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Synchronization Clocks for Ultra-Low Power Wireless Networks

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Ultra-Low-Power Short-Range Radios

Part of the book series: Integrated Circuits and Systems ((ICIR))

Abstract

An effective method to reduce radio power consumption in applications whose average data rates fall below the maximum data rate capabilities of the underlying radio is to duty-cycle the radio front ends between bursts of data transmission. Doing so in a network, however, requires careful synchronization amongst cooperating radios, often requiring ultra-low-power, yet precise and stable clocks. Such synchronization clocks can be implemented as low frequency crystal oscillators, temperature compensated crystal oscillators, MEMS oscillators, or integrated oscillators. Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages. It is important to understand both the expected system duty cycle and temperature variation as well as the required form factor, cost, and power consumption to know which clock source is most appropriate for the application. This chapter discusses these trade-offs along with several design examples.

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Correspondence to Danielle Griffith .

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Griffith, D. (2015). Synchronization Clocks for Ultra-Low Power Wireless Networks. In: Mercier, P., Chandrakasan, A. (eds) Ultra-Low-Power Short-Range Radios. Integrated Circuits and Systems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14714-7_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14714-7_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-14713-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-14714-7

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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