Monday, April 24, 2023

Cadence tapes out UCIe chaplet die-to-die on TSMC 3nm

Cadence Design Systems confirmed the tapeout of its 16G UCIe 2.5D advanced package IP on TSMC’s 3nm (N3E) process technology. 

Cadence UCIe IP provides an open standard for chiplet die-to-die communication, which is becoming more critical for artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), mobile, automotive, storage and networking applications.

Cadence said it is currently engaged with a pipeline of Tier 1 customers, and UCIe advanced package IP collateral from the N3E test chip tapeout is shipping and available. The pre-verified solution can save customers time and effort through rapid integration.

The heterogeneous integration of Cadence’s UCIe PHY and controller eases chiplet solutions with die reusability. The complete solution includes the following, which can be delivered with a complement of Cadence Verification IP (VIP) and TLM models:

  • UCIe Advanced Package PHY: Designed for a bump pitch that enables greater than 5Tbps/mm of die edge bandwidth density, the UCIe advanced package PHY offers options that allow greater throughput performance while significantly improving power efficiency. It is flexible for integration on multiple types of 2.5D advanced packages, such as silicon interposer, silicon bridge, RDL and fanout-based packaging.
  • UCIe Standard-Package PHY: Options allow customers to reduce costs while maintaining high bandwidth and power efficiency. Cadence’s circuit design allows customers to design down to the lower limits of the standard’s bump pitch range to allow maximum BW/mm while also enabling longer reach.
  • UCIe Controller: A soft IP that can be synthesized for multiple technology nodes, the UCIe controller is offered in a variety of options for different target applications and enables streaming, PCI Express® (PCIe), and CXL protocols.

“The UCIe Consortium supports companies designing chiplets for use in standard and advanced packaging. We are thrilled to extend our congratulations to Cadence on reaching the tape out milestone for the advanced package test chip which uses the die-to-die interconnect based on the UCIe 1.0 specification,” said Dr. Debendra Das Sharma, chairman at the UCIe Consortium. “Member company advancements in IP (scaling) and VIP (testing) are important components in the ecosystem. When paired with participation in UCIe work groups the industry will continue to see new chiplet based designs entering the market that are based on open industry standards that foster interoperability, compatibility, and innovation.”

www.cadence.com/go/ucie16g