Design of Conformal Antenna for Wearable

Applications

PROJECT SYNOPSIS

MASTERS OF TECHNOLOGY
Electronics and Communication Engineering
SUBMITTED BY
Mr. Raj Kumar (2200320315002)

GUIDED BY
Prof.(Dr.) Priyanka Bhardwaj
Dr.Navneet Sharma
(Department of Electronics and Communication)
Sign:- ________________
Sign:- ________________

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

ABES Engineering College
th
19 KM Stone, NH-09, Ghaziabad
Uttar Pradesh 201009

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 Name Page No.

Introduction 3
Problem Statement
5

Methodology 6

Literature Review 7

Conclusion from Literature review 9

Feasibility Study 12

Execution Plan 13

References 14

Content

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 Introduction
The demand for Biomedical telemetry has aggravated in recent years and with
the advent of Pandemics and epidemics which sprouts now and then, the use of
technologies in biomedical foresee the future with great prospects. Biotelemetry
permits the measurement of physiological signals at a distance, through
preferably wireless communication technologies[1]. Millions of people
worldwide depend upon body-worn medical devices to support and improve the
quality of their lives. Physiological signals are obtained by means of appropriate
transducers, post-processed, and eventually transmitted to monitoring/control
equipment in the vicinity. The study and design of antennas for biomedical and
wearable applications involves the development of small and lightweight
antennas that can be integrated into wearable devices[2]. The aim of these
antennas is to transmit and receive signals for various biomedical applications
such as telemedicine, wireless body area networks (WBAN), sports,
entertainment etc[3]. The design process involves the selection of appropriate
materials, frequency range, and configuration of the antenna, taking into
consideration factors such as human body proximity, medical safety
requirements, and electrical performance[4]. The development of efficient and
effective antennas for biomedical and wearable applications is crucial for the
advancement of the field of wireless medicine. Technologies such as aviation,
satellite, rockets and missiles were the first to demand for a type of antenna that
is compact, lightweight, low cost and also conformal[5][6] so that the presence
of antenna does not interfere with the aerodynamics. Microstrip/monopole
antennas were introduced to achieve the aforementioned goals, where an
antenna is integrated in a printed circuit board(PCB) by a low cost photo-
etching process [6]. As technology continues to evolve, new wireless medical
devices are being developed, and their use is expected to rapidly increase.

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The communications that involves its presence near or in the human body is
termed Personal Area Network(PAN) and Body Area Network(BAN)[7]. These
networks are broadly classified as Off-Body [8][9], On-Body [10][11] and In-
Body[1] networks
A key and critical component of RF-linked wearable medical devices is the
integrated antennas, which enables bidirectional communication with the nearby
monitoring/control equipment. Recently, Industrial Scientific and Medical(ISM)
band ranging 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz is introduced for medical applications,
which fuels further miniaturization of the wearable antennas.
Microstrip patch antennas are invariably chosen for wearable antenna design
because of the following advantages.
 Lightweight and compact: Microstrip antennas are lightweight and
compact in design, making them ideal for wearable technology[12].
 Low profile: The thin and flat design of the microstrip antenna makes it
ideal for use in clothing and wearable devices, as it does not add bulk or
weight[13].
 Easy to integrate: Microstrip antennas can be easily integrated into
wearable devices, as they can be designed to fit into small spaces[14].
 High efficiency: Microstrip antennas can provide high efficiency and
gain, which means that they are capable of transmitting signals over
longer distances with less power[15].
 Cost-effective: Microstrip antennas are relatively inexpensive to
manufacture, making them a cost-effective solution for wearable
technology.
 Versatility: Microstrip antennas can be designed to operate in a wide
range of frequencies, making them suitable for use in a variety of wireless
communication applications.

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 Problem Statement
 The antenna should be a reliable candidate for effective communication.
 The antenna has to be integrated on the device that is compact, therefore
the antenna footprint should be as small as possible.
 The antenna should be highly efficient, so as to judiciously utilize the
limited battery power.
 Human tissues have lossy characteristics, that somehow tends to degrade
the performance of the antenna. Antenna that suffers minimum
disturbance in the characteristics is the major design requirement.
 The antenna should cover a wide range of bandwidth, so that a single
antenna would suffice for multiple bandwidth requirements.
 Circular polarization of antenna helps to reduce orientation problems.
 The human body is lossy and disturbs the communication link between
antenna and outside world. The losses are:-
 Induced Gain:- ratio of gains (in dB) between body-worn antenna and
that of the antenna in free space
 Worn Efficiency:- ratio of total radiated power when antenna is worn in
the body to the total radiated power in free space isolation
 The input impedance of the antenna will be low when the user is too close
to the antenna.
 The input impedance is dependent on the moisture conditions of the
human body.
 The position of the placement of the antenna also alters the radiation.
 Rise of temperature (Dielectric Heating).

