Si/SiGe HBT UWB impulse generators with sleep-mode targeting the FCC masks

In this paper two UWB impulse generator ICs are presented, targeting the FCC ultra-wideband spectral masks for indoor and outdoor communications. For the generation of the impulse an underdamped RLC resonance circuit is excited by a short current spike. An on-chip power down circuit, consisting of a Widlar bandgap reference and several current mirrors was included, allowing to completely switch off the ICs with a single control signal under full DC biasing. The impulses show a very short time-domain extension and neglibile excess ringing, allowing high repetition rates, exceeding the 400 MHz shown in this paper. The two impulse generators exhibit peak amplitudes of 170 and 180 mV and the full-width at half maximum of the time domain waveforms are below 200 and 260 ps, respectively. All circuit blocks were realized using 0.8 mum Si/SiGe NPN HBTs only.