What you need to know
- Microsoft, Intel, AMD, Arm, and several other companies have established a universal chiplet standard.
- The standard, known as UCIe 1.0, will help connect hardware and software without requiring the use of proprietary technologies.
- One aim of the standard is to allow the mixing and matching of chiplet components from different companies.
Microsoft is just one of many major tech companies to help establish a universal chiplet standard. AMD, Advanced Semiconductor Engineer, Arm, Google Cloud, Intel, Meta, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) recently formed a consortium to create the standard known as UCIe 1.0 (via ZDNet). UCIe is short for Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express.
Unlike USB, PCIe, and NVMe, which all have universal standards, chiplets are not standardized. At the moment, companies use proprietary interconnects that can limit which components can be used together. In other words, chiplets and related components are not plug-and-play right now. Having a universal standard for chiplets should help companies and consumers.
Intel claims that the establishment of UCIe 1.0 will reduce costs and deliver better input and output performance, all while using less power.
"Integrating multiple chiplets in a package to deliver product innovation across market segments is the future of the semiconductor industry and a pillar of Intel's IDM 2.0 strategy," said Executive Vice President and General Manager at Intel Sandra Rivera.
The consortium has not outlined a specific timeframe for the standard to be widely implemented. A press release on the topic provides a general sense that the implementation could be sooner rather than later.
"Upon incorporation of the new UCIe industry organization this year, member companies will begin work on the next generation of UCIe technology, including defining the chiplet form factor, management, enhanced security, and other essential protocols," said the release.
