A 3–10 GHz IR-UWB CMOS Pulse Generator With 6 mW Peak Power Dissipation Using A Slow-Charge Fast-Discharge Technique

This letter proposes a UWB pulse generator topology featuring low peak power dissipation for applications with stringent instantaneous power requirements. This is accomplished by employing a new slow-charge fast-discharge approach to extend the time duration of the generator´s peak current so that the peak value of the current is significantly reduced, while maintaining the waveform of the generated UWB pulse signal. A prototype pulse generator has been implemented using the UMC 0.18 μm CMOS process for validation. The pulse generator offers a 3-10 GHz bandwidth, a maximum pulse repetitive rate of 1 Gpps, a minimum peak power consumption of 6 mW, and a low energy consumption of 5 pJ/pulse. The fabricated pulse generator measures 0.16 mm².