Received: 22 October 2018 Revised: 1 January 2019 Accepted: 3 January 2019

DOI: 10.1002/jnm.2567

MODELING OF WEARABLE AND IMPLANTABLE

COMMUNICATION AND SENSING COMPONENTS AND
SYSTEMS

Design and comparative analysis of conventional

and metamaterial‐based textile antennas for
wearable applications

Usman Ali1 | Sadiq Ullah1 | Muhammad Shafi2 | Syed A.A. Shah3 | Izaz A. Shah3 |
James A. Flint4

1
Department of Telecommunication
Engineering, University of Engineering
and Technology, Mardan, Pakistan
2
Department of Computer Science, Air
University, Islamabad, Pakistan
3
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
4
School of Mechanical, Electrical and
Manufacturing Engineering,
Loughborough University, UK
Correspondence
Sadiq Ullah, Department of
Telecommunication Engineering,
University of Engineering and
Technology, Mardan, KP 23200, Pakistan.
Email: sadiqullah@uetmardan.edu.pk
Abstract
In this paper, four different models of a 2.4 GHz flexible microstrip patch wear-
able antenna are designed and analyzed. The basic geometry of the radiating
element of the antennas is a rectangular patch and is backed by conventional,
mushroom‐type, slotted, and spiral electromagnetic band gap (EBG) ground
planes. A 3‐mm‐thick wash cotton textile is used as a substrate material in
the design of the antennas as well as EBG surfaces. An electro‐textile (Zelt)
is used as a conductive material for the proposed antennas. The performance
of these antennas is analyzed in terms of return loss, gain, bandwidth
efficiency, and specific absorption rate (SAR) using Computer Simulation
Technology Microwave Studio (CST MWS). The designed antennas are further
investigated for on and off body conditions under normal and bent states. The
experimental results show that the antennas radiate with an adequate gain
(5.72‐7.3 dB), bandwidth (65.43‐103.1 MHz), and efficiency (55.51%‐74.04%),
depending on the type of the ground plane used. The antenna backed by the
mushroom‐type EBG gives the smallest value of SAR (1.79 W/kg < 2 W/kg),
which makes it a suitable candidate for body worn applications in the unli-
censed industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band.

KEYWORDS
EBG, ISM, specific absorption rate (SAR), wash cotton, wearable antenna, Zelt

1 | INTRODUCTION

The rapid expansion of mobile in daily life of mankind is creating ideas for wireless body area networks (WBANs).
These networks attracted substantial research interest during the last few decades because of their favorable applica-
tions, ie, ad‐hoc communication, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), pagers, patient tracking, health monitoring, and
wearable computing. Numerous frequency bands have been assigned for WBAN communication systems. For instance,
Medical Implant Communication Services (MICS) band (402‐405 MHz) is used for implanted medical devices. The
ultra‐wide band (UWB) span in the range of 3.1‐10.76 GHz1 is utilized for higher data rate medical applications
compared with the conventional narrow band systems. The unlicensed industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band

Int J Numer Model. 2019;e2567. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jnm © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 1 of 17
https://doi.org/10.1002/jnm.2567
2 of 17 ALI ET AL.

