Sub-100 ps monocycle pulses for 5G UWB communications

Pulse-based ultra-wideband (UWB) transmission has been identified as one of the emerging opportunities for high data rate communications in the microwave and millimeter-wave frequency ranges. In this frame, monocycle pulse emerged as one of the most interesting pulse formats candidate in support of next-generation (5G) UWB communications. However, the silicon implementation of narrow monocycle pulses has been proven for UWB systems for duration time above 100 ps. This paper explores the opportunity offered by the well-established monocycle pulse generator for the implementation of monocycle pulses with duration time below 100 ps, by pushing the boundaries of the circuit topology and silicon technology through the latest nano-scale CMOS technology nodes. The results show that the circuit is capable of providing monocycle pulses with amplitude of 1.18 V and duration time of 70 ps, which represent the proof of principle in support of the feasibility of fully integrated transmitters in silicon technology for emerging 5G UWB communications.