When most of the wafer manufacturers feel that it is increasingly difficult to follow the path of Moore's Law, 3D ICs have become one of the ways in which the industry seeks sustainable development. However, the entire semiconductor industry is still thinking about suitable solutions for this type of technology that must cross over tools, processes, design, and integration.
"The problems faced in the development of 3D ICs cannot be solved by a single tool," said Chen Zhikuan, president and chief operating officer of Synopsys (Synopsys, Inc.). Each 3D chip is made up of several 2D components. In the integration of heterogeneous chips, there are several parts of memory, logic, and analog mixed signals... To stack them, there are many factors that must be considered, such as power, lines, and signals, etc. Great challenge.
We are doing process development with a lot of people. Now there are several companies that have gone to 20 or 14nm, said Chen Zhikuan. Yes, now we need to solve the area problem. We all look forward to 3D ICs. Now there are indeed some 3D ICs in the design, but they are all custom-made, and now there are also companies that use the 矽 interposer to do 2.5D ICs. But when it comes to 3D ICs, it is still in development.
In the last 2 to 3 years, we have been doing 3D IC research and cooperation. From the perspective of EDA vendors, Synopsys is currently working on the basis of existing tools to consider how to deal with the design of 3D ICs. For example, Chen Zhikuan stated that more vias are needed for place and route, but how are these vias laid out? The size of these vias is also different from the past. In the past, only the metal layer was considered, but now it is necessary to pass through the silicon wafer.
On the other hand, when the wafers are stacked together, the problem of heat is even more pronounced - the memory is on or under? From a place and route aspect, if you have 5 layers of memory and each layer is the same, it is the easiest to interconnect, but the problem is that the goal of the 3D chip is to integrate different types of chips, so each of today's models Design tools for 2D wafers, whether in the improvement or design, must add some 3D design thinking in it.
Xinsi thinks of celebrating the 20th anniversary of its establishment in Taiwan. Looking back at the process of growth in Taiwan’s electronics industry, Chen Zhikuan stated that, unlike in the past, today’s electronics industry can see that system companies have increased their control of the terminal application market. This trend will have a profound impact on the entire electronics industry and the entire value chain.
He pointed out that the past IC design companies were developing architectures, designing chips, and then handing them to system companies. Now, however, the ever-shortening life cycle of consumer electronics continues to shorten the development schedule and change the entire industrial ecosystem, including chip design companies. Many changes have been made.
The entire IC design field is showing three major trends. Chen Zhikuan said that the first is SoC design. Although this concept has been around for many years, this trend is slowly fermenting. For example, many IC design companies in mainland China also use IP modules to develop SoCs. Their chips may not be small, but they are more functional.
The second is software. The proportion of software engineers in wafer companies today has been increasing. Some large chip manufacturers such as Nvidia's software staff may be more than hardware. The third is to improve the speed of verification - in this regard, through a more effective system prototype platform, IC design industry can help provide faster solutions.
To some extent, today's chip makers focus on power consumption and functional characteristics, even more than the shrinking of size. Perhaps under the pressure of the rise of consumer electronics and the development of the entire semiconductor industry, this is an inevitable shift. However, it is a better choice to use its existing tools and solutions to develop or improve product performance without investing in microfinance.
"The problems faced in the development of 3D ICs cannot be solved by a single tool," said Chen Zhikuan, president and chief operating officer of Synopsys (Synopsys, Inc.). Each 3D chip is made up of several 2D components. In the integration of heterogeneous chips, there are several parts of memory, logic, and analog mixed signals... To stack them, there are many factors that must be considered, such as power, lines, and signals, etc. Great challenge.
We are doing process development with a lot of people. Now there are several companies that have gone to 20 or 14nm, said Chen Zhikuan. Yes, now we need to solve the area problem. We all look forward to 3D ICs. Now there are indeed some 3D ICs in the design, but they are all custom-made, and now there are also companies that use the 矽 interposer to do 2.5D ICs. But when it comes to 3D ICs, it is still in development.
In the last 2 to 3 years, we have been doing 3D IC research and cooperation. From the perspective of EDA vendors, Synopsys is currently working on the basis of existing tools to consider how to deal with the design of 3D ICs. For example, Chen Zhikuan stated that more vias are needed for place and route, but how are these vias laid out? The size of these vias is also different from the past. In the past, only the metal layer was considered, but now it is necessary to pass through the silicon wafer.
On the other hand, when the wafers are stacked together, the problem of heat is even more pronounced - the memory is on or under? From a place and route aspect, if you have 5 layers of memory and each layer is the same, it is the easiest to interconnect, but the problem is that the goal of the 3D chip is to integrate different types of chips, so each of today's models Design tools for 2D wafers, whether in the improvement or design, must add some 3D design thinking in it.
Xinsi thinks of celebrating the 20th anniversary of its establishment in Taiwan. Looking back at the process of growth in Taiwan’s electronics industry, Chen Zhikuan stated that, unlike in the past, today’s electronics industry can see that system companies have increased their control of the terminal application market. This trend will have a profound impact on the entire electronics industry and the entire value chain.
He pointed out that the past IC design companies were developing architectures, designing chips, and then handing them to system companies. Now, however, the ever-shortening life cycle of consumer electronics continues to shorten the development schedule and change the entire industrial ecosystem, including chip design companies. Many changes have been made.
The entire IC design field is showing three major trends. Chen Zhikuan said that the first is SoC design. Although this concept has been around for many years, this trend is slowly fermenting. For example, many IC design companies in mainland China also use IP modules to develop SoCs. Their chips may not be small, but they are more functional.
The second is software. The proportion of software engineers in wafer companies today has been increasing. Some large chip manufacturers such as Nvidia's software staff may be more than hardware. The third is to improve the speed of verification - in this regard, through a more effective system prototype platform, IC design industry can help provide faster solutions.
To some extent, today's chip makers focus on power consumption and functional characteristics, even more than the shrinking of size. Perhaps under the pressure of the rise of consumer electronics and the development of the entire semiconductor industry, this is an inevitable shift. However, it is a better choice to use its existing tools and solutions to develop or improve product performance without investing in microfinance.
Chongqing Taishan Cable Co., Ltd. , http://www.cqbareconductor.com