A Calibration Method for Small Circular Loop

Antennas using a Standard Loop Antenna and Vector

Network Analyzer in Low-Frequency Band
Masanori Ishii and Yozo Shimada
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, National Metrology Institute of Japan
Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan Email: masanori-ishii@aist.go.jp
AbstractWe propose a new calibration method for
circular loop antennas. Generally, the standard field
method is widely employed in loop antenna calibration, and
a thermocouple is widely used as a current sensor on a
transmitting loop antennas element to calculate the
magnetic field strength at an antenna under calibration.
Therefore, it has certain disadvantages such as low
accuracy of measurement, a fragile structure, and so on.
However, the proposed method has the characteristics of
the standard field method and reference antenna method,
and it is simpler than these methods. In this study, a
comparisons are made in simulations and experiments. The
results show that the proposed method is simple and
efficient for calibrating loop antennas.
Keywords-EMI antenna; loop antenna calibration;
magnetic antenna factor; low-frequency band; vector
network analyzer
I. INTRODUCTION
In the fields of electromagnetic interference (EMI)
and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), it is important
to accurately measure the electric or magnetic field
strength originating from electric devices; for achieving
this, the antenna factor of a receiving antenna must be
estimated accurately.
In low-frequency bands (particularly below 30 MHz),
loop antennas are used for estimating the radiated
magnetic field strength. In general, it is important to
accurately evaluate magnetic fields radiating from
electric devices such as the high-voltage wires of electric
power companies, induction heating (IH) systems, and so
on. Recently, loop antennas and magnetic antenna factors
have been widely applied for the evaluation of power line
communication (PLC) systems, radio frequency
identification (RF-ID) tag systems, RF shoplifting alarm
systems, and signals for radio-controlled clocks. Hence,
the antenna factor of the receiving loop antenna must be
determined accurately.
In these very low frequency bands, loop antennas act
as electrically small antennas because the wavelength is
more than at least 10 m. Hence, the measurements are
performed under a near-field condition. However, the
antenna factor is defined under a far-field condition.
Hence, each of the present calibration methodsfor
example, the standard field method [1], [2], [3], three-
antenna method [4], [5], and impedance method [6]
has been devised to realize quasi-far-field conditions. In
the standard field method, a quasi-plane field is realized
and applied to a loop antenna. In the three-antenna
method, three loop antennas (including a calibrated loop
antenna) are prepared. A round-robin measurement is
performed among them, and each transmission S-
parameter is measured. The magnetic antenna factor is
calculated from these transmission S-parameters and the
averaged magnetic field strength inside the loop. In
general, in these two methods, an averaged magnetic
field strength over the area of the loop antenna [7] is used
to obtain a quasi-plane magnetic field. In the impedance
method, it is possible to obtain the magnetic antenna
factor of an electrically small loop antenna from the input
impedance and output voltage by Faradays law.
Many national metrology institutes are adopting the
standard field method for loop antenna calibration. In this
method, a TEM cell [3], [8] or a standard transmitting
circular loop antenna with a thermocouple incorporated
into it for the measurement of the antenna current [1], [2]
is used to apply a magnetic field to the loop antenna.
However, these methods have some disadvantages. The
size of the loop antennas is usually restricted when a
TEM cell is used. On the other hand, the current detector
with the thermocouple is fragile and is frequently
damaged by the current because a large current
(sometimes approximately 1 A) is required to obtain a
suitable magnetic field strength. Recently, to overcome
the disadvantage of the calibration system constructed
using the thermocouple, a new standard loop antenna and
a method for estimating the current on the antenna
element have been proposed [9]. In this method, the
current on the loop antenna element is estimated by the
reflection coefficient and the input power (or voltage) at
the input port of the transmitting loop antenna.
In this study, we propose a reference calibration
method for circular loop antenna. In [10], it is
978-1-4244-2737-6/08/$25.00 2008 IEEE
theoretically mentioned that a calibration of circular loop
antenna is reduced to measurement of attenuation, length
(radii, distance and so on), and geometrical configuration
of the calibration setup. But there is no experimental
investigation in the paper [10]. So, by another similar
concept, if the transmitting standard loop antennas
characteristic (its magnetic antenna factor) is known
(calibrated in advance by the three-antenna method) and
the transmission S-parameter between the transmitting
loop antenna and the receiving loop antenna (loop
antenna under calibration (AUC)) is measured by a
vector network analyzer (VNA), the AUCs magnetic
antenna factor can be obtained easily. In this study,
numerical simulations and experimental measurements
are performed to ensure the validity of the proposed
calibration method. The frequency range is from 150 kHz
to 30 MHz.
II. DEFINITION OF MAGNETIC ANTENNA FACTOR
The magnetic antenna factor is defined as
m
F
) (
m
f V
L
) (
) (
f H
f F =
(1)
where H is the magnetic field of the electromagnetic
plane wave incident on the antenna element and is
the output voltage across the load (50 O). This implies
that we must obtain the characteristics under the far-field
condition even though the wavelength is very long. The
antenna factor, naturally, depends on the frequency .
L
V
f
III. PROPOSED CALIBRATION METHOD
In this study, a new calibration method for circular
loop antennas is proposed. In this section, the basic
principle and equations of the calibration method are
described.
A. Magnetic antenna factor
In general, the equivalent circuit of an antenna in a
receiving mode is as shown in Fig. 1.

