From software-defined interconnect to software-defined system-on-wafer: a computing architecture revolution in the post-Moore era

Abstract

As Moore's law approaches its fundamental physical and economic limits, the semiconductor industry faces unprece-dented challenges in maintaining performance growth. This study presents the revolutionary evolution from software-defined interconnect (SDI) to software-defined system-on-wafer (SDSoW), a paradigm-shifting architectural approach that transcends traditional scaling constraints through wafer-level heterogeneous integration. Our proposed SDSoW enables dynamic reconfiguration of thousands of computing chiplets across an entire wafer, achieving superlinear performance scaling and significantly improving energy efficiency. We establish a comprehensive theoretical framework with mathematical models covering key aspects, such as interconnect flexibility and integration scaling, and propose an application-driven dynamic architecture reconfiguration (ADR) paradigm that optimizes wafer-scale resources in real time and may foster emergent intelligence in large, heterogeneous systems. Simulation results (128-1024 nodes) demonstrate that SDSoW outperforms conventional multi-chip systems, delivering approximately 3.73×-4.39×higher throughput, 79.2% lower latency, and 2.8×higher power efficiency. As a paradigm shift comparable to the invention of integrated circuits (ICs), it provides a viable pathway beyond Moore's law through innovative architectural design rather than process scaling.

Keywords

Software-defined interconnect (SDI) / Software-defined system-on-wafer (SDSoW) / Wafer-level integration / Emergent intelligence / Heterogeneous computing

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The Authors. Published by Zhejiang University Press Co., Ltd.