RADIO-FREQUENCY INTEGRATED-CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY FOR LOW-POWER WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

The radio frequency portion of a handheld wireless communications devi ce represents a significant fraction of the battery drain of the overa ll unit. As a result, an intensive effort is underway on a worldwide b asis to minimize the overall radio frequency power requirements. This effort has proceeded on many fronts, with the best work drawing on the multidisciplinary efforts of researchers in the communications system s, circuit design, and semiconductor technology areas. This article wi ll summarize the significant technological challenges to the realizati on of low-power radio frequency circuits, and will follow with a discu ssion of the research programs that have been put in place to address these challenges.