Next record in ultra-fast signal processing
Ultra-fast and energy-efficient information processing is required in many applications today: from communication systems and artificial intelligence (AI) to measuring devices, cloud computing, and medical technology. In the "PACE" project (Ultra-Wideband Photonically Assisted Analog-to-Digital Converters), scientists at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute at Paderborn University have already developed the world's fastest and most precise "track-and-hold circuit". Now they have set the next record: the development of an integrated silicon germanium-based track-and-hold circuit with the world's highest combination of sampling rate and bandwidth. This ensures faster switching speeds, lower energy consumption, and better performance at high frequencies in signal processing. The German Research Foundation (DFG) has funded the second phase of the project with 390,000 euros as part of the priority programme “Electronic-Photonic Integrated Systems for Ultrafast Signal Processing” (SPP 2111).
How the new chip pushes the boundaries of high-speed communication
Silicon-based analogue-to-digital converters (ADCs), as the name suggests, convert analogue signals into digital ones and function so quickly that they can record several billion values per second. The system developed in the "PACE" project can process data at a record rate of more than 500 gigabits per second in a single channel using so-called quadrature amplitude modulation, an advanced method for modern high-speed communication. In a multi-channel system, such as long-haul communication, even more than 100 terabits per second could be achieved. With the new purely electronic silicon-germanium chip, the bandwidth and data rate could be further optimised. The chip therefore forms the basis for technologies such as 5G/6G, autonomous vehicles, high-speed sensors, and digital imaging. It also enables a new generation of transceivers: "Transceivers are 'ambassadors', so to speak, between analogue and digital. They combine two functions: both sending digital data and receiving data from outside," explains Maxim Weizel, research associate in the "Circuit Technology" department at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute in Paderborn under the direction of Prof Dr Christoph Scheytt.
In practice, this means that once a sampling circuit has "sampled" a signal, it is converted into a digital signal and can be processed and analysed on a processor. So-called sampling holding elements are core components of analogue-to-digital converters that are used in all communication systems as well as in sensor and measurement technology. The main focus of the chip developed was on a high signal bandwidth and sampling rate. This is because the higher the bandwidth when transmitting the signal via radio (e.g. WLAN or Bluetooth) or via cable or fibre optics, the faster the data processing - and this is where the new chip offers many advantages. One example is modern network cards: if they are equipped with a high bandwidth, not only the transmission speed but also the overall performance of servers, cloud infrastructures, and data centres can be significantly increased.
Developing the new chip with maximum precision
"Especially in the context of AI, high speed becomes a competitive advantage. This is because AI models need to access large data sets and communicate with each other in real time. A high bandwidth then ensures that the processing speed is not slowed down by network bottlenecks," explains Weizel. Thanks to the combination of speed, stability, and miniaturisation, silicon-germanium chips are a key technology for modern, high-performance transceivers in communication and sensor technology. One of the biggest challenges in the development of the new chip was measurability: "We worked with extremely high frequencies, which in turn require extremely high precision. Even the smallest errors caused disruptive reflections or so-called phase noise. The electromagnetic 3D simulations that we carried out were also time-consuming and computationally intensive. Fortunately, we were able to benefit considerably from the resources of the Paderborn Centre for Parallel Computing (PC2). In the end, we succeeded and are proud that our new chip is already so advanced that we were able to push the high-quality measurement technology available to us to its limits," summarises Weizel.
Scientists from Paderborn University, RWTH Aachen University, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY in Hamburg were involved in the “PACE” project.
The results of SPP 2111 are presented in a freely available open access book entitled "Electronic-Photonic Integrated Systems for Ultrafast Signal Processing". A separate chapter is also dedicated to the "PACE" project. Further information on the book can be found on the Heinz Nixdorf Institute website.
This text was translated automatically.
