An energy efficient multi-bit TSV transmitter using capacitive coupling

This paper presents a transmitter for Network in Chip Stack (NiCS) high-speed serial point to point links using Through Silicon Vias. A low voltage swing capacitive coupling four level multi-bit transmitter is proposed. It is suitable for low resistive bulk substrates with a small coupling between signal channels. The transmitter has been implemented in 28nm CMOS technology and verified by circuit simulations. The influence of the TSV substrate conductivity is analyzed. The transmitter achieves an energy efficiency of 50 fJ/Bit at 8 Gbit/s data rate for a TSV side wall capacitance of 460 fF.

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