A 890fJ/bit UWB transmitter for SOC integration in high bit-rate transcutaneous bio-implants

The paper presents a novel ultra low power UWB transmitter system for near field communication in transcutaneous biotelemetries. The system utilizes an all-digital architecture based on minising the energy dissipated per bit transmitted by efficiently encoding a packet of pulses with multiple bits and utilizing oscillator referenced delays. This is achieved by introducing a novel bi-phasic 1.65pJ per pulse UWB pulse generator together with a 72 μW DCO that provide a transmission bandwidth of 77.5 Mb/s with an energy efficiency of 890 fJ per bit from a 1.2 V supply. The circuit core occupies a compact silicon footprint of 0.026 mm² in a 0.18μm CMOS technology.