A 40 nm 16-Core 128-Thread SPARC SoC Processor

Abstract

This fourth generation UltraSPARC T3 SoC processor implements sixteen 8-threaded SPARC cores to double on-chip thread count and throughput performance over its previous generation. It enhances glueless scalability to enable up to 512 threads in a 4-way system. A 16-Bank 6 MB L2 Cache, a 512 GB/s hierarchical crossbar and a 312-lane SerDes I/O of 2.4 Tb/s support the bandwidth required by the large number of threads. This SoC processor integrates the memory controller, PCIE 2.0, 10 Gb Ethernet ports, and required cache coherency support in multi-chip configurations. Multiple clock and power domains are used to optimize performance and power for the SoC components. Extensive power management features, from architecture to circuit techniques, optimize both active and idle power. The 377 die includes 1 billion transistors in a flip-chip ceramic package with 2117 pins. The chip is fabricated in TSMC's 40 nm high-performance process with 11 Cu metals and four transistor types.