Sensitivity of a wearable printed antenna with a full ground plane in close proximity to human arm

Abstract

This paper presents sensitivity analysis of a printed antenna with a full ground plane, suitable for wearable armbands and other such body area network devices operating in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band (2.45 GHz). Antenna input impedance and radiation characteristics are presented along with the parametric analyses. Antenna performance is investigated in free space and in close proximity to various human arm models (i.e. flat, rectangular and elliptical). The full ground plane makes the antenna highly insensitive to the gap between the antenna and the arm in addition to reducing electromagnetic radiation absorption in the arm. Small width (14mm) of the antenna makes it feasible to position along the length of a human arm without bending, which causes shift in resonant frequency.4 page(s