Antenna Arrays as Millimeter-Wave Wireless Interconnects in Multichip Systems

In this letter, the transmission characteristics between on-chip arrays and their beamforming capabilities for intrachip and interchip communication in multichip systems are simulated and measured using various fabricated arrays on silicon chips. The measured intrachip and interchip maximum transmission coefficients for various arrays without metal sheets range from -37 to -45 dB and -46 to -51 dB, respectively at 60 GHz. The beamforming for arrays with and without feed structures is compared by radiation pattern using simulations. Moreover, the transmission with metal sheets, emulating realistic multicores, shows a reduction of about 10 dB for intrachip communication compared with cases having no sheets. In this letter, we have demonstrated that beamforming and beam steering can be successfully achieved.