Design Optimization Of Loop Antenna Using
Competitive Learning ANN
Kumaesh Sarmah
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Tezpur University
Assam-784 028, INDIA
Email: kumaresh4you8@gmail.com
Abstract—Out of several antenna design techniques the Artificial
Neural Network (ANN) based method is suitable for prediction of
characteristic parameters of loop antenna by considering
transmit – receive conditions of practical communication set-ups.
The predicted set of parameters can be used to fix dimensions of
a loop antenna which involves theoretical calculations. This work
proposes an approach to determine the best suitable combination
of conductor thickness and loop radius using Competitive
Learning ANN from predicted values of antenna parameters. The
proposed method uses the ANN predicted parameters to find the
optimized set of conductor thickness and loop radius using Self
Organizing Map (SOM) to fix the layout of a loop antenna for
applications with electrically driven finite element grids.
Keywords- Loop antenna, ANN, SOM, Optimization.
I. INTRODUCTION
Antenna design using theoretical approaches and custom –
built softwares provide satisfactory results despite respective
limitations. But there always exists possibilities to explore
innovative approaches for such design involving soft
computational tools like Artificial Neural Network (ANN)
which can fix design requirements considering environmental
variations as observed in practical communication set-ups.
ANNs like Multi Layer Perceptron (MLP) s have been used for
several antenna designs [1], [2], [3] due to their capacity to
learn given patterns and use such knowledge for predicting
design parameters. The works cited in [5], [6] have shown how
MLPs can be used to predict different characteristic features of
a loop antenna for high frequency applications. This work is a
follow up to those approaches for electrically small designs
where conductor thickness and loop radius of a loop antenna is
optimized using Self Organizing Map (SOM) so that physical
dimensions can be ascertained for assumed frequency range of
200 to 300 MHz’s.
II. ANTENNA DESIGN TECHNIQUES- A BRIEF
OVERVIEW
There are five well known methods for antenna design and
modeling [7]. These techniques are,
 Integral Equation (IE) and Method of Moment (MoM)
 Finite Difference Time Domain Method (FDTD)
978-1-4244-9581-8/11/$26.00 © 2011 IEEE
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Kandarpa Kumar Sarma
Department of Electronics and Communication Technology
Gauhati University
Guwahti-781014, INDIA
Email: kandarpaks@gmail.com
 Finite Element Analysis and Modeling (FEM)
 Use of Genetic Algorithm (GA)
 Use of Artificial Neural Network (ANN)
All these methods are efficient and widely used for
various types of antenna design problems. Antenna design
problems are formulated in terms of integral equations and
solving these integral equations we can get the exact solution
of the model. The Method of Moment (MOM) technique is
mostly used for solving these integral equations. In the MOM
technique, complex mathematical terms are converted to
simple matrix equation known as discretization [7], [8]. Two
other numerical approaches for antenna analysis are finite
element frequency domain method and finite difference time
domain method. The Finite Difference Time Domain Method
(FDTD) is a computational procedure for solving Maxwell’s
equation based on clever algorithm. In FDTD, an antenna
problem is formulated differently for transmitting and
receiving antennas [9], [10]. The Finite Element Analysis and
Modeling (FEM) is a numerical procedure to obtain solution to
boundary value problems of antenna in time and frequency
domain with the aid of a computer [11], [12]. For solving these
numerical techniques different custom based software are
available. Antennas such as micro strip patch antennas,
dielectric lens antennas, broadband antennas, reflector
antenna, horn antenna, phased array antennas, smart antennas
are widely modeled by using these techniques and these
models are coded and computed in different customized
software. Genetic algorithm (GA) is another technique used
for design optimization of different antenna structures by
minimizing or maximizing the objective parameter or cost
function. Simulated annealing and particle swarm optimization
(PSO) are some techniques of GA used in antenna optimized
design [13], [14]. ANNs are suitable for prediction and
optimization of design layouts with their capacity to learn
complex patterns fed to them. ANNs are used for design of
micro - strip patch antenna where apriori knowledge of fields
and radiation patterns help in optimizing physical dimensions
[1], [2], [3],[4].
 TABLE I. LIMITS OF LOOP RADIUS AND WIRE RADIUS FOR TWO
DIFFERENT RANGES OF RADIATION EFFICIENCY.

