An UWB receiver front-end for low data rate Wireless Personal Area Networks

This paper describes front-end components of the monolithic integrated impulse radio (IR) Ultra-wide band (UWB) receiver. The receiver is intended for the use in Low Data Rate (LDR) Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN) which is defined by the IEEE 802.15.4a standard. In order to assure compliance with the standard, receiver RF front-end components are designed towards higher degree of integration, low cost and low power consumption operation. The receiver operates in the higher UWB band and is able to cover channels from 5 to 9 of the IEEE 802.15.4a standard, which corresponds to the frequency range from 6 to 8.25 GHz. The circuit was fabricated in 0.25 µm SiGe:C BiCMOS technology.