Recent studies showed that conventional approaches being used to solve prob
lems imposed by hard-wired metal interconnects will eventually encounter fu
ndamental limits and may impede the advance of future ultralarge-scale inte
grated circuits (ULSIs). To surpass these fundamental limits, we introduce
a novel RF-wireless interconnect concept for future inter- and intra-ULSI c
ommunications. Unlike the traditional "passive" metal interconnect, the "ac
tive" RF/wireless interconnect is based on low loss and dispersion-free mic
rowave signal transmission, near-field capacitive coupling, and modern mult
iple-access algorithms. In this paper, we address issues relevant to the si
gnal channeling of the RF/wireless interconnect and discuss its advantages
in speed, signal integrity, and channel reconfiguration. The electronic ove
rhead required in the RF/wireless-interconnect system and its compatibility
with the future ULSI and MCM (multi-chip-module) will be discussed as well
.