UC Case No. 2019-983
SUMMARY:
Researchers in the UCLA Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering have developed an antenna co-design for FCC-regulation-compliant IR-UWB transmitters that can be applied to wearable devices and implantable medical technology.
BACKGROUND:
Ultra-wideband (UWB) radio (3.1-10.6 GHz) allows for very high data transfer rates over a short distance, with minimal use of energy. UWB systems, however, suffer from middle, in-band interference that severely affects performance of the system. In order to achieve wide spread use and acceptance, the FCC emission limit (low-frequency radiation of UWB radio) has to be eliminated. To date, to overcome this limitation, UWB impulse radios (IR-UWBs) have been developed that eliminate the low-frequency radiation at the expense of size and energy efficiency. New and improved IR-UWB designs are needed that eliminate low-frequency radiation without sacrificing the benefits of UWB.
INNOVATION:
Researchers at UCLA have developed an antenna co-design for realizing FCC-regulation-compliant IR-UWB transmitters that are small and energy efficient. The design directly utilizes the transmitting antenna bandwidth to confine the radiation power spectrum, eliminating the need for pulse-shaping filters and reducing the overall power consumption. To maximize the power transfer efficiency, a folded-dipole antenna with the bandwidth of 7.8-9.5 GHz is co-optimized with a Gaussian mono-pulse generator. The design has been successfully prototyped and tested to show each impulse emission consumed an average energy of 2.6 pJ. Operation at 100 Mpulse/s sufficed the FCC regulation and showed the -10 dB bandwidth of 6.8-8.6 GHz. The newly designed IR-UWB transmitter showed promise for size-constraint and ultra-low power properties.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
• Wireless transmission antenna
• Wearable device
• Implantable medical technology
ADVANTAGES:
• Compact in size
• High energy efficiency
• Enhanced durability
DEVELOPMENT-TO-DATE:
Design has been successfully prototyped and tested.
RELATED MATERIALS:
(1) Lyu, Hongming, et al. "Towards the Implementation of a Wirelessly Powered Dielectric Sensor with Digitized Output for Implantable Applications." IEEE Sensors Letters 3.3 (2019): 1-4.