Leveraging the Best of Package and IC Design for System Enablement

Abstract

We find ourselves firmly in the middle of two different design domains, or at least at a point between two new design domains we were not expecting. Where once package design capabilities and flows were derived from PCB design, we find ourselves squarely between IC design and traditional package design. As SoCs (System-on-Chips) have lost favor as the primary system design enablement vehicle, dimensions have shrunk, system designers focus on de-aggregating their chips to their logical subcomponents manufactured in optimal materials and nodes, we find system designers in a new “middle point”, leveraging the best of IC Package and IC design. Package designers now find themselves in the forefront of system-level design and implementation. Once “system design” was done at the SoC silicon level; packaging is now, arguably, the design domain that enables advanced system design. Designers have many different flows and capabilities at their disposal; based on the interconnect dimensions and the materials available, leveraging the capabilities of what has classically been IC design in advanced packaging is becoming more and more prevalent. Package designers are leveraging IC design flows, manufacturing checks and sign off mechanisms to design the next generation of systems. Silicon-based interconnect at silicon process dimensions has become one more vehicle at the disposal of the advanced package designer. Designers can leverage classic flows and design capability available in the IC design space along with their existing package design capabilities. Being able to drive these flows with tools that can work together, as well as additional tools that can act as the system planner or connectivity manager across these domains gives the designer a definite advantage. Designers who are looking for the next generation of EDA tools to support these design challenges will find themselves working with tools available from both the package and IC design space. We propose that users looking to complete these advanced designs will need to leverage capabilities from both design domains, and complete the design using the best tools in each category. Likewise, users may need a single point of entry and design capture at the system level, as well as the capability to manage the overall connectivity across the entire hierarchy of the design. Flows based on these tools can be created to enable and optimize complex designs and meet physical, signal integrity, cost and performance requirements. This paper will the discus the challenges and requirements for working in the space in between these classic design domains, and how they these capabilities can enable advanced package design going forward.