The Impact of Multi-Core Architectures on Design of Chip-Level Interconnect Networks

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of multi-core architectures on design of chip-level interconnect networks. A dual core 3 GHz processor is found to require 23% fewer metal levels than a single core 6 GHz processor while a quad core 1.5 GHz processor needs 38% fewer interconnect levels than the single core 6 GHz processor. This is because lower frequency chips can use smaller pitch wires and pack the wiring into a fewer number of metal levels.