Chips are small, modular chips that can be combined to form a complete System-on-a-Chip (SoC). They are designed for chip-based architectures where multiple chips are interconnected to create a single, complex integrated circuit. Compared to traditional monolithic SoCs, chip-based architectures offer several advantages, including improved performance, reduced power consumption, and increased design flexibility. Chip technology is relatively new, and many companies in the semiconductor industry are actively developing it.
A chip is a new type of chip that paves the way for designing complex System-on-Chips (SoCs). A chip can be thought of as a high-tech version of Lego bricks. A complex function is broken down into small modules, which are then chiplets that can perform a single specific function very efficiently. Therefore, integrated systems using chips can include: data storage, signal processing, computation, and data flow management, all built up as "chiplets".
A chip is part of a package architecture; it can be defined as a physical silicon die that integrates IP (intellectual property) subsystems with other chips using package-level integration methods. In essence, chip technology integrates multiple electrical functions within a single package or system.
Using chip-based technology, engineers can quickly and cost-effectively design complex chips by assembling different types of third-party IP into a single chip or package. These third-party IPs can be I/O drivers, memory ICs, and processor cores.
The idea of the chip originated from the DARPA CHIPS (Common Heterogeneous Integration and IP) project. Since state-of-the-art SoCs are not always suitable for small-scale applications, the CHIP project sought to create a new paradigm for IP reuse, namely the chip, in order to improve the overall system flexibility.
While computer technology in most electronic devices today is still largely dominated by traditional chipsets, this trend seems poised to change over time. Many experts believe that as these advanced technologies develop, dedicated chips will become a common feature of consumer devices. Numerous reliable and cheaper technologies are available for designing chips.
Moore's Law, predicted by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965, states that the number of transistors on a microchip roughly doubles every two years, leading to exponential growth in computing power and reduced costs. Chip technology can be seen as a way to extend Moore's Law and continue the trend of improving performance and reducing costs in the semiconductor industry.
One way that chip technology can help extend Moore's Law is by allowing the creation of more complex and powerful SoCs without having to pack all the necessary components onto a single monolithic chip. By breaking down a complex SoC into smaller, modular chips and connecting them together, the number of transistors and other components can continue to increase without reaching the physical limits of a single chip. This helps keep pace with the performance improvements and cost reductions predicted by Moore's Law.
Today, the heterogeneous chip-on-chip integration market is growing even faster. Different microprocessors, such as AMD's Epyc and Intel's Lakefield, are being mass-produced using chip-on-chip design and heterogeneous integrated packaging technology.
In the automotive sector, "the impact of chip technology on the automotive chip and intelligent vehicle industry will mainly be reflected in improving the computing power of vehicles, reducing 'computing power anxiety,' and standardizing automotive chip standards to create an external environment for future vehicle interconnectivity; after standardized verification, it will help reduce the chip verification cycle, enrich automotive chip functions, and expand application scenarios," said Liu Bo.
Automotive-grade system-on-a-chip (SoC) chips exhibit several significant advantages: First, they effectively overcome the limitations of traditional packaging technologies, significantly increasing interconnect bandwidth and reducing packaging costs, providing more flexible and efficient solutions for automotive electronic control systems. Second, from the initial design stage, they fully consider the stringent requirements of the automotive industry regarding environmental adaptability, real-time performance, determinism, functional safety, information security, low power consumption, and fault detection and tolerance. Furthermore, the design methodology of automotive-grade SoC chips—chip-level IP reuse and prefabrication—injects new vitality into the rapid development of automotive electronic control systems. By carefully selecting and combining chips with different functions, customized chips that meet specific needs can be quickly built, significantly shortening the product's time-to-market.
“Core chip systems are a relatively new technology sector. While China's chip manufacturing level lags behind the world's advanced levels, its chip packaging capabilities are relatively closer. Therefore, we are optimistic about future development in this application area that heavily relies on packaging technology,” said Liu Bo. He added that leading domestic semiconductor companies, such as Huawei, have already invested in the packaging substrates, equipment, and technologies required for core chip systems, and have begun technology verification and testing. Although the localization rate of automotive-grade chips was low in the past, the localization level of mid-to-low-end products has been continuously improving in recent years. In this new technology field of core chips, both domestic and foreign companies are still in the early stages of development. If OEMs and suppliers cooperate closely, domestically produced chips will have more opportunities to be integrated into vehicles.
