Slimmer chips could enable Apple to increase the size of battery fitted in iPhones and other devices, without affecting the overall dimensions.
A supply-chain report indicates that Apple will be increasing its use of a technology the company referenced in a patent last month …
Patently Apple reports.
It’s being reported today by DigiTimes (paywall report) that Apple is expected to significantly increase the adoption of IPD (Integrated Passive Device) in new iPhones and other iOS products, providing manufacturing partners TSMC and Amkor with strong business opportunities.
fThe report further added that peripheral chips for iPhones, iPad and MacBook series are going slimmer with higher performance to allow more space for larger-capacity battery solutions for the devices, with the demand for IPDs to grow sharply in line with the trend, the sources said […]
While the rumor didn’t specify when Apple would be adopting IPD technology, it could be a part of TSMC’s next-gen 3DFabric technology being aimed for TSMC‘s 3nm processors.
Processors using this tech in 3nm form are expected to be used in Apple’s 2023 iPhones.
Apple referenced this in a patent granted in March and published in June. IPD essentially allows more technology to be layered into a chip in a more efficient manner, allowing the chips to be slimmer.
A a cross-sectional side view illustration is provided of a multi-component package including an embedded interposer chiplet in accordance with an embodiment. As shown, the package may include an interposer chiplet and a plurality of conductive pillars embedded within an encapsulation layer. The plurality of conductive pillars may extend through a thickness of the encapsulation layer for electrical connection between a first side and a second side of the encapsulation layer. In an embodiment, multiple components are mounted side-by-side on the first side of the encapsulation layer. A first plurality of terminals of the first and second components are in electrical connection with the plurality of conductive pillars, and a second plurality of terminals of first and second components are in electrical connection with the interposer chiplet . The interposer chiplet interconnects the first and second components. In accordance with embodiments, the first and second components may be dies or packages, or a combination thereof. In an embodiment, the interposer chiplet optionally includes an integrated passive device, such as resistor, inductor, capacitor, etc.
Of course, Apple being Apple, it’s far from certain that the company would increase the thickness of the battery to take advantage of the space-saving chips: It might instead make the devices thinner.
Author: Ben Lovejoy
Source: 9TO5Google
