Low-Power 60-GHz CMOS Radios for Miniature Wireless Sensor Network Applications - Ultra-Wideband and 60 GHz Communications for Biomedical Applications - page 183

Low-Power 60-GHz CMOS Radios for
Miniature Wireless Sensor Network Applications

Kuo-Ken Huang and David D. Wentzloff

Abstract This chapter discusses several design considerations for low-power 60-
GHz complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) radios for wireless sensor
network applications at the cubic-mm scale. A background study is provided first,
followed by a discussion of challenges to provide a practical scope of the hardware
design for the readers. Finally, a compact 60-GHz CMOS transmitter with on-chip
frequency-locked loop is presented as an example. This transmitter utilizes the on-
chip patch antenna as both a radiator and a frequency reference. This eliminates
the bulky off-chip crystal, is FCC compliant, and ensures the node transmits at
the antenna's peak efficiency point, making this a cost-effective 60-GHz radio for
mm-scale sensor nodes.

Keywords Wireless sensor networks · CMOS · Transmitter · 60 GHz · Low-power ·

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Crystal replacement Frequency reference Integrated antenna

Introduction

The continual evolution of computing devices has significantly changed daily life
over the past several decades. In the 1950s, mainframe computers occupied large
rooms because of their substantial size and provided the basic data computation for
hundreds of employees in a company. Nowadays, smartphones have become the
platform of personal computing, as predicted by Bell's Law [ 1 ]. Emerging applica-
tions such as wireless sensing, smart health care, unobtrusive surveillance, etc. will
demand ubiquitous computing, which will continue to drive the computing platform
down to the mm scale, while also driving production volume of these devices up to
100s to 1,000s per person. According to Bell's Law, a new class of computers will
dominate the market approximately every decade [ 1 ]. Gordon Bell defines a computer
class as a set of computers with similar cost, programming environment, network,
and user interface. He postulates that each class undergoes a standard product life

D. D. Wentzloff ( ) K.-K. Huang

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
e-mail: [e-mail]

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