The Expanding Compute Landscape

Compute is no longer confined to large data centers. It’s everywhere: in the cloud, in tablets and smartphones, in cars, fridges, watches. It’s in our homes, our medical devices, and even in nanobots traveling through the human bloodstream.

This explosion of compute power has pushed the semiconductor industry to innovate—not only at the technology and design level, but also at the level of integration.

The Challenge: When Memory Becomes the Bottleneck

As compute capacity has grown, memory has fragmented. Different applications have very different needs. Some demand raw bandwidth and speed, while others require ultra-compact form factors with minimal power consumption. The challenge is that integrating the right memory into a system often adds complexity, cost, and friction, instead of enabling seamless performance.

The Options: Embedded, Standalone, and Chiplet Memory

When building a system, designers are faced with three primary choices.

The first is embedded memory, where data sits right next to the logic. This approach is fast, power-efficient, and compact, making it ideal for ultra-compact systems.

The second is standalone memory, which involves separate memory chips on a board. While flexible and modular, it comes with trade-offs such as increased board complexity and power overhead.

The third option is chiplet-based memory, where high-performance memory is bonded close to compute cores using advanced 2.5D or 3D stacking. This combines integration with high bandwidth and low latency, making it ideal for high-performance architectures where proximity matters.

The Solution: How DRAM+ and CACHE+ Change the Equation

FMC introduces DRAM+ and CACHE+, two innovations designed to simplify the memory system. DRAM+ bridges traditional DRAM and non-volatile memory requirements in one solution, while CACHE+ blends the best aspects of SRAM and HBM, delivering speed and efficiency. Together, these technologies reduce system complexity, eliminate the need for multiple memory chips, and make it possible to integrate memory in whichever form factor—embedded, standalone, or chiplet—best suits the application.

Together, these technologies reduce system complexity, eliminate the need for multiple memory chips, and make it possible to integrate memory in whichever form factor—embedded, standalone, or chiplet—best suits the application.

For example, you can replace two to three separate memory chips in an embedded system with one DRAM+ chip. Or you can bond memory as a chiplet directly onto your compute die without redesigning your entire architecture. This is integration done right: simplifying design, cutting costs, and lowering power consumption.

A Future-Proof Approach: Focus on Your Application

Instead of following trends, ask the right question: “What does my application really need?”

With FMC’s DRAM+ and CACHE+ technologies, you no longer need to commit to a single memory approach. Whether embedded, standalone, or chiplet, you gain the flexibility to match your memory architecture to your performance goals—today and in the future.