On-chip wireless interconnect paradigm

On-chip wireless interconnects offer improved network performance due to long distance communication, additional bandwidth, and broadcasting capabilities of antennas. The on-chip wireless interconnect field is a thriving research frontier, with small (in-package) and large (across server racks) scale innovations. This talk will review the primary focus and the supporting periphery being researched for on-chip wireless interconnects. For instance, the recent discovery of a through-silicon via antenna (TSV_A) will be highlighted for adaptability to a wide range of packaging medium that includes silicon-interposer based multichip packages. Projections of TSV_As indicate up to 40 dB improved signal strength compared to other on-chip antennas, with an insertion loss of 3-5 dB up to a 30 mm distance.

The keynote will also highlight the old and new challenges that lie in the path to prominence, and the striking persistence of these challenges in remaining unsolved, despite the research frontier moving forward. A band of usual suspects, spread over a variety of simulation and measurement based studies, will be put to the test of time. The innovations from physical limitation of on-chip antennas to integration challenges at the system-level will be examined under the spotlight and the hindsight of a couple decades of research.