Energy-efficient ultra-wideband impulse radios for short-range low-data rate communications

After having long been used in military radio applications, Ultra-Wideband Impulse Radio (UWB-IR) is now emerging as a communication technology suitable for short-range, low-data rate radio links in applications with a tight energy budget, such as wireless sensor networks, neural recording, etc. As a significant example of this trend, this paper presents the design of fully integrated UWB-IR transmitters and receivers operating in the 7.25-8.5 GHz band. The focus is on the high overall transmission and detection energy efficiency, and the robustness to interferers. The issues related to operation under low-supply voltages, such as those available from the energy harvesters, are also addressed. The results give favorable indications about the practical feasibility of sub-nj/bit radio transceivers capable of operating over a few meters link.