Revolutionizing Automotive Design With Chiplet-Based Architecture

The global chip market has seen a significant increase in demand for high-performance chips due to the rapid growth of the automotive industry. This growth is primarily driven by the adoption of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), electric vehicles (EVs), and connected cars. These technologies require fast data processing, improved sensor fusion, and better communication capabilities to enhance vehicle performance, comfort, and safety. One of the key developments in the chip industry is the innovation of chiplets. Chiplets are flexible, scalable, and cost-effective, enabling multiple technologies to integrate onto a single chip. This integration leads to improved performance and reduced complexity in the automotive sector. For example, Renesas recently announced that they will use chiplets in their next generation of automotive SoCs, indicating the growing adoption of chiplets in the industry.

One of the significant benefits of chiplets is their adaptability. Unlike traditional monolithic designs, chiplets offer a modular approach, allowing manufacturers to integrate specialized functionalities seamlessly. This adaptability during the vehicle line’s lifespan empowers OEMs to construct a robust yet flexible electronic architecture. Custom silicon chip design and manufacturing traditionally incur significant time and costs, with a single tapeout requiring several months and millions of dollars. By tightly bonding chiplets, robust systems can be created without further shrinking transistor sizes; in an industry where costs and power consumption present challenges for companies catering to niche markets, chiplet platforms offer a breakthrough.

Companies in the automotive industry are seeking to stand out by providing differentiated features, such as enhanced safety and cutting-edge entertainment options and technologies, enabling them to meet these demands and minimize time to market. As the world moves towards a more connected and technologically advanced future, the automotive industry is following this trend, and chiplets play a significant role in enabling this transition.

Integrated design and analysis solution

Chiplet design involves aggregating several dies in a package, which is an efficient partitioning logic that aligns with the latest package manufacturing technologies. Creating a packaged solution requires protecting and encapsulating all silicon from the outside and efficiently connecting it to power and signals. Advanced package and chiplet designs are driven by traditional outsourced assembly and test (OSAT) manufacturers, mainly from the PCB world. Foundries are also developing their own brands and advanced packaging technologies to cater to the market’s evolving needs.

When discussing 3D packaging and chiplet design, it is critical to understand the difference. In 3D packaging, fabrics are designed independently with clear interfaces, and abstract outlines, bumps, and connectivity to these bumps are used in packaging. In contrast, 3D stacking of silicon partitions a single RTL into two separate silicons, posing a challenge for partitioning and simulating the process at the gate level.

Packaging has become integral to semiconductor design and is no longer an afterthought. The trend towards advanced multi-chiplet and multi-die packages with different technologies has added value to the product. It allows companies to build competitive or superior solutions in the market, enabling them to sell value with advanced packaging. However, the challenges faced in the packaging ecosystem differ from those in the silicon world. In the silicon world, clear process design kits (PDKs) are available for designing in 5nm. But in packaging, working with foundries to develop assembly design kits is crucial.

The next challenge is off-the-shelf chiplets. There is not yet a significant market for purchasing chiplets with a specific function. Initiatives are underway to design chiplets that can be sold on the open market by collaborating with various IP and companies. The idea is that buying chiplets from vendors A and B and having a defined interface, like UCIe or Bunch of Wires, should enable communication without compliant errors. Standardization is ongoing, and the challenge is catching up with the different technologies and standards to build such a complex system.

Chiplet 3D implementation challenges and comprehensive solutions

Designing chiplet-based systems introduces complexities beyond individual fabric considerations. The system-level task requires applying electronic design automation (EDA) tools for thermal layer analysis, signal integrity, power integrity, and physical connectivity alignment.

Cadence is a comprehensive solution provider offering IC, SiP/MCM, PCB, and system analysis tools.

Cadence Integrity 3D-IC Platform emerges as a unifying solution for disparate design platforms and tools. This platform facilitates collaborative work across different tools and platforms used by IC and package designers. Integrating analysis capabilities streamlines the design process, eliminating the need to merge databases.

Cadence Allegro X Design Platform is a tool that allows easy PCB design for laminate-based packages. The Integrity 3D-IC feature allows for stacking two silicon chips on top of each other.

Additionally, Virtuoso is available for analog RF implementation. The implementation tools will remain the same and can be used for the single fabric and system. You can use analysis tools, such as Voltus for thermal analysis, IR drop Celsius for package PCB level, Clarity for 3DEM extraction, and Sigrity for SI PI analysis.

Shaping the future of automotive electronics

As the automotive industry continues to evolve, the importance of high-performance chips and chiplets will only continue to grow. These technologies enable advanced technologies like ADAS and autonomous driving to seamlessly integrate into vehicles, resulting in safer, more efficient, and enjoyable consumer driving experiences. Manufacturers can overcome challenges using comprehensive design and analysis solutions like Cadence Integrity 3D-IC Platform and create innovative, cost-effective, and power-efficient electronic architectures. As the automotive industry evolves, a chiplet-based approach provides the flexibility to adapt to diverse market needs, and the future of the automotive industry is looking brighter than ever.