volume | PIER Journals

Abstract

This paper presents a low-profile, flexible and wearable slot antenna for on-body communication. The proposed antenna is designed on a thin polyamide substrate of 0.25 mm height, which is flexible, elastic, and robust in nature. A rectangular patch with different slots acts as the main radiator, and partial ground acts as the bottom conducting plane for the proposed antenna. The designed antenna was able to resonate in the desired frequency band with a good return loss (S₁₁) by modifying the size of the ground plane along its width and placing a small cut on the ground. The designed antenna achieved a good -10 dB impedance bandwidth of 710 MHz and a peak gain of 7.2 dBi at 5 GHz. The designed antenna was checked for detuning in a bending scenario. The specific absorption rate (SAR) was evaluated, and the values were found to be within standard limits. The designed antenna was fabricated and tested in this study. The results showed good agreement between the simulated and measured values of the antenna parameters. The small size, low weight, and flexibility of the proposed antenna make it a good candidate for wearable devices in the WLAN/WBAN environment.

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Dr. Nageswara Rao Regulagadda

Prof. Uppalapati Venkata Ratna Kumari