A study of the effects of metallic pins on SAR using a specific anthropomorphic mannequin (SAM) head phantom

Abstract

This paper presents the effects of facial metallic pins on the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) in the head, when radiated by a microwave source placed in front of the face. A Specific Anthropomorphic Mannequin (SAM) is adapted for use with a DASY4 and a digitised SAM head is modelled using inhouse Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) code, enabling comparisons between measurements and simulations. A continuous wave (CW) half-wave dipole is placed in front of the face, representing a communications enabled personal data assistant mobile communications equipment (PDAMCE). Parametric studies have shown that metallic pins that are roughly half a wavelength long placed along the eyebrow, increase the 1g and 10g SARs at 900MHz by around five fold. A greater than five fold increase is seen at 1800MHz. Measurements show very good agreement with simulations.