Patent ID: 8922291

Claim:
An integrated circuit comprising: a pair of differential transmission lines formed in a first layer of metal of the integrated circuit, the pair comprising a first transmission line and a second transmission line, the first transmission line configured to carry a first signal complementary to a second signal carried by the second transmission line, each of the first transmission line and the second transmission comprising a length and a width generally parallel to the first metal layer, wherein the length is greater than the width and current flowing in the first transmission line and second transmission line flows in a direction generally parallel to the length; and a plurality of shields, each shield comprising: an upper-side tile formed in a second metal layer of the integrated circuit adjacent to the first metal layer, the upper-side tile having a length measured in an axis parallel to the second metal layer and perpendicular to the length of the differential transmission lines and a width measured in an axis perpendicular to the length thereof and parallel to the length of the differential transmission lines; a lower-side tile formed in a third metal layer of the integrated circuit adjacent to the first metal layer and non-adjacent to the second metal layer, the lower-side tile having a length measured in an axis parallel to the third metal layer and perpendicular to the length of the differential transmission lines and a width measured in an axis perpendicular to the length thereof and parallel to the length of the differential transmission lines; and at least one via configured to electrically couple the upper-side tile at an end of the length of the upper-side tile to the lower-side tile and at an end of the length of the lower-side tile; wherein the plurality of shields comprises a plurality of groups of two or more shields, each group comprising a similar geometry of two or more shields, and each group spaced from adjacent groups by an approximately equal distance along the length of the differential transmission lines, wherein the approximately equal distance between each group is greater than a spacing between the two or more shields within each group.