Future of high-speed short-reach interconnects using clad-dielectric waveguide

Abstract

The ever-increasing demand for bandwidth requires advanced interconnect solutions satisfying functional and economic constraints. A new interconnect called electrical tube (E-TUBE) is proposed as a cost-and-power-effective all-electricaldomain wideband waveguide solution for high-speed, high-volume, and short-reach communication links. Unlike conventional optical solutions, the E-TUBE achieves state-of-the-art performance in terms of bandwidth-per-carrier frequency, power, and density without any precision manufacturing process. The E-TUBE exhibits a frequencyindependent loss-profile and has 20GHz bandwidth over the V band. The inherent frequency response of the E-TUBE enables a single-sideband signal transmission and renders double data throughput without any physical overhead. Transmission up to 14Gb/s signals over 1.2m has been tested using 73GHz carrier frequency (fC). The IC is fabricated in 40nm CMOS and the figure-of-merit of the interface is 0.52J/b/m×*fC (Radio frequency circuits only: 0.3J/b/m×*fC).