Channel Characterization for Chip-scale Wireless Communications within Computing Packages

Wireless Network-on-Chip (WNoC) appears as a promising alternative to conventional interconnect fabrics for chip-scale communications. WNoC takes advantage of an overlaid network composed by a set of millimeter-wave antennas to reduce latency and increase throughput in the communication between cores. Similarly, wireless inter-chip communication has been also proposed to improve the information transfer between processors, memory, and accelerators in multi-chip settings. However, the wireless channel remains largely unknown in both scenarios, especially in the presence of realistic chip packages. This work addresses the issue by accurately modeling flip-chip packages and investigating the propagation both its interior and its surroundings. Through parametric studies, package configurations that minimize path loss are obtained and the trade-offs observed when applying such optimizations are discussed. Single-chip and multi-chip architectures are compared in terms of the path loss exponent, confirming that the amount of bulk silicon found in the pathway between transmitter and receiver is the main determinant of losses.Comment: To be presented 12th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Networks-on-Chip (NOCS 2018); Torino, Italy; October 201

The Study of Reconfigurable Antennas and Associated Circuitry

This research focuses on the design of pattern reconfigurable antennas and the associated circuitry. The proposed pattern reconfigurable antenna designs benefit from advantages such as maximum pattern diversity and optimum switching circuits to realise 5G reconfigurable antennas. Whereas MIMO based solutions can provide increased channel capacity, they demand high computational capability and power consumption due to multiple channel processing. This prevents their use in many applications most notably in the Internet of Things where power consumption is of key importance. A switched-beam diversity allows an energy-efficient solution improving the link budget even for small low-cost battery operated IoT/sensor network applications. The main focus of the antenna reconfiguration in this work is for switched-beam diversity. The fundamental switching elements are discussed including basic PIN diode circuits. Techniques to switch the antenna element in the feed or shorting the antenna element to the ground plane are presented. A back-to-back microstrip patch antenna with two hemispherical switchable patterns is proposed. The patch elements on a common ground plane, are switched with a single-pole double-throw PIN diode circuit. Switching the feed selects either of two identical oppositely oriented radiation patterns for maximum diversity in one plane. The identical design of the antenna elements provides similar performance control of frequency and radiation pattern in different states. This antenna provides a simple solution to cross-layer PIN diode circuit designs. A mirrored structure study provides an understanding of performance control for different switching states. A printed inverted-F antenna is presented for monopole reconfigurable antenna design. The proposed low-profile antenna consists of one main radiator and one parasitic element. By shorting the parasitic element to the ground plane using only one PIN diode, the antenna is capable of switching both the pattern and polarisation across the full bandwidth. The switched orthogonal pattern provides the maximum spatial pattern diversity and is realised using a simple structure. Then, a dual-stub coplanar Vivaldi antenna with a parasitic element is presented for the 5G mm-Wave band. The use of a dual-stub coupled between the parasitic element and two tapered slots is researched. The parasitic element shape and size is optimised to increase the realised gain. A bandpass coupled line filter is used for frequency selective features. The use of slits on the outer edge of the ground plane provides a greater maximum gain. This integrated filtenna offers lower insertion loss than the commercial DC blocks. The UWB antenna with an integrated filter can be used for harmonic suppression. The influence of the integrated filter circuit close to the antenna geometry informs the design of PIN diode circuit switching and power supply in the 5G band. Based on the filter design in the mm-Wave band, a method of designing a feasible DC power supply for the PIN diode in the mm-Wave band is studied. A printed Yagi-Uda antenna array is integrated with switching circuitry to realise a switched 180° hemispheres radiation pattern. The antenna realises a maximum diversity in one plane. The study offers the possibility to use PIN diodes in the mm-Wave band for reconfigurable antenna designs. For the presented antennas, key geometric parameters are discussed for improved understanding of the trade-offs in radiation pattern/beamwidth and gain control for reconfigurable antenna applications