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Ask an Expert Forum How to measure an impedance of an nfc antenna
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How to measure an impedance of an nfc antenna

Luka851
Luka851 3 months ago

Hi, 

I want to make a custom dimension - 20mm x 320 mm - external antenna coil for PN5180 NFC Module/Chip. 

To do this I need to design an antenna that has inductance of 0.8-3 microhenry, and then a matching circuit to match with the chip/s 20 ohm load impedance at 13.56 MHz. 

I only have an oscilloscope and a signal generator.

My questions are, 

1. How do I measure inductance of the following antennas 

imageimage

2. How do I measure impedance on the pn5180 module, and when I do, the result should be 20 ohm, right?

3. Can I measure inductance of the antenna on the pcb? I should disconnect the matching circucit to do it, right?

4. How do I disconnect the pcb antenna from the module and connect to it either of two coils from photos above.

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Top Replies

  • shabaz
    shabaz 3 months ago +7
    Fairly sure Fred27 did some interesting work in this area a few years back, so you could google for that and find his blogs. Also, there are quite a few ways to measure inductance with minimal test equipment…
  • BigG
    BigG 3 months ago +4
    Get hold of one of these VNA's for impedance measurements: Low-cost Vector Network Analyzer: NanoVNA-H4 Unboxing If you searched online you'd find. And no I haven't watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch…
  • Fred27
    Fred27 3 months ago +4 suggested
    As Shabaz and BigG have said, a VNA is ideal for not just measuring your antenna, but calculating and checking the component values for the matching circuit. NXP provide good documentation on this, but…
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  • dougw
    0 dougw 3 months ago

    Here are some techniques for measuring antenna impedance:

    https://youtu.be/giMtCzvvE3o

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  • dougw
    0 dougw 3 months ago

    Here are some techniques for measuring antenna impedance:

    https://youtu.be/giMtCzvvE3o

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  • kmikemoo
    0 kmikemoo 3 months ago in reply to dougw

    Interesting video.  Since NFC is at 13.56MHz, the OP might be able to make measurements with the equipment they have.  I'd try the bridge first.

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  • Luka851
    0 Luka851 3 months ago in reply to dougw

    Thank you, I will look into it

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