A 49.8mm2 Fully Integrated, 1.5m Transmission-Range, High-Data-Rate IR-UWB Transmitter for Brain Implants

Implantable neural interfaces hold great potential to restore function in individuals impaired by paralysis, limb amputations, or various neurological conditions. The need for precise mapping of neuronal activity across various brain regions and enhancing the information transfer rate has driven a significant increase in the number of recording channels, with recent systems incorporating thousands or more [1]–[2]. This necessitates wireless links capable of handling throughputs in the range of hundreds of Mb/s, posing a significant challenge in terms of power consumption, size, and transmission range for wireless implants. Body channel communication (BCC) has seen a rise in adoption for brain implants owing to its ability to achieve millimeter-scale form factors [3]–[4]. Yet, it faces limitations in both data rate and transmission distance. Alternately, Impulse-Radio Ultra-Wideband (IR-UWB) communication offers a promising solution thanks to its high data rate and low power consumption [5]–[6]. However, existing IR-UWB transmitters (TXs) are hindered by their cm-level transmission range and large dimensions, making them suboptimal for chronic implantation. Far-field RF radiation achieving m-level transmission distances offers substantial freedom of movement for patients. However, it demands an efficient wireless link that conforms to strict power consumption requirements of tens of mW/cm 2 for the brain. To address the challenge of extending the transmission range of implantable TXs while also minimizing their size and power consumption, this paper introduces a transcutaneous, high data-rate, fully integrated IR-UWB transmitter that employs a novel co-designed power amplifier (PA) and antenna interface for enhanced performance. With the co-designed interface, we achieved the smallest footprint of 49.8mm 2 (8.3mm×6mm) and the longest transmission range of 1.5m compared to the state-of-the-art IR-UWB TXs [5]–[6].