Low power upconversion mixer for medical remote sensing.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Microwave Engineering

Background:

• Medical remote sensing, particularly wireless endoscopy, requires efficient and low-power electronic components.
• Upconversion mixers are crucial for transmitting signals in wireless communication systems, including medical devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and characterize a low-power upconversion mixer for wireless endoscopy applications.
• To evaluate the mixer's performance in the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band at 433 MHz.

Main Methods:

• The upconversion mixer was designed and simulated using a CMOS 0.13 μm fabrication process.
• Key performance metrics such as the 1 dB compression point and output third-order intercept point (OIP3) were analyzed.
• Current consumption and supply voltage were measured to assess power efficiency.

Main Results:

• The mixer operates in the 433 MHz ISM band.
• Achieved an output inferred 1 dB compression point of -0.5 dBm and an OIP3 of 7.1 dBm with -5 dBm carrier power.
• Demonstrated low power consumption with a current draw of 594 μA at a 1.2 V supply voltage headroom.

Conclusions:

• The designed low-power upconversion mixer is suitable for wireless endoscopy and other medical remote sensing applications.
• The mixer exhibits competitive performance metrics for its intended application.
• The CMOS 0.13 μm implementation offers a power-efficient solution for miniaturized medical devices.