System-on-a-chip radio transceivers for 60-GHz wireless body-centric communications

Abstract

The 60-GHz band, previously forgotten because of the attenuation due to the resonance of the oxygen molecule, was recently reconsidered for building very short range wireless communication systems, including wireless body-centric networks. The 60-GHz radio channel has the potential to overcome some of the main limitations encountered in the implementation of body-centric communication systems in the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) bands at lower frequency in the radio frequency spectrum. In particular, compared to the systems operating at lower frequencies, the 60-GHz radio channel offers the potential for supporting multi-gigabit per second communication rates, security, and low interference with adjacent wireless body-centric networks, and high level of miniaturization of the antennas.