An ultra-low power OOK RF transceiver for wireless sensor networks

An ultra-low power On-Off Keying (OOK) RF transceiver using a quasi-Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (quasi-MMICs) method has been designed and fabricated on GaAs substrate for wireless sensor networks. To minimize power consumption, the transceiver was implemented using commercial 0.25 μm × 200 μm Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistors (PHEMTs), with a switched oscillator for transmitter and direct detection architecture for receiver. The transceiver successfully operates at the center frequency of 10 GHz for compact antenna and with ultra-low power consumption and shows an output power of -15 dBm for the transmitter, an output voltage of 35 mV_P-P at an input power of -40 dBm for the receiver and a total power consumption of less than 0.9 mW.