Tunable Impulse Radio UWB Transmitter for High-Density Neural Recorder Implants in 28 nm CMOS Technology

This work presents a novel tunable edge-combining impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) transmitter imple-mented in 28 nm HPC TSMC CMOS technology. It enhances the pulse-forming capabilities of the transmitter, enabling precise PVT control. The proposed transmitter operates at a pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 2.5 GHz with an ultra-low power consumption of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$90 \ \mu \mathrm{W}$</tex>, powered by a 1.2- V supply voltage. It achieves a 10-dB bandwidth from 3 GHz to 7.5 GHz and demon-strates remarkable energy efficiency, consuming only <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$3.8 \ \text{pJ}$</tex> per bit. Notably, the transmitter features an ultra-compact design with an area of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$0.0027 \ \text{mm}^{2}$</tex>, attaining a competitive energy efficiency rate of 19 %. Additionally, it achieves a Figure of Merit of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$0.01 \ \text{mm}^{2}\cdot \text{pJ}/(bit\cdot V)$</tex>, showcasing both area and power efficiency.