ATSim: A Fast and Accurate Simulation Framework for 2.5D/3D Chiplet Thermal Design Optimization

By Qipan Wang ^1,2, Tianxiang Zhu ¹, Jiajia Cui ¹, Yicheng Wei ¹, Linxiao Shen ¹, Zhe Cheng ¹, Runsheng Wang ^1,3,4, Ru Huang ^1,3,4, Yibo Lin ^1,3,4
1 School of Integrated Circuits, Peking University 
² Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University
³ Institute of Electronic Design Automation, Peking University, Wuxi, China
⁴ Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Integrated Circuits, Beijing, China

Abstract

This paper reviews the thermal challenges in 2.5D/3D chiplet integration systems and introduces ATSim, a simulation framework with applications to chiplet thermal optimization. ATSim enables fast and accurate thermal simulation for both steady-state and transient conditions. It supports nonlinear, heterogeneous, and anisotropic materials. The framework features a multilevel grid generation scheme based on a novel hybrid tree structure. Compared to mainstream academic and commercial tools, ATSim achieves high accuracy and efficiency, making it a powerful tool for evaluating and improving thermal designs, including applications like thermal-aware placement.

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