Glossary

Definition

Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is a communications technology that employs a wide bandwidth (typically defined as greater than 20% of the center frequency or 500MHz). UWB is usually used in short-range wireless applications but can be sent over wires. Ultra-Wideban

UWB is the modern version of older "impulse" technologies which are generated by very short pulses (impulse waveforms). They were called "carrier-free" or "baseband" because the energy is so widespread in the frequency domain that there is no discernible carrier frequency.

For a crude example, connect a metal file to one terminal of a battery and a wire to the other terminal. Brush the wire across the teeth of the file and note that the electrical noise can be heard on a radio tuned to just about any frequency.