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Sony Leads the Industry in Mass Producing Devices that
Achieve the Same Performance as Embedded DRAM LSIs
in the Low-Cost SiP Process
MCL: SiP Technology that Achieves Both Wide Bandwidth and Low Power |
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Chip on Chip connection
technology using
microbumps |
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Interface circuit technologies |
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Industry-leading success
in mass production |
As progress continues in improving performance,
increasing functionality, and
furthering miniaturization in consumer
equipment, the requirements on the semiconductor
devices that form the core of
these products are increasing as well. One
solution that can respond to these requirements
is the SoC (System on Chip) technology
that combines logic circuits and
memory on a single chip.
With the SoC technology, the data transfer
speed between logic and memory can
be increased by applying the latest leading-edge fine fabrication technology and
integrating on a single chip. Also, since
only a single I/O circuit is needed, lower
power consumption can be achieved.
However, with the SoC technology, the
chip size increases with increasing
memory capacity and since complex fabrication
processes are required, it can be
difficult to assure adequate yields, which
can lead to higher costs.
In contrast, there has also been much work
on SiP (System in Package) technology,
which uses wire bonding, flip chip, and
other technologies to combine multiple
LSI chips (including ASICs, microcomputers,
DRAM, and flash memory) in a
single package. This technology has the
feature that it can achieve miniaturization
and increased functionality at low cost and
many variations and types have been proposed.
SiP technologies, however, have
the problems that the data transfer speeds
between chips is inadequate and the overall
system power consumption increases
greatly. Both SoC and SiP technologies
have plusses and minuses, and it is difficult
to achieve both high data transfer
rates and lower power consumption at the
same time at low cost and with a small
mounting area.
Sony has now developed new connection
and circuit design technologies that feature
the advantages of both the SoC and
SiP technologies and has established a
high-speed low-power inter-chip interface
technology. (See figure 1.)
We have named this technology “Multi
Chip LSI (MCL)” and have already applied
it in the CPU used in the PSP®
“PlayStation Portable” product. Thus this
technology is already in use in a mass production
product. This article introduces
the technology that forms the core of the
MCL technology: the Chip on Chip connection
technology that uses microbumps
and these interface circuit technologies.
(SoC advantages) + (SiP advantages) = Multi Chip LSI (MCL)
■ Figure 1 MCL Development Concepts
(Comparison of the SoC, SiP, and MCL technologies) |
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Chip on Chip Connection
Technology Using Microbumps
Vol.50