Amid ongoing chip tech tensions, Huawei has applied for a new patent that shows a TSMC-like chipset design for the rumored Ascend 910D. The next-gen AI processor will probably give a tough bang to foreign rivals like Nvidia’s Rubin GPUs.
Huawei is working on a quad-chiplet (die) design for the Ascend 910D chip, according to the latest patent. Details hint that the new chip packaging style can effectively compete with the top AI semiconductor companies like Nvidia and TSMC.
Looking into the patent, it shows a quad-chipset or four-die design for the upcoming AI chip. It appears more like TSMC’s CoWoS-L or Intel’s EMIB with Foveros 3D instead of an ordinary interposer. Let’s take a glance at both chip designs.
CoWoS-L: Chip on Wafer on Substrate-Local is a TSMC-based chip-last packaging tech designed for high-density integration in advanced AI processors.
Intel EMIB: Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge with Foveros 3D has the benefits of both 2D and 3D chip stacking and creates powerful, flexible chips.
Here, EMIB is responsible for high-bandwidth and low-power connections between chipsets on a single package. Meanwhile, Foveros allows stacking chiplets vertically to increase density and performance.
According to Huawei’s patent, the company can use four chip dies for a larger chip. A chip die is an actual circuit element with all transistors, wires, and other components that make the processor function efficiently.
Huawei patent shows TSMC-like chip design secrets for rumored Ascend 910D (Image Credits: Huawei)
Inputs suggest that the company aims to connect four chip dies to form its Ascend 910D. That can be a major upgrade from the two-die layout of the 910C processor.
The information further hints that Ascend 910D could require a total silicon area of 4020mm.sq. A single chiplet can measure 665mm.sq in die size. Thus, it may quadruple to 2660mm.sq for the upcoming Ascend 910D.
From the design details, it seems that Huawei and its chip partner SMIC are striving to catch up with TSMC at least in terms of chip packaging. If it happens, it may help China overcome the US restrictions and enter cutting-edge chipmaking era!
Note that the new chip design is still in the pages of patents. And not all patent applications lead to actual products. Hence, let’s take this input with a grain of salt.
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