High-Speed mm-Wave Data-Link Based on Hollow Plastic Cable and CMOS Transceiver

A multi-Giga-bit/s (up to 6 Gbps) and energy-efficient (1 pJ/bit/m) data link is formed by using hollow plastic cable and CMOS transceivers for short distance (8 m) digital communications. The demonstrated link couples/de-couples 60 GHz carried digital signals with roughly 6 dB loss per coupling into/from a hollow plastic cable made of relatively low-loss (~1.5 dB/m) Teflon, which is widely used for various home appliances. The CMOS transceivers are designed and implemented in 65 nm Foundry CMOS to support the intended 60 GHz operation with 28 mW power consumption under a 1 V supply.