Module Integration Overview
Module Integration is the final stage of semiconductor manufacturing, where packaged dies or advanced packages are assembled into functional multi-chip modules (MCMs) or system-level boards. This stage bridges the gap between chip-level packaging and system deployment, enabling high-performance computing (HPC), AI accelerators, mobile SoCs, and automotive ECUs to reach usable form factors. Increasingly, module integration is becoming a strategic domain, as companies seek to optimize performance, thermal design, and reliability across heterogeneous chiplets and packages.
Scope of Module Integration
- Multi-Chip Modules (MCMs): Combines two or more packaged dies on a common organic substrate (e.g., NVIDIA Grace Superchip, AMD EPYC CPUs).
- Chiplet-Based Modules: Uses disaggregated dies (logic, I/O, cache, accelerators) connected through advanced packaging interconnects.
- Memory Modules: HBM stacks integrated with GPUs/AI chips, DIMMs, or custom memory subsystems.
- System-in-Package Crossovers: Complex SiPs can function as modules by including passives, RF, sensors, and logic in one sealed package.
- Subsystem Boards: High-performance boards integrating packaged dies with VRMs, connectors, and thermal management (e.g., NVIDIA GPU boards, Tesla FSD boards).
Representative Examples
| Module | Company | Composition | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grace Superchip | NVIDIA | 2 Grace CPUs on one module, linked via NVLink-C2C | AI & HPC servers |
| MI300 | AMD | CPU + GPU + HBM stacked in a 3D module | Exascale computing |
| Dojo Training Tile | Tesla | 25 custom AI dies integrated into one liquid-cooled module | AI training cluster |
| HBM Cube | Samsung, SK Hynix | DRAM stacks with TSVs packaged as memory modules | AI accelerators, HPC |
| Apple SiP (Watch S-series) | Apple | CPU + memory + sensors + passives in one package | Wearables |
Key Considerations
- Interconnect Bandwidth: NVLink, Infinity Fabric, UCIe emerging as standard die-to-die/module fabrics.
- Power Delivery: High-current VRMs and embedded passives integrated at module level.
- Thermal Management: Heat spreaders, lids, vapor chambers, liquid cooling for dense modules.
- Reliability: Warpage, stress, and heterogeneous die aging impact module lifetime.
- Design Ecosystem: Requires EDA support for chip-package-board co-design.
Market Outlook
Module integration is becoming a strategic advantage in AI and HPC markets, where performance scaling is increasingly driven by packaging and module design rather than transistor scaling alone. NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, and Tesla are pioneering module-level architectures for AI and exascale computing, while consumer and automotive markets adopt SiPs and compact modules for IoT and ADAS. Through 2030, module integration will remain a bottleneck and differentiator in semiconductor competitiveness.