Design of PIFA with Metamaterials for Body-SAR Reduction in Wearable Applications

This letter proposes a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) with an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) structure for body specific absorption rate (SAR) reduction in a wideband-code-division-multiple-access band. As wireless devices such as wearable phones and smart watches become more common, health risks originating from electromagnetic waves generated by devices worn on the body have become an important issue. AMC structures are a type of metamaterial that can act as a perfect magnetic conductor and control the radiation pattern of an antenna. Thus, an antenna with an AMC structure is capable of preventing hazardous electromagnetic fields being emitted in the direction of the body. The S-parameters, radiation patterns, total radiated power values, and SAR values of such a designed structure are presented. The results demonstrate a 43.3% reduction in the SAR value at the center frequency. Thus, the human body can be protected from electromagnetic waves using metamaterials.