If you follow semiconductor news, you've surely heard the term: Chiplet.
In the past, chip design was a monolithic architecture. To integrate the CPU, GPU, and memory controller onto a single chip, you either had to tolerate extremely low yields or make the chip area massive.
But now, the industry is fully pivoting to Chiplet architecture—breaking a large chip into multiple smaller dies (e.g., a compute die, an I/O die) and assembling them together using advanced packaging technologies (like 2.5D/3D packaging). It's like building with Legos.
As a software developer, this sounds wonderful: decoupling, modularity, and on-demand composition.
But as someone working in PCB manufacturing at AnyPCBA, I see a brutally harsh physical reality behind this trend: When the internal interconnects of a chip become incredibly dense, the role of the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) is being completely disrupted.
1. The "Motherboard" at the Chip Level: Advanced Packaging Is Eating the PCB's Lunch
On traditional computer motherboards, the CPU and memory are separate, communicating through traces on the PCB.
But in Chiplet architecture, data transfer rates are so high that signals can't travel far on the PCB. They must be integrated onto a "silicon interposer" or "RDL" (Redistribution Layer)—which is essentially an extremely miniaturized "micro-motherboard" (advanced packaging substrate).
The Impact on PCB Manufacturing: Traditional organic resin PCBs (like FR-4) cannot meet such high-density routing demands. The substrate underneath the chip is evolving from a "PCB board" into "semiconductor-like" processes (such as ABF substrates). For traditional PCB factories, this is a life-or-death cross-industry challenge.
2. High-Density Fan-Out: Where Is the Limit of the PCB?
Although a massive amount of signal routing is resolved inside the package, the Chiplet chip must ultimately be soldered onto a System PCB.
Because the Chiplet integrates a massive number of pins internally, the BGA (Ball Grid Array) pitch on the PCB becomes extremely fine (even smaller than 0.3mm). This means:
- Traditional mechanical drill bits are completely obsolete; laser drilling (microvias) is mandatory.
- Traces must be incredibly fine (mSAP process).
- PCB layer counts are skyrocketing (high-end AI server motherboards reach 30+ layers).
The Impact on PCB Manufacturing: Manufacturing such motherboards requires extreme **layer-to-layer alignment precision and impedance control. **If PCB warpage is not well-controlled, the Chiplet chip soldered onto the motherboard will crack due to stress, causing the entire system to fail.
3. Power Integrity: The "Vampiric" Effect of Chiplets
Although Chiplet architecture is flexible, it concentrates multiple high-power compute units into an extremely small area.
When these chiplets run at full load instantaneously, they draw terrifying amounts of current from the PCB motherboard. If the board's Power Delivery Network (PDN) is poorly designed, the voltage will droop instantly, causing a system crash. This is the hardware equivalent of "high concurrency crushing the server."
The Impact on PCB Manufacturing: Ultra-heavy copper must be used to carry high currents, with massive decoupling capacitors placed beneath the Chiplet. This imposes extremely stringent requirements on PCB stack-up and material selection.
Conclusion: "Decoupling" in the Physical World Is Harder Than in Software
In software, decoupling only requires refactoring code. In the physical world, chip decoupling (Chiplet) is forcing the entire electronics manufacturing supply chain—including advanced packaging, high-end PCB, and PCBA—to make a technological leap.
Although advanced packaging is taking on more and more interconnect tasks, this absolutely does not mean the PCB is becoming less important. On the contrary, the PCB is becoming the "hardcore skeleton" that carries these high-density compute modules.
At AnyPCBA, we are closely monitoring the impact of Chiplets and AI computing on PCB manufacturing processes. We currently support PCB manufacturing up to 64 layers, with HDI and high-frequency hybrid capabilities, and have provided prototyping and small-to-medium volume production services for multiple AI hardware startups.
If you are working on hardware design related to advanced packaging, or need manufacturing support for high-density, high-layer-count PCBs, we welcome you to reach out.
Do you think Chiplet architecture will ultimately make PCBA simpler or more complex? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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