An SLF magnetic antenna calibration system

Abstract

Calibrating the super low frequency (SLF) magnetic antenna in magnetic free space or an outdoor environment is difficult and complicated due to the large size calibration instruments and lots of measurement times. Aiming to calibrate the SLF magnetic antenna simply and efficiently, a calibration system comprised of a multi-frequency source, an AC constant-current source and a solenoid is proposed according to the characteristic of an SLF magnetic antenna. The static magnetic transfer coefficient of the designed solenoid is calibrated. The measurement of the frequency response characteristics suggests the transfer coefficient remains unchanged in the range of the SLF band and is unaffected by the magnetic antenna internally installed. The CORDIC algorithm implemented in an FPGA is realized to generate a linear evenly-spaced multi-frequency signal with equal energy at each frequency. An AC constant weak current source circuit is designed in order to avoid the impact on the magnetic induction intensity of a calibration system affected by impedance variation when frequency changing, linearity and the precision of the source are measured. The frequency characteristic of a magnetic antenna calibrated by the proposed calibration system agrees with the theoretical result and the standard Glass ring calibration result. The calibration precision satisfies the experimental requirement.