1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a three-dimensional system-on-chip structure formed by stacking multiple chip modules. More particularly, the present invention relates to a three-dimensional system-on-chip structure which is formed by stacking a plurality of chip modules and applicable to system-on-chips.
2. Description of Related Art
A system-on-chip (SoC) refers to an integrated chip on a system level. In particular, a system-on-chip may include a computational element (e.g., a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, an image processor, etc.) as well as a memory, a logic circuit, an input/output circuit, and other connection circuits. In a nutshell, a system-on-chip is a single chip integrated with IC components which have different functions and are otherwise scattered in different chips. Therefore, a system-on-chip can be regarded as a single system having multiple functions.
At the front-end design stage of a SoC development process, system developers plan the desired components and architectures. These components and architectures may be designed by the system developers themselves or provided by a third party. In either case, however, it is the system developers who are responsible for manufacturing and verifying the finished products at the back-end fabrication and verification stages.
While system developers may incorporate the silicon intellectual property (SIP) of external design teams during the design stage, the remaining part of the development process, particularly fabrication and verification, cannot be outsourced. Although such a development process provides system developers with a high degree of autonomy and allows them to optimize product design at the latter stages, the costs of man power and time are lofty. Therefore, if the design stage can be extended into and integrated with fabrication and verification, that is, if certain components of a system-on-chip are pre-fabricated and verified products, then system developers are allowed to focus only on the design, fabrication, and verification of those components with the additional extended functions. Thus, the time required for developing and testing the system-on-chip is significantly shortened, and design errors minimized, thereby lowering the development costs.
Moreover, as consumers strongly prefer electronic products featuring compactness, if the volume of system-on-chips is effectively reduced, the finished electronic products can be downsized to satisfy consumers.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional SoC structure formed by stacking multiple chip modules, wherein each connector module electrically connects two vertical SoC modules to form the three-dimensional SoC structure, thus effectively decreasing the overall volume of the system-on-chip.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional SoC structure formed by stacking multiple chip modules, wherein each vertical SoC module is constructed by stacking at least two chip modules vertically, thus increasing the number of preset elements in a unit area.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional SoC structure formed by stacking multiple chip modules, wherein both vertical SoC modules and chip modules can be fabricated and verified in advance to shorten the verification process of the system-on-chip.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional SoC structure which is formed by stacking multiple chip modules, thus allowing system designers to combine vertical SoC modules of different functions into various SoC structures.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional SoC structure formed by stacking multiple chip modules, wherein vertical SoC modules can be fabricated and verified in advance so that system designers only have to design extended functions for special specifications. In consequence, the time and costs of development are reduced.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional SoC structure formed by stacking multiple chip modules, wherein each module circuit board is formed with a recess as a heat dissipation path, thereby enhancing heat dissipation of the system-on-chip.
To achieve the foregoing objects, the present invention provides a three-dimensional SoC structure formed by stacking multiple chip modules, wherein the three-dimensional SoC structure includes at least two vertical SoC modules and at least one connector module. Each vertical SoC module is formed by stacking at least two chip modules vertically, and each chip module includes a module circuit board and at least one preset element. Each module circuit board has a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface is sunken to form a recess having a first region, and the second surface has a second region opposite the first region. Each of the first and second regions is provided with a first connecting interface. In addition, the first surface and the second surface of each module circuit board are provided with a second connecting interface and a third connecting interface, respectively. Moreover, at least one preset element of each chip module is electrically connected to one of the first connecting interfaces of the corresponding module circuit board or is electrically connected to both of the first connecting interfaces of the corresponding module circuit board, respectively. Each connector module includes a connecting circuit board whose outer surface is provided with fourth connecting interfaces. Furthermore, each connector module electrically connects two vertical SoC modules. Each vertical SoC module is formed in such a way that the second connecting interface of one chip module is in contact, and therefore electrical connection, with the third connecting interface of another chip module.
To achieve the foregoing objects, the present invention also provides a vertical SoC module structure formed by stacking at least two chip modules vertically. Each chip module includes a module circuit board and at least one preset element. Each module circuit board has a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface is sunken to form a recess having a first region, and the second surface has a second region opposite the first region. Each of the first and second regions is provided with a first connecting interface. Moreover, the first surface and the second surface of each module circuit board are provided with a second connecting interface and a third connecting interface, respectively. At least one preset element of each chip module is electrically connected to one of the first connecting interfaces of the corresponding module circuit board or is electrically connected to both of the first connecting interfaces of the corresponding module circuit board, respectively. The vertical SoC module structure is formed in such a way that the second connecting interface of one chip module contacts with and is therefore electrically connected to the third connecting interface of another chip module.
To achieve the foregoing objects, the present invention further provides a chip module structure which includes a module circuit board and at least one preset element. The module circuit board has a first surface and a second surface. The first surface is sunken to form a recess. The recess has a first region while the second surface has a second region opposite the first region. Each of the first and second regions is provided with a first connecting interface. Furthermore, the first surface is provided with a second connecting interface, and the second surface is provided with a third connecting interface. The preset element is electrically connected to one of the first connecting interfaces or is electrically connected to both of the first connecting interfaces, respectively.
