Title :
A long-range, fully-integrated, regulator-less CMOS power amplifier for wireless sensor communications
Author :
Wesson, William ; Bhagavatula, Venumadhav ; Pang, Ka Wo ; Shin, Soonkyun ; Yang, Pohan ; Rudell, Jacques C.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Abstract :
A CMOS PA system intended for long-distance sensor communication is presented. The PA utilizes a dynamic-VDD and operates directly off of a super-capacitor energy-storage element, obviating the need for a voltage regulator. A power-combining PA impedance scaling approach has been implemented to eliminate energy loss from a high-current voltage regulator. The device integrates a 2-to-1 power combiner with a set of pre-drivers and an output stage. The PA monitors the output power, and digitally modulates the PA load impedance. The entire power control loop is integrated in a 90nm, 9-metal-layer TSMC process and delivers 24dBm of output power at 1.9GHz, making it suitable for sensor data communication over distances of several hundred meters. During a TX-burst, the PA VDD varies from 2.5V to 1.4V, while the power control loop maintains constant output power with an accuracy of 1.6dB.
Keywords :
CMOS analogue integrated circuits; UHF amplifiers; driver circuits; microwave integrated circuits; power amplifiers; power combiners; power control; supercapacitors; voltage regulators; wireless sensor networks; 2-to-1 power combiner; 9-metal-layer TSMC process; CMOS PA system; TX-burst; digital modulation; energy loss elimination; frequency 1.9 GHz; gain 1.6 dB; high-current voltage regulator; long-distance wireless sensor data communication; output power monitoring; power control loop integration; power-combining PA impedance scaling approach; pre-driver; size 90 nm; supercapacitor energy-storage element; voltage 2.5 V to 1.4 V; wireless sensor communication; CMOS integrated circuits; Capacitors; Impedance; Power amplifiers; Power control; Power generation; Regulators; CMOS PA; Impedance Modulation; Power Control Loop; Regulator-less Power Amplifier; Wireless Sensor Networks;
Conference_Titel :
Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC), 2012 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Montreal, QC
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4673-0413-9
Electronic_ISBN :
1529-2517
DOI :
10.1109/RFIC.2012.6242251
