Methods and systems for high bandwidth chip-to-chip communications interface
First Claim
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1. An apparatus comprising:
- a multi-wire bus configured to receive a set of N signals corresponding to N elements of a code word, wherein the elements of the code word comprise a set of at least three values, wherein the code word represents a set of n input bits, wherein n is an integer greater than 1 and N<
2n;
a reference-less line receiver comprising a set of n+1 comparators, the set of n+1 comparators configured to operate on the received set of signals and responsively form a set of n+1 comparator outputs based on the received signals, wherein at least two comparators receive a common signal of the received set of N signals; and
,a decoder configured to receive the set of n+1 comparator outputs and responsively generate a set of n output bits representing the set of n input bits.
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Abstract
Systems and methods are described for transmitting data over physical channels to provide a high bandwidth, low latency interface between integrated circuit chips with low power utilization. Communication is performed using group signaling over multiple wires using a vector signaling code, where each wire carries a low-swing signal that may take on more than two signal values.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a multi-wire bus configured to receive a set of N signals corresponding to N elements of a code word, wherein the elements of the code word comprise a set of at least three values, wherein the code word represents a set of n input bits, wherein n is an integer greater than 1 and N<
2n;a reference-less line receiver comprising a set of n+1 comparators, the set of n+1 comparators configured to operate on the received set of signals and responsively form a set of n+1 comparator outputs based on the received signals, wherein at least two comparators receive a common signal of the received set of N signals; and
,a decoder configured to receive the set of n+1 comparator outputs and responsively generate a set of n output bits representing the set of n input bits. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method comprising:
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receiving a set of N signals corresponding to N elements of a code word, the elements of the code word comprising a set of at least three values, the code word representing a set of n input bits, wherein n is an integer greater than 1 and N<
2n;operating on the N received signals using a set of n+1 comparators and responsively forming a set of n+1 comparator outputs based on the received signals, wherein at least two comparators receive a common signal of the received set of N signals; and
,decoding the set of n+1 comparator outputs into a set of n output bits representing the n input bits. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A method comprising:
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receiving a set of n input bits representing information, wherein n is an integer greater than 1; generating elements of a code word based on the received set of n input bits; and
, for each element of the code word;forming a respective pair of driver signals corresponding to a value of a respective element of the code word, wherein at most one driver signal of the respective pair can be high at any time; and
,generating a signal level on a respective output wire of a set of output wires based on the respective pair of driver signals. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification