A 78 pW 1 [b over s] 2.4 GHz radio transmitter for near-zero-power sensing applications

Abstract

This paper presents an ultra-low-standby-power radio transmitter that was designed for applications with extreme energy storage and/or energy harvesting constraints. By utilizing aggressive power gating techniques within a low-complexity architecture featuring only a single RF stage, the transmitter achieved a standby power consumption of 39.7 pW. The architecture employed a direct-RF power oscillator that featured an on-board loop antenna that functioned as both the resonant and radiative element. Supporting both OOK and FSK modulations, the transmitter consumed 38 [pJ over bit] at an instantaneous data rate of 5 [Mb over s]. After duty-cycling down to an average data rate of 1 [b over s], the transmitter consumed an average power of 78 pW.