in
Z
0
Z
L
V
L
Z
L
I
a
I
a
V
in
Z
0
Z
L
V
L
Z
L
I
a
I
in
Z
in
Z
0
Z
L
V
L
Z
L
Z
L
I
a
I
a
V
a
V
Figure 1. Equivalent circuit of a receiving antenna.
In Fig. 1, is the output open voltage of the
antenna; , the input impedance of the antenna; ,
the characteristic impedance of the transmission line
(generally 50
a
V
in
Z
0
Z
O ); , the input impedance of the
receiver (load impedance); V , the output voltage across
the load impedance; and and , the reflection
coefficients. We consider that Z is equal to Z . The
output open voltage V of the loop antenna element is
expressed by Faradays law as (2).
L
Z
L
L
I
a
I
0 L
a
H r j V
a a 0
2
et =
(2)
where e is the angular frequency; r , the radius of the
loop antenna;
0
a

, the permeability of free space; and H ,

the magnetic field strength of the incident plane wave.
On the other hand, when
L
I is zero, the relationship
between V and V is expressed from Fig. 1 as
a L
.
(3)
a
in L
L
L
V
Z Z
Z
V
+
=
m
From (2) and (3), the magnetic antenna factor F is
obtained as
.
1
2
0 L
L in
a L
m
Z
Z Z
r j V
H
F
+
= =
t e

(4)
B. Transmission S-parameter
The setup between a transmitting and a receiving loop
circular antenna is illustrated in Fig. 2.
2L
V
2L
I
2
I
1G
a
1 1
, i v
1
I
1G
I
0
Z
0
Z
2
b
2
a
1
a
1
b
2 2
, i v
d
1
r
2
r
Loop 1 # Loop 2 #
1 Port 2 Port
Transmitting Receiving
in2
Z
in1
Z
Transmission S-parameter :
21
S
m2
F
m1
F
2L
V
2L
I
2
I
1G
a
1 1
, i v
1
I
1G
I
0
Z
0
Z
2
b
2
a
1
a
1
b
2 2
, i v
1 Port 2 Port
d
1
r
2
r
Loop 1 # Loop 2 #
Transmitting Receiving
in2
Z
in2
Z
in1
Z
in1
Z
Transmission S-parameter :
21
S Transmission S-parameter :
21
S
m2
F
m2
F
m1
F
m1
F
Figure 2. Two loop antennas set up in transmission mode.
In Fig. 2, v v and are voltages; and ,
currents; and , waves in the
transmission line;
1 in
Z and
2 in
, the input impedance;
1 m
and
2 m
, magnetic antenna factors;
0
Z , the
characteristic impedance of the transmission line; and
1
,
1 1
, , a a
2 L
V
2 1
i
2
i
,
G 2
b
F F
,
2 1
, a b
Z
1
r
2
r , radii of loop antennas; and
1 1 2
, ,
G
I I I ,
L 2
I ,
reflection coefficients at each port; and d , the distance
between two loop antennas.
1
a and are expressed as
2
b
,
1
1 1 G
I I
1
1
G
a
a =
(5)
.
1
1 1
1 1
G
G
a
I
I
=
1
b
I
(6)
From (5) and (6), and are expressed as
1
v
1
i
,
1
) 1 (
1 1
1 1
G
G
a
I I
I +
) (
0 1 1 0 1
Z b a Z v = + =
(7)
.
1
) 1 (
1 1
1 1
G
G
a
I I
I 1
) (
1
0
1 1
0
1
Z
b a
Z
i = =
(8)
On the other hand, an averaged magnetic field [6] over
the area of the receiving loop antenna generated by the
transmitting loop antenna is expressed as
| |
),
945
1
945
15
945
105
945
420
1
64
315
15
1
15
6
1
8
15
1
2
2
5 4
0
4 3
0
3 2
0
2
0
4
2
0
2 1
3
0
3 2
0
2
0
2
2
0
2 1
0 3
0
2
1 1
.
d r r
r i
R k j R k R k j R k jkR
R
r r
R k j R k jkR
R
r r
jkR
R
r i
H
avg