(2.4‐2.48 GHz) is famous for low‐cost radio,2 and possible application in real‐time patient monitoring systems.3 The Fre-
quency Communication Commission (FCC) recently introduced a different medical body area networks (MBANs) band
(2.36‐2.4 GHz), because of its promising spectrum and low interference.4,5 WBANs and personal area networks (PANs)
are popular low‐range wireless networks that allow electronic devices to operate in the vicinity of the human body.6
During the past decade, researchers got attracted towards the body worn textile antennas because of their compact
size and flexible characteristics.7 Because of the increase in body‐centric communication (BCC) on daily basis, there is a
need for conformal antennas, which should be flexible and easily integrated into clothing, without affecting the usual
human body actions. Microstrip patch antennas (MPAs) have been chosen as popular candidates in literature for wear-
able applications because of their conformability and ease of integration.8
Most of the wearable antennas employ flexible substrates such as fabric, jeans, or cotton.9 Wash cotton, polyester,
polycot, felt,10 Panama, fleece silk, Velcro,11 Tween, and nylon, are also considered as a dielectric substrates in these
antennas. These materials are relatively less lossy, inexpensive, and are easily available in the market. Similarly, highly
conductive electro textile (e‐textile) materials are used as a flexible conductive material for the ground plane and
radiating element of the conformal body worn antennas.12 For the ground plane and radiating element, four kinds of
conductive e‐textile materials (Flectron, Pure Copper Polyester Taffeta, Shieldit, and Zelt) are commonly used in the
literature.13 In this work Zelt, which is a nylon‐based flexible conductive material coated with copper and tin, is consid-
ered because of its higher conductivity of 1e + 06 S/m and lower surface resistivity (less than 0.01 Ω/sq).
Wearable antennas are subject to various deformations (stretching, crumpling, and bending), which alter the overall
performance in terms of gain, efficiency, and driving point impedance.14 These antennas perform in vicinity of the lossy
human body, which also affect the above mentioned parameters. Wearable antennas communicate via electromagnetic
(EM) waves, part of which is directed towards human body in the form of side and back lobe radiations. These
unwanted waves penetrate through skin, absorbed in the human body, which can cause serious health implications.
This is a significant issue for the last several years.15 To address this issue, various regulating bodies set safe thresholds
for the specific absorption rate (SAR) of these antennas. SAR is the amount of power absorbed per unit mass inside the
tissue, measured in W/kg. The SAR safety limits for mobile phones and similar devices are standardized and quantified,
globally. The American National Standard Institute (ANSI) and the European International Commission of Non‐
Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) are the two internationally adopted SAR standards. The maximum SAR limit
specified by the US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is 1.6 W/kg averaged over 1 g of tissue. The ICNIRP
uses 2 W/kg, averaged over 10 g of tissue.16 Body worn antennas must satisfy these standards to operate in safe limit.
If the SAR value exceeds the above standard threshold, it can cause severe health problems.16 SAR is directly propor-
tional to the square of electric field (or absorbed power) at a point, ie,


σ jE j2 W
SAR ¼ ; (1)
ρ kg

where σ and ρ are the electrical conductivity (S/m), and the density (kg/m3) of the tissue, respectively, E is the root
mean square (rms) magnitude of induced electric field (V/m).
Microstrip patch antennas (MPAs) have relatively higher SAR because of their side and back lobe radiations towards
the human body. Therefore, researchers have proposed three techniques for the SAR reduction of these antennas,17 ie, the
change in antenna orientation or antenna feed point, the insertion of an EM wave absorber, and the use of a particular
ground plane. Perfect electric conductor (PEC) reflectors are used as a supplementary antenna element to increase the
effective radiation efficiency and reduce the SAR of these antennas.18 This technique is easy to implement but severely
affects the low‐profile characteristics of antennas. Similarly, ferrite sheet is tested as an isolation layer between the
antenna and body, which reduces the SAR by minimizing the backward surface currents.19 The main drawback of ferrite
sheet is its higher integration cost and bulky size, which makes it uncomfortable for wearable applications.
Recently, metamaterial surfaces have been widely used for SAR reduction of wearable antennas, because of its low
cost and easy installation.20,21 These surfaces are artificially designed structures, which do not exist in nature and have
the characteristics of high electromagnetic surface wave impedance. These structures are capable of suppressing the
propagation of surface currents/waves within a particular frequency band (bandgap), and are recommended as a ground
plane to improve the performance of the antennas.
In this research, four models of flexible MPAs are proposed for wearable applications in the ISM band (2.4 GHz). In
order to address the issues of higher SAR, marginal gain reduction and frequency detuning, three different types of
electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) surfaces are proposed as a ground plane for the nominated MPAs. The performance
ALI ET AL. 3 of 17

