Patent ID: 8107245

Claim:
An apparatus that facilitates high-speed signaling between integrated circuit chips, comprising: an electrical cable, wherein the cable includes a first active connector that facilitates communication between integrated circuit chips; wherein the first active connector includes: a capacitive receiver which receives a signal from a corresponding capacitive transmitter located on a first integrated circuit chip through capacitive coupling; and a transmitter which transmits a signal received by the capacitive receiver, through an interconnect medium within the cable, wherein the transmitter includes at least one of a driver or a transmit buffer that is configured with a size that is set corresponding to a length of the cable; and an out-of-band communication mechanism within the cable and an out-of-band communication mechanism within the integrated circuit chips, wherein the cable and the integrated circuit chips use the out-of-band communication mechanisms to negotiate which pad pitches, pad locations, and signaling rates for facilitating communication between the integrated circuit chips and the first active connector; wherein the capacitive receiver is not permanently attached to the capacitive transmitter in the first integrated circuit chip, whereby the cable can be easily remated to other integrated circuit chips.