3 ms·
> I thought (bigger die ^ bigger wires -> more current -> higher consumption). I am not a semi expert but bigger die doesn't mean bigger wires if you are refe
by MisterTea 2y ago
> I thought (bigger die ^ bigger wires -> more current -> higher consumption).
I am not a semi expert but bigger die doesn't mean bigger wires if you are referring to cross-section, the wires would be thinner meaning less current. Power is consumed pushing and pulling electrons from the transistor gates which are all of the FET type, field effect transistor. The gate is a capacitor that needs to be charged to open the gate to allow current to flow through the transistor. discharging the gate closes it. That current draw then gets multiplied by a few billion gates so you can see where the load comes from.
- williamDafoe 2y agoActually the wires don't scale down like the transistors do. I remember in graduate school taking VLSI circuit complexity theory and the conclusion was for two dimensional circuits the wires will end Moore's Law. However I've seen articles about backside power delivery and they are already using seven+ layers so the wires are going through three dimensions now. Copper interconnects were a one-time bonus in the late 90s and after that wires just don't scale down-signal delay would go up too fast. Imagine taking a city with all the streets and houses and the houses now become the size of dog houses but you can't shrink the streets they have to stay the same size to carry signals quickly!