Collaborative Research: Energy Aware Millimeter Wireless Data Communications in Multicore Systems

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The objective of this research is to develop efficient millimeter-wave chip-to-chip data communications for multicore processors. The approach is to develop small CMOS compatible antennas for data transfers. The project involves design, analysis, and measurement of millimeter wave antennas on silicon and the interface electronics for on-chip communications. This includes electromagnetic modeling, circuit simulation and measurement on prototypes. Special antennas will be created to ensure minimal interaction between the antennas used for data transfers and the nearby CMOS circuitry used for processing. The project's intellectual merits lie in its innovative approach to high-speed data transfers between integrated circuits in multicore computers. In processors with upwards of 100 cores, physical connections are complex and severely restrict performance. The use of the air-interface above the processors is a new concept for efficient data communications. High efficiency on-chip multi-antenna arrays will enable programmable direct processor-to-processor communications. The antenna links will increase data rates, conserve power, and consume an extremely small area. The broader impacts of this research include potentially completely new computer architectures that enable fast computation of the world's largest problems, such as predictive models for severe weather forecasting. The research results will be used for a project for freshman college engineering courses and for elementary school demonstrations. Small low-profile antennas integrated onto Lego Mindstorms robots will be created so that the robots can communicate to one another wirelessly. Creation of this hands-on project is expected to improve recruitment and retention of a diversity of students in engineering.