By default, the device boots at power on, chirps based on the front end configuration provided by the user, and leaves all subsystems running (even if the subsystems are not used). In many cases, this default behavior is fine. However, for power-sensitive applications, action can be taken to reduce the power consumption in both the acquisition and inter-frame periods.

The power optimization techniques can be mainly classified into two types.

1. Active mode optimization: the Active state is when the device is chirping or processing chirp data. In this state, the device can either be in a Data Acquisition substate, which is when data is being collected by transmitting and receiving chirps, or in a Data Processing substate, when the samples recorded in the Data Acquisition substate are being processed together. Here, the power optimization techniques are mainly focused on the acquisition period, that is, the time when the sensor is chirping, followed by the sampling and 1D-FFT processing.
2. Idle mode optimization: the Idle state occurs when the device is not actively chirping or processing data. There are three types of Idle states (Interchirp Idle, Interburst Idle and Interframe Idle). The Interchirp Idle and Interburst Idle states are completely handled by the device firmware. As the device cycles between chirps and bursts, the device goes to these states automatically. By comparison, the Interframe Idle state that the device enters between frames can be configured and modified by the user. Here, the power optimization techniques are mainly focused on the interframe idle state.