A fully-integrated low power PAM/PPM multi-channel UWB transmitter

A new transmitter for ultra-wideband (UWB) impulse radio is described in this paper. The proposed architecture features the simple design, low-power operation, and enables the pulse-shape generation for 2 modulation schemes for a multi-channel UWB. The average power calculation is presented for pulse trains using Pulse-Amplitude Modulation (PAM) and Pulse-Position Modulation (PPM). The design is based on a 0.18-¿m CMOS process. The core layout size is only 0.35 mm². The simulation results show that the generated signals satisfy the FCC spectrum mask, and the average power consumption is less than 1.7 mW for these two types of signaling at a 1.8 V supply voltage. Pulses are transmitted at a PRF (Pulse Repetition Frequency) of 52 MHz in 520 MHz bandwidth channels equally spaced within the 3.1-10.6 GHz ultra-wideband band.