Active silicon substrate technology for miniaturized ultra high performance processing

A multichip module (MCM) technology called active silicon substrate (ASIS) that raises architectural design of signal/data processing systems to much higher levels of microminiaturization and performance is described. The merits of active substrates over the conventional passive ones are demonstrated through the implementation of several features that are possible when active elements are embedded in the interconnecting substrate and mounting platform. These include scalable fault-tolerant computing elements, replaceable drivers/buffers, and embedded local/global self-test circuits. The ASIS technology allows more than one type of processing architecture to be embedded and integrated in the same substrate, thus providing a viable approach for water scale integration.