Characterization of MHz-band near-field coupling communication using finite element electromagnetic simulation: Body-channel communication system for human-area networking

We propose near-field coupling communication (NFCC) technology that uses the surface of the human body as a data transmission path. This technology is aimed at achieving a “touch and connect” form of communication by using a quasi-electrostatic-field signal. This paper characterizes NFCC with a high frequency structure simulator (HFSS). We demonstrated the dependence of electric-field distribution on the frequency and conductivity of a phantom model in these simulations. Our investigations revealed that a frequency range of 5-20 MHz was suitable for accomplishing NFCC. We measured and simulated the received power of a transceiver. We found from the results that a coaxial cable and a spectrum analyzer we used for the measurements had a significant influence over the measured value in the NFCC system. In addition, we estimated the received power with simulation to eliminate the effect the measuring apparatus had on the measuring system.