An Ultra-Wideband Sensing Board for Radio Frequency Front-End in IoT Transmitters

Abstract

The upcoming technologies related to Internet of Things will be characterized by challenging requirements oriented toward the most efficient exploitation of the energy in electronic systems. The use of wireless communications in these devices makes this aspect particularly important, since the performance of radio transceivers is strongly dependent on the environmental conditions affecting the antenna electrical characteristics. The use of circuits capable of adapting themselves to the actual state of the environment can be a valuable solution, provided that the implemented sensing features have negligible impact on the overall performance and cost of the system. In this work, we present the design and verification of an innovative ultra-wideband sensing board to detect real-time variations of the antenna impedance in transmitters oriented to Internet of Things applications. The proposed sensing board was widely validated by means of small- and large-signal measurements carried out at microwave frequencies.