UWB 3.1–10.6 GHz CMOS transmitter for system-on-a-chip nano-power pulse radars

The building blocks of the transmitter for system-on-a-chip CMOS nano-power radar systems are presented. They consist of a novel fully integrated UWB pulse generator and a digitally programmable delay element. The pulse generator provides monocycle pulses with duration time close to 250 ps and 1-V peak-to-peak amplitude. In detail, the circuit provides a sinusoidal-like monocycle when activated by a negative edge of a trigger signal provided by a micro-controller. This activation can be delayed in the range 1-3 ns, by acting on a 5-bit programmable delay element, which provides a total set of 32 different delay times.