Reflector Power Amplifiers for Wireless Chip-to-Chip Interconnects

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current wireless chip-to-chip and longer-range communication solutions face challenges in achieving compactness, cost-effectiveness, and power efficiency while maintaining high data rates, particularly due to issues like impedance mismatches and signal distortion over electrical traces on printed-circuit boards.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of a transmitter front-end with on-chip or on-package reflector power amplifiers and antennas that reinforce the effective radiation pattern in a desired direction, reducing output power requirements and mitigating interference, using millimeter wave signals in the 30 to 300 GHz range, and employing a master-slave configuration or contention-based media access control protocols to manage bandwidth.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If wireless communication is used for chip-to-chip communication, then PCB area limitations are overcome and high data rates are achieved, but hardware compactness and power efficiency deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata rateVSAvoidpower efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the wireless communication function into multiple independent IC chips, each equipped with its own transmitter and receiver circuits. This allows distributed processing and reduces the power consumption per chip while maintaining high aggregate data rates across multiple communication channels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces traditional electrical trace interconnections with wireless electromagnetic field-based communication. This substitution eliminates the need for physical electrical pathways between chips, enabling high data rate transmission without the power loss and signal distortion associated with electrical traces at multi-Gb/s rates.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Ease of operation

If electrical traces on PCB are used for interconnection, then routing between IC chips is simplified, but signal distortion and attenuation increase at high data rates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverouting simplicityVSAvoidsignal quality

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent substitutes wireless electromagnetic communication for electrical trace-based interconnection. This eliminates the fundamental limitations of electrical traces at high frequencies, including impedance mismatches, skin effect, and dielectric absorption, thereby maintaining signal integrity without compromising routing flexibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Productivity

If more IC chips are used to achieve high data rates, then communication capacity increases, but PCB area requirements and routing complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecommunication capacityVSAvoidPCB area

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent transitions from two-dimensional PCB trace routing to three-dimensional wireless spatial communication. Multiple IC chips can communicate simultaneously in different spatial directions and frequencies, enabling high communication capacity without proportionally increasing PCB area or routing complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This solution enables efficient, compact, and cost-effective wireless chip-to-chip communication with reduced interference, supporting high data rates and flexible communication distances, while effectively utilizing available wireless spectrum.

Implementation Method 1

The reflector power amplifiers are configured to reflect the radiation of the on-chip or on-package antenna in such a way that the effective radiation pattern of the antenna is reinforced in a desired direction and suppressed in an undesired direction

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectReflection: Reflection

Implementation Method 2

The antenna is configured to wirelessly transmit a signal to another IC chip or device using millimeter wave signals in the 30 to 300 GHz range

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElectromagnetic radiation: Electromagnetic Induction

Data Source

PatentUS8977208B2Reflective beamforming for performing chip-to-chip and other communications

Publication Date: 2015.03.10 AVAGO TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL SALES PTE LTD

AI summary

A transmitter front-end for wireless chip-to-chip communication, and for other, longer-range (e.g., several meters or several tens of meters) device-to-device communication is disclosed. The transmitter front-end can include a plurality of reflector power amplifiers implemented on an IC chip and an on-chip or on-package antenna for wireless transmitting a signal to another IC chip or device. The plurality of reflector power amplifiers can reflect the radiation of the on-chip or on-package antenna in a particular pattern such that the effective radiation pattern is reinforced in a desired direction and suppressed in an undesired direction. This helps to reduce the required output power of the transmitter front-end and mitigate interference with other potential wireless chip-to-chip or longer-range communications.