A 8 GByte/s transceiver with current-balanced pseudo-differential signaling for memory interface

A 8 GByte/s single-ended parallel transceiver is implemented in a 0.18 mum standard CMOS with a current-balanced pseudo-differential signaling for high-speed memory interface. With a segmented group-inversion coding, 16-bit data is encoded to 20 pins for dramatic reduction of simultaneous switching noise which has been a bottleneck in high-speed parallel links. The proposed pseudo-differential signaling achieves a power-efficient current-mode parallel termination with a reduction of driving current of about 40-percent. For the termination, virtual voltage sources are self-generated by tracking the center of eye opening. The transceiver shows a BER of less than 10^-12 at 4 Gb/s/pin.