Implementation of the present invention at least involves the following inventive steps:
1. With at least one connector module, the vertical SoC modules can be added according to practical needs, thereby extending the functions of the system-on-chip easily.
2. Both the vertical SoC modules and the chip modules can be fabricated and verified in advance. Therefore, the verification process of the system-on-chip can be substantially shortened to reduce the time and costs of development.
3. The recesses in the module circuit boards function as heat dissipation paths in the vertical SoC modules, thus increasing the heat dissipation efficiency of the system-on-chip.
The invention as well as a preferred mode of use and advantages thereof will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
As shown in
Each chip module 11 includes a module circuit board 12 and at least one preset element 13.
With reference to
The circuit layers 121 are so structured that the first surface 122 is sunken to form a recess 124. A first region 125 is defined in the recess 124 for connecting with at least one preset element 13. Moreover, referring also to
In order to enhance heat dissipation of the module circuit board 12, referring to
The preset element 13 can be a processor element, a memory element, an input/output element, a wireless device element, a power management element, a power source element, a sensor element, a heat dissipation element, a display element, a connecting and wiring element, or a combination thereof. Thus, the corresponding chip module 11 can have the function of processing, memorizing, input/output, wireless transmitting, power managing, power source providing, sensing, heat dissipating, displaying, connecting and wiring, or a combination thereof.
Furthermore, the at least one preset element 13 can be a single die, a plurality of dies, or a non-die element. When bare dies are used, as shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Module circuit boards 12 of the foresaid three different structures have their own pros and cons. A module circuit board 12 having the ring-shaped structure is sturdy in structure but poor at heat dissipation. A module circuit board 12 having the double I-shaped structure provides better heat dissipation but is weaker in structure. Therefore, system designers should decide the structure of the module circuit boards 12 according to the use and specifications of the system-on-chip to be made.
Referring back to
As shown in
Referring to
Take for example the embedded system that is frequently used in electronic products nowadays. An embedded system may include two packaged vertical SoC modules 10, wherein one packaged vertical SoC module 10 includes a single die element (e.g., a processor) or a plurality of die elements (e.g., several processors and other dies, such as memories), and the other packaged vertical SoC module 10 has an input/output interface or a hardware design for performing specific functions (e.g., a memory, a wireless device, and a digital signal processor). These two vertical SoC modules 10 can be electrically connected to each other at any time by the connector modules 20a, 20b to form an embedded three-dimensional SoC module with multiple functions.
As each vertical SoC module 10 can be fabricated and verified in advance, the verification process of the system-on-chip is substantially shortened, and the time and costs of development are reduced. Further, since each vertical SoC module 10 has a different function, the functions of a system-on-chip can be easily extended by using the connector modules 20a, 20b to connect additional vertical SoC modules 10 that have the desired functions.
For instance,
Therein, the first vertical SoC module 10a includes a chip module 11a whose preset element 13 is a processor element, a chip module 11b whose preset element 13 is a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) element, and a chip module 11c whose preset element 13 is a north bridge chip element.
Meanwhile, the second vertical SoC module 10b includes chip modules 11d, 11e, 11f whose preset elements 13 are a south bridge chip element, a micro hard disc element, and a flash memory element, respectively. Besides, the preset elements 13 in the chip modules 11g, 11h, 11i of the third vertical SoC module 10c are a display chip element, a network device element, and an input/output element, respectively.
The preset elements 13 in each of the vertical SoC modules 10a, 10b, 10c are electrically connected to one another and can exchange signals with one another via the circuit layers 121 of the module circuit boards 12a, 12b, 12c; the third connecting interfaces 129 of the module circuit boards 12a, 12b; and the second connecting interfaces 128 of the module circuit boards 12b, 12c.
In the second vertical SoC module 10b, the south bridge chip element 34 is electrically connected to the micro hard disc element 35 and the flash memory element 36 via electrical connection between the circuit layers of the three module circuit boards, the third connecting interfaces of the upper two module circuit boards, and the second connecting interfaces of the lower two module circuit boards.
Likewise, the display chip element 37, the network device element 38, and the input/output element 39 in the third vertical SoC module 10c are electrically connected to the south bridge chip element 34 in the second vertical SoC module 10b via the connector modules 20a, 20b. Thus, a system-on-chip fully provided with the functions of a personal computer is formed.
By designing, fabricating, and verifying vertical SoC modules 10 of different functions in advance, the verification process of a system-on-chip can be abbreviated. System designers can complete the fabrication of a system-on-chip simply by connecting the vertical SoC modules 10 of different functions with the connector modules 20a, 20b. Consequently, the time required for developing and testing the system-on-chip is significantly shortened, design errors minimized, and the development costs reduced.
Moreover, the structural design of the vertical SoC modules 10 increases the number of preset elements 13 in a unit area and effectively downsizes the resultant system-on-chip, so that the system-on-chip is applicable to various electronic products.
The foregoing embodiments are illustrative of the characteristics of the present invention so as to enable a person skilled in the art to understand the contents disclosed herein and implement the present invention accordingly. The embodiments, however, are not intended to restrict the scope of the present invention, which is defined only by the appended claims. Hence, all equivalent modifications and changes which do no depart from the spirit of the present invention should be encompassed by the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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099102491 | Jan 2010 | TW | national |