基于串联阵列型磁电天线的甚低频磁感应通信系统设计

张锋; 李佳燃; 田玉晓; 徐梓洋; 宫兆前; 庄鑫

doi:10.11999/JEIT250065

基于串联阵列型磁电天线的甚低频磁感应通信系统设计

doi: 10.11999/JEIT250065

张锋^1, ,,
李佳燃^{1, 2},
田玉晓^{1, 2},
徐梓洋^{1, 2},
宫兆前^{1, 3},
庄鑫¹

1.
中国科学院空天信息创新研究院电磁辐射与探测技术重点实验室北京 100190
2.
中国科学院大学电子电气与通信工程学院北京 100049
3.
西北工业大学电子信息学院西安 710072

基金项目: 国家自然科学基金(62271470)，国家重点研发计划(2021YFA0716500)

详细信息

作者简介:
张锋：男，副研究员，研究方向为超宽带雷达技术，超宽带天线技术，磁感应通信技术等

李佳燃：男，硕士生，研究方向为磁感应通信技术， FPGA通信算法开发等

田玉晓：女，硕士生，研究方向为超宽带天线技术，小型化天线等

徐梓洋：男，硕士生，研究方向为声谐振器件、基于压电磁致伸缩的磁电传感器件开发等

宫兆前：男，助理研究员，研究方向为数字信号处理、信息与通信算法研究等

庄鑫：男，副研究员，研究方向为高灵敏度磁场传感器，磁电复合材料/器件，新型电磁辐射与探测技术等

通讯作者:
张锋　zhangfeng002723@aircas.ac.cn

中图分类号: TN914; TN92
计量
- 文章访问数: 37
- HTML全文浏览量: 19
- PDF下载量: 5
- 被引次数: 0
出版历程
- 收稿日期: 2025-02-12
- 修回日期: 2025-05-28
- 网络出版日期: 2025-06-10

Design of a Very Low Frequency Magnetic Induction Communication System Based on a Series-Array Magnetoelectric Antenna

ZHANG Feng^{1
, ,},
LI Jiaran^{1, 2},
TIAN Yuxiao^{1, 2},
XU Ziyang^{1, 2},
GONG Zhaoqian^{1, 3},
ZHUANG Xin¹

1.
The Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Radiation and Sensing Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
2.
The School of Electronic, Electrical, and Communication Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
3.
School of Electronics and Information, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China

Funds: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (62271470), The National Key R&D Program of China (2021YFA0716500)

