Efficient high-speed current-mode links for network-on-chip performance optimization

We propose a novel cost-effective long-range NoC interconnect design based on current-mode signaling. The proposed CMOS based long-range link reduces the communication delay of long wires significantly without using traditional pipelined repeaters, making it a cost efficient alternative to wireless and optical interconnects. Spice simulations are performed to verify the performance of the proposed current-mode transceiver. The performance of the proposed interconnect is analyzed and compared with wireless, optical and existing CMOS based interconnects. Also a modified NoC simulator is utilized to demonstrate the benefit of current-mode long-range links.