CAREER:Terahertz Interconnect, the Last Centimeter Data Link

职业：太赫兹互连，最后一厘米数据链路知识优势：本提案的目标是开发与硅工艺兼容且可扩展的太赫兹互连，以解决长期存在的互连问题。在过去的几十年里，不断增加的片间和片内通信带宽带来了一个巨大的挑战：互连瓶颈。现有的电子互连（EI）和光互连（OI）不能单独解决互连问题。这导致了数据链中的“最后一厘米”困境。太赫兹独特的频谱，位于微波和光学频率之间，使其具有低成本，高可靠性的电子处理和低损耗，小尺寸传输通道的优势，因此在互连领域桥接“最后一厘米”链路具有很大的前景。最终的互连解决方案要求高能效、高带宽密度、高可靠性、低成本，以及随着工艺进步的快速适应性和扩展能力。为了应对这一多维挑战，PI提出了太赫兹互连研究，包括TI理论、通道设计、电路实现技术和演示验证的调查。特别是，我们将研究三种关键的使能技术：平面硅工艺兼容通道和耦合器，基于高效自振荡谐波功率放大器的发射器和高灵敏度接收器。太赫兹互连系统架构和基于实际电路/系统约束的基本性能限制，以及TI随着工艺进步的可扩展性也将被研究。据PI所知，这将是第一次研究与主流硅技术兼容的太赫兹互连。太赫兹互连理论发现了对互连的带宽密度和能效限制的理解，并导致TI架构不断发展，通过技术扩展性能，最终缩小互连差距。如果成功，太赫兹互连将提供比现有互连好几个数量级的带宽密度和能量效率，最终解决最后一厘米互连问题。更广泛的影响：太赫兹互连的发展为未充分利用的太赫兹频谱开辟了一个新的、高潜力的应用。PI还设想，太赫兹互连的成功将使新的计算机架构能够满足大数据时代不断增长的带宽需求。它还将节省大量的能源，不仅带来显著的经济影响，而且还能缓解全球变暖问题。太赫兹互连将为未充分利用的太赫兹频谱形成杀手级应用，进一步推动太赫兹的进步，并在更大、更深的范围内影响我们的生活和社会。PI还将把研究与教育和推广项目结合起来，并通过出版物广泛传播研究成果。

CAREER: Terahertz Interconnect, the Last Centimeter Data LinkIntellectual Merit: The objective of this proposal is to develop terahertz interconnect compatible and scalable with silicon processes to address the long-standing interconnect issue. The ever-increasing inter- and intra- chip communication bandwidth imposes a big challenge over decades: interconnect bottleneck. Existing electronic interconnect (EI) and optic interconnect (OI) cannot address the interconnect issue by their own. These result in the "last centimeter" dilemma in data links. THz unique spectrum, sitting between microwave and optic frequencies, allows it to enjoy advantages of both low cost, high reliability electronic processing and low loss, small size transmission channels, therefore holds great promises in interconnect area to bridge the "last centimeter" link. Ultimate interconnect solutions mandate high energy efficiency, high bandwidth density, high reliability, low cost, as well as a fast adaptability and scaling capability with process advancements. To address this multi-dimension challenge, the PI proposes THz Interconnect research, including the investigation of TI theory, channel design, circuit implementation techniques and demonstration validation. Particularly, we will investigate three crucial enabling techniques: planar silicon process compatible channels and couplers, the high efficiency self-oscillating harmonic power amplifier based transmitter, and the high sensitivity receiver. THz interconnect system architecture and fundamental performance limits given practical circuit/system constraints, and TI scalability with process advancements will also be investigated. To the PI's knowledge, this will be the first time to investigate THz Interconnect compatible with mainstream silicon technologies. THz interconnect theory discovers the understanding of the bandwidth density and energy efficiency limits of the interconnect, and leads to evolving TI architectures that scale performance with technologies to ultimately close the interconnect gap. If successful, THz Interconnect will provide orders of magnitude better bandwidth density and energy efficiency than existing interconnects to ultimately address the last centimeter interconnect issue. Broader Impacts: THz interconnect development opens a new, high potential application for the under-utilized THz spectrum. The PI also envisions that the success of THz interconnect will enable new computer architectures to satisfy the ever-increasing bandwidth requirement in the BIG DATA era. It will also save tremendous energy to not only bring significant economic impacts, but also mitigate global warming problems. THz interconnect will form a killer application for the under-utilized THz spectrum to further motivate THz advancements and impact our lives and societies in larger and deeper scales. The PI will also integrate research with education and outreach programs, and broadly disseminate the research results through publications.