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 Methodology
Step-1 : An application is desired and the subsequent frequency and bandwidth is
decided.
Step-2: The design of the antenna is evolved using HFSS simulation tool (Version
2019) and the desired frequency bandwidth is achieved by number of evolution
steps.
Step-3: Parametric analysis is performed in the simulation tool to achieve the finest
desired results for Impedance Bandwidth(IBW) and Gain.
Step-4: After obtaining the desired results, a Phantom model is introduced close to
antenna (5 mm, 10 mm distance) where the antenna is simulated and the deviation
of the results is closely observed.
Step-5: If the deviation of the output after placement of phantom is large, two
possible steps could be taken:
Structural Changes of antenna is done to achieve desired results
Antenna is discarded
Step-6 : The antenna is fabricated on the substrate
Step-7 : The antenna is tested in an anechoic chamber for Impedance bandwidth,
Isolation(MIMO), Gain and radiation pattern.
Step-8: The Simulated and Measured values are graphically presented using Origin
graph design software.
Step-9 : For wearable analysis, the antenna is tested over different parts of human
body(Chest, wrist, thigh and biceps) as well as on wearable objects (caps, shoes,
helmet, bags) using Vector Network Analyzer(VNA).
Step-10 : For bending analysis, the antenna is bent on different radius(Simulation)
and on cylindrical non conducting surface(Hardware) using VNA.
Step-11: The simulated and measured outputs are compared on a single graph
using Origin and conclusive results are obtained.
Step-12: If the designed antenna clears all the above mentioned steps, the antenna
is published.

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 Literature Review
In [1], a quad port UWB MIMO antenna is designed with simple rectangular
structure for ISM band wearable applications. The antenna is commemorated in
a ring like structureon rubber based substrate. The isolation achieved is greater
than 20 dB.
In [2], a quad port CPW MIMO antenna is designed for triple band operation
for vehicular communication, where the isolation achieved is 22 dB on Kaplon
Polyamide flexible substrate.
In [3], a four port MIMO antenna is designed for capsule endoscopy in an In-
Body communication application. The isolation achieved is 5 dB on a flexible
Rogers 3010 substrate.
In [4], a conformal magneto-electric dipole antenna is designed with wide H-
Plane and Band Notch radiation characteristics for sub-6 GHz 5G base station
with high isolation.
In [5], a cognitive, conformal MIMO antenna with sub-aperture is used for
RADAR applications to allocate power strategies. The antenna conformity is
designed to attract wider attention than a conventional array radar.
In [6], an all textile, broadband, circularly polarized conformal antenna array is
designed for wearable applications. Felt is used as a substrate and nylon
conductive fabric as a conductor. The antenna operated in sub-6 GHz
applications.
In [7], an implantable conformal MIMO antenna is designed for Implantable
applications. The antenna is designed on a Polyimide(PI) dielectric substrate
with 0.15 mm thickness and isolation achieved is 28 dB at 2.45 GHz ISM band.
In [8], a quad-port multiband conformal antenna is designed for on-body
wireless applications in mm-wave band. The antenna is designed on RT duroid
5880 substrate with thickness of 0.254 mm.

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In [9], a review of flexible UWB antenna is presented for wireless body area
network, where substrate materials like paper, textile and polymer are analysed
with conductive materials like pure metal, metal plated textile, conductive
polymer or conductive ink is used as radiator.
In [10], an antenna is designed fin the shape of wearing glasses in a loop type
conformal structure for 4G/5G sub-6 GHz applications. The antenna is
fabricated on low cost and easily available FR-4 substrate.

