Estimation of Absorbed Power Density Based on Spherical Wave Expansion to Plane Wave Expansion for Exposure Assessment at 30 GHz

The international guidelines and standard specified the area-averaged absorbed/epithelial power density (APD/EPD) as the basic restriction at frequencies above 6 GHz. Assessment methods for APD are current under the consideration of standardization organizations. In this study, we first showed the enhancement of the APD due to the antenna/body interaction using full-wave simulations. We then proposed a hybrid method combining the spherical near-field measurement and numerical simulation of the exposure dose in human body, using an equivalent source reconstructed on the total field/scattered field boundary using the spherical wave expansion to plane wave expansion. By comparing with the full-wave simulated APD at 30 GHz for various antenna arrays, the proposed method gives a rather accurate estimation of the upper bound of the area-averaged APD (with relative differences < 28%). It can be utilized as an efficient method for electromagnetic safety assessment as the need for specific measurement equipment is eliminated.

Automated summary

This study showed the increase of absorbed/epithelial power density (APD/EPD) due to antenna/body interaction using full-wave simulations, and proposed a hybrid method combining spherical near-field measurement and numerical simulation to assess the exposure dose in human body. The proposed method gives an accurate estimation of the upper bound of the area-averaged APD with relative differences < 28% compared to full-wave simulated results at 30 GHz for various antenna arrays. It eliminates the need for specific measurement equipment and can be utilized as an efficient method for electromagnetic safety assessment.