+ + +
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
+ + ~
( )
, , (
2
2 1 3
0
1 1
K
R
5
0

+
(

0
e
jkR
)
`

(9)
2
1
2
2 1
2
0
r d +
2
r + R =
where k is the wave number ) / 2 ( t . From (2) and (9),
is obtained as
2
v
). , , (
2 1
2
d r r K
r i
2
3
0
1 1 2
2 0 2
R
r j v t e =
(10)
Finally, the transmission S-parameter is obtained
from (4), (5), (8), and (10) as
21
S
2
0 2
0
0
1
2
21
2
v
Z Z
Z
a
b
S
in
L
+
= =
= I
). d , , (
1 1
2 1
3
0 0 0 2 1
r r K
R Z j F F
m m
t e
=
F
2 m
F
(11)
C. Principle of proposed calibration method
Equation (11) shows the relationship between and
in terms of the transmission S-parameter. Generally,
in the three-antenna method, three equations similar to
(11) among the three loop antennas must be solved when
unknown parameters are the three loop antennas
magnetic antenna factors. However, in this study, we
propose a calibration method by another concept.
1 m
We can easily recognize that (11) becomes
). , , (
1 1
2 1
3
0 0 0 21 1
2
d r r K
R Z j S F
F
m
m
t e
=
21 1 m
F
2 m
F
m
F
2 m
F
21
2 m
21
1 m

(12)
The unknown parameters in (12) are S , , and .
Here, when we consider the
1
is standard loop
antennas magnetic antenna factor (it is known.), the
will be obtained by measuring the S . Therefore,
(12) denotes the AUCs magnetic antenna factor; F
can be obtained if S is measured by the VNA and the
standard loop antennas magnetic antenna factor; F is
calibrated beforehand by another method.
IV. NUMERICAL SIMULATION
A numerical simulation using the moment method is
performed for the three types of loop antennas whose
diameters are 5.2, 10.0, and 15.2 cm. In this method, thin-
wire approximation is used and the piecewise sinusoidal
function is adopted as an expansion and weighting
function. Only antenna elements are considered in this
simulation.
The outline of this simulation (Fig. 3) is as follows:
- The three-antenna method is employed among
three loop antennas whose diameters are 10.0 cm
(referred to as Nos. 1, 2, and 3).
- The proposed method is employed for the loop
antennas whose diameters are 5.2, 10.0, and 15.2
cm (referred to as Nos. A, 1, and B, respectively)
when No. 3 is a transmitting loop antenna.
- Further, the three-antenna method is again
employed among No. 1, A, and B loop antennas.
- The magnetic antenna factors of No. 1, A, and B
loop antennas by the proposed and three-antenna
methods are compared.
5.2 cm
10.0 cm
15.2 cm
Three-antenna method
No. 1.
No. A.
No. B.
Three-antenna method
10.0 cm
10.0 cm
10.0 cm
No. 2.
No. 1.
No. 3.
10.0 cm
No. 3.
5.2 cm
10.0 cm
15.2 cm
No. 1.
No. A.
No. B. 3 B
S
3 A
S
13
S
AB
S
B
S
1
A
S
1
23
S
13
S
12
S
Compare
Proposed method

5.2 cm
10.0 cm
15.2 cm
Three-antenna method
No. 1.
No. A.
No. B.
Three-antenna method
No. 2.
10.0 cm
No. 3.
10.0 cm
10.0 cm
No. 1.
10.0 cm
No. 3.
5.2 cm
10.0 cm
15.2 cm
No. 1.
No. A.
No. B. 3 B
S
3 A
S
13
S
AB
S
B
S
1
A
S
1
23
S
13
S
12
S
Compare
Proposed method

Figure 3. Outline of comparison between two calibraton methods.

