On-Body Propagation at 60 GHz

The on-body propagation at 60 GHz is studied analytically, numerically and experimentally using a skin-equivalent phantom. First, to provide analytical-based fundamental models of path gain, the theory of propagating waves near a flat phantom is studied by considering vertical and horizontal elementary dipoles. The analytical models are in excellent agreement with full-wave simulations. For a vertically polarized wave, a minimum power decay exponent of 3.5 is found. Then, propagation on the body is investigated experimentally in vertical and horizontal polarizations using two linearly-polarized open-ended waveguides. The analytical models fit very well with the measurements. Furthermore, the effect of polarization on the antenna performance is studied numerically and experimentally.