Topics in integrated circuits for communications [Series Editorial]

In the past ten years, we have witnessed rapid advances in communication technology that enabled more than an order magnitude increase in throughput and reduction in power consumption. The steep rise in available throughput has stimulated the growth of ubiquitous broadband services such as streaming of high-definition video contents, while on the other extreme, the steep drop in power consumption, in particular for short-range radio technologies, has enabled personal area connectivity for all kinds of portable consumer electronic devices, such as headsets, cell phones, and cameras. Current third-generation (3G) mobile devices easily support data rates on the order of 1¿10 Mb/s, while quasi-static devices can easily support up to 600 Mb/s with wireless LAN based on IEEE 802.11n. For short distances, Bluetooth and ZigBee connectivity technology consume power as low as 10-50 mW.