Student project: Influence of Inductive Wireless Power Transfer Coils on Ultra Wide Band Antennas

To operate medical implants relaying data through an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) channel, while simultaneously powering that implant wirelessly, we need to know how the UWB antenna and the inductive powering coils are interacting to be able to take measures against unwanted effects.

What you will do

We do observe an ever-increasing need for implantable wireless communication systems. These systems are relaying measured data of various in-body physiological parameters. For these processes, power is needed. This power is preferably provided wirelessly as well since a battery would be depleted too soon.

The frequency requirements for both operations: communication and Wireless Power Transfer (WPT), differ substantially. For wireless communication we prefer higher frequencies where we can relatively easily realize large fractional bandwidths. These bandwidths are needed for relaying large amounts of data. For an efficient WPT over a relatively short distance, we prefer low frequencies where we can use inductive coupling of coils.

At imec-NL, we have developed a subcutaneous Ultra Wide Band (UWB) transceiver operating at frequencies between 7 and 8 GHz. At Eindhoven University of Technology, we have developed an efficient, misalignment-tolerant, inductive WPT system, operating at 6.75 MHz.

We want to combine both systems and specifically want to look at the influence of the WPT coils on the UWB antenna. That results in the following tasks:

1. Based on the mentioned hardware developed, experiments will be conducted in which both UWB communication and inductive WPT are being used. The influence of the WPT on the data communication will be investigated as function of the transmit and receive coil separation from the UWB transmit and receive antennas. This will result in a recommendation for a best mutual positioning.
2. The coil-antenna interaction will be simulated, using a commercial available full-wave electromagnetic simulator, in which the coil will be modeled in different degrees of detail. The simulation results will be compared to the experimental system results and a recommendation will be given for the needed coil detail in the simulations.
3. A literature study will be performed on alternative UWB antennas, where operation in human tissue and compactness and reliability are main design criteria.
4. A literature and analytical model study will be performed on coil design and field shaping based on material handed out by imec-NL.
5. Based on 3 and 4 a new antenna and/or a new coil design will be generated, based on analytical modeling and/or full-wave analysis, whatever is most appropriate. Realization of prototype antennas/coils and verification through measurements is foreseen. 
6. All of the above will result in a written report.

What we do for you

You will be part of a team with supervisors from the signal processing team and from the solutions team. This will guarantee that your project will not only be of academical interest but also be strongly linked to the realization of applications. This also means that you will learn to act in an interdisciplinary team where requirements are not fixed from the start and where compromises must be made between best scientific and best realizable solutions.

Who you are

• You are a MSc student with a background in electromagnetics and antennas.
• You are available for 9 months.
• Affinity with bio-medical applications.
• You do have a basic experience with Simulia CST Microwave Studio and Matlab.
• You are fluent in spoken and written English and like to operate in an international team.
• You are entitled to do an internship in the Netherlands.
• You are self-starter and able to work independently.

Interested

Does this project sound like an interesting next step in your career at imec? Don’t hesitate to submit your application by clicking on ‘APPLY NOW’.