A 280 ps - 7.5 ns UWB Pulse Generator with Amplitude Compensation in 40 nm CMOS

A novel highly flexible triangular pulse generator has been designed in 40 nm CMOS technology. The pulse width is adjustable between 280 ps an 7.5 ns. The generator has a maximum power consumption of 0.54 pJ/pulse from a 0.9V power supply. The pulse amplitude variation is compensated and is limited to 2.7 dB over the entire pulse width range. The triangular pulse is upconverted with a frequency mixer to generate a highly flexible ultra-wideband (UWB) pulse. To minimize the unwanted voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) leakage signal on the UWB pulse, the leakage of the frequency mixer is compensated by feedforward using a controlled mixer replica.