Signal-to-noise ratio measurements for IoT communications with quantum tunneling reflectors
Francesco Amato, Gregory D. Durgin · 2016
In this work, we show how a quantum tunneling reflector (QTR) achieves high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when properly locked to a 5.8 GHz external signal. The energy cost per bit of the RF device is only 2.9 pt, compared with over 10 J for conventional Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transmitters. As a result, sensors communicating through backscatter modulation can increase their communication range at low energy cost per bit when equipped with a quantum tunneling reflector. Although the tunnel diode is highly non-linear, the measured SNR is approximately linear for increasing impinging powers; moreover, by amplifying signals below -55 dBm, the tunneling reflector achieves high sensitivities and extends by a factor of four the range of a backscatter system with respect to the signal-to-noise ratio.