Abstract-In magnetic induction communication systems, channel capacity is often a major bottleneck that limits the system performance. This paper proposes a method to increase the channel capacity in such systems by means of an antenna array. A central challenge in the design of magnetic antenna arrays is to achieve low intra-array coupling along with high gain. These two properties are essential for increasing the channel capacity in comparison to single antenna communication systems of comparable volume.The method proposed in this paper utilizes circular loop antennas to reduce the intra-array coupling using magnetic flux cancellation.The mathematic approach employed in this paper considers each coil as a system of coupled inductors, where each inductor is a single turn loop, and the total coil self and mutual inductances are computed by summing the appropriate single turn loop inductances. Volume efficient coil topologies are identified, and an optimization method is proposed to minimize the intra-array coupling, subject to a required inductance. The proposed method allows to design volume efficient, up to 3 × 3, array, or pyramidal shaped 4 × 4 arrays. The results are verified experimentally using the multiple-frequency communication mode.
This work focuses on the design of transmitting coils in weakly coupled magnetic induction communication systems. We propose several optimization methods that reduce the active, reactive and apparent power consumption of the coil. These problems are formulated as minimization problems, in which the power consumed by the transmitting coil is minimized, under the constraint of providing a required magnetic field at the receiver location. We develop efficient numeric and analytic methods to solve the resulting problems, which are of high dimension, and in certain cases non-convex. For the objective of minimal reactive power an analytic solution for the optimal current distribution in flat disc transmitting coils is provided. This problem is extended to general three-dimensional coils, for which we develop an expression for the optimal current distribution. Considering the objective of minimal apparent power, a method is developed to reduce the computational complexity of the problem by transforming it to an equivalent problem of lower dimension, allowing a quick and accurate numeric solution. These results are verified experimentally by testing a number of coil geometries. The results obtained allow reduced power consumption and increased performances in magnetic induction communication systems. Specifically, for wideband systems, an optimal design of the transmitter coil reduces the peak instantaneous power provided by the transmitter circuitry, and thus reduces its size, complexity and cost.
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