UCIe 2.0: Promoting the Open Chiplet Ecosystem. Greetings from the cutting edge of chiplet technology, where on-package communication is being revolutionised by the Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe). UCIe is a game-changer that provides fast, economical, and energy-efficient connections between chiplets.
It is not simply another standard. Chiplets that are constructed with open-standard-based interconnects can boost innovation and shorten time to market in solutions across the computing spectrum, from mobile to automotive to datacenter to artificial intelligence.
The UCIe standard has been developing to meet the demands of next-generation chip designs, and it currently includes over 130 member firms that are major suppliers and users of chiplet-based architectures. UCIe 2.0 is completely backwards compatible and expands upon the UCIe 1.0/1.1 requirements.
They’re taking on the intricacies of multi-chiplet systems head-on with UCIe 2.0, assisting in making sure that the specification includes everything from testing to manageability. Additionally, UCIe-3D enables hybrid bonding and ultra-fine pitches for individuals who enjoy pushing boundaries.
The UCIe Standard’s Evolution
With UCIe 2.0, 3D packaging has advanced significantly, paving the way for a revolution in bandwidth density and power efficiency. This progression aims to redefine the fundamental structure of system architecture, not only stacking chips. UCIe 2.0 offers a future where data highways are more compact but significantly more efficient, allowing for a surge in processing capacity without the penalty of higher energy consumption.
This is achieved by creating a vertical labyrinth of interconnected chiplets. This kind of innovation drives industries forward by providing system designers with the means to create the next generation of energy-efficient and powerful electronic products.
A thorough method for testing, debugging, and managing multi-chiplet system-in-package constructions is the foundation of UCIe 2.0. This all-encompassing management can guarantee that systems’ dependability and maintainability increase proportionately with system complexity. By directly embedding manageability into the chiplet stack, the specification streamlines the entire design process and offers better system-level solutions.
| Characteristics/KPIs | UCIe-S | UCIe-A | UCIe-3D | Comments for UCIe-3D |
| Target for Key Metrics | ||||
| BW Density (GB/s/mm2) | 22 – 125 | 188 – 1350 | 4000 at 9µm | 4TB/s/mm2 @ 9µm, ~12TB/s/mm2 @ 5µm,~35T/s/mm2 @ 3µm, ~300T/s/mm2 @ 1 µm |
| Power Efficiency Target (pJ/b) | 0.5 | 0.25 | <0.05 at 9µm | Conservatively estimated at 9µm pitch<0.02 for 3µm pitch |
UCIe 2.0 is paving the way for the future demands of the automobile sector as well as setting the standard for today’s requirements with its ball map optimisations and work-in-progress automotive upgrades. While keeping complete backward compatibility with UCIe 1.1 and 1.0, the dedication to optimised package designs promotes interoperability and streamlines compliance testing, assisting in ensuring a smooth transition for current UCIe adopters.
New developments in manageability and design-for-excellence (DFx) demonstrate our continued commitment to improving and refining the entire spectrum of requirements for the system lifecycle, and the introduction of UCIe-3D demonstrates our preparedness to take on the challenges that accompany revolutionary advances in power-efficient performance.
Intel’s Dedication to UCIe
Multi-die system designers can benefit from extremely competitive performance advantages according to the UCIe specification. Because of these benefits, UCIe is an attractive technology that can facilitate interoperability and pave the way for a multi-die system environment that is genuinely open.
Members of the UCIe consortium have been showing live demos and solutions based on the UCIe 1.0 and 1.1 specs. It is the beginning of a new age, and UCIe 2.0 is proof of the commitment to keep improving the specifications with feedback from the industry in order to better serve the changing needs of the chiplet-based business.
Together with leaders in the industry, Intel is dedicated to promoting the UCIe standard and defining a strong open ecosystem. They think that UCIe will be essential to driving creative system-in-package products as more and more Intel Foundry clients seek out systems foundry capabilities for chiplet-based die and packaging, and as more Intel products integrate chiplets.
Establishing the Chiplet Paradigm
Intel led the ecosystem in forming the UCIe Consortium and collaborated with other businesses to produce the Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) standard, which serves as a high-bandwidth, low-latency connector for chip-based computing block communication.
Similar to our previous efforts driving the delivery of important industry standards like PCIe, SerDes, and Ethernet, Intel is leading the development of UCIe.
UCIe 1.0 Specs
The UCIe specification describes the entire standardised Die-to-Die interconnect, including the physical layer, protocol stack, software model, and compliance testing. This will allow end users to construct customised SoCs and easily mix and match chiplet components from a multi-vendor ecosystem.
UCIe 1.1 Specs
With the provision of wider usage models and the extension of dependability methods to new protocols, the UCIe 1.1 Specification significantly enhances the chiplet ecosystem. Predictive failure analysis, health monitoring, and the ability to deploy packaging at a cheaper cost are among the additional improvements incorporated for automotive applications.
In order to establish system configurations and registers that will be used in test plans and compliance testing to guarantee device interoperability, the specification also includes architectural specification attributes. There is complete backward compatibility between the UCIe 1.0 Specification and the UCIe 1.1 Specification.
UCIe 2.0 Specs
The UCIe 2.0 Specification addresses the design problems for testability, manageability, and debug (DFx) for the SIP lifecycle over numerous chiplets, from sort to management in the field, and provides support for a standardised system architecture for manageability.
Vendor-agnostic chiplet interoperability across a flexible and universal approach to SIP management and DFx operations is made possible by the addition of optional manageability features and a UCIe DFx UDA, which contains a chiplet management fabric for testing, telemetry, and debugging.
Furthermore, 3D packaging is supported by the 2.0 Specification, which provides a higher bandwidth density and better power efficiency than 2D and 2.5D architectures. With a bump pitch functional range of 10-25 microns to 1 micron or less, UCIe-3D is tailored for hybrid bonding and offers flexibility and scalability.
- Comprehensive assistance for testing, debugging, and manageability for any System-in-Package (SiP) construction that uses several chiplets.
- Supporting 3D packaging will greatly improve power efficiency and bandwidth density.
- Enhanced system-level solutions that are defined as part of the chiplet stack and have manageability.
- Package designs optimised for compliance and interoperability testing.
- Completely compatible with both UCIe 1.0 and 1.1 backwards.
