How Chips Talk Fast with Light Inside a Circuit Board

This patent describes a way to embed light-based (optical) and electricity-based (electric) computer chips directly next to each other within a circuit board, allowing them to communicate very quickly along a flat, horizontal path.

What it covers

This patent describes a special way to build a package for computer chips. It involves a 'component carrier,' which is like a tiny circuit board, where an 'optical chip' and an 'electric chip' are placed side-by-side and completely enclosed, or 'embedded,' within it (Claim 1). The key idea is that the main communication path between these two chips happens horizontally, within the same flat layer (Claim 1). For example, the optical chip might convert light signals into electrical signals, and the electric chip might process or amplify them (Claim 6). The package can also include an 'optical waveguide' to guide light signals to the optical chip, potentially along the surface of the component carrier (Claim 3, 4). This design aims to make chips communicate faster and more efficiently by keeping their direct signal path short and flat.

What it doesn't cover

• —Does not cover optical and electric chips that are surface-mounted on top of a component carrier rather than embedded within it for their primary signal path.
• —Does not cover packages where the primary functional signal path between the optical and electric chip is vertical, such as through stacked dies.
• —Does not cover designs where the optical chip and electric chip are not physically side-by-side within the component carrier.
• —Does not cover packages that rely solely on external wiring or traces on the component carrier's surface for the direct signal path between the embedded chips.

The clever bit

The clever bit is embedding both optical and electric chips side-by-side within a component carrier, ensuring their direct signal path is horizontal. This minimizes the distance and complexity of the critical inter-chip communication, avoiding the longer paths and vertical connections often found in traditional chip stacking or surface mounting.

Why it matters

As data processing demands grow, traditional electrical connections face speed and power limits. This patent addresses these challenges by integrating optical communication directly into chip packages. By placing optical and electric chips side-by-side with a horizontal signal path, it reduces signal travel distance and latency, which is crucial for high-performance computing and data centers. This approach can lead to more compact, energy-efficient, and faster electronic modules.

Real-world examples

• 1.High-performance computing modules
• 2.Data center network interfaces
• 3.AI accelerator cards
• 4.Optical transceivers
• 5.Integrated photonics packages