AN4327 Application note CR95HF RF transceiver board tuning circuit with EMI filter Introduction The purpose of this application note is to describe the antenna tuning circuit of the CR95HF RF transceiver board embedding the EMI filter and delivered with the M24LR-DISCOVERY kit. It explains how to use the CR95HF EMI FILTER CALCULATION.xlsm tool (STSW95HF003), which is a separate Excel sheet available on www.st.com. The different impedance matching calculation steps are presented. Table 1 lists the tool and software concerned by this application note. Table 1. Applicable tool and software Type August 2013 Part numbers / Product categories Evaluation Tools M24LR-DISCOVERY Software STSW-95HF003 DocID024977 Rev 1 1/17 www.st.com Contents AN4327 Contents 1 CR95HF tuning circuit with an EMI filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1.1 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1.2 Designing a tuning circuit without an EMI filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1.3 Designing a tuning circuit with an EMI filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2 Calculation explanations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3 Calculation tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 4 5 2/17 3.1 Tuning circuit calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 3.2 Input impedance curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 3.3 Circuit voltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3.4 Magnetic field vs distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Practical tuning circuit design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 4.1 Step by step procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 4.2 Input impedance choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 DocID024977 Rev 1 AN4327 List of figures List of figures Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. Figure 4. Figure 5. Figure 6. Figure 7. Figure 8. Figure 9. CR95HF tuning circuit with an EMI filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Impedance matching without an EMI filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Impedance matching with an EMI filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 CR95HF + EMI filter equivalent generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Circuit for tuning calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Tuning circuit calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Antenna circuit input impedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Voltage calculation at various locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Magnetic field (H) versus distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 DocID024977 Rev 1 3/17 3 CR95HF tuning circuit with an EMI filter AN4327 1 CR95HF tuning circuit with an EMI filter 1.1 Description To limit the spurious emission at high frequencies, the CR95HF RF transceiver board embeds a second order low-pass filter (so called EMI filter). The EMI filter is placed between the CR95HF and the antenna tuning circuit, as you can see on Figure 1. Its goal is to attenuate the frequencies above 13.56 MHz. Figure 1. CR95HF tuning circuit with an EMI filter 4/17 DocID024977 Rev 1 AN4327 1.2 CR95HF tuning circuit with an EMI filter Designing a tuning circuit without an EMI filter Designing a tuning circuit without an EMI filter for the CR95HF consists in calculating the C11, C12 and C2 capacitor values, so that the input impedance (Zin1) of the circuit, seen from TX1 and TX2, matches the complex conjugate of the CR95HF output impedance (see AN3394). Figure 2. Impedance matching without an EMI filter DocID024977 Rev 1 5/17 16 CR95HF tuning circuit with an EMI filter 1.3 AN4327 Designing a tuning circuit with an EMI filter Designing a tuning circuit with an EMI filter for the CR95HF follows the same procedure except that C11, C12 and C2 are calculated so that the tuning circuit input impedance (Zin2) matches the complex conjugate output impedance of the new RF generator, which is made of the CR95HF and its EMI filter (see Figure 3). Figure 3. Impedance matching with an EMI filter When the matching criteria is satisfied, the input impedance (Zin) of the circuit seen from TX1-TX2 also satisfies the condition Zin = Rout, and a maximum power transfer occurs between the CR95HF and the antenna. 6/17 DocID024977 Rev 1 AN4327 2 Calculation explanations Calculation explanations The CR95HF + EMI filter equivalent circuit comes after some simple transformation (see Figure 4). Figure 4. CR95HF + EMI filter equivalent generator 1 The cut-off frequency of the EMI filter defined by fc = ------------------------------------is chosen above 2π ( L0 × C0 ) 14 MHz. It is recommended to use an inductance wired on ferrite cores. However, to maximize the EMI performance of the circuit on the CR95HF RF transceiver board, the wired inductance has been replaced by a Wurth Elektronik ferrite bead EMI suppressor (ref. 742792042). Its impedance at 13.56 MHz is 653 nH in series with 2 Ω. Above 200 MHz, it behaves as a pure resistor to suppress spurious emission. Among the available standard SMD ceramic capacitor values, C01 and C02 have been chosen to 180 pF. The EMI filter cut-off frequency is: 1 1 fc = ------------------------------------ = ------------------------------------------------------------------------- = 14.6MHz 2π ( L0 × C0 ) 180pF 2π ( 2 × 653nH ) × ----------------- 2 The CR95HF receiving path RX1-RX2 input impedance ZRX_CR95HF = 22pF // 80 kΩ. After replacing the RX path by its impedance, the circuit becomes as in Figure 5. DocID024977 Rev 1 7/17 16 Calculation explanations AN4327 Figure 5. Circuit for tuning calculation Assuming C11 = C12 = C1, the resulting equation is: Zin2 = C1 -------- + ( C2 || ( 2Zrx + Zrx CR95HF ) || Za ) 2 Solving the Impedance matching criteria Zin2 = Zout_EMI* allows you to find the values for C11 = C12 and C2. This calculation is done using the CR95HF EMI FILTER CALCULATION.xlsm spreadsheet. Connect to www.st.com to download this Excel calculation tool. 8/17 DocID024977 Rev 1 AN4327 3 Calculation tool Calculation tool The CR95HF EMI FILTER CALCULATION.xlsm spreadsheet includes 4 tabs: 1. Tuning circuit calculation 2. Input impedance curves 3. Circuit voltages 4. Magnetic fields vs distance This tool allows you to: • Calculate the ideal tuning capacitance C11, C12 and C2 based on the system components (select the 1st tab). • Calculate the theoretical circuit input impedance according to the system parameters and custom tuning capacitance values (select the 1st tab) – This feature lets you use tuning capacitance values different from the ideal values, and check the impact on the input impedance. – In combination with the impedance curve given in the 2nd tab, this feature lets you adjust the tuning capacitance values on the Printed circuit board (PCB). • Trace the theoretical circuit input impedance curve (magnitude and phase) versus the frequency, according to the custom tuning capacitance values defined in the 1st tab. • Trace the voltage amplitude at different points of the circuit according to the custom tuning capacitance value (select the 3rd tab). • Estimate the magnetic field strength generated by the reader according to the system parameters of the system (select the 4th tab). DocID024977 Rev 1 9/17 16 Calculation tool 3.1 AN4327 Tuning circuit calculation Select the 1st tab of CR95HF EMI FILTER CALCULATION.xlsm spreadsheet: • Tuning circuit calculation Various configurations can be calculated, as you can seen on Figure 6. Figure 6. Tuning circuit calculation 1. CR95HF and User defined system parameters. 2. Ideal tuning capacitance calculation. 3. Input impedance calculation based on user defined tuning capacitances. 10/17 DocID024977 Rev 1 AN4327 Calculation tool EMI filter It is possible to calculate the tuning circuit without the EMI filter by simply choosing L01 = L02 = 0 and C01 = C02 = 10-40 (simulating an open circuit) Receiving path The calculation tool allows to use a resistor in series with a capacitor in the receiving path, by choosing: • Crx= 1012 The calculation is made with a resistor only in the receiving path. • Rrx= 0 The calculation is made with a series capacitor only in the receiving path. DocID024977 Rev 1 11/17 16 Calculation tool 3.2 AN4327 Input impedance curves Select the 2nd tab of CR95HF EMI FILTER CALCULATION.xlsm spreadsheet: • Input impedance curves Based on the tuning capacitance values chosen in Figure 6 of the calculation tool, the circuit input impedance is calculated over the frequency (F). The example in Figure 7 shows the input impedance calculated with the CR95HF RF transceiver board tuning capacitances. Figure 7. Antenna circuit input impedance 12/17 DocID024977 Rev 1 AN4327 3.3 Calculation tool Circuit voltages Select the 3rd tab of CR95HF EMI FILTER CALCULATION.xlsm spreadsheet: • Circuit voltages Based on the tuning capacitance values chosen of the calculation tool, voltages at various locations in the circuit are calculated (see Figure 8). This feature is useful to estimate the RX path attenuation which is necessary to limit VRX1-RX2 below 7 V. Figure 8. Voltage calculation at various locations DocID024977 Rev 1 13/17 16 Calculation tool 3.4 AN4327 Magnetic field vs distance Select the 4th tab of CR95HF EMI FILTER CALCULATION.xlsm spreadsheet: • Magnetic field vs distance. Based on the differential antenna voltage Vantenna from the 3rd tab and the antenna parameters (dimensions and number of turns) chosen in the 1st tab, an estimation of the generated magnetic field is calculated in the 4th tab (see Figure 9). Figure 9. Magnetic field (H) versus distance Note: 14/17 For information only. DocID024977 Rev 1 AN4327 Practical tuning circuit design 4 Practical tuning circuit design 4.1 Step by step procedure Four steps are needed: Step 1 Measure the CR95HF antenna impedance on the PCB. Step 2 Estimate the C11, C12, C2 and ZRX impedance values using the CR95HF EMI filter calculation tool. Mount the component values from step 2 on the PCB. Step 3 a) Without powering the board, measure the circuit input impedance between TX1 and TX2 using a network analyzer or an impedance analyzer. Tune the C11, C12 and C2 capacitance values, if necessary. b) As a design trick, the tuning frequency can be adjusted using C2, and the impedance magnitude can be adjusted using C11/C12. This can be verified using the impedance curve feature of the CR95HF EMI filter calculation tool. c) Power up the board and activate the RF generation (this can be achieved by sending a Protocol_Select command to the CR95HF). d) Measure the DC voltage in the ST_R0 pin: adjust the ZRX component value to limit the voltage measured on ST_R0 below 7 V. e) After powering down the PCB, check the input impedance and adjust it with C11, C12 and C2, if necessary. Step 4 Check the RF performance with a tag. 4.2 Input impedance choice Because of the reader antenna detuning occurring when the tag is very close to the reader, some communication hole can appear at very short distance. To overcome this, it is appropriate to choose an input impedance higher than the CR95HF output impedance: for instance, to maintain the energy harvesting capability of the C95HF RF transceiver board, the input impedance of the antenna circuit has been set to 50 Ω. This value has a minor impact on the CR95HF to power up the tag at a long distance from the reader antenna, maintaining a magnetic field strength level sufficient to guarantee the energy harvesting function of the M24LRXXE-R at a short distance from the reader antenna. DocID024977 Rev 1 15/17 16 Revision history 5 AN4327 Revision history Table 1. Document revision history 16/17 Date Revision 29-Aug-2013 1 Changes Initial release. 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