Wireless communication in a flip-chip package using integrated antennas on silicon substrates

Abstract

An intrachip wireless interconnect using integrated antennas is demonstrated in a flip-chip ball grid array package. The wireless interconnect consists of a transmitter-receiver pair, which is fabricated in a 0.18-m CMOS process. A 15-GHz signal is generated and broadcasted across the integrated circuit. The signal is picked up by a receiver 4 mm away on the same integrated circuit and frequency divided by eight to produce a 1.875-GHz local clock signal. The interconnection is also demonstrated between a transmitting antenna and a packaged receiver 40 cm away from the transmitting antenna. Demonstration of intrachip wireless interconnects in a package has been considered the ultimate test for this technology.Index Terms-Flip-chip package, integrated antennas, wireless interconnection.

Wireless NoC as Interconnection Backbone for Multicore Chips: Promises and Challenges

“…Hence, other metal wires in the vicinity of these antennas do not significantly affect their performance. The demonstration of intra-chip wireless interconnection in a 407-pin flip-chip package with a ball grid array (BGA) mounted on a PC board [17] has addressed the concerns related to influence of packaging on antenna characteristics. Design rules for increasing the predictability of on-chip antenna characteristics have been proposed in [16].…”

Enhancing performance of network-on-chip architectures with millimeter-wave wireless interconnects

“…Hence other metal wires in the vicinity of these antennas do not significantly affect their performance. The demonstration of intra-chip wireless interconnection in a 407-pin flip-chip package with a ball grid array (BGA) mounted on a PC board [16] has addressed the concerns related to influence of packaging on antenna characteristics. Design rules for increasing the predictability of on-chip antenna characteristics have been proposed [15].…”

Trends in Emerging On-Chip Interconnect Technologies

“…For instance, on a wafer, a 15 GHz transmitted signal 2.2 cm away from a clock receiver with an on-chip antenna was shown to have been successfully picked up by the receiver and amplified to generate a digital output signal 54) . The receiver and transmitting antennas were fabricated using a 0.18 µm CMOS process 50) . Another demonstration of wireless clock was presented by Floyd, et al 55) at the frequency of 7.4 GHz and with a transmission gain of −49 dB between the transmitting and the receiving antenna placed at a distance of 3.3 mm from each other.…”

“…Another concern is the interference effects between the transmitted/received signal and switching noise of nearby circuits 57), 58) . Some promising initial results were presented by Branch, et al 50) , where a sine wave generated in a transmitter was transmitted through an on-chip antenna and the wave was picked up by a receiver on the same chip about 4 mm away, for an on-chip silicon substrate/dielectric transmission path. It was concluded that on-chip wireless interconnects can function correctly for more complex systems, provided the interference concerns are addressed.…”