SBIR Phase I: Microelectromechanical System Radio Transceivers for Low-Power Wireless Networks

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a drastic reduction in the power needed for short-range radio links, such as those used in home automation devices. Wireless technology, which already plays a major part in our daily lives, is expected to further expand to networks of billions of autonomous sensors in coming years: the so-called Internet of Things. In one vision, sensors employing tiny, low-cost wireless motes collect and transmit data through a mesh network while operating only on scavenged or battery power. Here, small form-factor, spectrum efficient, low-power wireless communication links are essential. In particular, the home and industrial automation markets are experiencing exponential growth in usage, and low-cost battery-operated temperature, light, and power sensors combined with wirelessly controlled switches have already become a large market. This project aims to help bring this vision to reality by producing radios that require a small fraction of the power of current technology. With power savings and resource usage reduction, the potential economic benefit to both home users and commercial office buildings is significant. Indeed, this market is already over seven billion dollars in the US alone, with over 8% yearly growth expected. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes development of a Microelectromechanical System (MEMS)-based radio offering a steep reduction in operating power. Currently available radios consume battery unfriendly powers of 10's of milliWatts, requiring large batteries for remote devices, with resultant increased costs and size. With such power consumption, the vision of ubiquitous sensor node networks, operating for long periods on only scavenged or battery power, remains difficult to achieve. By combining MEMS technology with traditional CMOS design, the proposed system here will enable a two order of magnitude reduction in power consumption compared to conventional technology, low enough that these radios will allow continuous operation on battery power alone. The work of this Phase I SBIR will focus on designing and verifying performance of such MEMS radios using fabrication processes suitable for mass production. The end goal of this project is to demonstrate a complete MEMS-based radio compatible with the widely-used Z-wave protocol while operating at or below 100 microWatt in receive-mode.