E-link: A Radiation-Hard Low-Power Electrical Link for Chip-to-Chip Communication

The e-link, an electrical interface suitable for transmission of data over PCBs or electrical cables, within a distance of a few meters, at data rates up to 320 Mbit/s, is presented. The elink is targeted for the connection between the GigaBit Transceiver (GBTX) chip and the Front-End (FE) integrated circuits. A commercial component complying with the Scalable Low- Voltage Signaling (SLVS) electrical standard was tested and demonstrated a performance level compatible with our application. Test results are presented. A SLVS transmitter/receiver IP block was designed in 130 nm CMOS technology. A test chip was submitted for fabrication.