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Virginia Tech

A Study of a Versatile Low Power CMOS Pulse Generator for Ultra Wideband Radios

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technologies are at the forefront of wireless communications, offering the possibility to provide extremely high data rate wireless solutions. In addition to high data rate applications, UWB technologies also offer an extremely low cost alternative for many low data rate systems. In this thesis, we describe the design of a CMOS pulse generator for impulse based UWB systems. The structure of our pulse generator is based on the topology of a single tap CMOS power amplifier. By increasing the number of taps on a CMOS power amplifier, it is possible to generate sub-nanosecond pulses with a desired shape. A power saving scheme that significantly reduces the power consumed at low data rates is also described. The versatility of our design lies in the ability to support dynamically varying output power levels and center frequencies. Our pulse generator design is extended to a rectified cosine generator, necessary for a multiband approach. The performance of our pulse generators is estimated through simulation with a target technology of TSMC 0.18 µm CMOS at a supply voltage of 1.8 V. The simulation results indicate that our pulse generator produces high fidelity Gaussian monocycle pulses with a pulse width of approximately 160 ps and a peak output power of more than 10 mW. We believe that our design of a CMOS pulse generator for UWB systems is a feasible option for many applications in which power and cost are most important.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2004

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Marsden, Kevin Matthew
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Ha, Dong Sam
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Armstrong, James R.
  • Raman, Sanjay

Subjects

dc:subject × 3

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-12282003-145356
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/9754

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Marsden, Kevin Matthew. A Study of a Versatile Low Power CMOS Pulse Generator for Ultra Wideband Radios. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/9754