Analysis of near field mutual coupling in wideband magnetoelectric antennas array

The operating bandwidth of miniaturized magnetoelectric (ME) antenna is generally narrow due to the acoustic wave driven magneto-electromechanical resonance effect, parallel connection of multiple ME antennas with different resonant frequencies is an effective way to broaden the operating bandwidth of the antenna. This paper presents an ME antenna array consisting of three units, which are constructed of a sandwich stack of Metglas/Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3/Metglas. The −3 dB operating bandwidth of 152.4–172.8 kHz is achieved, and the relative bandwidth is 12.5%. Experimental results indicated that the bias magnetic field and coupling effect between the ME antenna units significantly influence the performance of ME antenna array. A modified Butterworth–Van Dyke (MBVD) equivalent circuit model is used and improved to analyze the influence of sound waves, electric fields, magnetic fields, parasitic capacitance, and bias magnetic field on the ME antenna array. The simulation results of the MBVD equivalent circuit model are agreed well with the experimental results. The improved MBVD model is beneficial for the design of acoustic wave driven antenna array.