A 2-tap pre-emphasis SST transmitter with skin effect loss equalisation is presented. The transmitter features the ability of compensating the low frequency loss caused by the channel skin effect. The transmitter equalisation coefficient setting and driver impedance adjustment are mutually decoupled. Fabricated in 65 nm CMOS technology, the transmitter can operate up to 20 Gbit/s while consuming 39 mW of power under a 1 V power supply. The skin effect loss equalisation is verified with a 24-inch FR4 channel under an 8 and 9 Gbit/s data rate.