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

ZHANG Feng; LI Jiaran; TIAN Yuxiao; XU Ziyang; GONG Zhaoqian; ZHUANG Xin

doi:10.11999/JEIT250065

Volume 47 Issue 8

Aug. 2025

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ZHANG Feng, LI Jiaran, TIAN Yuxiao, XU Ziyang, GONG Zhaoqian, ZHUANG Xin. Design of a Very Low Frequency Magnetic Induction Communication System Based on a Series-Array Magnetoelectric Antenna[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology, 2025, 47(8): 2675-2684. doi: 10.11999/JEIT250065

Citation:

ZHANG Feng, LI Jiaran, TIAN Yuxiao, XU Ziyang, GONG Zhaoqian, ZHUANG Xin. Design of a Very Low Frequency Magnetic Induction Communication System Based on a Series-Array Magnetoelectric Antenna[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology, 2025, 47(8): 2675-2684. doi: 10.11999/JEIT250065

Citation:

ZHANG Feng, LI Jiaran, TIAN Yuxiao, XU Ziyang, GONG Zhaoqian, ZHUANG Xin. Design of a Very Low Frequency Magnetic Induction Communication System Based on a Series-Array Magnetoelectric Antenna[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology, 2025, 47(8): 2675-2684. doi: 10.11999/JEIT250065

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

doi: 10.11999/JEIT250065 cstr: 32379.14.JEIT250065

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)

Received Date: 2025-02-12
Rev Recd Date: 2025-05-29

Available Online: 2025-06-10

Publish Date: 2025-08-27

Abstract

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 T_r 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

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References(22)

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