Amdahl’s figure of merit, SiGe HBT BiCMOS, and 3D chip stacking

Abstract

Forty years ago Gene Amdahl published a figure of merit for parallel computation, which proved extremely controversial. The controversy still rages today, although those that have looked closely at this figure of merit conclude that it is correct, but perhaps misinterpreted. In this paper we will look at a small variation on that law that suggests computer designers should take a closer look at two emerging technologies, SiGe HBT BiCMOS and 3D chip stacking. We may be overlooking a way to continue the clock race, and in so doing accomplish better parallelism.