of the antennas on conventional and EBG ground planes is analyzed in terms of gain, return loss, and driving point
impedance, under bent and normal scenarios in both on‐body and off‐body conditions. The SAR analysis is also
performed in order to ensure the safety standards.
The remaining paper is organized as follows: In Section 2, the design methodology of the antenna is covered. The
design and characterization of the metamaterial surfaces is also discussed in this section. Results are presented in
Section 3. In this section, the performance of the antennas under off and on‐body scenarios is compared and discussed.
Section 4 presents the SAR analysis. Section 5 concludes the paper and gives directions for future work.

2 | DESIGN AND CHARACTERIZATION

In this section, the design process has been covered in detail. First, the antenna has been designed using the conven-
tional approach, followed by design and characterization of metamaterial surfaces in terms of in‐phase reflection and
surface wave suppression in the ISM band. The proposed antenna is integrated with the metamaterial surfaces in the
subsequent section.

2.1 | Conventional MPA

The geometry of the proposed rectangular MPA for wearable applications is illustrated in Figure 1. The modelling and
numerical analysis of the antenna is performed in CST Microwave Studio by using the finite integration technique
(FIT). The conductive layer of the antenna is a 0.06‐mm thick e‐textile material (ie, Zelt), having a conductivity of
1 e +006 S/m. A wash cotton material of thickness 3 mm is used as a substrate material having relative dielectric constant
and loss tangent of 1.51 and 0.025, respectively. The length and width of the substrate are Lg = 96.4 mm and
Wg = 113 mm, respectively. A finite 0.06‐mm thick conducting (Zelt) ground plane, having similar dimensions
(94.4 × 113 mm2) as that of the substrate, is used to support the radiating patch. The total volume of the proposed
antenna is 96.4 × 113 × 3 mm3, which is reasonably small and feasible for body worn applications. Microstrip line feed
mechanism is used for the excitation of the antenna. The dimensions (L, W) of the proposed rectangular MPA and the
inset feed width (w0) and position (y0) are calculated using the well‐known transmission line theory22:

C
W¼ rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi; (2)
2
ð2f r Þ
εr þ 1

0:49 c
L¼ pffiffiffiffi : (3)
f r εr

The calculated and optimized dimensions of the rectangular MPA are summarized in Table 1.

FIGURE 1 Geometry of the proposed rectangular microstrip patch antennas (MPA)

4 of 17 ALI ET AL.

TABLE 1 Dimensions of rectangular microstrip patch antenna (MPA)

Dimensions (mm)
Parameters Calculated Optimized

Length (L) 49.48 48.2

Width (W) 55.79 56.5
Inset feed depth (yo) 17.52 17.13
Feed width (wo) 12.40 11

2.2 | Metamaterial‐based MPA

In this section, three types of EBG structures (mushroom, slotted, and spiral) are proposed as a ground plane for the
2.4 GHz MPA (Figure 2). The conductors and dielectric substrate used in the design of these surfaces are Zelt and wash
cotton, respectively. The optimized dimensions of the unit cells (listed in Table 2) are calculated using the Sievenpiper's
equations.23 These surfaces are responsible for in‐phase reflection, at resonant frequency and surface wave suppres-
sion,24,25 within a specific frequency band (bandgap).

2.3 | Characterization of EBG structures

The above mentioned EBG surfaces are characterized in terms of in‐phase reflection and surface suppression.