Radiation Efficiency( η) 70% 90%

Operating Loop Radius ‘a’ 0.048 m 0.048 m
Frequency at
Wire radius ‘ b’ 1.28 × 10-3 m 4.49 × 10-3 m
200 MHz
Operating Loop Radius ‘a’ 0.032 m 0.032 m
Frequency at
Wire radius ‘ b’ 1.044 × 10-3 m 4.035× 10-3 m
300 MHz

Radiation resistance of loop antenna with a being the loop

radius and b being the wire radius is given as,
2
 a2 
Rr  31,171  2

 
Where S = Loop area = πa2 , λ = wavelength.
Figure 1: Block Diagram of the proposed Model. Loss resistance is given as,

III. PROPOSED MODEL AND EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS a f 0

Previously a work was reported in [5], which deals with
the prediction of four characteristic parameters for electrically
small and large loop antennas for several radius – thickness
pairs. The optimization was with respect to dimensions.
Antoher work is reported in [6], where a single dimension pair
of thickness and radius is considered and four different
parameters are predicted. That work has been extended further
to include two more parameters. These are-. for electrically
driven finite element based loop antenna designs. From these
six parameters, the dimesion of the loop antenna is to be
optimized in terms of frequency of operation at a given point
of time for an electrically small loop antenna.
A. Generation of Radiation Efficiency:
In this present model (Figure 1), the optimization of the
dimension of a single turn loop antenna is carried out by
considering its radiation efficiency (η). The radiation
efficiency η depends on radiation resistance (Rr) and loss
resistance (Rl) of an antenna. Again the radiation resistance
and loss resistance is directly related to the physical dimension
of loop antenna i.e. loop radius a and wire radius b and the
frequency of operation ‘f’ [15],[16],[17]. Radiation resistance
of a loop antenna is defined as the resistance in series with the
antenna that will consume the same amount of power as it
actually radiated. It is the ratio between power radiated by the
antenna and the square of the root mean square value of the
maximum current flowing in the antenna at the best matched
condition. The radiation and loss resistances of an antenna
determine the radiation efficiency. It is the ratio between the
radiation resistances to the total resistance of the loop. Loss
resistance of an antenna depends on several factors. A few of
them are resistance due to dielectric losses, brushing losses,
loss by leakage over insulation, resistance due to conductor
losses in antenna and earth and eddy current losses.
Rl 
b 
The constant parameters are σ =5.8 × 107 mho/m and μ0 =
4π × 10-7. The radiation resistance and loss resistance of an
antenna determines the radiation efficiency. It is the ratio
between the radiation resistances to the total resistance of the
loop.
Rr
eloop ( ) 
Rr  Rl
The loop antenna with constant current approximation is
given as 2πa ≤ 0.2λ.
Considering a loop antenna working between 200 MHz
and 300 MHz the loop radius ‘a’ ranges between 0.048 m to
0.032 m. The wire radius ‘b’ can be approximated from its
radiation efficiency η. In the proposed model we consider the
cases of efficiency greater than or equal to 70 %. The ratio of
radiation resistance and loss resistance for this efficiency range
is given as,
Rr
For 70 % efficiency Rl 
2.33
R
And for 90 % Rl  r
9
Table 1 summarizes the loop radius and wire radius for
different operating frequencies.
Now, considering the frequency range 200 – 300 MHz, a
total of 121 values of efficiency are generated for 11 pairs of a
and b. The optimization problem now is to determine the best
combination of a and b such that efficiency falls within the
stipulated range and the problem of determining the physical
layout of the antenna becomes feasible. This can be carried out
by doing an inspection of the generated values and by plotting
graphs of efficiency values against varying frequencies for
given pairs of a and b.

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 TABLE II. PARAMETERS USED FOR CONFIGURING SOM
OPTIMIZATION BLOCK

Item Description of Values

Initial input values Between minimum and maximum values
of input
Size of SOM neighborhood 11×2
Competitive layer topology Hexagonal
Distance function Linkdist can be Dist or MANDIST
Ordering phase learning rates 0.5 to 0.9
Tuning phase learning rates 0.02 to 0.5
Tuning phase neighborhood 1
distance

