Power consumption, WiFi, BT

[wiruzman]

Hi all,

I'm bachelor student and searching for power consumption of WiFi(802.11n) and bluetooth, zwave/zigbee and uwb(ultra wide band).

The specifications I look for is, consumption in idle and working mode.

I've searched google alot but no luck.

Can you plz redirect me somewhere or maybe you have any experience with it?

Sorry for my bad english.

Thank you, Mehmet.

 

[cowana]

It really depends on the power and quantity of data being sent. The transmitter in a phone is going to use much less power than the router providing wifi for a large building (eg an airport).

Andrew

 

[wiruzman]

Ok, but can I get some reference to where I can read about it?

 

[RCinFLA]

You are not going to find any single source for such data. You should research the evolution and design goals for each system as well as technology evolution such as integrated circuit shrink (Moore's law's) impact on each system's evolution.

Bluetooth and Zigbee were designed from the beginning to be low power systems. WiFi was not. Battery operated WiFi systems are evolving, some modification to protocol, some just designer learning how to bend the rules within the existing protocol.

OFDM modulation has higher peak to average transmission power meaning it needs a more linear transmitter, that generally means less efficient RF power amplifiers. OFDM can have the highest spectrum utilization.

Deep sub-micron I.C. processing has packed more CMOS devices in smaller silicon area allowing more complex signal processing but also creates a problem with stop mode leakage on devices. If you are designing for a battery operated portable you much do extra things to mitigate this IC leakage problem or sleep mode power consumption will suffer. If design is for plug-in-the-wall the cost tradeoff may not justify these leakage mitigation efforts.

The culture of the design organization has a large impact. Intel developed 'Atom' with intent of taking over smart phones and portable devices. Being a culture of plug-in-the-wall processors, they just don't get it compared to portable device processor design companies such as cellphone IC design companies which have much more experience in battery operated devices.

Lithium Ion battery technology has improved energy availability for portable devices. Smart phones are starting to have a problem with heat build up within the confined box causing users to complain about their ear getting too warm from the smart phone. I laughed in 1990 when first battery powered Pentium laptop came out with a heat exhaust fan. Exhaust fan on a smart phone is not too far away.

The whole discussion of power consumption on these systems is a constantly evolving situation. New protocols, like 4G OFDM systems may replace some older protocols. 4G systems is a combination of WiFi experience and cellphone experience. Which brings up another factor, proprietary intellectual property licensing cost.