The magnetic antenna factors and differences are
shown in Figs. 4 and 5, respectively. In Fig. 4, it can be
observed that the obtained magnetic antenna factors are
in agreement with each other with regard to the three
loop antennas with different diameters. The absolute
values of the differences shown in Fig. 5 are also less
than approximately 0.02 dB. These differences are within
the calculation accuracy by the moment method.
Therefore, the efficiency of the proposed method is
expected to be equal to that of the three-antenna method.

10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
M
a
g
n
e
t
i
c

a
n
t
e
n
n
a

f
a
c
t
o
r

[
d
B

(
S
/
m
)
]
Frequency [MHz]
three-antenna method for 10 cm loop
Proposed method for 10 cm loop
three-antenna method for 5.2 cm loop
Proposed method for 5.2 cm loop
three-antenna method for 15.2 cm loop
Proposed method for 15.2 cm loop
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
M
a
g
n
e
t
i
c

a
n
t
e
n
n
a

f
a
c
t
o
r

[
d
B

(
S
/
m
)
]
Frequency [MHz]
three-antenna method for 10 cm loop
Proposed method for 10 cm loop
three-antenna method for 5.2 cm loop
Proposed method for 5.2 cm loop
three-antenna method for 15.2 cm loop
Proposed method for 15.2 cm loop
Figure 4. Magnetic antenna factors obtained by simulation.

0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
D
i
f
f
e
r
e
n
c
e
s

[
d
B
]
Proposed method three-antenna method for 10 cm loop antenna
0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
Frequency [MHz]
Proposed method three-antenna method for 5.2 cm loop antenna
Proposed method three-antenna method for 15.2 cm loop antenna
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
D
i
f
f
e
r
e
n
c
e
s

[
d
B
]
Proposed method three-antenna method for 10 cm loop antenna
0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
Frequency [MHz]
0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
Frequency [MHz]
Proposed method three-antenna method for 5.2 cm loop antenna
Proposed method three-antenna method for 15.2 cm loop antenna
Figure 5. Magnetic antenna factor: difference in simulation.
V. ST RUCTURE OF CALIBRATED LOOP ANTENNA FOR
EXPELIMENTAL MEASUREMENT

Short
SMA Connector
Gap
3.7 mm
(1 mm)
R cm
Short
SMA Connector
Gap
3.7 mm
(1 mm)
R cm
Figure 6. Structure of a shielded loop antenna.
The loop antenna with only elements cannot be
employed in experimental measurements. Therefore,
shielded loop antennas are employed in the experiment.
The structure of the calibrated loop antenna used in our
study is shown in Fig. 6. This is an ordinary shielded loop
antenna, and the diameters R of the loop are 5.2, 10.0,
and 15.2 cm. The diameter of the antenna element is 3.7
mm because a semi-rigid cable is used. The end of the
coaxial line is shorted (0 O). An SMA connector (male
type) is used for the connection to a generator or receiver.
The width of the upper gap, which is the feeding point of
the loop antenna element, is approximately 1 mm.
VI. EXPERIMENTAL MEASUREMENT
In order to asses the proposed calibration method,
five shielded loop antennas are used. Their diameters are
10.0 cm (Nos. 1, 2, and 3), 5.2 cm (No. A), and 15.2 cm
(No. B). The procedure is the same as that in the
numerical simulation shown in Fig. 3. The transmission
S-parameters are measured by the VNA.
From Fig. 7, it can be observed that all the calibration
results agree with each other. The frequency range is
from 150 kHz to 30 MHz. The differences between the
two methods are shown in Fig. 8. It is found that the
differences between these calibration results are within
approximately 0.4 dB. If these values are magnified for
evaluation from 1 MHz to 30 MHz, the results are within
approximately 0.2 dB. The transmission S-parameter
between two loop antennas is approximately 80 dB near
the lowest frequency of 150 kHz. Hence, this is suggested
to be a possible cause for greater difference when the
frequencies are less than approximately 1 MHz. These
results show that the proposed method is as efficient as
the three-antenna method.

