A 1.9-µW 7-GHz IR-UWB Transmitter with RF-Energy-Harvester in 180-nm CMOS for Battery-Less Bio-Sensors

A fully integrated 802.15.4a-LRP-UWB-PHY-and ETSI-compliant impulse-radio ultra-wide-band (IR-UWB) transmitter (TX) front-end, powered by an RF-energy-harvester in 180 nm CMOS technology, is presented. The TX is working in the 7 GHz band transmitting with -42 dBm at 5.12 kbps data rate, consuming 1.89 μW. The RF-energy-harvester is capable of generating 5 μW dc-power at -13.3 dBm RF input power at a frequency of 868 MHz. The harvested energy is sufficient for the IR-UWB-TX front-end, an ADC with pre-amplifier and the digital core logic for a wireless bio-sensing chip.