Ultra-Low Power Wireless Front-End Integrated Circuits for the Internet of Things

新兴的无线传感器网络（WSN）、无线个域网（WPAN）、无线人体传感器网络（WBAN）是物联网的关键组成部分，对超低功耗、低成本、高性能的收发器提出了很高的要求。传统的收发器通常被设计为低功率效率、低灵活性和高成本，这限制了其新兴应用的部署。 该研究计划将专注于无线微系统的超低功耗，低成本，灵活和可靠的接收器的设计技术。为了实现这一目标，注入锁定技术将被探索和以各种方式使用。这些技术提供了两个明显的好处：a）使用注入锁定来解调ASK/FSK/PSK信号导致接收机的简单的非相干架构，这对于低功耗是重要的; B）注入锁定振荡器的独特特性为接收机提供了灵活性和可靠性。 该方案将侧重于两个主要议题; 1)注入锁定振荡器的研究。将进行系统和深入的分析。振荡器的类型，电路的配置和入射信号的特性将被探索关于它们对锁定范围的影响。注入锁定振荡器的啁啾信号的特殊应用也将被调查。本课题的成果既是理论上的进步，也是后续设计阶段的基础。 2)灵活可靠的接收机设计技术。在这一部分，新颖的接收机将设计和验证通过电路仿真工具和实验室测量。振荡器的宽锁定范围是这些电路开发的关键组成部分，可实现低功耗和高性能。接收器的性能将被检查相对于功耗，数据速率，噪声和线性。 最后，该研究计划将提供良好的培训机会和多学科的研究环境，学生将获得知识和技能，为未来的学术和工业研究在低功耗电路设计。

Emerging wireless sensor networks (WSN), wireless personal area networks (WPAN), wireless body sensor network (WBAN) are the key components of Internet of Things(IoT), bringing high demand for ultra-low power, low-cost and high performance transceivers. Conventional transceivers are often designed with low power-efficiency, low flexibility and high cost, which limits their deployment of emerging applications. This research program will focus on design techniques for ultra-low power, low-cost, flexible and reliable receivers for wireless microsystems. To achieve this target, injection lock techniques will be explored and used in a variety of ways. These techniques provide two distinct benefits: a) The use of injection-locked to demodulate ASK/FSK/PSK signals leads to simple non-coherent architecture for the receiver, which is important for low power consumption; b) The unique characteristics of injection locked oscillators offers both flexibility and reliability for the receiver. This program will focus on two main topics; 1) The study of injection-locked oscillators. Systematic and in-depth analysis will be performed. The types of oscillator, the configuration of the circuits and the characteristics of the incident signal will be explored with regard to their effects on locking range. The special application of injection-locked oscillators for chirped signals will also be investigated. The outcome of this topic will be both a theoretical advancement, and the foundation for the subsequent design phase. 2) The design techniques for flexible and reliable receivers. In this part, novel receivers will be designed and validated through circuit simulation tools and lab measurements. The wide locking range of the oscillator is the key building block in the development of these circuits, leading to low power requirements and high performance. The performance of the receiver will be examined with respect to power consumption, data rate, noise and linearity. Finally, this research program will provide excellent training opportunities and a multi-disciplinary research environment in which students will obtain knowledge and skills for future academic and industrial research in low-power circuit design.