A 0.76-pJ/Pulse 0.1–1 Gpps Microwatt IR-UWB CMOS Pulse Generator With Adaptive PSD Control Using a Limited Monocycle Precharge Technique

This brief presents an ultra-wideband pulse generator topology featuring adaptive control of power spectral density for a broad range of applications with different data rate requirements. The adaptivity is accomplished by employing a limited monocycle precharge approach to control the energy used for pulse generation at different desired data rates. By doing so, the need for tuning circuits is eliminated and the radiated power is maintained at the highest level allowed by the Federal Communications Commission. A prototype pulse generator has been implemented using the UMC 180-nm CMOS process for validation. The measured results show that the pulse generator can be used for a wide pulse repetition rate range from 100 Mpps to 1 Gpps. In addition, the pulse generator consumes 0.76 pJ/pulse at 1 Gpps, equivalent to 760 μW and has a compact size of 0.09 mm².