Today, in a newly published patent application from Apple Inc., we get to see a glimpse behind one of the many processes behind their new powerhouse A4 processor. Apple's patent reveals systems and methods for providing a system-on-a-substrate. In particular, this patent relates to systems and methods for reducing the total size of a system's circuitry by providing all of the components of the system on the same microchip. A microchip that the patent reveals is behind the iPad, iPhone and likely to be used in other future Apple products such as Apple TV.
Systems, such as systems for an electronic device, are often created from multiple components. For example, the components of a system could include one or more of a processor, memory (e.g., RAM, SDRAM, DDR RAM, or ROM), CODEC circuitry, Input/Output ("I/O") circuitry, communication circuitry, accelerometers, capacitors, inductors, or any other suitable components. Traditionally, each of these components is a distinct "entity" and could be created on a separate microchip or could be included in a separate package.
To create the circuitry for the entire system, the separate components (e.g., separate microchips) are typically coupled together through a printed circuit board ("PCB") or other suitable medium. The PCB could be fabricated with the appropriate wiring or routing to suitably connect all of the separate components.
Apple's patent generally relates to systems and methods for providing a system-on-a-substrate (like an SOC). For example, rather than including the components of a system as discrete entities (e.g., as discrete microchips or as discrete parts), the components of a system could be formed together in "bare die" form. In other words, the components could be formed together on a single substrate, such as a silicon die or a die of other suitable material. In this manner, the components of an entire system could be densely and efficiently packed together, thus allowing the system to achieve a smaller size than a system using components that are discrete entities.
The components could include, for example, one or more of a processor, memory (e.g., RAM, SDRAM, DDR RAM, and ROM), CODEC circuitry, Input/Output ("I/O") circuitry, communication circuitry, accelerometers, capacitors, or any other suitable components.
In some embodiments, a die including the components of a system could be coupled to a substrate. The substrate, in turn, could be coupled to a flexible printed circuit board ("flex"). The substrate and the flex could include any suitable wiring and routing to electrically couple the die to other parts of the system such as, for example, a flash memory. In some embodiments, the flex can be coupled to a different surface of the substrate than the die. In some embodiments, the flex can be coupled to the same surface of the substrate as the die.
In some embodiments, the flex could include a ledge to which one or more components could be coupled. In some embodiments, a system could be created which does not include a substrate. In this case, all necessary wiring could be provided through the flex. In some embodiments, test points could be provided for a component of a die. For example, the test points could be included in a portion of the flex located substantially below the component to be tested.
In some embodiments, rather than being included together in a single die, the components of a system could be included as discrete entities. The discrete entities could be coupled to a substrate rather than being coupled to a printed circuit board ("PCB"). As a substrate can have more stringent design rules than a PCB, coupling the discrete entities to the substrate could allow for a system that is smaller and more compact in size. For example, the wiring for the system could be created using fewer layers and could be formed more densely in a substrate than in a PCB.
Apple's patent, in respect to components discussed earlier, states that "A system utilizing these components could be included in any suitable electronic device such as, for example, a cellular telephone, a personal data assistant ("PDA"), a digital media player (e.g., an iPod available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), a computer, or any other suitable electronic device." The latter entry of "computer" is both interesting and important considering that Apple's recent iMac Touch patent basically confirms that possibility in practice. Meaning that an iMac Touch could utilize both a standard CPU from Intel or AMD in addition to an A4 type chip or, as the patent presents it, a "system-on-a-substrate" – for touch related functionality.
Apple first launched the A4 on January 27, 2010 as the brains behind their new revolutionary iPad and referred to it as a System-on-a-Chip or SOC: "iPad is powered by A4, Apple's next-generation system-on-a-chip." Apple's A4 chip may also end up in Apple's forthcoming Apple TV update due on September 1, 2010 if Engadget's sources are correct.
Apple's patent FIG. 1 shows an illustrative PCB (Printed Circuit Board) 100 that could be used for coupling together the components of the system when the components are each discrete entities. For example, discrete entities such as a processor microchip 102, memory microchip 104, and one or more capacitors 106 could be coupled together through PCB 100. PCB 100 could be formed with conductive pathways or wiring (e.g., wiring 108 or 110) that could suitably provide electrical connections between the various entities of the system to couple the entities together.
