Wearable tri-band SIW based antenna on leather substrate

A compact substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) based wearable tri-band leather antenna, designed for optimal on-body performance in the 2.4 GHz (ISM), 3.51 GHz (WiMAX) and 4.69 GHz (Military application) bands is proposed. By using brass eyelets and a combination of conducting and non-conductive leather materials, a substrate integrated waveguide cavity with a ground plane is realised. The antenna is very compact, flexible and directs radiation away from the wearer. Additional miniaturisation is achieved by introducing slits. The free space performance in the bands is found satisfactory with measured impedance bandwidths of 11, 7 and 5%, maximal measured free-space gains of 1.1, 0.9 and 2.1 dBi, and efficiencies of 71.3%, 68.2% and 76.5% achieved for the proposed antenna.