Multimode Transceiver for High-Density Interconnects: Measurement and Validation

The demand for high-density links is increasing as the trend towards more cost-effective and high-throughput systems continues. Whereas the conventional single-ended and differential signaling schemes need a guaranteed inter-pair spacing which imposes certain bounds on maximum achievable signaling density, multimode signaling can be utilized to further increase it. In this paper, first, the exacerbated crosstalk caused by highly-coupled lines is illustrated to demonstrate the motivation for multimode signaling. A multimode signaling transceiver is then designed to prove the concept of multimode signaling. The measurement results of the decoded receiver output demonstrate that this scheme is able to reduce the effective crosstalk in a multi-wire link.