A. In‐phase reflection

The setup of Figure 3A is used for in‐phase reflection analysis of the three EBG surfaces. The surfaces are excited
with linearly polarized (TE10) plane wave. The plane wave is incident from the top (along z‐direction). The boundary
conditions along (x and y) extremities are set to the “unit cell” option. The three EBG unit cells provide in‐phase
reflection (0o) at the desired 2.4 GHz frequency (Figure 4). At this frequency, the surfaces behave as a perfect magnetic
conductor (PMC).26 The reflection phase is +180o and −180o at lower (1.4 GHz) and upper (3.4 GHz) frequencies,
respectively. The surfaces behave as PEC at these frequencies. The reflection phase varies from +90o at point “a” to
−90o at point “b,” crossing 0o at f c = 2.4 GHz. Within this bandwidth, the surface acts as an artificial magnetic conduc-
tor (AMC). The reflection phase bandwidth (BWrp) is calculated using the following relationship.

b−a
BW rp ¼ × 100: (4)
fc

B. Surface wave bandgap

For the surface wave bandgap, a 50 ohm microstrip line is suspended over a height of 1.5 mm above the surface
(Figure 5). The line is excited at both ends, using waveguide ports in order to analyze the transmission coefficient
(S12) of the surface. The bandgap of the surface can also be found using the “dispersion diagram”.

FIGURE 2 EBG unit cells (A) mushroom‐like, (B) slotted, (C) spiral, and (D) LC‐resonant circuit
ALI ET AL. 5 of 17

TABLE 2 Dimensions of electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) unit cells

Types Patch width, S (mm) Gap, b (mm) Via rad, r (mm) Periodicity, T = S + b (mm)

Mushroom‐like 40.4 2.2 1.00 42.6

Slotted 31.9 0.6 1.00 32.5
Spiral 38.4 1.6 1.00 40.0

FIGURE 3 Simulation setup for in‐

phase reflection analysis of
electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) surfaces
(A) layout and (B) boundary conditions

The transmission (S12) and reflection (S11) coefficients of the three EBG structures are shown in Figure 6. The sur-
face wave suppression directly depends on the magnitude of the transmission coefficient (S12). If the surface wave sup-
pression criterion is set to an optimum threshold of S12 < −20 dB, it is observed that the mushroom‐like EBG structure
has the capability to effectively suppress the surface waves in the 2.34 to 2.57 GHz frequency band (centered at 2.4 GHz).
Consequently, the mushroom‐like EBG surface has the ability to give in‐phase reflection as well as surface wave
bandgap in the desired frequency band. Outside the 2.34 to 2.57 GHz band, this surface acts as an ordinary PEC ground
plane. The rest of the two EBG surfaces (ie, slotted and spiral) present in‐phase reflection at 2.4 GHz, but do not provide
surface wave bandgap according to the predefined criterion in this band. Instead, the surface wave bandgap of the spiral
EBG surface is marginally shifted towards the left of 2.4 GHz point, because of the inductive loading of this surface.

3 | R E S U L T A N D DI S C U S S I O N

In this section, the performance of the antenna in terms of return loss and gain pattern is analyzed using CST MWS,
under normal and bent (on and off‐body) scenarios. The antenna is excited using a waveguide port assigned to the
microstrip feed‐line. Simulations are performed in the 2 to 2.8 GHz frequency range, using open add‐space boundary
conditions. For better readability purposes, the four models of the proposed antenna, backed by conventional and
EBG surfaces, are named as follows:

Antenna‐1: 2.4 GHz wearable MPA backed by conventional ground plane

Antenna‐2: 2.4 GHz wearable MPA backed by mushroom‐like EBG ground plane
Antenna‐3: 2.4 GHz wearable MPA backed by slotted EBG ground plane
Antenna‐4: 2.4 GHz wearable MPA backed by spiral EBG ground plane

3.1 | Normal scenario

The layout of the proposed antennas backed by conventional and EBG ground planes under normal scenario is
explained in Figure 7. The proposed antennas are embedded at the center of a 5 × 5 array of EBG ground planes. A
5 × 5 EBG array has been chosen because of the fact that the proposed antenna is surrounded by at least one layer
of the unit cells.
The simulated return loss of the 2.4 GHz antenna on the above mentioned ground planes is portrayed in Figure 8.
The Antenna‐1 gives a return loss of −24.46 dB at 2.4 GHz and a −10 dB bandwidth of 74.4 MHz (3.10%), which is
6 of 17 ALI ET AL.

