The IEEE 802.15.3a and IEEE 802.15.4a standardization efforts are addressing high data rate and low data rate communication using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) signaling in the 3.1-10.6 GHz band. Impulse signaling, one form of UWB, uses a train of precise nanosecond pulses to encode the information. The signal is spread over a wide frequency band achieving a low power spectral density. This minimizes the interference to existing communication in the same spectrum.

The MIT Ultra-Wideband group is addressing a wide range of circuit and system issues related to UWB communication including signaling schemes, channel models and channel estimation techniques, interferer detection and rejection techniques, architectural trade-offs, energy-efficient wideband circuit techniques, and antenna design. The group has developed and demonstrated a complete wireless communication link using impulse UWB signaling. The current research focuses on developing a highly energy efficient architecture and chipset for 500MHz channelized communication in the 3.1-10.6GHz band. A complete network testbed is being developed in collaboration with researchers in LIDS, RLE and CSAIL.

Sponsors

• The HP-MIT Alliance
• This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ANI-0335256. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. [NSF citation guidelines]