study on the electromagnetic performance of body-worn radio units in the presence of scatterers in the proximity

The research addressed refers to a study on the electromagnetic performance aspects of body-worn radio units operating in the presence of scatterers in close proximity, using analytical, numerical, and experimental methods. The application potentials of such methods include evaluating the integrity of radio units such as cell phones. Consistent with the scope of the study above, considered in this research are specific details on analytical and numerical modeling of the effects of a nearby conducting cylindrical object on the electromagnetic field near a human-model phantom. Calculations are performed using the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method. Considered are various separations of the body wearing the test radio unit from the proximal object and polarization of the incident wave. An anechoic chamber and the test setup used for the measurement of EM field amplitudes near a saline-water phantom are described. Within the anechoic chamber, a small shielded loop is used as a field measurement probe and is positioned near the test phantom. The field probe orientation was in the vertical plane for characterizing the prevailing electromagnetic field intensity. This study indicates that variations in the field amplitude near the phantom occur, which are responsive to phantom rotation and measurement distance from the phantom. The electromagnetic field amplitude decreases rapidly with increasing distance between the probe and the surface of the phantom. The analysis is also extended to examine the electromagnetic field distribution in the gap between a human body phantom model and a nearby conducting cylinder. An appropriate three-dimensional FDTD method is presented and applied to a near-field problem of analyzing the influence of proximal conductive objects on fields near a phantom wearing an RF unit.