Co-Packaged Photonic Transceiver With Active Bridge for High-Bandwidth I/O

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Solution Overview

Problem

Legacy microelectronic packages face challenges with electrical signaling limitations in terms of reach and power, and increasing pin counts are difficult to sustain due to cost and integration concerns, necessitating a solution for enhanced bandwidth and compact form factors.

Innovation Solution

The integration of co-packaged optics alongside a processor within a microelectronic package, combined with an active bridge, provides improved power, bandwidth, and compactness, using a photonic transceiver with an electronic integrated circuit and photonic integrated circuit to facilitate optical signal processing and communication.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Power

If electrical signaling is used in legacy microelectronic packages, then power consumption and signal reach are limited, but increasing pin counts to improve bandwidth is difficult to sustain due to cost and integration concerns

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepower consumptionVSAvoidbandwidth

Core Design Contradiction:

PowerVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces electrical signaling with optical signaling in the microelectronic package. Specifically, photonic transceivers convert electrical signals from the processor to optical signals for transmission, eliminating the limitations of electrical signaling regarding power consumption and signal reach while providing higher bandwidth through optical carriers

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the fundamental parameter of signal transmission from electrical to optical domain. This parameter change enables simultaneous improvement in power efficiency (optical signals don't suffer from electrical resistance and heating) and bandwidth (optical frequencies provide vastly higher data rates), resolving the contradiction between power consumption and bandwidth

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If pin counts are increased to support higher bandwidth, then bandwidth capacity improves, but cost and integration complexity increase making it difficult to sustain

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovebandwidthVSAvoidpin count

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent substitutes optical signaling for electrical signaling, which fundamentally changes the bandwidth capacity without requiring proportional increases in pin counts. Optical signals provide vastly higher bandwidth per channel, allowing the system to achieve high total bandwidth with fewer interconnect channels required

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The photonic transceiver integrates multiple functions including signal conversion, modulation, and transmission in a single component, allowing the same interconnect structure to serve both electrical and optical domains and reducing the need for additional dedicated pins for high-bandwidth communication

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS12148742B2Active bridge enabled co-packaged photonic transceiver

Publication Date: 2024.11.19 INTEL CORP

AI summary

Embodiments may relate to a microelectronic package that includes a package substrate with an active bridge positioned therein. An active die may be coupled with the package substrate, and communicatively coupled with the active bridge. A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) may also be coupled with the package substrate and communicatively coupled with the active bridge. Other embodiments may be described or claimed.