Seeking Chiplets

A diagram of the open chiplet standard, also called a platform on a package, as the idea is that each component in this diagram can be produced by a different company and, if they all follow the open standard, they should be able to interoperate together seamlessly
A diagram of the open chiplet standard, also called a platform on a package, as the idea is that each component in this diagram can be produced by a different company and, if they all follow the open standard, they should be able to interoperate together seamlessly

China is stepping up its efforts for the development of chiplet technology, an advanced packaging technology.

As U.S. restrictions on the export of equipment to China make it difficult to develop semiconductor front-end processes, China seems to be focusing on rear-end process technology.

According to the South China Morning Post on Aug. 6, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) will give orders with regard to chiplet research projects.

The NSFC will invest US$6.4 million in 30 chiplet projects and will begin accepting applications for participation beginning from September.

China’s VeriSilicon, the No. 1 semiconductor design asset (IP) company in China, has supplied chiplet IP to AI semiconductor startup Blue Ocean.

The public and private sectors in China are showing great interest in chiplets, which are part of rear-end processes for semiconductors. It is a technology that combines semiconductors that implement multiple functions and packages them into a high-performance system-on-chip (SoC). It has emerged as a way to develop high-performance semiconductors as semiconductor circuit miniaturization has become increasingly difficult.

In particular, some analysts say that China has diverted to post-processing as U.S. sanctions have made it difficult to obtain advanced semiconductor equipment that holds the key to micro-fabrication.

“China is implementing a strategy to become self-sufficient in semiconductors amid U.S. sanctions,” SMCP said in this regard. “The NSFC stated that the chiplet project is aimed at enhancing China’s own innovation capabilities.”

However, it remains to be seen whether Chinese companies will be able to match global semiconductor companies in terms of chiplet competitiveness. Moreover, chiplet technology is dominated by U.S. semiconductor giants such as Intel and AMD.

Intel recently unveiled its Ponte Vecchio supercomputer processor and AMD unveiled its Instinct MI300X graphics processing unit (GPU), a server chip for generative AI for large language models (LLMs). Both of them are based on chiplet technology.

TSMC began operating an advanced chiplet plant in Taiwan. Samsung Electronics also announced in June at the Foundry Forum in San Jose, California that it will develop chiplet technology with its IP partners.

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