Chiplets are revolutionising the semiconductor industry, offering a modular and innovative solution to the limitations of traditional monolithic system-on-chip (SoC) designs. By enabling discrete components to be co-designed and manufactured separately before integration into a larger system, chiplets are not only addressing design challenges but also paving the way for enhanced transistor density amidst the slowing pace of Moore’s Law. Companies like AMD, Intel, Arm, and Cadence are leading this shift, showcasing the vast potential of this approach in advanced computing and AI-driven applications.
Chiplets, often described as a module-level embodiment of SoCs, require meticulous co-optimisation in their design to function seamlessly. The integration of these components is becoming synonymous with heterogeneous integration and advanced packaging technologies. With an increasing number of IP players like Arm, Cadence, and up-and-coming innovators like Alphawave Semi entering the scene, the competitive landscape is rich with transformative opportunities.
For instance, in March 2024, Cadence partnered with Arm to create a groundbreaking chiplet-based reference design, resulting in what Cadence terms the first industry system chiplet. This design brings processors, system IP, and memory IP together in a single package, unified through the Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) standard. The system chiplet adheres to Arm’s Chiplet System Architecture (CSA), delivering impressive capabilities such as a peak bandwidth of 64 GB/s for UCIe IP and 32 GB/s for LPDDR5 IP. This integration signifies a new era of high-performance and adaptive computing.
South Korean startup Rebellions exemplifies how chiplets are advancing AI applications. Its compute accelerator SoC, REBEL, employs Alphawave Semi’s high-speed multiprotocol I/O connectivity chiplets, which leverage PCIe 6.0, CXL 3.1, and Ethernet subsystems paired with UCIe 2.0 die-to-die connectivity. Designed for generative AI workloads in data centres, REBEL demonstrates the scalability and modularity of chiplet architecture, adaptable from single cards to expansive rack systems.
These examples highlight how chiplets are reshaping the semiconductor industry by enabling innovative, scalable, and highly integrated designs. They showcase the collaborative ingenuity driving the development of future-focused technologies that cater to diverse applications, from hyperscale data centres to AI acceleration.
Chiplets are redefining what’s possible in computing by marrying cutting-edge design with practical modularity. Their role in shaping the future of semiconductors cements their importance across the industry, fostering a wave of innovation in high-performance and adaptive computing.
Alphawave IP Group plc (LON:AWE) is a semiconductor IP company focused on providing DSP based, multi-standard connectivity Silicon IP solutions targeting both data processing in the Datacenter and data generation by IoT end devices.