摘要

摘要: 磁电(ME)天线具有高能量转换效率、小尺寸和轻量化的优势，在便携式跨介质通信系统中具有良好的应用前景。目前，ME天线存在辐射强度较低的问题，限制了系统的通信距离。为解决这一问题，该文设计了一种基于ME天线阵列的甚低频(VLF)通信系统。该系统的发射天线是由7个ME天线单元串联组成的发射阵列，有效提升了辐射强度。ME天线单元采用经过表面改性的Fe₈₀Si₉B₁₁层压材料作为磁致伸缩单元，并结合Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃(PZT)压电陶瓷构成三明治结构，增强了磁电耦合效率。对天线阵列施加高驱动电压，可在1 m距离处产生165 nT的磁场强度。基于该天线阵列的便携式磁通信系统采用二进制振幅键控(BASK)调制技术，在高背景噪声的实验室环境中成功实现了11.4 m的无线通信，码速率为50 bit/s。理论分析表明，该系统的最大误码率为0.12%，证明了其良好的抗噪能力。研究结果表明，基于串联阵列型磁电(ME)天线的通信系统在提升通信距离具有显著优势，为低频通信技术的发展提供了新的思路。
- 低频通信系统 /
- 新型磁电天线 /
- 数字调制
Abstract: Objective Magnetoelectric (ME) antennas, recognized for their high energy conversion efficiency and compact structure, have gained attention in portable cross-medium communication systems. In the Very Low Frequency (VLF) range, conventional antennas are typically large and difficult to deploy, whereas mechanical antennas—though smaller—exhibit limited radiation intensity, constraining communication range. To address these limitations, this study proposes a portable VLF magnetic induction communication system based on a series-array ME antenna. By connecting seven ME antenna units in series, the radiated field strength is substantially increased. Through the combination of strong ME coupling and an optimized system design, this work offers a practical solution for compact low-frequency communication. Methods The radiated magnetic flux density of the antenna is evaluated using a small air-core coil (diameter: 50 mm; length: 120 mm) with a gain-500 preamplifier as the receiving antenna. The conversion coefficient Tr of the receiving antenna is calibrated using a standard Helmholtz coil, enabling conversion of the measured voltage to magnetic flux density. The ME antenna is driven by a signal generator and power amplifier, and the magnetic field strength is measured at a distance of 1.2 m under different drive voltages. To balance hardware simplicity and efficient bandwidth usage, Binary Amplitude Shift Keying (BASK) modulation is employed. On the transmitter side, a computer transmits the bitstream to a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), which generates the baseband signal and multiplies it by a 27.2 kHz carrier to produce the modulated signal. Following power amplification, the signal directly drives the ME antenna. On the receiver side, the air-core coil receives the transmitted signal, which is subsequently amplified by the preamplifier. A National Instruments (NI) data acquisition module digitizes the signal. Demodulation, including filtering, coherent detection, and symbol decision, is performed on a computer. For laboratory safety and signal stability, the Root Mean Square (RMS) drive voltage is set to 14.8 V, and the symbol rate is fixed at 50 bps. Communication experiments are conducted over distances from 1.2 m to 11.4 m. Results and Discussions (1) Antenna radiation intensity. When the RMS drive voltage of the series-array ME antenna is 180.5 V (25.8 V per unit), the measured magnetic field strength reaches 93.6 nT at 1.2 m and 165 nT at 1.0 m. These values indicate strong performance among acoustically driven ME antennas. The results demonstrate that the combination of ME materials with a seven-element series configuration substantially enhances both ME coupling and radiated field strength. (2) System communication performance. The BASK system operates at 50 bps, matching the measured 111 Hz bandwidth of the ME antenna. The receiving antenna exhibits a bandwidth of 851 Hz at 27.6 kHz, which fully covers the transmitted signal. Due to laboratory space constraints, 128-bit random data are transmitted over distances ranging from 1.2 m to 11.4 m. Even at 11.4 m—where the received signal amplitude falls below 0.004 V—the proposed demodulation scheme successfully recovers the transmitted data. To verify these results, a theoretical model of magnetic field attenuation with distance is fitted to the experimental data, showing strong agreement except for minor deviations attributed to environmental noise. Noise spectrum analysis within a 100 Hz bandwidth centered at 27.2 kHz indicates a maximum environmental noise level of approximately 4.41 pT, resulting in a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of 12.65 dB at 11.4 m. Based on the theoretical relationship between SNR and Bit Error Rate (BER) for coherent ASK, the maximum BER under these conditions is approximately 0.12%, consistent with the measured performance. Conclusions This study presents a VLF magnetic induction communication system based on a series-array ME antenna, with the ME antenna serving as the transmitter and an air-core coil as the receiver. A standard Helmholtz coil circuit is used to calibrate the conversion coefficient between received voltage and magnetic flux density. The radiated magnetic field strength is characterized by varying the ME antenna’s drive voltage. Notably, at an RMS drive voltage of 180.5 V, the ME antenna generates a magnetic induction of 165 nT at a distance of 1 m. Laboratory communication experiments confirm that, with a drive voltage of 14.8 V, ASK transmission achieves a range of 11.4 m at a symbol rate of 50 bps. In a high-noise environment with an in-band noise level of 4.41 pT, the system achieves a BER of 0.12%, consistent with theoretical predictions and confirming the reliability of the demodulation process. These results demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of ME antennas for compact, low-frequency magnetic communication. Further performance improvements may be achieved by (1) operating in low-noise environments and (2) increasing the drive voltage to enhance radiation strength by up to a factor of 6.4.
- Low-frequency communication systems /
- Novel Magnetoelectric (ME) antennas /
- Digital modulation

