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Texas Instrument - Aladdin Parallel Processor

 

Texas Instruments shipped two Aladdin Parallel Processors to the Night Vision Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), on August 1, 1994 [28]. This processor, shown in Figure gif, was built using 3D MCM technology. The processor is considered as an ultra-high-performance, high density parallel processor. The processor consists of five identical basic processor modules, connected by compressible connectors. Each module is composed of a thin film interconnect mounted in an aluminium housing. The vertical interconnect technique used is similar to the `Elastomeric connectors with electrical feedthroughs' technique discussed in section gif.

   figure896
Figure: The Aladdin parallel processor (Adapted from [28]).

The benchmark mainframe computer selected by TI was the Cray X-MP weighing 2000 pounds, consuming 75 cubic feet of space, with processor performance of 30 MIPS/400 MIPS. Against this benchmark, the Aladdin processor achieved 400 MIPS/1600 MIPS in 3 pounds of weight and 48 cubic inches of volume (4.5-inches diameter by 3.02-inches height). The achieved improvements of the Aladdin parallel processor as a result of using 3D technology are

The type of circuits used in the design of this system are:

The cost of this system was about $US 12 million, and because of the high cost the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) had to share it with the Night Vision Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD). In spite of the cost, such a system demonstrates in clear terms the effectiveness of 3D technology in designing high performance systems and its effect in enhancing all the performance aspects of a system in terms of weight, volume, computational power, etc.


next up previous contents
Next: Lockheed - Kill Vehicle Up: Examples of 3D Packaging Previous: Examples of 3D Packaging

Said F. Al-Sarawi,
Centre for High Performance Integrated Technologies and Systems (CHIPTEC),
Adelaide, SA 5005,
March 1997