Meta’s AR Enhanced by 3D Packaging

At this year’s International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), Meta’s Reality Labs (RL) presented a paper [1] describing a proof-of-concept processor focused on the expanded capability made possible by advanced packaging, evaluating it on the test tasks of hand tracking and image processing.

The test device glued two same-sized 7nm die together using hybrid bonding; doubling the silicon area increased the performance from single-hand tracking to two-hand tracking, and enabled processing of uncompressed image data.

This case study showed the potential for advanced packaging in augmented reality (AR) applications, increasing the volumetric processing density in an application that is inevitably volume, weight, power, and heat constrained.

Projecting the capability to the 5nm, or even the 3nm, node will add extra performance and power reduction within the same footprint, adding to the likelihood we will see advanced packaging in the AR context.