A Wearable Dual-Band Low Profile High Gain Low SAR Antenna AMC-Backed for WBAN Applications

A dual-band, low profile, high gain, and low specific absorption rate (SAR) triangular slotted monopole antenna backed with a 4×4 artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) array is presented for wireless body area network (WBAN) applications. The antenna is printed on a Rogers ULTRALAM 3850 substrate, whereas the AMC array is printed on a RO3003 substrate. The design operates at 3.5 GHz, for WiMAX wireless applications, and at 5.8 GHz for the ISM Band. The proposed antenna preserved the dual-band resonance and exhibited acceptable gain and SAR at a separation of 15 mm from the human body model. To reduce such separation and achieve enhancements to gain and SAR, an AMC array was utilized. In free space, gain enhancements by 6.8 and 3.7 dBi were achieved at both frequencies, respectively. Furthermore, over a gap of 1 mm from the human body, gain enhancements by 23.3 and 13.9 dBi were achieved at both frequencies, respectively. In addition, SAR reductions by almost 99% were attained. The antenna was fabricated and measured where a very good agreement was observed between simulated and measured results, with and without the incorporated AMC array. With such results, the proposed design can be highly recommended for wearable medical applications, specifically for diabetic patients.