10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
M
a
g
n
e
t
i
c

a
n
t
e
n
n
a

f
a
c
t
o
r

[
S
/
m

(
d
B
)
]
5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
Frequency [MHz]
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
three-antenna method for 10 cm loop
Proposed method for 10 cm loop
three-antenna method for 5.2 cm loop
Proposed method for 5.2 cm loop
three-antenna method for 15.2 cm loop
Proposed method for 15.2 cm loop
M
a
g
n
e
t
i
c

a
n
t
e
n
n
a

f
a
c
t
o
r

[
S
/
m

(
d
B
)
]
5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
Frequency [MHz]
5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
Frequency [MHz]
three-antenna method for 10 cm loop
Proposed method for 10 cm loop
three-antenna method for 5.2 cm loop
Proposed method for 5.2 cm loop
three-antenna method for 15.2 cm loop
Proposed method for 15.2 cm loop
Figure 7. Magnetic antenna factors obtained by experiment.

0.4
0.2
0
0.2
0.4
D
i
f
f
e
r
e
n
c
e
s

[
d
B
]
5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
Frequency [MHz]
Proposed method three-antenna method for 10 cm loop antenna
Proposed method three-antenna method for 5.2 cm loop antenna
Proposed method three-antenna method for 15.2 cm loop antenna
0.4
0.2
0
0.2
0.4
D
i
f
f
e
r
e
n
c
e
s

[
d
B
]
0.4
0.2
0
0.2
0.4
D
i
f
f
e
r
e
n
c
e
s

[
d
B
]
Proposed method three-antenna method for 10 cm loop antenna
Proposed method three-antenna method for 5.2 cm loop antenna
Proposed method three-antenna method for 15.2 cm loop antenna
5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
Frequency [MHz]
5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
Frequency [MHz]
Figure 8. Magnetic antenna factors by experiment.
The transmission loop antennas magnetic factor
must be obtained in advance in the proposed method. The
calibration result depends on because the value
shall be referred to. Therefore, this method is similar to
the reference antenna method [11]. On the other hand,
the transmitting loop antenna applies a standard magnetic
field to an AUC. Therefore, this method is also similar to
the standard field method. Generally, the standard field
method refers to the following current on an antenna
element. However, this method refers to the transmitting
antennas magnetic antenna factor .
mT
F
mT
F
mT
F
mT
F
It is concluded that the proposed method combines
the reference antenna method with the standard field
method, and the proposed method is as efficient as the
three-antenna method. The proposed method also can be
traceable to the value of antenna factor
mT
F in antenna
calibration services. A highly accurate measurement can
be performed using a VNA in the proposed method.
Furthermore, in the reference antenna method, generally,
two transmission S-parameters are required between two
antenna pairs. However, the proposed method is simpler
and more efficient than the reference antenna method
because the transmission S-parameter between only one
antenna pair is required to measured.
When a comparison is made between the reference
calibration methods (proposed method and reference
antenna method [11]), we can recognize that the
differences are within 0.5 dB, approximately, in the
range from 1 MHz to 30 MHz. Therefore, these reference
calibration methods are almost equivalent each other.

In the near future, we must estimate uncertainties of

these reference calibration methods and should
numerically evaluate the accuracies between them in
detail.
VII. CONCLUSIONS
We have proposed a new calibration method for
circular loop antennas and evaluated it by a numerical
simulation and experimental measurement. The results
show that the proposed method is as efficient as the
three-antenna method.
In antenna calibration services, we can mainly
establish traceability to the magnetic antenna factor of
standard antenna by the proposed method. In this method,
we need only one antenna pairs transmission S-
parameter because the transmission loop antenna is
considered as a standard loop antenna. Therefore, it is
simpler than the reference antenna method. In other
words, we can reduce the number of transmission S-
parameter measurement in the proposed reference
calibration method. These will be of benefit to calibration
service laboratories.
In the future, the uncertainty of the measurement will
be estimated and compared between these two reference
calibration methods.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author would like to thank Dr. Koji Komiyama,
Head of the Electromagnetic Waves Division, and all the
members of the Electromagnetic Fields Section at the
National Metrology Institute of Japan for their assistance.
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[4] I. Yokoshima, Absolute measurements for small loop antennas
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Group (ARFTG), pp. 156163, June 2006.
[6] M. Ishii and K. Komiyama, Impedance method for a shielded
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