FIGURE 4 Reflection phase of electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures for normal plane wave incidence (A) mushroom‐like, (B)
slotted, and (C) spiral

appropriate for ISM band applications. It is observed that Antenna‐2, Antenna‐3, and Antenna‐4, have an improved
return loss of −36.67 dB, −25.35 dB, and −31.24 dB, at 2.4, 2.416, and 2.39 GHz, and a −10 dB bandwidth of
98.7 MHz (4.11%), 103.1 MHz (4.26%), and 100.9 MHz (4.22%), respectively, relative to Antenna‐1. Though the resonant
frequency of the EBG‐based antennas is slightly shifted, relative to the conventional counterpart, however these anten-
nas remain tuned within the unlicensed ISM band. The Antenna‐3 and Antenna‐4 operate over a higher bandwidth,
because of their higher distributed inductance, compared with Antenna‐1 and Antenna‐2.
The gain pattern of the proposed antennas, captured at the desired frequency (2.4 GHz), in both principal planes is
presented in Figure 9. The peak gain, radiation efficiency, total efficiency, and half power beam width (HPBW) of
Antenna‐1, Antenna‐2, Antenna‐3, and Antenna‐4 at 2.4 GHz in the E‐plane is {6.54 dB, 60.66%, 58.78%, and 78.9°},
{7.316 dB, 74.04%, 73.16%, and 95.7°}, {6.93 dB, 63.35%, 61.72%, and 69°}, and {6.71 dB, 65.53%, 63.27%, and 81°},
ALI ET AL. 7 of 17

FIGURE 5 Suspended strip line model

for surface wave suppression
characterization

FIGURE 6 Reflection (S11) and

transmission (S12) coefficient
characteristics of electromagnetic bandgap
(EBG) surfaces

FIGURE 7 Geometry of the proposed

microstrip patch antennas (MPA) with
conventional and electromagnetic
bandgap (EBG) ground planes
8 of 17 ALI ET AL.

FIGURE 8 Simulated return loss

characteristics of the proposed antennas
under normal scenario

FIGURE 9 Comparison of far‐field gain pattern of the proposed antennas under normal scenario (A) E‐plane and (B) H‐Plane

respectively, which is adequate for the entire ISM band applications; The HPBW of these antennas in the H‐plane is
{72.4, 87.6, 61.3, and 63.3}. It is clear from Figure 9 that the EBG‐backed antennas gives lower side and back lobe radi-
ations relative to the conventional counterpart, which makes them suitable candidates for safer wearable application.
The summary of results under normal scenario is outlined in Table 3.

3.1.1 | Effect of increasing the size of EBG ground plane

In order to investigate the effects of increasing the size of the EBG ground plane on the performance of the proposed
2.4 GHz antenna, we have simulated the antenna with a 7 × 7‐size mushroom‐type EBG ground plane for the proof
of concept. The analysis shows that the gain of the antenna has been slightly increased to 7.48 dB at 2.4 GHz
(Figure 10). In other words, when the size of the mushroom type EBG ground plane is increased from 5 × 5 to
7 × 7, an increase of 0.16 dB in gain has been obtained. It has been concluded that increasing the size of the EBG ground

TABLE 3 Summary of the results (normal scenario)

Parameters Antenna‐1 Antenna‐2 Antenna‐3 Antenna‐4

Frequency (GHz) 2.40 2.40 2.42 2.39

Gain (dB) 6.54 7.32 6.93 6.71
Rad. Efficiency (% age) 60.66 74.04 63.35 65.53
Tot. Efficiency (% age) 58.78 73.16 61.72 63.27
HPBW (Deg) (E‐plane) 78.91 95.70 69.10 81.00
HPBW (Deg) (H‐plane) 72.41 87.62 61.30 63.31
Bandwidth (MHz)/ % 74.41/ (3.10) 98.70/ (4.11) 103.12/ (4.26) 100.91/ (4.22)
ALI ET AL. 9 of 17

FIGURE 10 Gain of the proposed antenna with a 7 × 7 electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) ground plane

plane beyond 5 × 5 unit cells does not give significant rise in the peak gain of the antenna, therefore we have fixed the
size of the proposed three EBG ground planes to 5 × 5 unit cells.