B. Optimization of Dimension:
Figure 2: Initial SOM topology
For an automated system, a better solution shall be certain
computational aid which in this case is executed using a SOM with a grid topology of 11 × 11 which is designed to map to a
based optimization. The SOM is trained with 11 sets of 11 × 2 neighbourhood implying the fact that there are 11 sets
efficiency values generated for 11 different frequencies for 11
of (a, b)s. At the end of the stipulated number of training
pairs of a and b. The optimization Problem we can define as
sessions, the SOM converges to the required limit. At this
best {ai, bi} such that η is maximum. Let η be the expected
efficiency and  be the actual efficiency. The error component point for a single set of value of, say a, the neighbourhood
takes a form as depicted in Figure 3.
is given as,

1 n
e[ f ]  [ [ f ]  i [ f ]]
2 i 1 i

The error can be minimized using 

e[ f ] for a given
f
set of a and b so that  is maximum which is greater from
ANN predicted values.
The SOM block is used to carry out the approximation such
that yj = y0j T Wj , j = 1,2,………….N.
Where y0j represent the 11×11 matrix of efficiency values
for 11 combinations of a and b and frequencies between 200 to
300 MHz. Also, Wj is the, random set of weights assigned
initially to the competitive layer of the SOM. The “winners
take all’’ based updation creates a value assigned to the winner Figure 3: SOM topology after training for a single parameter set
neuron [19] such that,
The results provided by this convergence are used to
y j  max j [ yoj ,W j ] calculate the radiation efficiency which in this case reaches the
optimum level which is verified using theoretical
For this, a SOM structure is created. The parameters considerations. The model is thus ready to handle dimension
considered are shown in Table II. optimization problems despite variations in the transmit –
receive condition. The system is tolerant to ±50% variation in
IV. RESULT AND DICUSSION input parameters. Some of the (a, b) values generated by the
The 11 sets of (a and b) used for generating the radiation SOM optimizer is provided in Table IV. These are the values
efficiency for 11 different frequencies provide values some of generated during training phases of the system which provides
which are shown in Table III. To start with the SOM the best case combinations for the frequency range considered.
neighborhood is as in Figure 2. These sets also provide the most suitable radiation efficiency
values despite input parameter variations. The most likely set
After training, the SOM generates the required set of (a, b) of (a, b) values is provided by the SOM with a neighbourhood
such that the efficiency is not only within the stipulated range as depicted in Figure 4. Thus the system provides a means to
but also maximizes the values. The SOM initially is configure

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generate an optimized dimension which can be translated for
activating finite elements of electrically driven grid arrays.
TABLE IV. OPTIMIZED SET OF (A, B) GENERATED BY SOM.

Loop radius ‘a’ Wire radius ‘b’ in

in meter meter
0.0320 0.0010444
0.0335 0.001399
0.0350 0.0017544
0.0365 0.002109
0.0380 0.0024644
0.0395 0.0028194
Figure 4: SOM topology to generate the most likely set of (a, b)
0.0410 0.003174
values
0.0425 0.003529
0.0440 0.003884 [5] K. Sarmah and K. K. Sarma : “ Artificial Neural Network Based
Parameter Estimation and Design Optimization of Loop Antenna”,
0.0455 0.004239 International Journal of Electrical and Information Engineering, Vol. 4,
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TABLE III. NORMALIZED VALUES OF Η GENERATED BY 11 SETS OF (A , B) FOR THE FREQUENCY RANGE.
0.3604 0.478 0.580 0.665 0.733 0.787 0.830 0.863 0.889 0.910 0.926
0.386 0.506 0.608 0.690 0.755 0.806 0.845 0.876 0.900 0.918 0.933
0.412 0.533 0.633 0.712 0.774 0.822 0.859 0.88 0.909 0.926 0.939
0.438 0.559 0.657 0.733 0.792 0.837 0.871 0.897 0.917 0.933 0.945
0.462 0.583 0.679 0.752 0.808 0.850 0.882 0.906 0.924 0.939 0.950
0.486 0.606 0.699 0.770 0.822 0.862 0.891 0.914 0.931 0.944 0.954
0.509 0.628 0.718 0.786 0.835 0.872 0.900 0.921 0.936 0.949 0.958
0.531 0.649 0.736 0.800 0.847 0.882 0.907 0.927 0.941 0.953 0.961
0.553 0.668 0.752 0.813 0.858 0.890 0.914 0.932 0.946 0.956 0.965
0.573 0.686 0.767 0.826 0.868 0.898 0.921 0.937 0.950 0.960 0.967
0.593 0.703 0.781 0.837 0.877 0.905 0.926 0.942 0.954 0.963 0.970

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