An open-source tool for the design and simulation of multilayer induction microcoils
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Date
2026-09-25
Authors
O Donnell, Cian
Abomahmoud, Mohamed
Coombes, Sean Frank
Burke, Ray
O Hare, Daniel
Jaeger, Herman Alexander
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Published Version
Abstract
Induction microcoils are valued for their simplicity, sensitivity, and cost effectiveness across a wide range of applications in biomedical instrumentation. The design of compact application-specific multilayer coils using permeable magnetic cores is a challenge that often requires multiple hardware iterations. This paper presents a simulation software tool for the evaluation of induction microcoil designs. Built upon the well known open-source Finite Element Method Magnetics software package, the tool allows users to rapidly simulate the magnetic and electrical characteristics of multilayer induction microcoils in response to a time-varying magnetic field. Simulated inductance, resistance and sensitivity measurements are acquired from the microcoil structures using a novel procedurally generated Helmholtz coil technique and ensures a uniform and homogenous flux density is applied to the microcoil under test. The tool is written in the python programming language and allows multiple simulations to be executed concurrently thus enabling the users to perform parameter sweeps of a coil design. The tool is validated against a set of custom induction microcoils with coil resistance, inductance and sensitivity simulated to within 3%, 22% and 11% of the experimentally measured values respectively. The tool is freely available on GitHub and PyPI software repositories.
Description
Keywords
Coil design , Core , Finite element analysis , Induction coil , Microcoils , Python , Sensing , [TyndallPhotonics] , [EngineeringArchitecture]
Citation
O Donnell, C, Abomahmoud, M, Coombes, S F, Burke, R, O Hare, D & Jaeger, H A 2026, An open-source tool for the design and simulation of multilayer induction microcoils. in 2026 IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC). Conference Record - IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., pp. 1-6, 2026 IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference, I2MTC 2026, Nancy, France, 25/05/26. https://doi.org/10.1109/I2MTC66907.2026.11694655
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Copyright
© 2026, IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.