Circuit and methodology for transferring signals between semiconductor devices
AssigneeAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc.
InventorJames J. Kubinec
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A circuit and method for signalling between chips implements signal transter through a power supply line. Parallel data bits are serialized into a serial data stream and sent from a source semiconductor device through the power supply line to a destination semiconductor device. The destination semiconductor device receives the serial data stream and, using a high pass filter, selects the high-frequency component of the power supply line, and deserializes the serial data stream into parallel bits. A low pass filter interconnecting the power supply line and the chip provides a steady power supply potential to operate the functional elements of the chip.
Claims16
An integrated circuit comprising:
- a power supply pin for coupling to a power supply line;
- a first filter coupled to said power supply pin and configured for removing high-frequency components from said power supply line to power a functional element;
- a second filter coupled to said power supply pin and configured for extracting a high-frequency signal from said power supply line;
- and
- a transceiver coupled to said second filter and said functional element and configured for deserializing said high-frequency signal into a first plurality of bits, outputting said plurality of bits to said functional element, serializing a second plurality of bits into a serial data stream, and outputting said serial data stream to said power supply line pin through said second filter.
A network of a plurality of semiconductor devices, comprising a power supply line, wherein each semiconductor device comprises:
- a power supply pin for coupling to said power supply line;
- a first filter coupled to said power supply and configured for removing high-frequency components from said power supply line to power a functional element;
- a second filter coupled to said power supply pin and configured for extracting a high-frequency signal from said power supply line;
- and
- a transceiver coupled to said second filter and said functional element and configured for deserializing said high-frequency signal into a first plurality of bits, outputting said plurality of bits to said functional element, serializing a second plurality of bits into a serial data stream, and outputting said serial data stream to said power supply line pin through said second filter.
An integrated circuit comprising:
- a power supply pin for coupling to a power supply line;
- a first filter coupled to said power supply pin and configured for removing highfrequency components from said power supply line to power a functional element;
- a second filter coupled to said power supply pin and configured for extracting a highfrequency signal from said power supply line;
- and
- a transceiver coupled to said second filter and said functional element and configured for deserializing said high-frequency signal extract from said second filter into a plurality of bits and outputting said plurality of bits to said functional element.
An integrated circuit comprising:
- a power supply pin for coupling to a power supply line;
- a first filter coupled to said power supply pin and configured for removing high-frequency components from said power supply line to power a functional element;
- a second filter coupled to said power supply pin;
- and
- a transceiver coupled to said second filter and said functional element and configured for serializing a plurality of bits into a serial data stream, and outputting said serial data stream to said power supply line pin through said second filter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.