Analysis of Millimeter Wave Power Density Received by Cell Monolayers Inside Culture Dishes

Abstract

One sort of experiment concerning biological effects of millimeter waves (MMWs) at the cellular level is performed using a culture dish containing a cell monolayer with MMW irradiated from the underneath. For culture dishes with diameters much larger than the wavelength, analysis is carried out with respect to the relationship between the portion of the incident MMW power density (PD) received by the cell monolayer and influencing factors such as the culture dish bottom thickness, MMW wavelength, and the electromagnetic properties of the dish and culture solution. Another analysis is conducted by the FDTD method to reveal the effect of culture dish configuration on MMW PD received by the cell monolayer in a typical culture dish with a diameter not much longer than the wavelength. With the illustrated results, the conclusion is reached that rigorous analysis, precise measurement and accurate calculation of MMW PD should accompany such experiments, and large-diameter culture dishes are more preferred in experiments to small-caliber dishes.