Intel says the future of chips will depend on the same material you’re looking at right now
Intel will use glass in its manufacturing process by the end of the decade to pack up to 30 trillion transistors into a single chip.
The hardware breakthrough, announced at Intel Innovation 2023, will see “glass core substrate technology” replace the organic resin it currently uses as the basis for the components it builds.
Using glass will give Intel 50% more chip area, allowing it, for example, to fit more CPU tiles into a single package. Alongside innovations like 3D stacking, Intel plans to pack 30 trillion transistors into a glass substrate. This means that the fastest processors, like those used for high-performance computing and data centers, are about to get even faster. It also means the industry will remain on track to follow Moore’s Law, which predicts that the number of transistors on a chip would double every few years.
Why is Intel pursuing a glass-centric future?
“After a decade of research, Intel has achieved cutting-edge glass substrates for advanced packaging,” said Babak Sabi, senior vice president and general manager of Intel assembly and test development.
“We look forward to delivering these cutting-edge technologies that will benefit our key foundry players and customers for decades to come.” »
The use of glass is necessary because the industry’s standard organic substrate will reach its limits in the coming years, according to the chipmaking giant.
Many current system integrated systems (SiPs) use four chipsets, but Intel expects glass to pave the way for 24×24 SiPs, which will significantly expand the capabilities of the fastest processors, especially for high-performance computing. performance (HPC).
Beyond simply fitting more transistors into a system, glass substrates will also improve power delivery to chips, which will inevitably be more power hungry.
Their flatness allows for better depth of field for lithography, as well as better dimensional stability for interconnects, essentially allowing more chiplets to connect to each other.
They can also withstand much higher temperatures, which will be necessary if Intel achieves its goals of building its massive 24×24 SiPs.
Intel will begin using glass-based substrates in its packaging by the end of the decade, the company has confirmed, and it would be a shock if the rest of the industry doesn’t follow sooner rather than later.