Single-Chip DIMM To Replace Big Sticks of RAM

MrSeb writes "Invensas, a subsidiary of chip microelectronics company Tessera, has discovered a way of stacking multiple DRAM chips on top of each other. This process, called multi-die face-down packaging, or xFD for short, massively increases memory density, reduces power consumption, and should pave the way for faster and more efficient memory chips. Multi-die face-down packaging is exactly what it sounds like, with memory dies stacked on top of each other like roofing tiles. Much like a normal desktop DIMMs and laptop SO-DIMMs, each of the stacked dies is wired to each other in series — but in this case, the connections are much shorter, as they only have to run a few micrometers to the chip below it. This is where all of the power and speed enhancements come from: shorter interconnects mean less power is needed (and thus less heat is dissipated) and signals propagate faster."

Comments

How are they handling the heat?

[jandrese]

The problem with stacked chips like this in the past has been cooling the wafers in the middle of the stack. While DIMMs don't run as hot as processors or GPUs, this is still a concern for them. I wonder how they're going to handle this? Or are they only going to target low power low performance parts?

Re:DIMM == dual in-line memory module

[jd]

DIMMPLE? (DIMMs in a PiLE)