Tokyo-based semiconductor startup Premo (a Latin word meaning “to be close”) has unveiled what it claims is the world's first CPU prototype with wireless connections between chips.
This new chip uses Premo's patented technology, Dualibus, which was developed in collaboration with the Irie and Kadomoto Laboratory of the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo.
Conventional semiconductor chips require physical boards and wiring to transmit signals between chips, but Premo's Dualibus technology leverages the principles of magnetic field coupling to allow chips to communicate wirelessly.
Physical connection for power.
Premo says its chip integrates a CPU, sensor, power supply and communication module and uses chip-to-chip wireless technology and the company's own CPU design to deliver a miniaturized device that reduces the need for printed circuit boards and wiring.
The company, founded in February 2020, envisions the application of the chip in various industries, such as infrastructure, vehicles, consumer goods, animal husbandry and IoT. It could even be installed in locations that are not suitable for traditional, bulkier processors.
Dualibus-equipped chips could reduce the padding of silicon wafers, making more efficient use of semiconductor area and resulting in devices with smaller, more flexible shapes. Premo suggests: “By leveraging the proximity and wireless connection between the transmitting coil on the thumb and the receiving coil on the knuckle, it can be used as a new user interface in AR/VR environments.”
Premo's breakthrough could potentially pave the way for more cost-effective chips that use fewer raw materials. The company is currently studying the possibility of creating post-packaged chips by arranging millimeter-sized chips.