3.2 | Bent scenario

This section starts with the parametric analysis of the antenna bending at different radii of human arm in both principal
planes.
It is necessary for wearable antenna to maintain their performance with respect to various deformation. In this
section, the bending effect of the proposed antenna with four different radii, 45, 35, 25, and 15 mm, in both principal
planes are demonstrated (Figure 11), and the corresponding simulated return loss of the proposed antenna in both E‐
and H‐planes is presented in Figure 12.
From Figure 12A, it is observed that the proposed antenna shows better impedance matching with return loss below
‐10 dB irrespective of E‐plane bending at different radii. Figure 12B depicts that the proposed antenna shows a better
impedance matching response with a return loss below −10 dB for H‐plane bending of 45 mm radius, relative to other
conditions (r = 35, 25, and 15 mm).
It is worth mentioning that the resonant frequency of the antenna is slightly shifted towards the left (relative to flat
counterpart), for both E‐ and H‐plane bending at r = 45, 35, 25, and 15 mm. However, the fractional bandwidth of the
bent antenna remains unchanged in all cases.
In addition to the above parametric analysis, the four antennas are analyzed under two distinct bent conditions:
(1) In the absence of human body (off‐body bending), and (2) in the presence of human body (on‐body bending).
In both cases, the antennas are bent around a radius of 45 mm (which is equivalent to the radius of a healthy
human arm27,28).

1. Off‐body analysis

FIGURE 11 Bending of the proposed antenna with different radii in both principal planes
10 of 17 ALI ET AL.

FIGURE 12 Return loss comparison of

the antenna under different bending radii
in (A) E‐plane and (B) H‐plane

The layout of the proposed antenna bent under off‐body conditions is shown in Figure 13. The return loss of
Antenna‐1 under bent condition is significantly reduced to −14 dB, relative to normal case (−24.46 dB) at 2.4 GHz
(Figure 14). The return loss of Antenna‐2, Antenna‐3, and Antenna‐4 under bent conditions are also reduced as com-
pared with their normal counterparts. The dominant resonant frequency is slightly shifted towards the right because
of the reduction in the effective electrical length of the antennas. It is worth‐mentioning that the four antennas remain
tuned within the ISM band, irrespective of the bending phenomenon.
The gain pattern of the bent antennas of Figure 13 in both principal planes, is presented in Figure 15, which shows
that the peak gain of these antennas is slightly reduced because of bending. The side lobes of the bent antennas are also
steered relative to their normal equivalents. The efficiency of the conventional model (Antenna‐1) is reduced from

FIGURE 13 Layout of the proposed antennas bent around a radius of 45 mm, under off‐body bent scenario (A) Antenna‐1, (B) Antenna‐2,
(C) Antenna‐3, and (D) Antenna‐4
ALI ET AL. 11 of 17

FIGURE 14 Simulated return loss of

conventional and electromagnetic
bandgap (EBG)‐enabled antenna with free
space bending of radius (r = 45 mm)
under off‐body bent scenario

FIGURE 15 Gain pattern comparison of conventional and electromagnetic bandgap (EBG)‐based antennas under off‐body bent scenario
(A) E‐plane and (B) H‐plane

FIGURE 16 Perspective view of 3D‐gain pattern of the proposed 2.4 GHz antennas under off‐body bent scenario (A) Antenna‐1, (B)
Antenna‐2, (C) Antenna‐3, and (D) Antenna‐4
12 of 17 ALI ET AL.

