Interaction of the human body on the performance of class E PAs in Body Area Networks

This paper describes a class E power amplifier (PA) for use in biomedical and healthcare Body Area Networks (BAN). A combination of lumped component and transmission line matching networks results in a compact form factor at 2.5GHz. Optimum simulated Power Added Efficiency (PAE) was 76.7% at 11.5dBm output power (P_OUT) and 66.1% at 12.7dBm into a 50Ω load when measured. When combined with a BAN antenna 60.8% PAE was achieved in free space and 64.4% when in close proximity to a human arm. P_OUT in free space was 13.2dBm and 12.3dBm near the arm. These results indicate that PA performance is not greatly affected when in the presence of a human body.