Wearable Flexible Reconfigurable Antenna Integrated With Artificial Magnetic Conductor

This letter presents a wearable flexible reconfigurable folded slot antenna. The antenna is composed of a folded slot and a stub where the reconfigurability is achieved by turning a p-i-n diode on and off, which alters the radiation characteristics of the stub. The operating frequency and polarization of the slot and stub are different. Hence, a polarization-dependent dual-band artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) surface is integrated with the antenna to improve its radiation performance and to reduce the specific absorption rate (SAR). The antenna is designed and fabricated on a flexible substrate, and its performance is measured for both flat and curved configurations. The measurements show an excellent agreement with the simulations. To examine its performance as a wearable antenna, it is measured on a human body. Simulations show that the SAR level is reduced when the AMC surface is used as an isolator. The proposed wearable antenna structure can be used for wireless body area network (WBAN) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) body-worn wireless devices.