60.66% to 55.51% under bent state. Antenna‐2 radiates with an acceptable efficiency (69.59%) in this state. For further
clarity, the 3D snap shots of the gain pattern of the proposed antennas in bent state are illustrated in Figure 16. These
plots confirm that the antennas radiate most of their output power, normal to the plane of the antenna.

2. On‐body analysis

For on‐body analysis, a four‐layer human arm having an overall radius of 45 mm is modelled as shown in
Figure 17. The values of the intrinsic properties (ie, permittivity, conductivity, tangent loss. and density) of the four
layers (ie, bone, muscle, fat, and skin) are listed in Table 4. These values are valid up to 10 GHz frequency. The four
antennas are bent around the arm model, excited accordingly, and analyzed in CST MWS.
At 2.4 GHz, the driving point impedance of Antenna‐1 and Antenna‐3 (Figure 18), under body worn conditions, is
reduced to 37 Ω, relative to the characteristic impedance of the feed line (ie, 50 Ω). This is because of the blocking effect
of lossy human body The driving point impedance of Antenna‐2 is affected negligibly (ie, 48 Ω), irrespective of being in
contact with the human body. This is because of the high‐impedance characteristics of the mushroom EBG within the
2.4 GHz band. The return loss of the antennas is portrayed in Figure 19. The −10 dB bandwidth of Antenna‐2
(96.8 MHz) and Antenna‐4 (95.2 MHz), is better relative to Antenna‐1 (65.43 MHz) and Antenna‐3 (93.9 MHz). The
dominant resonant frequency of the four antennas under body worn conditions is shifted more towards the right, rel-
ative to the off‐body scenario. This is because of the reduction in effective electrical length as well as the lossy nature
of the skin layer of human arm.
The simulated gain of the body worn antennas in E‐ and H‐planes are compared in Figure 20. The peak gain of the
body worn antennas is marginally reduced, relative to off‐body conditions. A significant reduction in the side and back
lobe level of Antenna‐2 is noticed, relative to the remaining antennas. This is because the mushroom‐like EBG structure
provides surface suppression within the 2.4 GHz frequency band. The EBG‐based antennas radiate with an adequate
gain (greater than 6 dB) and HPBW (greater than 54°). The peak gain, major lobe direction, and HPBW for all the con-
figurations are summarized in Table 5. The proposed antennas radiate along the boresight direction, with maximum of
the radiated power directed away from the human body.
For further clarity, the 3D pattern of these antennas mapped on human arm is illustrated in Figure 21.

4 | SPECIFIC ABSORPTION RATE (SAR) A NALYSIS

The SAR analysis of the proposed wearable antennas is performed using the 10‐g averaging method, specified in the
European Standard (IEEE C95.3). According to this standard, the safer threshold for SAR is 2 W/kg. When conventional
patch antennas are worn on human body, their side and back lobe radiations are directed towards human body, mostly

FIGURE 17 Layout of the proposed

antennas bent around a human arm of
radius r = 45 mm (A) Antenna‐1, (B)
Antenna‐2, (C) Antenna‐3, and (D)
Antenna‐4
ALI ET AL. 13 of 17

TABLE 4 Properties of human body tissue at 2.4GHz

Tissue Permittivity (εr) Conductivity (S/m) Loss Tangent Density (kg/m3)

Skin 31.29 8.0138 0.2835 1100

Fat 4.6023 0.58521 0.19382 1100
Muscle 52.79 1.705 0.24191 1060
Bone 12.661 3.8591 0.25244 1850

FIGURE 18 Input impedance of the

proposed antenna on human body arm
under bent scenario

FIGURE 19 Simulated return loss of

conventional and electromagnetic
bandgap (EBG)‐enabled antennas under
on‐body scenario

FIGURE 20 Radiation pattern comparison of conventional and electromagnetic bandgap (EBG)‐based antennas under on‐body bent
scenario (A) E‐plane and (B) H‐plane
14 of 17 ALI ET AL.

