Transmission lines for wafer-scale integration and method for increasing signal transmission speeds
US5202657A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 16, 1991 |
| Grant date | Apr 13, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 16, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01P3/081
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for optimizing the signal transmission speed between a signal source and a signal receiver of a microelectronic circuit is disclosed. The method includes the step of providing a signal transmission path whose length provides a predetermined ratio between its resistance and characteristic impedance which will reproduce the transmitted signal at the receiving end upon the first signal transition. The length of this transmission path may be increased by using a nonhomogeneous line structure in which the characteristic impedance increases in the direction of the signal transmission. In one form of the invention, the signal transmission path is formed by interconnecting a plurality of micro-strip conductors disposed on different planes of a universally programmable silicon circuit board. Under the appropriate circumstances, a signal can travel through such a "semi-lossy" transmission path at approximately the speed of light.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.