Circuits and methods for bi-directional data communication over isolation channels

A data communication device comprising:

• a dielectric substrate including:
• a first capacitor and a second capacitor defined thereon, the first capacitor and the second capacitor being included in a first unidirectional differential isolation channel having a differential input and a differential output, and
• a third capacitor and a fourth capacitor defined thereon, the third capacitor and the fourth capacitor being included in a second unidirectional differential isolation channel having a differential input and a differential output,
• a first data communication circuit including:
• a differential transmitter coupled with the differential input of the first unidirectional differential isolation channel, and
• a differential receiver coupled with the differential output of the first unidirectional differential isolation channel,
• a second data communication circuit including:
• a differential transmitter coupled with the differential input of the second unidirectional differential channel, and
• a differential receiver coupled with the differential output of the second unidirectional differential channel,
• the differential receiver of the first data communication circuit including a comparator having a threshold adjustable based on a clock signal provided by a differential transmitter of the second data communication circuit via the second unidirectional differential isolation channel,
• the differential receiver of the second data communication circuit including a comparator having a threshold adjustable based on a clock signal provided by the transmitter of the first data communication circuit via the first unidirectional differential isolation channel.

A method comprising:

• providing, via a first unidirectional isolation channel, a first calibration signal from a transmitter of a first data communication circuit to a receiver of a second data communication circuit, the first calibration signal being based on a clock signal of the first data communication circuit;
• providing, via a second unidirectional isolation channel, a second calibration signal from a transmitter of the second data communication circuit to a receiver of the first data communication circuit, the second calibration signal being based on a clock signal of the second data communication circuit;
• determining, by the first data communication circuit, based on the second calibration signal:
• a threshold of a comparator included in the receiver of the first data communication circuit, and
• a clock recovery delay for a decoder of the first data communication circuit;
• and
• determining, by the second data communication circuit, based on the first calibration signal:
• a threshold of a comparator included in the receiver of the second data communication circuit, and
• a clock recovery delay for a decoder of the second data communication circuit.