A 2.7nJ/b multi-standard 2.3/2.4GHz polar transmitter for wireless sensor networks

This paper presents an ultra-low-power (ULP) 2.3/2.4GHz multi-standard transmitter (TX) for wireless sensor networks and wireless body area networks. Several 2.3/2.4GHz wireless standards have been proposed for such applications, including IEEE802.15.6 (BAN) for body area networks, IEEE802.15.4 (Zigbee) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for sensor networks and IEEE802.15.4g (SUN) for smart buildings. Recent standard compliant short-range TXs [1-6] typically consume DC power in the range of 20 to 50mW. This is rather high for autonomous systems with limited battery energy. Implemented in a 90nm CMOS technology, the presented TX saves at least 75% of power consumption by replacing several power-hungry analog blocks with the digitally-assisted circuits. This TX is compliant with all 4 of these standards, while dissipating only 4.5mA from a 1.2V supply.