Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) wireless technology transmits digital data as modulated coded impulses over a very wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance. Accordingly, the inventors have established UWB devices which accommodate and adapt to inaccuracies, errors, or issues within the implemented electronics, hardware, firmware, and software. Beneficially, UWB receivers may accommodate offsets in absolute frequency between their frequency source and the transmitter, accommodate drift arising from phase locked loop and/or from relative clock frequency offsets of the remote transmitter and local receiver. UWB devices may also employ modulation coding schemes offering increased efficiency with respect to power, data bits per pulse transmitted, and enabled operation at higher output power whilst complying with regulatory emission requirements.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) wireless technology transmits digital data as modulated coded impulses over a very wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance. To support extended operation, particularly with battery power sources, the inventors have established UWB devices which support wake-up from deep sleep modes when these devices exploit low frequency clock sources for ultra-low power consumption. Further, power consumption may be reduced by exploiting transistors or so-called compounded MOSFET structures whose effective gain and output resistance exceeds any single transistor irrespective of length or by employing biasless low power differential (exponential) transconductance stages within operational transconductance amplifiers in order to provide very high gain low power amplification stages. Further, the inventors have established voltage reference sources that consume very low current, a few nA, and ultra-low power low dropout regulators.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology exploits modulated coded impulses over a wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance for digital data transmission. Today's leading edge modulated sinusoidal wave wireless communication standards and systems achieve power efficiencies of 50nJ/bit employing narrowband signaling schemes and traditional RF transceiver architectures. However, such designs severely limit the achievable energy efficiency, especially at lower data rates such as below 1 Mbps. Further, it is important that peak power consumption is supportable by common battery or energy harvesting technologies and long term power consumption neither leads to limited battery lifetimes or an inability for alternate energy sources to sustain them. Accordingly, it would be beneficial for next generation applications to exploit inventive transceiver structures and communication schemes in order to achieve the sub nJ per bit energy efficiencies required by next generation applications.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology exploits modulated coded impulses over a wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance for digital data transmission. Such UWB systems through their receivers may operate in the presence of interfering signals and should provide for robust communications. Accordingly, an accurate and sharp filter that operates at low power is required and beneficially one that does not require a highly accurate power heavy clock. Further, many UWB applications require location and/or range finding of other elements and it would therefore be beneficial to provide a UWB based range finding and/or location capability removing the requirement to add additional device complexity and, typically significant, power consumption.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology exploits modulated coded impulses over a wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance for digital data transmission. Today's leading edge modulated sinusoidal wave wireless communication standards and systems achieve power efficiencies of 50 nJ/bit employing narrowband signaling schemes and traditional RF transceiver architectures. However, such designs severely limit the achievable energy efficiency, especially at lower data rates such as below 1 Mbps. Further, it is important that peak power consumption is supportable by common battery or energy harvesting technologies and long term power consumption neither leads to limited battery lifetimes or an inability for alternate energy sources to sustain them. Accordingly, it would be beneficial for next generation applications to exploit inventive transceiver structures and communication schemes in order to achieve the sub nJ per bit energy efficiencies required by next generation applications.

Abstract: Silicon photonics provides an attractive platform for optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs) exploiting hybrid or monolithic integration with or without concurrent integration of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and/or CMOS electronic. Such OEICs offering optical component solutions across multiple applications from optical sensors through to optical networks operating upon one or more wavelengths. Accordingly, various silicon photonic building blocks are required in order to provide a toolkit for a circuit designer to exploit OEICs where these building blocks must address specific aspects of OEICs such as polarisation dependency of the optical waveguides. Accordingly, the inventors have established designs for: polarisation rotators with MEMS based tuning to allow the dual polarisations from a polarisation splitter to be managed by an OEIC operating upon a single polarisation; analog or digital phase shifts with MEMS actuation for switches, attenuators etc.; and passband filters with MEMS tuning.

Abstract: Within many applications impulse radio based ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) transmission offers significant benefits for very short range high data rate communications when compared with existing standards and protocols. In many of these applications the main design goals are very low power consumption and very low complexity design for easy integration and cost reduction. Digitally programmable IR-UWB transmitters using an on-off keying modulation scheme on a 0.13 microns CMOS process operating on 1.2V supply and yielding power consumption as low as 0.9 mW at a 10 Mbps data rate with dynamic power control are enabled. The IR-UWB transmitters support new frequency hopping techniques providing more efficient spectrum usage and dynamic allocation of the spectrum when transmitting in highly congested frequency bands. Biphasic scrambling is also introduced for spectral line reduction.

