FM-UWB transmitter for wireless body area networks: Implementation and simulation

This paper describes an implementation of low power frequency modulated ultra-wideband (FM-UWB) transmitter in standard 130nm CMOS technology. The transmitter is designed to operate in the range of 3.328-4.608 GHz. A relaxation oscillator is used to generate the subcarrier signal which is calibrated by a phase-locked loop (PLL). The RF carrier is generated using a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). A proposed calibration scheme based on a PLL is utilized to calibrate both the upper and the lower frequencies of the operation band. The proposed FM-UWB transmitter consumes 835μW from a 1.2V supply at 500kbps achieving an energy efficiency of 1.67nJ/bit.