Methods and systems for selection of unions of vector signaling codes for power and pin efficient chip-to-chip communication
AssigneeKandou Labs, S.A.
InventorsBrian Holden, Amin Shokrollahi
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Abstract
Methods and systems are described for communication of data over a communications bus at high speed and high pin efficiency, with good resilience to common mode and other noise. Pin efficiencies of 100% may be achieved even for bus widths of four or fewer wires. Information to be transmitted is encoded as words of a vector signaling code, each word comprising multiple values transmitted as a group over the communications bus. Subsets of the vector signaling code have distinct group characteristics, which are discernable on transmission and are used to facilitate decoding on reception.
Claims16
A method of transmitting information over a data bus capable of transmission of data in physical form and comprising multiple distinct analog signal transmission elements, the method comprising:
- receiving a first set of physical signals representing the information;
- mapping the first set of physical signals to a code word within a respective subcode using an encoder;
- and
- mapping values of the code word within the respective subcode to the multiple distinct analog signal transmission elements of the data bus;
- wherein the respective subcode is a subcode among a plurality of subcodes, wherein the respective subcode among the plurality of subcodes consists of multiple code words selected from among valid code words of a vector signaling code,
- wherein the plurality of subcodes collectively comprise the vector signaling code,
- wherein the vector signaling code presents an enlarged code word space and includes a first unbalanced subcode and a second unbalanced subcode,
- wherein a sum of analog signal transmission elements representing the first unbalanced subcode is opposite in sign to a sum of analog signal transmission elements representing the second unbalanced subcode.
A method of receiving information over a data bus capable of transmission of data in physical form and comprising multiple distinct transmission elements, the method comprising:
- receiving a first set of physical signals corresponding to information encoded on multiple distinct transmission elements of the data bus;
- determining an analog sum of the first set of physical signals;
- identifying a subcode from among a plurality of subcodes based on the analog sum of the first set of physical signals;
- interpreting the first set of physical signals as representing one code word within the identified subcode;
- mapping the one code word within the identified subcode to a data value;
- and
- outputting the data value as a second set of physical signals,
- wherein the plurality of subcodes collectively comprise a vector signaling code,
- wherein the vector signaling code presents an enlarged code word space and includes a first unbalanced subcode and a second unbalanced subcode,
- wherein a sum of analog signal transmission elements representing the first unbalanced subcode is opposite in sign to a sum of analog signal transmission elements representing the second unbalanced subcode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.