Metamaterial based Flexible Coplanar Antenna Design and Simulation for Human Body Applications

Abstract

This study presents a metamaterial based flexible coplanar antenna designed to operate close to the human model in the 2.45 GHz operation frequency band. Firstly, the reflection values and radiation pattern of the suggested antenna were analyzed. After obtaining good results, electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structure that is a kind of metamaterials was designed. Secondly, the EBG and the antenna was combined to form an integrated structure. At the same time, a human model was designed for the integrated structure. Conductive textile fabrics such as pure copper polyester taffeta fabric and felt were used for coplanar antenna and EBG design, respectively. Finally, the specific absorption rate (SAR) values of the coplanar wearable antenna and the integrated model were separately computed. As a result, the proposed EBG structure effectively reduced the SAR value of the integrated model. It was seen that the SAR value of integrated model was suitable with the standard threshold. The originality of the work lies in the use of wearable textile materials and making calculation by applying bend to the proposed structure. In addition, the sharp drop in SAR value from 31.8 to 0.0344 W/kg is remarkable when compared to many studies in the literature. The proposed integrated design has potentials to be applied to many research areas such as the military systems, health applications, and e-textile technologies.

Keywords

• Flexible antenna
• metamaterial
• human body
• SAR

References

1. Abdulhameed MK, Isa MSB, Zakaria Z, Ibrahim IM, Mohsen MK, Attiah ML, Dinar AM, 2020. Enhanced performance of compact 2×2 antenna array with electromagnetic band‐gap. Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, 62(2): 875-886.
2. Afridi A, Ullah S, Khan S, Ahmed A, Khalil AH, Tarar MA, 2013. Design of Dual Band Wearable Antenna Using Metamaterials. Journal of Microwave Power and Electromagnetic Energy, 47(2), 126-137. Akgol O, Altintas O, Dalkilinc EE, Unal E, Karaaslan M, Sabah C, 2017. Metamaterial absorber-based multisensor applications using a meander-line resonator. Optical Engineering, 56(8): 087104.
3. Akgol O, Bağmancı M, Karaaslan M, Ünal E, 2017. Broad band MA-based on three-type resonator having resistor for microwave energy harvesting. Journal of Microwave Power and Electromagnetic Energy, 51(2): 134-149.
4. Almoneef T, Ramahi OM, 2014. A 3-Dimensional Stacked Metamaterial Arrays For Electromagnetic Energy Harvesting. Progress In Electromagnetics Research, 146: 109-115.
5. Alu A, Engheta N, 2008. Plasmonic and metamaterial cloaking: Physical mechanisms and potentials. Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics, 10(9): 093002
6. Bağmancı M, Karaaslan M, Ünal E, Akgol O, Bakır M, Sabah C, 2019. Solar energy harvesting with ultra-broadband metamaterial absorber. International Journal of Modern Physics B, 33(08): 1950056.
7. Bağmancı M, Karaaslan M, Ünal E, Akgol O, Karadağ F, Sabah C, 2017. Broad-band polarization-independent metamaterial absorber for solar energy harvesting applications. Physica E: Low-dimensional Systems and Nanostructures, 90: 1-6
8. Bakır M, Karaaslan M, Dincer F, Delihacioglu K, Sabah C, 2015. Perfect metamaterial absorber-based energy harvesting and sensor applications in the industrial, scientific, and medical band. Optical Engineering, 54(9): 097102.

