Research OS · Stack map
Stack glossary
What each stack role means in the Silicon Capital map. Blurbs are curated on this site. Wikipedia links are a secondary read, stored in the same map — not looked up when you open a scorecard.
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Analog / power ICs
analog_power_ics
Analog and power-management chips that regulate voltage, current, and signals around processors. They sit between the power source and the digital die in servers, autos, and industrial gear.
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Cooling / thermal
cooling_thermal
Heat removal for dense racks, from air handling to liquid cooling. Accelerator clusters throttle or fail without it, so cooling is part of the power-and-thermal bottleneck.
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Data-center infra
data_center_infra
The buildings, racks, servers, and interconnection that house the stack. This role covers operators and hardware that turn chips into a running data hall.
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Earth observation
earth_observation
Imaging and sensing satellites that observe the planet from orbit. In this map they are the sensor layer, distinct from communications satellites and launch vehicles.
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EDA / design
eda_design
Software used to design and verify a chip before it is taped out. EDA sits upstream of the foundry: modern accelerators do not ship without it.
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Foundry
foundry
Plants that print wafers, whether a contract foundry or a captive fab. They turn a design into silicon, and capacity is the constraint the rest of the stack waits on.
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GPU / AI accelerators
accelerators_gpu
Processors that train and run AI models, led by GPUs and other accelerators. In this stack they are the compute engines hyperscalers and labs buy in volume.
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Ground systems
ground_systems
Antennas, gateways, and terminals that link satellites to terrestrial networks. Ground systems are the earth side of a satcom link, not the spacecraft itself.
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HBM / memory
memory_hbm
High-bandwidth DRAM and related memory that feeds accelerators. HBM sits on the package beside the GPU, and supply moves with AI server builds.
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Hyperscaler
cloud_hyperscaler
Large cloud platforms that buy and operate the AI data-center stack. They are the demand side of this map: they rent compute and drive much of the capex cycle.
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Lithography
lithography
The exposure step that patterns features onto a wafer, including EUV tools. It is the bottleneck equipment layer inside wafer fabrication.
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Materials
materials_substrates
Wafers, specialty chemicals, and substrates the fab consumes. Silicon, silicon carbide, glass, and process materials are the physical inputs under the die.
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Networking & optics
networking_optics
Links between chips, racks, and sites: switches plus optical interconnect. Training clusters are network-bound as well as compute-bound.
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Packaging / OSAT
packaging_osat
Assembly and advanced packaging that join dies, memory, and substrates into a module. This is where chiplets become a shippable part.
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Power & energy
power_energy
Generation, grid equipment, and power delivery that feed data halls and fabs. In this map it is the electrical path from the utility to the rack.
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Quantum compute
quantum_compute
Machines that compute with quantum states rather than classical bits. A thin, early slice of coverage, separate from the mainstream accelerator stack.
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Satellite communications
satcom
Satellites and services that carry voice, data, and broadband beyond terrestrial towers. This role is the space segment of communications, including direct-to-device constellations.
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Security software
security_software
Software that protects cloud workloads and endpoints. It rides on the hyperscaler stack rather than fabricating silicon.
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Solar power
solar_power
Photovoltaic modules and the power electronics that turn sunlight into grid electricity. A power-cycle name, separate from data-center electrical gear.
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Space launch
space_launch
Rockets and launch services that carry satellites and other payloads to orbit. In this stack they are the ride up, separate from the spacecraft and the radio network.
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Spacecraft
space_systems
Spacecraft other than launch vehicles and communications or imaging constellations, including lunar landers. They are the vehicle that flies a mission once it is off the pad.
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Storage
storage
Disks, flash, and the systems that hold training data and enterprise files. Storage sits beside compute in the hall, not inside the accelerator package.
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Test / metrology
test_metrology
Inspection, measurement, and electrical test of wafers and finished packages. These tools catch defects before a bad die ships into an accelerator or memory stack.
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Wafer equipment
wafer_equipment
Deposition, etch, and other tools that process a wafer inside the fab. This is the capital equipment foundries buy when they add capacity.