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 Conclusions (Based on Literature Review)
Deployment
OFF-BODY: Where only one antenna in
communication link is on the body and rest
of the channel is off the body and the
communication is between on-body device
and off-body device.
ON-BODY: Where the major part of the
communication channel is on the surface of
the body and at least two antennas are
positioned on the body. The communication
is between wearable system and on-body
device.
IN-BODY: Where the significant part of
the channel is inside the body with antenna
implanted in the body and the
communication is between medical
implanted antenna and sensor network.

Applications
• Security [12]
• Military, Emergency, Verification, Identity Recognition, Rescue,
Tracking etc.
• Medical [12]
• Vital Signs Monitoring, Implants, Chronic Disease detection and
Management, Brain/eye movement etc.
• Wellness [12]
• Physiological monitoring, Weight/energy Monitoring, Physical
Activity Monitoring etc.
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 • Sports [12]
• Performance/fitness monitoring, Outdoor navigation monitoring
etc.
• Lifestyle [12]
• Organizer, Responsive learning, Interactive gaming, Data/Media
access etc.
• Communication [12]
• Personal, Interactive group, Physical expression
Substrate Materials
• FR4 (Thickness:-0.8, 1.6mm[8], Dielectric Constant :-4.4)
• Ultra-thin Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) substrate(Thickness:-0.05mm,
Dielectric Constant :-2.9)[15]
• Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic substrate(Thickness:-1mm,
Dielectric Constant :-2.8)[16]
• Flannel Fabric(Thickness:-1mm, Dielectric Constant :-1.7)[17]
• Denim Fabric(Thickness:-0.7mm, Dielectric Constant :-1.7)[19]
• RT/Duroid 5880(Thickness:-0.8mm, Dielectric Constant :-2.2)[21]
• Rogers 4003C(Thickness:-0.508mm, Dielectric Constant :-3.38)[22]
• Wash Cotton (Thickness:-3.0mm, Dielectric Constant :-1,51)[23]
• Mn doped Zinc ferrite(0.2 %) (Thickness:-0.5mm, Dielectric Constant :-
7.5)[32]
• PDMS-ceramic composite(Thickness:-0.5mm, Dielectric Constant :-6.25)
[28]
Specific Absorption Rate
Definition: SAR stands for Specific Absorption Rate. It is a measure of the
amount of RF energy absorbed by the body when using a wireless device.
Units: SAR is expressed in watts per kilogram (W/kg). It quantifies how
many watts of RF energy are absorbed by one kilogram of body tissue.
Safety Standards: Governments and regulatory agencies around the world
establish SAR limits to ensure that RF exposure from wireless devices

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 remains within safe levels.(2W/Kg as per European Standards and 1.6 W/Kg
as per American Standards).
SAR Reduction Techniques
• Full-ground reflector plane[33].
• The coating material is used[34].
• HIS(High Impedance Surface)[35].
• The ground plane on the eye frame[36].
• Thin wire mesh sheet[37].
• Metallic metasurface[38].
• The parasitic element[39].
• Soft surfaces[40].
• Asymmetric radiating patch[41].
• Using ferrite sheet to the antenna[42].
• EBG(Electromagnetic Band Gap)[43].

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 Feasibility Study
Substrate:
The antenna is projected to be designed on Flexible substrates such as Rogers,
jeans material or paper material as per the literature review, most of the
substrates are easily available at low cost.
Radiating Element:
The radiating element would invariably be used copper. A copper tape with
conductive adhesive is available from Tenotis and has been acquired.
Simulation:
The simulation would be performed on HFSS-19 software, acquired by ABES
Engineering College.
Fabrication:
The fabrication would be done with the help of PCB fabrication machine in
Advanced Microwave and Optical lab available at ABES Engineering College.
Testing:
The testing would be performed at VNA in Advanced Microwave and Optical
lab available at ABES Engineering College.
Conformity Testing:
Conformity testing would be performed at thermocol cylinders that would be
acquired from packing industry at Ghaziabad.

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 Execution Plan
October, 2023: -Final Synopsis Submission and Feasibility Check of the
project
November, 2023: -Writing a review paper on Conformal antenna
December, 2023:-Design study of the microstrip antenna and dimensional
iterations
January, 2024: - Introducing Conformity for the designed antenna and
analysing its performance
February, 2024: - Performance analysis of the designed antenna on Phantom
March, 2024: -Fabrication and testing of the antenna in different environmental
conditions
April, 2024: -Final paper writing and submission of the project.

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