Although FIG. 1 illustrates a processor, memory, and capacitors, one skilled in the art could appreciate that one or more of the above-mentioned discrete entities (e.g., CODEC circuitry, I/O circuitry, communication circuitry, accelerometers, or any other suitable components) could alternatively or additionally be illustrated in FIG. 1. As used herein, when a specific illustration of a component is provided, one skilled in the art could appreciate that the specific illustration is given merely for illustration and not for limitation, and that any other suitable component (e.g., a processor, a memory, CODEC circuitry, I/O circuitry, communication circuitry, accelerometers, capacitors, or any other suitable component), could alternatively or additionally have been illustrated.
The PCB 100 of FIG. 1 could generally couple together the various components or entities for an entire system of an electronic device. For example, the PCB may couple together the necessary entities for a system used in a cellular telephone, a personal data assistant ("PDA"), a digital media player (such as an iPod available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), a computer, or any other suitable electronic device. Because the components of the system are each formed as their own, discrete entities and are generally pre-packaged instances, the minimum size of the system could be significantly constrained by the discrete entities. As one example, the use of the discrete entities may cause difficulties in routing the wiring between the entities, thus requiring additional wiring and space to effectively couple the entities together. As another example, because they are generally pre-packaged entities and cannot be altered, the size of the entities may not be decreased. These limitations may, in turn, limit how small in size the electronic device that is utilizing the system could become.
Overview of Other Systems-on-a-Substrate Configurations
Apple's patent FIGS. 3, 5, 6, 7A and 7B are illustrative systems-on-a-substrate while patent FIG. 4 is an illustrative system-on-a-substrate including a ledge.
Apple credits Gloria Lin, Bryson Gardner Jr., Joseph Fisher, Dave Goh, Barry Corlett, Dennis Pyper and Amir Salehi as the inventors of patent application 20100213958, originally filed in Q3 2009.
Update Noon August 26, 2010: An in-depth report on the the inside of the A4's Heart has just been released by the Tech-On website from their parent magazine Nikkei Electronics Asia that's worth a review.
Other Noteworthy Patent Applications Published Today
System and Method for Processing Graphics Operations with Graphics Processing Unit: This 2007 based Continuation-Patent 20100214305 was invented by Mark Zimmer who was behind this week's granted patent "Multi-Conic Gradient Generation."
Today's patent application covers OpenGL. OpenGL is the industrial-strength foundation for graphics in Mac OS X and the gateway technology for accessing the power of the graphics processor. As the most widely adopted 2D and 3D graphics API in the industry, OpenGL powers a broad range of applications that visualize and manipulated graphics, including games, animation, CAD/CAM, and medical imaging. In Mac OS X Leopard, OpenGL also accelerates key graphics technologies such as Core Animation, Core Image, Core video and Quartz Extreme. Apple's patent FIG. 3 above includes iPhoto and iMovie.
Also published today is an ancient FileMaker Pro Continuation Patent 20100217779 in addition to an interesting new patent application relating to a possible future iPhone "Audio Jack with Included Microphone" under patent application 20100216526. See our full report on this here.
Lastly, there's a patent application titled "Video Acquisition with Processing Based on Ancillary Data" under number 20100214448. Although it appears to be a current patent application, as of May 2010, but it's not, due to the noted claims that have been canceled. The patent notes that claims 1-76 have been cancelled and that's never presented on an original patent application. Therefore the patent is dated.
The vast majority of this patent, though extremely detailed, is primarily reviewing details about Apple's iSight camera and iChat in relation to utilizing GPU advances from video cards such as those from NVIDIA and ATI. Although the patent could extend to "videophones," the vast majority of the patent is about processing video via ichat, QuickTime and iMovie. Apple may have decided to quickly update this patent in order to cover the iPhone 4's FaceTime which debuted shortly after the renewed application. FaceTime will eventually spill over to other devices later in 2010 or 2011, such as the iPad and/or iPod touch.
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