HTML全文

图 1 不同退火温度和时间的Fe₈₀Si₉B₁₁带材参数

下载: 全尺寸图片幻灯片

图 2 磁电复合材料的三明治结构

下载: 全尺寸图片幻灯片

图 3 磁电天线阵列内部结构图(部分)

下载: 全尺寸图片幻灯片

图 4 接收线圈天线的转换系数测量实验

下载: 全尺寸图片幻灯片

图 5 ME天线阵列辐射磁感应强度测量实验

下载: 全尺寸图片幻灯片

图 6 基于串联型ME天线阵列的磁通信系统框图与设备

下载: 全尺寸图片幻灯片

图 7 磁通信系统的ASK调制解调方案

下载: 全尺寸图片幻灯片

图 8 不同距离下磁通信系统的发射与接收信号

下载: 全尺寸图片幻灯片

图 9 VLF磁通信系统的通信实验结果和实验环境

下载: 全尺寸图片幻灯片

图 10 环境噪声谱密度与相干解调 ASK 通信系统的误码率/信噪比分析

下载: 全尺寸图片幻灯片

表 1 基于不同机械天线的低频通信系统性能

天线类型	f_carrier (Hz)	V_rad (cm³)	ΔB ^a	比特率 (bit/s)	通信距离	调制方式	参考文献
旋转永磁体	320	–	在3 m处7 nT	12.5	5 m	FSK	[10]
旋转永磁体	440	0.64	在1 m处0.1 µT	214	–	ASK	[16]
压电谐振型	33 230	～50.24	在6 m处40 fT	60	–	ASK/FSK	[18]
磁电谐振型	27 750	0.04	在6.5 m处43 pT	18 000	6.5 m(接收线圈直径49 mm)	PSK	[19]
磁电谐振型	18 100	–	在0.5 m处3.8 nT	2 000	0.1m	ASK	[12]
磁电谐振型	21 200	3.38	在1 m处112 nT	300	18 m (接收线圈直径200 mm)	ASK/PSK	[20]
磁电谐振型	27 200	7.07	在1 m处 B_MAX =165 nT	50	11.4 m(接收线圈直径50 mm，长度120 mm)	ASK	本文
^aB_max 表示发射天线辐射的最大磁感应强度。

下载: 导出CSV

参考文献(22)