Abstract: Within many applications impulse radio based ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) transmission offers significant benefits for very short range high data rate communications when compared with existing standards and protocols. In many of these applications the main design goals are very low power consumption and very low complexity design for easy integration and cost reduction. Digitally programmable IR-UWB transmitters using an on-off keying modulation scheme on a 0.13 microns CMOS process operating on 1.2V supply and yielding power consumption as low as 0.9 mW at a 10 Mbps data rate with dynamic power control are enabled. The IR-UWB transmitters support new frequency hopping techniques providing more efficient spectrum usage and dynamic allocation of the spectrum when transmitting in highly congested frequency bands. Biphasic scrambling is also introduced for spectral line reduction.

Abstract: There is described a terahertz modulation system. The terahertz modulation system generally has a terahertz signal emitter emitting a terahertz signal along a path; a modulation unit having a substrate and an electromechanical transducer actuatably mounted to said substrate, said electromechanical transducer having a terahertz interacting surface in said path receiving said terahertz signal and moving in back-and-forth sequences between first and second positions relative to said path upon actuation with a modulation signal, said moving modulating at least a portion of said terahertz signal; and a terahertz signal detector downstream from said modulation unit along said path, said terahertz signal detector synchronously measuring said modulated portion of said terahertz signal using said modulation signal, and generating a differential signal indicative thereof.

Abstract: Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) has enabled telecommunication service providers to provide multiple independent multi-gigabit channels on one optical fiber. To meet demands for improved performance, increased integration, reduced footprint, reduced power consumption, increased flexibility, re-configurability, and lower cost monolithic optical circuit technologies and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have become increasingly important. However, further integration via microoptoelectromechanical systems (MOEMS) of monolithically integrated optical waveguides upon a MEMS provide further integration opportunities and functionality options. Such MOEMS may include MOEMS mirrors and optical waveguides capable of deflection under electronic control. In contrast to MEMS devices where the MEMS is simply used to switch between two positions the state of MOEMS becomes important in all transition positions.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology exploits modulated coded impulses over a wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance for digital data transmission. Today's leading edge modulated sinusoidal wave wireless communication standards and systems achieve power efficiencies of 50 nJ/bit employing narrowband signaling schemes and traditional RF transceiver architectures. However, such designs severely limit the achievable energy efficiency, especially at lower data rates such as below 1 Mbps. Further, it is important that peak power consumption is supportable by common battery or energy harvesting technologies and long term power consumption neither leads to limited battery lifetimes or an inability for alternate energy sources to sustain them. Accordingly, it would be beneficial for next generation applications to exploit inventive transceiver structures and communication schemes in order to achieve the sub nJ per bit energy efficiencies required by next generation applications.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology exploits modulated coded impulses over a wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance for digital data transmission. Today's leading edge modulated sinusoidal wave wireless communication standards and systems achieve power efficiencies of 50 nJ/bit employing narrowband signaling schemes and traditional RF transceiver architectures. However, such designs severely limit the achievable energy efficiency, especially at lower data rates such as below 1 Mbps. Further, it is important that peak power consumption is supportable by common battery or energy harvesting technologies and long term power consumption neither leads to limited battery lifetimes or an inability for alternate energy sources to sustain them. Accordingly, it would be beneficial for next generation applications to exploit inventive transceiver structures and communication schemes in order to achieve the sub nJ per bit energy efficiencies required by next generation applications.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology exploits modulated coded impulses over a wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance for digital data transmission. Today's leading edge modulated sinusoidal wave wireless communication standards and systems achieve power efficiencies of 50 nJ/bit employing narrowband signaling schemes and traditional RF transceiver architectures. However, such designs severely limit the achievable energy efficiency, especially at lower data rates such as below 1 Mbps. Further, it is important that peak power consumption is supportable by common battery or energy harvesting technologies and long term power consumption neither leads to limited battery lifetimes or an inability for alternate energy sources to sustain them. Accordingly, it would be beneficial for next generation applications to exploit inventive transceiver structures and communication schemes in order to achieve the sub nJ per bit energy efficiencies required by next generation applications.

