A Study of the Electromagnetic Coupling Between Handset Mounted Antennas and a Human Operator

In the design of antennas for use with hand-held transceiver devices, the electromagnetic interaction between the antenna and the nearby biological tissue is a key factor which must be considered before a design is finalized. This paper presents an investigation of this antenna-tissue interaction using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) electromagnetic simulation approach. Accurate models of antennas on a handset are coupled with detailed models of the human head and hand to provide input impedance, radiation pattern, gain, and specific absorption rate (SAR) data for different antenna configurations. Antenna structures such as the monopole, side-mounted planar inverted F antenna (PIFA), and back-mounted PIFA are selected as representative examples of external and internal type radiators. Experimental results are provided which support the theoretically obtained conclusions.