Technology application tradeoff studies in multichip systems

This paper presents the results of technology tradeoff studies for multichip systems. Performance analyses which are considered in this study focus on module costs, sizes, and routability, however thermal and electrical performance are also briefly considered. These metrics are influenced by different technology and design approaches including surface and through-hole mounting, wirebond, TAB, and flip chip attach, as well as printed circuit boards, ceramic, and thin film interconnects. Additional design details considered include passive component requirements, thermal structures, and connectors. A number of different modules are considered in the present study, including: a six-chip RISC processor module, a 24-chip RISC processor module with a cache memory, and a few-chip package consisting of a portion of a 80486-based PC motherboard with a cache controller. These examples demonstrate that appropriate technology selections are a function of the design constraints and the components which are packaged, and can not always be inferred from generalizations about the applicability of one technology over another