Die-to-Die Communication Scheme for Legacy Protocol Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Communications between integrated circuit (IC) dies with different communication protocols, such as encoded and unencoded communications, pose challenges, particularly when interfacing with legacy IC dies that do not support encoded communications, requiring costly redesigns.
Innovation Solution
A communication scheme that includes an IC die with an encoder/decoder configured to implement encoded communications using a subset of a code map, enabling compatibility with IC dies that only support unencoded differential communications, such as through the use of a transceiver with differential receivers, allowing for seamless communication without redesigning the legacy IC die.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If encoded communications are implemented between IC dies, then bandwidth and power efficiency are improved, but compatibility with legacy IC dies deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an encoder/decoder component as an intermediary between the transceiver and the communication interface. This encoder/decoder acts as a mediator that converts between encoded and unencoded communication formats, enabling the first IC die to communicate with both encoded-capable and legacy IC dies. The encoder/decoder translates encoded communications into unencoded differential signals that legacy IC dies can understand, thus maintaining compatibility while enabling high-performance encoded communication when available.
2Productivity
If legacy IC dies are redesigned to support encoded communications, then communication performance is improved, but manufacturing cost and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication functionality into separate components: the transceiver handles signal transmission and reception, while the encoder/decoder handles protocol conversion. This segmentation allows the encoder/decoder to be added only to new IC dies that need encoded communication capability, while legacy IC dies can remain unchanged. The segmented architecture enables incremental adoption of encoded communication without requiring complete redesign of existing dies.
Solution Approach 2:
The transceiver is designed with multi-functionality to support both encoded and unencoded communication modes. By making the transceiver universal and capable of operating in different communication protocols, the system can accommodate both legacy and modern IC dies without requiring separate dedicated hardware for each communication type, thereby reducing overall manufacturing complexity and cost.
3Quantity of substance
If full code map is used for encoded communications, then data transmission capacity is improved, but complexity of the encoder/decoder increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a partial code map in the encoder/decoder that includes only the most frequently used or most critical code transitions. Rather than implementing the complete code map, the selective subset provides sufficient data transmission capacity for the application requirements while significantly reducing the complexity of the encoder/decoder logic. This partial implementation approach achieves an optimal balance between transmission capacity and device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples described herein provide a communication scheme between integrated circuit (IC) dies. In an example, an IC package includes a first IC die and a second IC die. The first IC die includes an encoder/decoder configured to implement encoded communications. The second IC die includes a transceiver configured to implement unencoded differential communications. The encoder/decoder is communicatively coupled to the transceiver. The encoder/decoder is configured to implement communications to the transceiver using a subset of a code map of the encoded communications.