[1]	WHEELER H. Fundamental limitaions of a small VLF antenna for submarines[J]. IRE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 1958, 6(1): 123–125. doi: 10.1109/TAP.1958.1144550.
[2]	CELLA U M, JOHNSTONE R, and SHULEY N. Electromagnetic wave wireless communication in shallow water coastal environment: Theoretical analysis and experimental results[C]. Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Underwater Networks, Berkeley, USA, 2009: 9. doi: 10.1145/1654130.1654139.
[3]	SUN Zhi and AKYILDIZ I F. Magnetic induction communications for wireless underground sensor networks[J]. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 2010, 58(7): 2426–2435. doi: 10.1109/TAP.2010.2048858.
[4]	HAYAKAWA M. VLF/LF radio sounding of ionospheric perturbations associated with earthquakes[J]. Sensors, 2007, 7(7): 1141–1158. doi: 10.3390/s7071141.
[5]	GRIFFITHS D J and INGLEFIELD C. Introduction to electrodynamics[J]. American Journal of Physics, 2005, 73(6): 574–574. doi: 10.1119/1.4766311.
[6]	KING R W P. Lateral electromagnetic waves from a horizontal antenna for remote sensing in the ocean[J]. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 1989, 37(10): 1250–1255. doi: 10.1109/8.43533.
[7]	BICKFORD J A, MCNABB R S, WARD P A, et al. Low frequency mechanical antennas: Electrically short transmitters from mechanically-actuated dielectrics[C]. Proceedings of 2017 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation & USNC/URSI National Radio Science Meeting, San Diego, USA, 2017: 1475–1476. doi: 10.1109/APUSNCURSINRSM.2017.8072780.
[8]	BARANI N and SARABANDI K. Mechanical antennas: Emerging solution for Very-Low Frequency (VLF) communication[C]. Proceedings of 2018 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation & USNC/URSI National Radio Science Meeting, Boston, USA, 2018: 95–96. doi: 10.1109/APUSNCURSINRSM.2018.8608412.
[9]	WHEELER H. Small antennas[J]. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 1975, 23(4): 462–469. doi: 10.1109/TAP.1975.1141115.
[10]	SUN Faxiao, ZHANG Feng, MA Xiaoya, et al. Research on ultra-low-frequency communication based on the rotating shutter antenna[J]. Electronics, 2022, 11(4): 596. doi: 10.3390/ELECTRONICS11040596.
[11]	DU Yongjun, XU Yiwei, WU Jingen, et al. Very-low-frequency magnetoelectric antennas for portable underwater communication: Theory and experiment[J]. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 2023, 71(3): 2167–2181. doi: 10.1109/TAP.2022.3233665.
[12]	CHENG Jiawei, JIAO Jie, FU Shifeng, et al. Ultra-high baud rate VLF magnetoelectric antenna based on Rosen-type composite[J]. Applied Physics Letters, 2023, 123(7): 072903. doi: 10.1063/5.0167170.
[13]	ZHUANG Xin, XU Xin, ZHANG Xu, et al. Tailoring the magnetomechanical power efficiency of metallic glasses for magneto-electric devices[J]. Journal of Applied Physics, 2022, 132(10): 104502. doi: 10.1063/5.0098282.
[14]	KACZKOWSKI Z. Magnetomechanical coupling in transducers[J]. Archives of Acoustics, 1981, 6(4): 385–400.
[15]	COAKLEY K J, SPLETT J D, JANEZIC M D, et al. Estimation of Q-factors and resonant frequencies[J]. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 2003, 51(3): 862–868. doi: 10.1109/TMTT.2003.808578.
[16]	REZAEI H, KHILKEVICH V, YONG Shaohui, et al. Mechanical magnetic field generator for communication in the ULF range[J]. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 2020, 68(3): 2332–2339. doi: 10.1109/TAP.2019.2955069.
[17]	BURCH H C, GARRAUD A, MITCHELL M F, et al. Experimental generation of ELF radio signals using a rotating magnet[J]. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 2018, 66(11): 6265–6272. doi: 10.1109/TAP.2018.2869205.
[18]	HASSANIEN A E, BREEN M, LI M H, et al. Acoustically driven electromagnetic radiating elements[J]. Scientific Reports, 2020, 10(1): 17006. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-73973-6.
[19]	XU Yiwei, WU Jingen, DU Yongjun, et al. A portable VLF magnetoelectric transmitter with high-rate phase modulation[J]. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 2024, 72(4): 3134–3149. doi: 10.1109/TAP.2024.3363466.
[20]	CHU Zhaoqiang, MAO Zhineng, SONG Kaixin, et al. A multilayered magnetoelectric transmitter with suppressed nonlinearity for portable VLF communication[J]. Research, 2023, 6: 0208. doi: 10.34133/research.0208.
[21]	BALANIS C A. Advanced Engineering Electromagnetics[M]. 2nd ed. Hoboken, New Jersey, USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. (查阅网上资料, 未找到本条文献页码信息, 请补充).
[22]	樊昌信, 曹丽娜. 通信原理[M]. 7版. 北京: 国防工业出版社, 2012: 200–210. FAN Changxin and CAO Lina. Principles of Communication[M]. 7th ed. Beijing: National Defense Industry Press, 2012: 200–210. (查阅网上资料, 未找到本条文献英文信息, 请确认).