China researchers report 256 core, chiplet-based processor

By Peter Clarke, eeNews Analog (January 8, 2024)

The China Academy of Sciences has reported on a chiplet-based architecture of “Big Chip” as a means of exploring the challenges and options for scaling processor performance.

The research team reports on a 16-chiplet based 256 core RISC-V processor system named the Zheijiang Big Chip. The chiplets are made using a 22nm CMOS manufacturing process.

Each chiplet, contains 16 RISC-V processors that are connected via a network-on-chip (NOC), and is fully symmetrically interconnected to enable communication among multiple chiplets. The Big Chip architecture has the potential to scale up to 100 chiplets, the authors claim in a the Elsevier journal Fundamental Research.