Radio Frequency Modulated Signaling Interconnect for Memory-to-Processor and Processor-to-Processor Interfaces: An Overview

With the evolution of heterogeneous computing system, such as network-on-chip, high-performance distributed computing, accelerator-rich architectures and cluster computing, high-speed, energy-efficient and low-latency interfaces among memory-to-processor and processor-to-processor become the key technology to enable those technologies. Simultaneously, the scaling of CMOS makes the switching speed of the transistor up to sub-THz. Radio-frequency or even millimeter-wave modulated signaling interconnect has unique features in ultra-low power operation, dynamic allocation of bandwidth and low latency, compared with convention baseband signaling interconnect. In this work, we overview the different generations of radio-frequency interconnect (RF-I) technology, compare them with conventional baseband signaling interconnect technologies. The limitations and potentials are also discussed in the end.