Slit-Loaded Hexagonal Patch for Body Area Network Applications at 5.8 GHz

Abstract

Increasing population and expanding remote healthcare monitoring needs have provided an impetus to the research and development of wireless devices. The quest for smaller antennas for wireless devices has led to the design of the proposed antenna. In this work, we present a slit-loaded hexagonal patch antenna for body area network applications. The antenna has been designed on a 0.193λλ ×0.193λ×0.03λ×0.193⁢λ×0.03⁢λ FR4-epoxy substrate. The radiator patch has two parallel slits. The antenna resonates at 5.8 GHz (ISM band) with a wide bandwidth of 1.15 GHz. A maximum gain of 5.81 dB and a front-to-back ratio of 11.93 dB is observed at 5.8 GHz. Radiation efficiency is observed to be 72.3%. The measured return loss values show a close agreement with the simulated results. Specific absorption rate (SAR) analysis on a simplified 2/3rdrd muscle model shows an average SAR of 0.5633 W kg−1-1, due to the use of a full-ground plane. The simulations were done in ANSYS HFSS. The antenna is suitable for on-body communications.