Major consideration dimensions for the physical layer design of wireless sensor network （WSN） nodes is analyzed by comparing different wireless communication approaches, diverse mature standards, important radio frequency （RF） parameters and various microcontroller unit （MCU） solutions. An implementation of the WSN node is presented with experimental results and a novel ＂one processor working at two frequencies＂ energy saving strategy. The lifetime estimation issue is analyzed with consideration to the periodical listen required by common WSN media access control （MAC） algorithms. It can be concluded that the startup time of the RF which determines the best sleep time ratio and the shortest backoff slot time of MAC, the RF frequency and modulation methods which determinate the RX and TX current, and the overall energy consumption of the dual frequency MCU SOC （ system on chip） are the most essential factors for the WSN node physical layer design.
