Performance Analysis of Multilayer Coil Based MI Waveguide Communication System

In the non-conventional media like underwater and underground,the Radio Frequency(RF)communication technique does not perform well due to large antenna size requirement and high path loss.In such media,magnetic induction(MI)communication technique is very promising due to small coil size and constant channel behavior.Unlike the RF technique,the communication range in MI technique is relatively less.To enhance this range,a waveguide technique is already brought in practice.This technique employs single layer coils to enhance the performance of MI waveguide.To further enhance the system functioning,in this paper,we investigated the performance of multi-layer coil(MLC)antenna based MI waveguide communication system in terms of transmission range,path loss,bit error rate(BER)and bandwidth.Besides,the system performance is quantitatively evaluated in three different non-conventional media viz.,dry soil,fresh water and wet soil.As compared with the single layer counterpart,the MLC system shows a significant improvement in transmission range,BER even in loosely coupled scenarios and shows a corresponding reduction in path loss.However,the bandwidth is observed to be low(<1 KHz).In this analysis,the eddy current effects and parasitic capacitance are compared for single and multilayer coils.It is observed that the proposed system performs better in dry soil medium due to less medium conductivity.

Flexible multilayer MEMS coils and their application in energy harvesters

Electromagnetic vibration energy harvesters are promising for the power supply of wireless sensor nodes,small electronic devices,and wearable electronics.Conventional electromagnetic harvesters usually increase output by increasing the size of coils and magnets,limiting the improvement of energy conversion efficiency and power density.In this study,multilayer microelectromechanical system(MEMS)coils were prepared using flexible electronics,and their high integration performance in arbitrary space was utilized to greatly improve the utilization of the space magnetic field by the electromagnetic harvester.The core magnet of the generator was magnetically balanced to achieve levitation,which improved the sensitivity and reduced fatigue damage compared with traditional spring structures.The wound coils on the top and bottom of the magnet and the flexible coils on the sides worked together to improve the energy efficiency and output of the devices.The output performance of the device with different number distributions was simulated using mathematical models to obtain the optimal structural parameters.The results show that by introducing flexible multilayer MEMS coils on the side surface of the energy harvester,the open-circuit voltage of the energy generators increased from 7 to 10 V by more than 43%.Flexible multilayer MEMS coils can enhance energy conversion rates and possess compact dimensions,making them suitable for integration onto complex surfaces.After the vibration energy harvesting system testing,the maximum peak power of the harvester was 7.1 m W at an acceleration of1 g and a resonant frequency of 11 Hz with a resistor of 3.5 kΩinternal resistance.Moreover,a 470μF capacitor can be charged to 3.5 V within 10 s to drive a hygrothermograph to work for more than 80 s and can supply a light bulb continuously.This strategy shows the great potential of vibration-energy-driven electromagnetic generators for powering small electronics in limited spaces.