9. Bakır M, Karaaslan M, Dincer F, Delihacioglu K, Sabah C, 2016. Tunable perfect metamaterial absorber and sensor applications. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 27: 12091-12099.
10. Bakır M, 2018. Metamaterial based multiband energy harvesting application. Journal of Balıkesir University Institute of Science and Technology, 20(1): 517-538.
11. Bai Q, Langley R, 2009. Wearable EBG antenna bending and crumpling. 2009 Loughborough Antennas and Propagation Conference, 16-17 Nevember 2009, Loughborough University. UK
12. Gupta B, Sankaralingam S, Dhar S, 2010. Development of wearable and implantable antennas in the last decade: A review, 2010 10th Mediterranean Microwave Symposium, 25-27 August 2010. Northern Cyprus.
13. Kim JY, Ha SJ, Kim D, Lee B, Jung CW, 2012. Reconfigurable beam steering antenna using U-slot fabric patch for wrist-wearable applications. Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications, 26(11): 1545-1553.
14. Liu D, Pfeiffer J, Grzyb J, Gaucher B, 2009. Advanced Milimeter-Wave Tecnologies: Antennas, Packaging and Circuts, chapter 5, Wiley. 163-232 p.
15. Mantash M, Tarot AC, Collardey S, Mahdjoubi K, 2012. Investigation of flexible textile antennas and AMC reflectors. International Journal of Antennas and Propagation, 2012: 1-10.
16. Moroz A, 2009. Some negative refractive index material headlines long before Veselago work and going back as far as to 1905, http://www.wave-scattering.com/negative.html, 07 February 2020.
17. Ozbay E, Aydin K, 2008. Negative refraction and imaging beyond the diffraction limit by a two-dimensional left-handed metamaterial. Photonics and Nanostructures-Fundamentals and Applications, 6(1): 108-115
18. Pendry JB, 2000. Negative refraction makes a perfect lens. Physical review letters, 85(18): 3966.
19. Pendry JB, Holden AJ, Robbins DJ, Stewart WJ, 1999. Magnetism from conductors and enhanced nonlinear phenomena. IEEE transactions on microwave theory and techniques, 47(11): 2075-2084
20. Sabah C, Dincer F, Karaaslan M, Bakir M, Unal E, Akgol O, 2015. Biosensor applications of chiral metamaterials for marrowbone temperature sensing. Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications, 29(17): 2393-2403.
21. Salahun E, Queffelec P, Floch ML, Gelin P, 2001. A broadband permeameter for 'in situ' meassurument of rectangular samples. IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 37(4): 2743-2745.
22. Salonen P, Rahmat-Samii Y, Schaffrath M, Kivikoski M, 2004. Effect of textile materials on wearable antenna performance: a case study of GPS antennas, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Symposium, 20-25 June 2004, Monterey. California.
23. Sankaralingam S, Gupta B, 2010. Use of Electro-Textiles for Development of Wibro Antennas. Progress In Electromagnetics Research, 16: 183-193.
24. Shelby RA, Smith DR, Schultz S, 2001. Experimental verification of a negative index of refraction. 292(5514): 77-79.
25. Soh PJ, Vandenbosch GAE, Ooi SL, Rais, NHM, 2012. Design of a broadband all-textile slotted PIFA. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 60(1): 379-384.
26. Tetik E, Tetik G, 2018. The effect of a metamaterial based wearable monopole antenna on the human body. Celal Bayar Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Dergisi, 14(1): 93-97.
27. Tetik, E., Erdiven, U., 2018. Functional Pressure and Density Sensor Design Based on Metamaterial Absorber. Çukurova Univ. J. Fac. Eng. Archit. 33, 23–30.
28. Tronquo A, Rogier H, Hertleer C, Van Langenhove, L, 2006. Robust planar textile antenna for wireless body LANs operating in 2.45 GHz ISM band. Electronics letters, 42(3): 142-143.
29. Tronquo A, Rogier H, Hertleer C, Van Langenhove L, 2006. Applying textile materials for the design of antennas for wireless body area networks, 2006 First European Conference on Antennas and Propagation, 6–10 November 2006, Nice. France.
30. Xiao Z, Lv F, Li W, Zou H, Li C, 2020. A three-dimensional ultra-broadband and polarization insensitive metamaterial absorber and application for electromagnetic energy harvesting. Waves in Random and Complex Media, 1-9.
31. Veselago VG, 2002. Electrodynamics of Media with Simultaneously Negative Electric Permittivity and Magnetic Permeability. Advances in Electromagnetics of Complex Media and Metamaterials, Springer, Dordrecht, 83p.
32. Yan S, Guy AE, 2016. Radiation pattern-reconfigurable wearable antenna based on metamaterial structure. IEEE Antennas and wireless propagation Letters, 15: 1715-1718.
33. Zhu S, Langley R, 2009. Dual-band wearable textile antenna on an EBG substrate. IEEE transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 57(4): 926-935.