Physical Dilemma of Large-Area Advanced-Node Chips: Irreversible Narrowing of Interconnect Channels

Abstract

The two pathways to increasing chip computing power—process scaling and chip area expansion—have both reached their physical and economic limits. This paper demonstrates that the physical bottlenecks of advanced nodes and the contradictions of interconnect narrowing cannot be resolved by 2.5D/3D packaging or chiplet architectures, which merely shift costs rather than eliminate fundamental physical constraints. Industrial remedies are shown to create markets out of their own self-inflicted problems. As sub-1 nm nodes approach, uncontrollability overtakes usability. The only physically self-consistent path forward is a system-integration paradigm centered on mature-node chiplets, where wide interconnects, low thermal density, and traditional packaging together respect fundamental physical laws.