Can anyone provide guidance on building an inductor for a hobby project?

[juming]

Hi there :)

Can someone please help me with any tutorials/pdf docs/websites/formula on how to build an inductor?

I need to create an inductor of 1.35mH ... but I would like it to have a reasonably large area... maybe a coil with a diameter of 20cm? And if there's any formulae or program that can do calculations for a PCB trace inductor?

(its to be used as an antenna in an RFID project)

Thanks for your help

Greg

 

[Ouabache]

There are standard concepts for designing an inductor. You probably want to start with those first and get a good feel for the parameters involved. What have you learned so far?

 

[Cliff_J]

First hit in google seems to offer plenty of advice:
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/9708033.pdf

 

[juming]

Attached is an MSpaint illustration I made of basically what I'm looking for. It's for an RFID reader. It needs to have an inductance of 1.35mH. What equations would I use for this?

Standard inductor equations won't work as the diameter of the loop is changing every time, so what would I do? I threw in the 45degree corners to reduce reflections.
So basically my variables are:
> width and length of the outside "loop"
> length of the "loop"
> width of the microstrip track
> distance between the respective "loops"

... and that's as far as I can seem to get?
I found a really complex PHD thesis explaining how to build PCB trace transformers... with a tiny section on inductors in the beginning, but that was to calculate the inductance of full loops, not spirals.

Thanks in advance

 

[Ouabache]

You may want to consult with a good electromagnetics text (e.g. Electromagnetics by J.D.Kraus) and derive inductance for your geometry from first principles.

You can then compare your equation to what others have done, but confine your web/library search to keywords like "microinductors" and "planar inductor".

 

[juming]

after much research & calculation, it seems to me that planar inductors can only be used for inductances in the range of nH to uH, and not mH.

For a 1.35 or 1.5mH inductor i would have to use a ferrite core? or can i use an air-core inductor?
(for a frequency of 125kHz)

 

[berkeman]

An RFID reader at 125kHz is kind of an oxymoron. 125MHz or higher would be more typical for an RFID application. (I forget where the FCC usually puts RFID applications...)

If you just want to make your own 1.5mH inductor, then yes, wind some turns on a ferrite of some shape (slug, toroid, etc.). You get the specs for the ferrite material from the manufacturer (like TDK or Magnetics Inc.), and figure out how many turns to use from that.

If you want to make an RFID pickup, then first of all you shouldn't be running at 125kHz. That's not RF, it's more like audio. What exactly is the system, and what is this component supposed to do?

 

[juming]

RE: berkeman

the RFID tag I'm using is the TK5530 by Atmel (they bought out Temic) and the reader IC is the U2270B.

The 125kHz low frequency RFID system is usually used for passive tags & small reading distances (8 to 30cm)

from the U2270B (reader) datasheet:
Features
• Carrier Frequency fosc 100 kHz - 150 kHz
• Typical Data Rate up to 5 kbaud at 125 kHz
• Suitable for Manchester and Bi-phase Modulation

 

[berkeman]

Does Atmel or Temic have an application note on what the best 125kHz inductor structure looks like? They should have something that will help to guide you...

 

[Ouabache]

Does Atmel or Temic have an application note on what the best 125kHz inductor structure looks like? They should have something that will help to guide you...

From fig 9.1 in the http://www.atmel.com/dyn/resources/prod_documents/doc4683.pdf .

 

[khaira]

since this thread is about how to build an inductor...i really need some help in building an inductor for my hobby kit project. the parameter they've given me as below.

L1___________Primary (Connected to Q2 Collector): 100 turns
Secondary: 10 turns
Wire diameter: O.2mm. enameled
Plastic former with ferrite core. Outer diameter: 4mm.

where should i start?