This New Technology will keep Moore's Law Alive

Anastasi In Tech
30 Jul 202419:09

TLDRThe video discusses the challenges of cooling in semiconductors as Moore's Law advances, with demand for computing power projected to increase 100-fold in 5 years. It explores various cooling technologies, including air and liquid cooling, and innovative approaches like TSVs and embedded cooling. The script highlights the importance of efficient heat management for maintaining chip performance and the potential of new cooling methods like transistor-level cooling to extend the capabilities of future chips.

Takeaways

  • 📈 Computing demand is expected to increase by a factor of at least 100 over the next 5 years, prompting chip makers to innovate to meet semiconductor demand.
  • 🔩 This decade is focused on vertical integration, with advancements in stacking chiplets and transistors to improve performance, but this also increases cooling challenges.
  • 🌡 The video discusses various cooling technologies that are crucial for sustaining Moore's Law, including a new Transistor Level Cooling Technology that could prevent future chips from overheating.
  • 🔆 The smallest transistors are now at 2nm and 3nm, allowing for 200 billion transistors in a small silicon area, but this density causes overheating issues when all transistors are used simultaneously.
  • 🚫 'Dark silicon' is a phenomenon where many transistors on a chip cannot compute at the same time due to power and thermal constraints, limiting performance.
  • 🛠️ The future of chips involves stacking them on top of each other, which started with AMD's V-cache technology in 2022 and is expected to continue with nano sheets by 2030.
  • 🔥 Heat generated by chips is a significant issue, as it degrades performance and shortens component lifetimes, with TDP (Thermal Design Power) indicating the maximum heat flux that can be removed.
  • 💨 Traditional cooling methods like air and liquid cooling have limits, with liquid cooling being necessary for chips that dissipate more than 300W of heat, such as NVIDIA's GPUs.
  • 🔧 Advanced cooling strategies, like TSVs (through silicon vias) in 3D chips, help spread heat evenly and improve both performance and cooling efficiency.
  • 🏭 Immersion cooling is an efficient alternative for data centers, where cooling takes up about 40% of total power, but it faces challenges with the use of toxic PFAS chemicals.
  • 🤖 AI models, like Google's Deep Mind, are being used to optimize data center cooling, reducing power consumption by analyzing patterns in workloads and sensor data.

Q & A

  • What is the main challenge that chip makers are facing as computing demand increases?

    -The main challenge chip makers are facing is the need to satisfy the growing demand for semiconductors while managing the heat generated by increasingly dense transistors, which can lead to overheating and performance degradation.

  • What is the term used to describe the phenomenon where a significant portion of the transistors on a chip cannot compute at the same time due to power and thermal constraints?

    -The term used to describe this phenomenon is 'dark silicon'.

  • What does TDP stand for, and how is it related to the cooling of chips?

    -TDP stands for Thermal Design Power, which measures the maximum heat flux that can be removed from a chip. It is directly related to cooling as it determines the amount of heat that needs to be dissipated to prevent overheating.

  • How does the process of stacking chiplets and transistors vertically affect cooling?

    -Stacking chiplets and transistors vertically, known as vertical integration, increases the performance of chips but also exacerbates the cooling problem, as more heat is generated in a smaller space.

  • What is the role of EDA Tools and Power Analysis Tools in chip cooling?

    -EDA Tools (Electronic Design Automation Tools) and Power Analysis Tools help in the physical design phase of chips by considering the switching activity of blocks and placing them in a way that minimizes peak temperature and temperature gradients across the chip, thus aiding in more effective cooling.

  • What are TSVs and how do they contribute to cooling in 3D chips?

    -TSVs, or through-silicon vias, are copper connections that travel through the silicon die and connect chiplets in 3D designs. They provide both vertical and horizontal pathways for heat dissipation, helping to spread heat evenly and improve cooling efficiency.

  • Why is air cooling insufficient for chips with a TDP above 300W?

    -Air cooling becomes insufficient for chips with a TDP above 300W because it can't dissipate the amount of heat generated efficiently. Liquid cooling, which can conduct up to 3,000 times more heat than air, is required for higher TDPs.

  • What is the concept of Embedded Cooling, and how does it differ from traditional cooling methods?

    -Embedded Cooling is a concept where the coolant is brought to the interior of the silicon, very close to the computing cores. This method is more efficient than traditional cooling as it places the cooling source closer to the heat source, reducing the distance heat has to travel.

