At the recent International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), research and development organization imec claimed two new advances – an impulse-radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) transmitter chip that can handle higher data rates with lower power consumption in a small package, and the fastest 8-bit flexible microprocessor (MPU), developed with KU Leuven, and PragmatIC Semiconductor.
The imec IR-UWB chip is fabricated in a 28-nm CMOS process. The chip, measuring 0.155 mm², offers a low power consumption of less than 10 milliwatt (mW) and an energy efficiency of 5.8 pJ/b, which is at least an order of magnitude improvement over Wi-Fi, according to imec.
The IR-UWB chip also can handle data transfer rates up to 1.66 Gbits/s for in-body and short-range applications, which is 50 times the speed supported by today’s UWB (IEEE 802.15.4z) standard, said imec, opening up opportunities beyond typical ‘accurate and secure ranging’ use cases, such as secure keyless entry for automotive and hospitality, indoor localization, and asset tracking.
“Based on this firm belief, we continue to push the boundaries of UWB,” said Christian Bachmann, imec’s program director of UWB, in a statement. “It has led us to investigate whether the technology is effectively capable of supporting low-power, higher bit-rate applications, which in turn has resulted in the development of a brand-new ultra-wideband transmitter chip.”
IR-UWB transmitter chip. Click for a larger image. (Source: imec)
To achieve the higher data rates, imec said it used more complex and hybrid modulation schemes, which required the R&D organization to develop a highly energy-efficient and low-jitter ring oscillator in combination with a low-power polar transmitter. And it had to work in the smallest possible footprint.
The results show that UWB is capable of supporting new applications that require high data transfer rates at short distances with low power consumption and a small form factor, said imec. One potential use case cited is the next generation of smart glasses for immersive augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) applications.
“And neuroscientific research could benefit from these new insights as well, powering high bit-rate and miniaturized wireless telemetry modules for intracortical sensing purposes. In each of these cases, UWB could become a strong contender to Wi-Fi technology – as the latter typically comes with a much larger footprint and more complexity,” said Bachmann.
imec is looking for partners to join its UWB R&D program and partner network to further research and standardization efforts for this UWB technology.
Flexible 8-bit MPU
Imec, along with partners KU Leuven and PragmatIC Semiconductor, a developer of flexible electronics, also unveiled an 8-bit flexible MPU at ISSCC. The companies claim it is the fastest 8-bit MPU in 0.8-µm metal-oxide flexible technology capable of running real-time complex assembly code. Focusing on area, power, and speed, the MPU was implemented with a unique digital design flow, which allowed the creation of a new standard cell library for metal-oxide thin-film technologies, said imec, which is relevant for designing a range of loT applications.
“Flexible electronics based on thin-film transistor technology is preferred over Si CMOS-based electronics for applications requiring low-cost, thin, flexible and/or conformable devices. The technology already made inroads in, e.g., health-patch sensors and RFID labels, and as a driver for flat panel displays,” said imec. “The missing piece is a flexible microprocessor to perform more complex signal processing calculations – as such adding compute functionality to a broad range of IoT applications.”
8-bit flexible microprocessor. Click for a larger image. (Source: imec)
Imec believes it has filled that gap with the new flexible MPU in 0.8-µm indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO)-transistor technology that can perform complex computations in a small size with low power consumption and fast speed.
PragmatIC’s thin-film technology was key to integrating the approximately 16,000 metal-oxide thin-film transistors on a 24.9 mm2 flexible chip, said imec. In addition to the high transistor integration density, the flexible MPU offers high speed (71.4 kHz max operating speed) and low power consumption (11.6 mW when running at 10 kHz, 134.9 mW at maximum operating speed).
The company’s unique FlexIC Foundry also benefited the research by providing rapid prototyping and high-yield volume manufacturing of flexible ICs. “Until recently, there was no mature and robust technology available for integrating such a large number of thin-film transistors with sufficient yield,” said Bob Cobb, PragmatIC’s vice president product development, in a statement.
The research was conducted under the framework of the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant.
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