An Ultra-Low Power MEMS-Based Two-Channel Transceiver for Wireless Sensor Networks

B.P. Otis, Y.H. Chee, R. Lu, N.M. Pletcher, J.M. Rabaey

IEEE Symp. VLSI Circuits

This paper explores the design and implementation of a low-power two-channel transceiver using micromachined resonators. Wireless sensor networks require transceivers that are small, cheap, and power efficient. RF-MEMS resonators are utilized to accommodate these constraints. The prototype 1.9GHz transceiver, designed in 0.13μm CMOS, operates at 1.2V and consumes 3mA in receive mode and transmits 1.6dBm with 17% efficiency. The two 40kb/s channels achieve a sensitivity of –78dBm with a 10μs receiver start-up time.

Keywords: wireless sensor networks, low power transceivers and RF-MEMS