Handout

Experiment-2

Design, Fabrication and Analysis of Lumped Inductor

CAD OF RF AND MICROWAVE CIRCUITS (CRL711)

Centre for Applied Research in Electronics

Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Theory:Definition:An Inductor is nothing more than a coil of wire wound around a central core. When an electrical
current flows through a wire conductor, a magnetic flux is developed around the conductor
producing a relationship between the direction of this magnetic flux which is circulating around
the conductor and the direction of the current flowing through the same conductor. This well
known relationship between current and magnetic flux direction is called, Flemings Left
Hand Rule. For most coils the current, (i) flowing through the coil produces a magnetic flux,
(N) around it that is proportional to this flow of electrical current.

The schematic symbol for an inductor is that of a coil of wire so therefore, a coil of wire
can also be called an Inductor. Inductors usually are categorized according to the type of inner
core they are wound around, for example, hollow core (free air), solid iron core or soft ferrite
core with the different core types being distinguished by adding continuous or dotted parallel
lines next to the wire coil as shown below.

Figure 1. Geometry of an inductor

Inductors are used extensively in RF design such as resonant circuits, filters, phase shift and
delay networks, and as RF chokes used to prevent, or at least reduce, the flow of RF energy
along a certain path.

Design Equations:-

Figure 2. Physical parameters of inductor

(1)

L = inductance of coil in H.
N = number of turns.
R = radius of coil in inches (Measure from the center of the coil to the middle of the
wire).
H = height of coil in inches.

Equivalent circuit and its behavior analysis:Winding Resistance:The insulated copper wire has a certain resistance per unit of length. The total resistance
becomes significant when no. of turns is more. This inherent resistance is called the dc resistance
or the winding resistance ( ). Although this resistance is distributed along the length of the
wire, it effectively appears in series with the inductance of the coil, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Winding resistance and its equivalent circuit.

Winding Capacitance:When two conductors are placed side by side, there is always some capacitance between them.
Thus, when many turns are placed close together in a coil, a certain amount of stray capacitance,
called winding capacitance is ( ), is natural side effect. At high frequencies, the effect of stray
capacitance becomes dominant.
The equivalent circuit of an inductor with its both winding resistance and capacitance is
shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Winding capacitance and its equivalent circuit.

In a broad sense, the parasitic come from two different sources. They are classified as intrinsic
and extrinsic. Intrinsic parasitic are related to the way in which inductors are physically
constructed. Extrinsic parasitic are the resultants of the way in which they are soldered. Since the
winding wire has resistance, the inductor winding must include a series resistance,

, in the

equivalent circuit model.

Similarly at high frequencies, due to the proximity of the inductor windings, the signals
can skip the loop and travel directly from winding to winding through the intrinsic capacitance
between the windings. The inter-winding capacitance is modeled by the capacitor

in the

equivalent circuit model. In reality, the inter-winding capacitance is distributed throughout the
structure. In practice, this is not necessary as long as the inductor is used well below its selfresonant frequency (SRF). The SRF is defined as the frequency at which the imaginary portion
of the inductor impedance reaches zero which is approximately equal to

Above this frequency the inductor begins to behave like a capacitor, as more energy is
stored in the electric field rather than the magnetic field. This occurs because the signal is
bypassing the windings in favor of the capacitive coupling mechanism.

At low frequencies, resistance in the windings is the dc resistance of the wire and as
frequency increases, skin effect increases the resistance of the windings. Due to the resistance in
the windings, a voltage drop exists between windings. From the basic principles, it is learnt that
two conductors separated by a dielectric with a voltage across them, form a capacitor. At low
frequencies, the reactance of this capacitor is negligible. As frequency increases, the inductive
reactance increases linearly. This trend is followed till the frequency approaches the resonant
frequency. Beyond the resonant frequency, parallel combination of the inductor and capacitor
effectively shows the capacitive behavior as shown in Figure 5. At resonance, the impedance is
expected to be infinitely large. But the series resistance limits this value. In addition to limiting
the peak impedance at resonance, the series resistance also widens the frequency response by
reducing the Q of the inductor. When the inductor is connected to the board, an additional
capacitance to ground is modeled to introduce the effects of lead.

Figure5. Behavior analysis of inductor.

Aim:
Design a lumped (air filled coil type) inductor of desired inductance .Compute the inductance
and parasitic capacitance from the measured S-parameter. Compare simulated equivalent circuit
results in serenade with measured results.
Design Equations:
Procedure:

Design the inductor using the equ. (1).

(Hint: Need to do some iteration with N and H since options for R are limited).

Design the mask for microstrip with the gap for mounting the inductor in intelli-CAD and
fabricate it.

Solder the inductor on the microstrip between the gap.

Measure the S-Parameters of the circuit using calibrated VNA and mark the 3-dB cut off
frequency (fc) and parallel resonance (fr).

(2)

Where,
Z0 = 50 ohms (Characteristic Impedance).
fc = 3-dB cut-off frequency
g=2

Calculate L from (2) and put that value in the equivalent circuit of inductor in a circuit
simulator (serenade).
(3)

Substitute value of L from (2) in (3) to get Cw.

Simulate the equivalent circuit in serenade and slightly change the value of L and C w to
exactly match the results to measured results. (Note:

= 1~2 ohms)

Summary:
At higher frequencies one cannot simple assume a component will behave anywhere close to its
ideal state More adequate models are needed at higher frequencies All passive components have
unwanted characteristics (parasitic). These add losses and limit the upper frequency range.

References:
1. http://rfic.eecs.berkeley.edu/142/labs/componentlab.pdf
2. https://www10.cs.fau.de/
3. http://teslacoils4christ.org/TCFormulas/TCFormulas.htm
4. http://product.tdk.com/en/techjournal/archives/vol04_mlg/img/con07_01.jpg
5. http://www.daenotes.com/electronics/basic-electronics/inductors