Abstract
This paper presents a comparison of on-body performances between omnidirectional (loop antenna) and reconfigurable beam-steering antennas. Both omnidirectional and reconfigurable antennas were manufactured on the same fabric substrate and operated at the frequency band of the WLAN 802.11a (5.725–5.85 GHz). The reconfigurable antenna was designed to steer the beam directions. In order to implement the beam-steering capability, the antenna used two PIN diodes. The maximum beam directions of three states (states 0, 1, and 2) were steerable in theYZ-plane (h=2°, 28°, and 326°, resp.). The measured peak gains were 5.9–6.6 dBi and the overall half power beam width (HPBW) was 102°. The measured results of total radiated power (TRP) and total isotropic sensitivity (TIS) indicated that the communication efficiency of the reconfigurable beam steering antenna was better than that of the loop antenna. When the input power was 0.04 W (16 dBm), the simulated specific absorption rate (SAR) values of the reconfigurable beam steering antenna on the body were less than 0.979 W/kg (1 g tissue) in all states, satisfying the SAR criteria of the US.
Highlights
The growing interest in antennas with wearable applications in clothing has led to a wide range of wireless body-centric system applications [1]
Wearable antennas need to have the characteristics of small size, low profile, and low mutual influence between antennas and the human body for high antenna efficiency and a low specific absorption rate (SAR) [3, 4]
We proposed reconfigurable beam-steering by means of a microstrip patch antenna with a U-slot for wearable fabric applications [5]
Summary
The growing interest in antennas with wearable applications in clothing has led to a wide range of wireless body-centric system applications [1]. Wearable antennas need to have the characteristics of small size, low profile, and low mutual influence between antennas and the human body for high antenna efficiency and a low specific absorption rate (SAR) [3, 4]. Since wearable antenna in presence of the body has flexibility due to the motion of the human, beam-steering capability is required to change the radiation pattern and enhance the directivity in the desired directions [5]. We proposed reconfigurable beam-steering by means of a microstrip patch antenna with a U-slot for wearable fabric applications [5]. This antenna employed two PIN diodes to obtain beam-steering capability
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