e-Tube Signal Architecture
How e-Tube Works

e-Tube Signal Path: From Digital Bits to RF Waves and Back

The complete transmit-receive chain — baseband digital → millimeter-wave upconversion → dielectric waveguide propagation → downconversion → baseband digital. No laser. No copper conductor. No skin effect.

⚙️
Host ASIC
GPU / Network Switch
Generates high-speed baseband digital signals. Outputs via PCIe, SerDes, or standard electrical interface at the system board level.
Baseband Digital PCIe / SerDes
Electrical signal in
📡
TX SoC (RFIC)
Transmitter Chip
Upconverts baseband signal to 100–260 GHz millimeter-wave RF carrier. On-chip MWT (Microstrip-to-Waveguide Transition) antenna launches the EM wave directly into the e-Tube plastic core — no separate antenna component needed.
100–260 GHz Upconv MWT Antenna Analog RFIC
EM wave launched into waveguide
🌀
e-Tube Core
Dielectric Waveguide
Low-loss polymer dielectric core guides the EM wave via total internal reflection. No metal conductor = zero skin effect. Hollow or porous channel design maintains impedance even when the cable is bent or twisted.
Total Internal Reflection Polymer Core (PE/PTFE) No Metal Conductor 10–20 m reach
EM wave arrives at receiver
🎯
RX SoC (RFIC)
Receiver Chip
On-chip panel antenna captures the arriving EM wave. Downconversion mixer restores the original digital baseband signal with no optical DSP, no TIA, no laser aging risk. Full-analog signal path keeps latency at 80 ps.
On-chip Antenna Downconv Mixer 80 ps latency
Restored digital signal out
⚙️
Host ASIC
GPU / Network Switch
Receives clean baseband digital signal — identical to what the source ASIC sent. The e-Tube layer is completely transparent to the host system. No protocol changes, no driver modifications.
Plug-and-play MSA OSFP Compatible
80 ps
Signal latency — 1/1,000× optical transceivers
~3 W
Power per 800G port — 70% less than AOC
10–20 m
Maximum reach at 1.6 Tbps — rack-scale ready
0
Laser components — no aging, no thermal failure
Source: Point2 Technology Inc. — e-Tube Architecture White Paper (2024) | OCP Global Summit presentation (2024)