  • How does TSMC's 'Direct on chip water cooling' technology work, and what are its benefits?

    -TSMC's 'Direct on chip water cooling' technology involves creating micro-channels directly on the silicon layer on top of the CPU. This allows for more effective heat dissipation, with the ability to dissipate up to 2.6 kilowatts of heat, making it suitable for cooling the most powerful chips.

  • What are the environmental concerns associated with liquid immersion cooling, and what is the industry doing to address them?

    -Liquid immersion cooling often uses PFAS chemicals, which are toxic and do not break down naturally, contaminating the environment. The industry is researching alternative, more sustainable solutions and aims to stop the use of PFAS chemicals by 2025.

  • How has Google's Deep Mind used AI to optimize data center cooling?

    -Google's Deep Mind has built an AI model that uses historical data from sensors to train a neural network for optimizing power usage effectiveness in data centers. This has led to a 40% reduction in cooling system power consumption by identifying patterns in workloads and optimizing efficiency.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Future of Semiconductor Cooling

The script discusses the exponential growth in computing demand, projected by McKinsey, and the challenges it poses for chip makers and semiconductor fabs. The focus is on vertical integration and the stacking of chiplets and transistors, which, while enhancing performance, introduces significant cooling issues. The video promises to delve into various cooling technologies, including a novel transistor-level cooling approach, that aim to sustain Moore's law amidst the heat challenges of densely packed transistors. The script also touches on the concept of 'dark silicon', where power and thermal constraints prevent full utilization of chip capabilities, and the implications of ongoing vertical integration on heat management.

05:00

🔍 Advanced Chip Cooling Strategies

This paragraph delves into the complexities of cooling advanced GPUs like AMD's MI300 and NVIDIA's H100, which use a combination of strategies. Cooling is considered from the physical design phase, with EDA and Power Analysis Tools aiding in heat management. The use of TSVs (Through Silicon Vias) to create heat corridors in 3D chips is highlighted, as is the role of heat sinks and the innovative use of generative AI to optimize their design. The paragraph also discusses the limits of air and liquid cooling, especially for high-TDP devices like NVIDIA's DOJO training tile, and introduces the concept of Embedded Cooling, which brings the coolant directly into contact with the chip for superior heat dissipation.

10:01

🌡️ Transistor-Level Cooling Innovations

The script introduces a groundbreaking approach to cooling, where researchers at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have designed integrated cooling channels within the chip itself, close to the transistors. This method aims to prevent heat spread by directing a liquid coolant through microchannels, thereby managing substantial heat flux densities. The technology promises to enhance cooling efficiency dramatically and could be pivotal for future high-performance chips. TSMC's 'Direct on chip water cooling' is also mentioned, showcasing the industry's exploration of innovative cooling solutions to meet the thermal challenges of next-generation processors.

15:03

💧 Immersion Cooling and Data Center Efficiency

The final paragraph addresses the cooling of data centers, which consume a significant portion of total power. It discusses the shift towards liquid immersion cooling as a more efficient alternative to traditional methods, despite the environmental concerns associated with PFAS chemicals. The potential of AI in optimizing cooling systems, as demonstrated by Google's Deep Mind, is highlighted. The paragraph also contemplates the future of on-die cooling technologies, recognizing the challenges they may introduce for power delivery, and concludes with an invitation to the Hot Chip conference, emphasizing its significance in the field of chip design and cooling technology advancements.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Moore's Law

Moore's Law is the observation that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles approximately every two years, leading to an increase in computing power. In the context of this video, it refers to the ongoing challenge of sustaining this growth in computing capabilities while addressing the heat dissipation issues that come with denser transistor integration. The script discusses how new cooling technologies are essential to keep Moore's Law relevant and to prevent overheating in increasingly powerful chips.

💡Chiplets

Chiplets are small, modular pieces of silicon that each perform a specific function and can be stacked on top of each other to form a more complex chip. The script mentions AMD's V-cache technology as an example of chiplet integration, where an additional cache memory is stacked on top of a CPU die, acting as a single chip. This approach allows for more efficient use of space and potentially better performance but also introduces new challenges in heat management.

💡Thermal Design Power (TDP)

Thermal Design Power, or TDP, is a metric that measures the amount of heat a computing device is expected to generate under maximum load. The script uses TDP to illustrate the heat dissipation challenges of modern chips, with examples such as NVIDIA H100 GPU having a 700W TDP and the latest NVIDIA Blackwell GPU dissipating about 1,000W of heat.

