Radio Frequency Synthesis for Power-Constrained Systems

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2015

This thesis serves as a demonstration of the feasibility of performing multi-\si{\giga\hertz} frequency synthesis at voltage levels typical of certain energy harvesting elements, namely, photovoltaic cells and thermoelectric generators. From the measurement results presented in Chapter~\ref{chap: ADPLL} and the simulation results in Chapter~\ref{chap: DLPLL}, it is clear that this can be done without compromising performance needs, and that an sub-\SI{500}{\milli\volt} ISM band radio is achievable without the use of costly voltage boosting circuitry. The resulting increase in energy efficiency has the potential to enable complete energy autonomy for wireless sensor nodes.