacking and logic element stack- ing. While many challenges come with imple- menting chiplet elements, especially in the context of commercial applications and scal- ability, they offer a promising solution to some of today's most pressing chip design issues. With chiplet technology gaining momen- tum, it's only natural that many big players in the industry are starting to get involved. Global Foundries and Samsung, for example, are two major companies at the forefront of this trend, each working on their own solutions to the chiplet challenge while Intel Corporation, AMD, Qualcomm, ARM, TSMC, and Samsung are working together on defining new standards for chiplet-based CPUs. Major Participants in Chiplet Packaging Innovation Intel already has the pieces in place to develop these chiplet-based products. Key cri- teria, known-good dies, EDA tool refinement, die-to-die interconnect technologies, and a sustainable manufacturing strategy. AMD is also actively researching and devel- oping chiplet technology. e company has already released processors that use chiplet- based architectures (Figure 3). Figure 3: Multicore CPU with 12 DDR5-4800 memory chiplet elements. (Source: AMD)