Tesla and TSMC to develop new AI chip HW4.0 pushing energy efficiency limit
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the leader in foundry industry, has again reported a good news. It has been reported in the industry that the new high-performance computing (HPC) chip jointly developed by the global IC design leader Broadcom and the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla (Tesla) will be produced using TSMC’s advanced 7nm process and integrated with TSMC System-on-Wafer (SoW) advanced packaging technology for InFO system is expected to start production in the fourth quarter, with an initial production scale of approximately 2,000 wafers.
Since TSMC’s InFO_SoW advanced packaging technology integrates the HPC chip directly with the heat dissipation module in a single package without the need for a substrate and PCB, heat dissipation has become an important issue for wafer-level packaging in the future. Industry sources pointed out that in the SoW cooperation between TSMC and Broadcom, the thermal conductive material was provided by Indium, and Jiance was the exclusive supplier of heat sinks.
TSMC is optimistic about the strong demand for 5G-generation HPC chips. In addition to accelerating the production capacity of advanced processes such as 7nm and 5nm, it is also expanding its layout in advanced packaging. TSMC’s CoWoS (chip-on-substrate chip-on-wafer packaging) for HPC chips has entered mass production, and the corresponding InFO technology has been launched. Among them, the InFO_SoW packaging technology that supports ultra-high computing performance HPC chips, the biggest feature is the integration of chip arrays and power supplies. Integration of supply and heat dissipation modules, using route redistribution (RDL) technology to connect multiple chips and power distribution functions, and directly attach them to the heat dissipation module, without the need for substrates and PCBs.
According to industry news, Broadcom and Tesla are cooperating to develop ultra-large HPC chips for automobiles, which are produced using TSMC’s 7-nanometer process, and for the first time using TSMC’s SoW advanced packaging technology. Each 12-inch wafer can only be cut out. 25 chips. Production of the new chips will begin in the fourth quarter, with an initial production of about 2,000 wafers. It is expected to enter the full mass production stage after the fourth quarter of next year.
It is understood that the HPC chip created by Broadcom for Tesla will become the core computing special application chip (ASIC) for Tesla electric vehicles in the future, which can be used to control and support advanced driver assistance systems, electric vehicle power transmission, and automotive entertainment. The four major application areas of automotive electronics such as systems and car body electronic components will further support the real-time computing required for self-driving cars. The HPC chip jointly developed by Broadcom and Tesla should be an important cooperation project from electric vehicles to self-driving cars.