Packaging technology for the NEC SX-3 supercomputers

Since the performance of a computer system is mainly related to the machine cycle time, improvement of the logic circuit delay is the key for high-speed operations. In order to show how to reduce the logic circuit delay, the characteristics required for LSI chips and packaging technologies are discussed and the technological trends in packaging and their limitations are considered. As a typical application of high-performance packaging technology, the NEC SX-3 Supercomputer packaging is introduced, featuring 9 in/sup 2/ polyimide-ceramic substrates, a microchip carrier, flipped TAB carrier (FTC), high-density multichip packaging, high-speed coaxial cable interconnections, and a water cooling system.<
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