Novel antennas for personal communications including biological effects

The electromagnetic interaction between handset-mounted antennas and the nearby biological tissue is a key consideration in modern personal communications. A thorough investigation of this antenna-tissue interaction using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) electromagnetic simulation approach is presented using detailed models of real-life antennas on a transceiver handset. Representative examples of external and internal antenna configurations are considered. Detailed models of the human head and hand are implemented to investigate the effects of the tissue location and physical model on the antenna performance. The specific absorption rate (SAR) in the tissue is examined for several different antenna/handset configurations. It is found that for a head and handset antenna separation of 2 cm, the SAR in the head has a peak value between 0.9 and 3.8 mW/g and an average value between 0.06 and 0.10 mW/g for 1 W of power delivered to the antenna. Additionally, the head and hand could absorb between 48 and 68% of the power delivered to the antenna.