💡Dark Silicon

Dark Silicon refers to the phenomenon where a significant portion of the transistors on a chip cannot be used simultaneously due to power and thermal constraints. The script explains this as a major problem for high-performance chips, as it prevents full utilization of the chip's capabilities without risking overheating.

💡FinFET Architecture

FinFET stands for Fin Field-Effect Transistor and is a type of transistor architecture that has been widely used in modern chips. The script notes that we are reaching the limits of FinFET architecture and transitioning towards stacking nano sheets vertically, indicating a shift in chip design to accommodate for the need to continue scaling down while managing heat dissipation.

💡Immersion Cooling

Immersion cooling is a method of cooling where the entire system or components are submerged in a non-conductive liquid, allowing for efficient heat transfer as the liquid comes into direct contact with hot surfaces. The script discusses this as a more efficient alternative to traditional air or liquid cooling methods, especially for data centers, but also mentions the environmental concerns related to the use of PFAS chemicals in the cooling liquid.

💡EDA Tools

Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Tools are software applications used to design and analyze complex electronic systems. In the script, EDA Tools are mentioned as being instrumental in the physical design phase of chips, helping to manage heat distribution and minimize hot spots by considering the switching activity of different blocks within the chip design.

💡TSVs (Through Silicon Vias)

Through Silicon Vias (TSVs) are vertical connections that pass through the silicon die of a chip, connecting different layers or chiplets. The script explains that TSVs are used to create heat corridors in 3D chips, helping to spread heat evenly and improve cooling efficiency, as well as enhancing performance and latency.

💡Embedded Cooling

Embedded Cooling refers to the concept of integrating cooling mechanisms directly into the chip itself, bringing the coolant in close proximity to the heat-generating components. The script describes this as a highly efficient cooling method that is being researched and developed to address the heat challenges of future chips, with examples of how it could be implemented using microchannels within the chip.

💡Wafer Scale Engine

A Wafer Scale Engine is a type of chip that is as large as a standard silicon wafer, incorporating a massive number of cores and capable of immense computational power. The script mentions Cerebras, a company that has developed a wafer-scale engine capable of 125 petaflops of AI compute, highlighting the significant heat dissipation challenges and the innovative cooling solutions required for such large-scale chips.

💡Liquid Cooling

Liquid Cooling is a method of heat dissipation that uses liquids, typically with a higher heat capacity than air, to absorb and transfer heat away from components. The script discusses the limitations of air cooling and the transition to liquid cooling for chips with TDPs above 300W, such as NVIDIA GPUs, which can dissipate up to 1,000W of heat using liquid cooling solutions.

Highlights

Computing demand is projected to increase by a factor of at least 100 over the next 5 years.

Chip makers are focusing on vertical integration and stacking chiplets to meet semiconductor demand.

Stacking transistors improves performance but poses cooling challenges.

New Transistor Level Cooling Technology aims to prevent future chips from overheating.

Current chips face the issue of 'dark silicon' where not all transistors can compute simultaneously due to thermal constraints.

Vertical integration is leading to more heat generation as chips are stacked on top of each other.

The transition from FinFET architecture to stacking nano sheets vertically is a pivotal moment in transistor history.

Heat generated by chips is a waste product that degrades performance and shortens component lifetime.

Air and liquid cooling are common methods, but have limitations as TDP increases.

Advanced GPUs use a mixture of cooling strategies, including physical design phase considerations.

TSVs (Through Silicon Vias) are used in 3D chips to spread heat evenly and improve performance and cooling.

Heat sinks with fin shapes designed using generative AI maximize cooling efficiency.

Immersion cooling is an efficient alternative to traditional methods, but faces environmental challenges.

Embedded Cooling brings the coolant close to the computing cores for superior heat removal.

EPFL and TSMC are developing on-die cooling technologies that integrate cooling channels within the chip itself.

Cerebras' wafer scale engine demonstrates the cooling challenges of large AI chips with high heat dissipation.

Data center cooling consumes a significant amount of power, and liquid immersion cooling is a more efficient solution.

AI models, like Google's Deep Mind, are being used to optimize data center cooling efficiency.

The Hot Chip conference will discuss AI in chip design and cooling technologies of the future.

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