Abstract: Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have found widespread applications across biotechnology, medicine, communications, and consumer electronics. These are typically one-dimensional MEMS (e.g. rotation, linear translation on a single axis) or two-dimensional MEMS (e.g. linear translation in two directions in the plane of the MEMS). It would be beneficial therefore for designers of components, circuits, and systems to exploit MEMS elements that produce both out-of-plane and in-plane motion thereby allowing for novel two-dimensional and three-dimensional MEMS micropositioners.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology exploits modulated coded impulses over a wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance for digital data transmission. Today's leading edge modulated sinusoidal wave wireless communication standards and systems achieve power efficiencies of 50 nJ/bit employing narrowband signaling schemes and traditional RF transceiver architectures. However, such designs severely limit the achievable energy efficiency, especially at lower data rates such as below 1 Mbps. Further, it is important that peak power consumption is supportable by common battery or energy harvesting technologies and long term power consumption neither leads to limited battery lifetimes or an inability for alternate energy sources to sustain them. Accordingly, it would be beneficial for next generation applications to exploit inventive transceiver structures and communication schemes in order to achieve the sub nJ per bit energy efficiencies required by next generation applications.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology exploits modulated coded impulses over a wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance for digital data transmission. Such UWB systems through their receivers may operate in the presence of interfering signals and should provide for robust communications. Accordingly, an accurate and sharp filter that operates at low power is required and beneficially one that does not require a highly accurate power heavy clock. Further, many UWB applications require location and/or range finding of other elements and it would therefore be beneficial to provide a UWB based range finding and/or location capability removing the requirement to add additional device complexity and, typically significant, power consumption.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology exploits modulated coded impulses over a wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance for digital data transmission. Today's leading edge modulated sinusoidal wave wireless communication standards and systems achieve power efficiencies of 50 nJ/bit employing narrowband signaling schemes and traditional RF transceiver architectures. However, such designs severely limit the achievable energy efficiency, especially at lower data rates such as below 1 Mbps. Further, it is important that peak power consumption is supportable by common battery or energy harvesting technologies and long term power consumption neither leads to limited battery lifetimes or an inability for alternate energy sources to sustain them. Accordingly, it would be beneficial for next generation applications to exploit inventive transceiver structures and communication schemes in order to achieve the sub nJ per bit energy efficiencies required by next generation applications.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology exploits modulated coded impulses over a wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance for digital data transmission. Today's leading edge modulated sinusoidal wave wireless communication standards and systems achieve power efficiencies of 50 nJ/bit employing narrowband signaling schemes and traditional RF transceiver architectures. However, such designs severely limit the achievable energy efficiency, especially at lower data rates such as below 1 Mbps. Further, it is important that peak power consumption is supportable by common battery or energy harvesting technologies and long term power consumption neither leads to limited battery lifetimes or an inability for alternate energy sources to sustain them. Accordingly, it would be beneficial for next generation applications to exploit inventive transceiver structures and communication schemes in order to achieve the sub nJ per bit energy efficiencies required by next generation applications.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology exploits modulated coded impulses over a wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance for digital data transmission. Today's leading edge modulated sinusoidal wave wireless communication standards and systems achieve power efficiencies of 50 nJ/bit employing narrowband signaling schemes and traditional RF transceiver architectures. However, such designs severely limit the achievable energy efficiency, especially at lower data rates such as below 1 Mbps. Further, it is important that peak power consumption is supportable by common battery or energy harvesting technologies and long term power consumption neither leads to limited battery lifetimes or an inability for alternate energy sources to sustain them. Accordingly, it would be beneficial for next generation applications to exploit inventive transceiver structures and communication schemes in order to achieve the sub nJ per bit energy efficiencies required by next generation applications.

Abstract: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology is a wireless technology for the transmission of large amounts of digital data as modulated coded impulses over a very wide frequency spectrum with very low power over a short distance. However, to support their deployment in a wide range of applications it would be beneficial to provide solutions which: exploit multiple directive antennas oriented in different directions to ensure spatial filtering of undesired signals and increase signal strength; exploit dynamic configuration of the multi-pulse bundles employed to transmit the bits/symbols within the packets to enhance link quality of service; exploit dynamic configuration of the band or bands which the transmitter operates upon; and exploit antenna sub-systems providing omnidirectional radiation patterns with implementations offering filtering and balun functions with small footprint and low cost.