Research On Wearable Antennas For Body-centric Communication

The rapid development of mobile communication optimizes user experience significantly. The use of new technologies overturn people’s viewpoint about traditional method of communication. It has gradually become a popular issue that how to make the electronic devices distributed on different position of human body interconnected to form an effective system so as to achieve specific functions, with the increase of electronic equipment to carry on people. One of the dominant research topics for body-centric communications is wearable antennas. The antennas are conformal and manufactured from flexible materials that are readily hidden or sewn into items of clothing. The ways of research and development for wearable antenna are different from common antenna, mainly because it must consider the human body itself to the very complex electromagnetic system. In addition, the body shape changes will impact on the antenna electric wave propagation. Electromagnetic radiation may impact on human’s health; SAR is an important parameter to be considered for on-body antenna design.The design of wearable antenna based on the interaction of human body and antenna has great significance to the realization of body centric communications. The thesis researches into the wearable antenna in the following order:Chapter I The latest researches of wearable antennas are summarized. Furthermore, the current research situation of the domestic and foreign are discussed. On the basis of this study, the prospects of wearable antennas are presented.Chapter II Briefly describes the characteristics of radiation and propagation of wearable antenna. Firstly introduced the microstrip antenna’s radiation mechanism, and then introduced the radiation characteristics of fabric antenna, finally the radio wave propagation characteristic near the body are analyzed.Chapter III According to the different work mode, introduced three kinds of design ideas about wearable antenna. A microstrip monopole patch antenna for on-body communication can produce monopole like radiation characteristics is described. A rectangular microstrip antenna integrated with the EBG structure to reduce the back radiation for off-body communication is proposed. A dual-band low-profile antenna based on the epsilon negative(ENG) meta-structured transmission line(MTL) for wireless body centric communications is presented. These two antennas can realize different kinds of radiation characteristics in two frequency bands.Chapter IV The effects of human body loading on the properties of wearable antenna are analyzed. A simple joint simulation model of the human body and the antenna is established. The antenna radiation performance under different degrees of bending is discussed.Chapter V Concluded the main contributions of the thesis and proposed possible improvement approaches.