Electromagnetic Field Exposure Evaluation for 5G
in Millimeter Wave Frequency Band
Thomas Basikolo, Takahiro Yoshida, and Masanori Sakurai
∗ Engineering Department, Microwave Factory Company Ltd.,
Test Lab, Hachiouji, Tokyo, Japan 193–0985,
Email: thomas.basikolo, yoshida, sakurai@mwf.co.jp
Abstract—The 5th Generation also known as 5G which is
a wireless communication/network standard will soon become
available to the public. As compared to the current 4G standard,
5G will improve on speed and consistency amongst other im-
provements. Currently, tests are being conducted for 5G wireless
broadband technology on millimeter wave (MMW) spectrum. In
this paper, we evaluate the electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure
in MMW frequency band for various antenna types that will
potentially be implemented for 5G testing as well as in 5G devices.
This will confirm whether or not these antennas conforms to the
EMF exposure limits.
Index Terms—5th Generation (5G); electromagnetic field (EMF)
exposure; millimeter wave (MMW); power density.
I. INTRODUCTION
Since the introduction of mobile phones in 1970s, there has
been a tremendous increase in the number of mobile phone
users [1], [2]. Currently, there are a lot of devices that uses the
wireless communication technology. These devices are used in
the vicinity of human beings and emit electromagnetic (EM)
radiation. Consequently, humans are exposed to these EM
waves with possible adverse health effects [3]. This led to
standardization of EM exposure limits for human beings. SAR
(specific absorption ration) is used to evaluate the absorption
power of RF EMF [4]. IEC 62209 standard presents the
SAR assessment standards for wireless devices used in close
proximity to the users and are valid up to 6 GHz [5], [6].
SAR tests are applicable when the compliance distance is
in close proximity to the radiating sources in the frequency
range 300 MHz to 6 GHz [5]. With the rapid development of
new wireless technologies for 5G, most of the wireless devices
will normally operate in frequencies above 6 GHz. The SAR
assessment standards are not applicable in this case. Hence,
there is a need to establish assessment procedures to ensure
compliance of wireless devices with EM exposure limits.
MMWs are mostly absorbed within 1 to 2 mm of human
skin and in the surface layers of the cornea [7]. For radiation
above 6 GHz, the skin or near-surface zones of tissues are the
primary targets of the radiation. Since skin contains capillaries
and nerve endings, MMW bio-effects may be transmitted
through molecular mechanisms by the skin or through the
nervous system. In consideration of the fact that SAR is not
applicable in this case, basic restrictions can be expressed in
terms of power density [7]. The types of devices include but
are not limited to mobile telephones, tablets, and laptops.
978-1-7281-0692-2/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 1523
In this paper, we evaluate the power density of antennas
in MMW frequency band. This is to confirm whether these
antennas are well suited for 5G implementation as discovered
from their power densities. The evaluated power density from
simulation and measurements is compared to values reported
in [5].
II. POWER DENSITY ASSESSMENT METHODS
There are different methods to evaluate power density of a
wireless device. One of the evaluation method is based on E-
and H-field. Another method is based on plane wave equivalent
approximation. For power density based on E- and H-fields,
the near E- and near H-fields are measured on a surface and
their the poynting vector evaluated. The poynting vector is
given by
S = E × H∗ (1)
In order to determine near-field power density, the time aver-
aged power density Sav over a surface of area A characterized
by the normal vector n̂ is given by
Z 
1 ∗
Sav = < E × H · n̂dA (2)
2A
Another way is to evaluate power density based on plane
wave equivalent approximation. For this case, the assumption
is that, in the far-field of the source, the E-field and H-field
at every point in space are orthogonal to each other, they are
in phase, and they are related through a scalar constant: H =
r̂×E
η . Therefore, the power density can be simplified to:
1
Z 
2
Se = |E| r̂ · n̂dA (3)
2ηA
where r̂ is the vector corresponding to the radial direction
and η is the free-space wave impedance. This enables power
density in the far field to be determined by assessing only the
amplitude of the electric field.
III. ASSESSMENT EXAMPLES
In this section, we consider a horn antenna and a 2x2 patch
array as examples for power density evaluation at 28 GHz.
Simulations for near E and H fields are conducted and power
density evaluated which is compared to the limits presented
in [5]. This ensures conformity to the standard limits in the
millimeter wave frequency bands. The antennas implemented
are shown in fig. 1 below.
AP-S 2019
 Lx
Py
Wz = 11
Hz = 47.6 Px
Wy = 3.6 Hy = 31.3
Wx = 7.112
Hx = 40
LxL=x= Ly= L28mm
10.87, y = 13.6, Px P
= x2.25,
(a) (b)
Fig. 1: Evaluated antennas at 28 GHz (a) Horn antenna and
(b) 2x2 Patch array (values in mm).
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
As described from preceding sections, we compare the
evaluated power density values with the values from different
standards. In fig. 2(a), the simulated total E-fields and evalu-
ated power density using (2) for horn antenna are presented
whilst the corresponding values for patch array are given in
fig. 2(b). In this figure, we note that the peak power density
is about 0.4622 mW/cm2 .
Fig. 2: Simulated total E-field and power density at 28 GHz for
(a) Horn and (b) 2x2 Patch array (20 dBm radiated power).
Next, we compare the evaluated power density for horn
antenna from simulation and measurements at 28 GHz. This
is presented in fig. 3. The maximum power density is 3.109
W/m2 at 3λ simulation and 2.784 W/m2 measured. For
other distances, the simulated power density is 4.967 W/m2
at 1λ and 6.587 W/m2 at 0.2λ. From standard values, at
this frequency, the maximum power density is supposed to be
10W/m2 ICNIRP & IEEE, 1.0mW/cm2 FCC, as reported
in [5]. From this analysis, we can confirm that the evaluated
values conforms to all the standards above.
In practical measurement scenarios, electric field measure-
ment can easily be performed. In this case, (3) can be of
Ly
= PyP=y =4mm
2.81
Fig. 3: Evaluated power density (a) simulation and (b) mea-
surements for Horn at 28 GHz (20 dBm radiated power).
practical significance when evaluating power density. In this
subsection, we consider the error (uncertainty evaluation)
between power density evaluated by (2) as compared to the
power density from (3). On top of that, we consider error
between measured power density and simulated power density.
The error term in dB is evaluated by the following equation;
!
maxSav
(S) = 10log (4)
maxSe
From this equation, the comparison for power density error
for E-field at 2λ is found to be 0.2642 dB or about 2.6 % for
Horn and 0.1206 dB for patch array.
V. CONCLUSIONS
A method to evaluate power density is presented in this
paper. The evaluated power density values are based on sim-
ulated near electric and magnetic fields. For the two antenna
types presented in this paper, we confirmed that their power
density values conforms to the standards. From the uncertainty
analysis, we can conclude that using E-fields to evaluate power
density is practical since the error between the evaluated power
density is lower.
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