Intel Corp. envisions a future in which processors are built from compact, specialized modules each optimized for a different range of computing tasks.

The chipmaker hopes to make that happen using three new technologies it unveiled Tuesday night at a San Francisco event. The announcement was headlined by something Intel calls Omni-Directional Interconnect, or ODI, which will enable its engineers to build chips with an almost Lego-like approach.

Today, most processors follow a monolithic design. The transistors and supporting components are all etched into a single silicon die that is essentially a self-contained unit. This approach has served the chip industry well for decades, but now that the end of Moore’s law is making it harder to increase processing speeds, semiconductor makers need to come up with new tactics to meet buyer expectations.

That’s where ODI comes in. The technology removes the need to implement everything on a single die, enabling engineers to assemble processors from modules Intel refers to as chiplets.

One benefit of this approach is flexibility. ODI will enable Intel to mix and match different chip designs that are normally sold separately into powerful, highly customized processors optimized for specific applications. Another advantage of ODI is that it may help reduce manufacturing costs. If one of the chiplets in a modular processor has a defect, it can simply discarded and replaced with another, which avoids the need to write off the entire unit.

ODI facilitates this modularity by fusing two existing Intel technologies. The first, EMIB, makes it possible to link chiplets horizontally like puzzle pieces, while the other is a recent innovation called Foveros that allows for chiplets to be stacked atop another in a three-dimensional structure.

ODI introduces a major design enhancement into the mix. Intel has significantly increased the size of its through-silicon vias, the electrical connections that transfer power and data between chiplets. This size boost allows ODI to provide more bandwidth and lower latency all while using fewer vias, which frees up space for additional transistors.

Intel debuted the interconnect alongside two other new technologies. Co-EMIB is a means of linking Foveros processors made up of vertically-stacked chiplet stacks, while MDIO is an improvement on the interface that some Intel processors use to exchange data. The company claims that MDIO will provide more than double the bandwidth density of its current-generation technology.

Intel’s modular, three-dimensional chips could hit the market in the foreseeable future. The company said in December that it hopes to start shipping modular processors based on Foveros as early as this year.

Photo: Intel