TABLE 5 Summary of gain pattern of the proposed antenna under body worn scenario

Main HPBW (Deg)

Antenna/ Lobe
Geometry Gain Direction
(dB) (Deg) E‐Plane H‐Plane

Antenna‐1 6.54 0.0 78.9 72.4

Antenna‐1 (bent) 5.82 0.0 70.3 72.8
Antenna‐2 (bent) 6.29 1.0 69.7 56.6
Antenna‐3(bent) 6.24 353 67.4 65.8
Antenna‐4(bent) 6.12 0.0 68.4 54.4

FIGURE 21 Perspective view of 3D‐gain pattern of the proposed 2.4 GHz antennas under bent conditions (A) Antenna‐1, (B) Antenna‐2,
(C) Antenna‐3, and (D) Antenna‐4

absorbed and dissipated inside the uppermost skin layer. The absorption and dissipation of this power increases the SAR
and temperature of the body tissues if exposed to these unwanted radiations for longer time. Figure 22 depicts the SAR
distribution of the four antennas at 2.4 GHz. The peak SAR of Antenna‐1, Antenna‐2, Antenna‐3, and Antenna‐4 is
7.95, 1.79, 3.13, and 2.60 W/kg respectively. Alternatively, Antenna‐2, Antenna‐3, and Antenna‐4 reduces the peak
SAR by 77.48%, 60.62%, and 67.29%, respectively, relative to Antenna‐1. The SAR of Antenna‐1 is higher because of
prominent side and back lobe radiations caused by the propagation of the surface waves within the conventional ground
plane. The antennas backed by the proposed EBG structure gives safer values of SAR, comparative with the conven-
tional antenna. The Antenna‐2 gives better performance in terms of SAR amongst all antenna models because of its
reduced undesirable back and side lobe radiations. It is because of the higher impedance characteristics of this surface
in the 2.4 GHz bandgap, within which the transmission of surface waves is restricted (ie, S12 < −40 dB). In other words,
the mushroom‐type EBG isolates or shields the human body from hazardous backward radiations. The power loss den-
sity (PLD) within the human body has a direct impact on the SAR value of a wearable antenna. The peak PLD within
the human body is122 000, 21 519, 36 713, and 29 403 W/m3 for the Antenna‐1, Antenna‐2, Antenna‐3, and Antenna‐4
respectively. The SAR and PLD of the four antennas are summarized in Table 6.
ALI ET AL. 15 of 17

FIGURE 22 SAR comparison of the proposed wearable antennas recorded at 2.4 GHz (A) Antenna‐1, (B) Antenna‐2, (C) Antenna‐3, and
(D) Antenna‐4

TABLE 6 Comparison of simulated peak power loss density (PLD) and peak specific absorption rate (SAR) normalized to 0.5 W root mean
square (rms) at 2.4 GHz

Antenna Phantom 10 g Peak SAR (W/Kg) Peak Power Loss Density (W/m3)

Antenna‐1 Human body arm (radius = 45 mm) 7.95 93 319

Antenna‐2 Human body arm (radius = 45 mm) 1.79 21 519
Antenna‐3 Human body arm (radius = 45 mm) 3.13 36 713
Antenna‐4 Human body arm (radius = 45 mm) 2.60 29 403

5 | CONCLUSION

In this paper, four types of wearable antennas (Antenna‐1, Antenna‐2, Antenna‐3, and Antenna‐4), operating in the
2.4 GHz ISM band were designed using flexible wash cotton substrate material. The antennas were backed by conven-
tional and three different types of EBG ground planes. The EBG ground planes were characterized in terms of in‐phase
reflection and surface wave suppression. The prime contribution of this work is the comparative study of the ISM band
wearable antenna on various types of wearable metamaterial surfaces. Because of the best surface wave suppression fea-
tures in the ISM band, the mushroom type EBG surface gives better surface wave suppression relative to slotted and
spiral counterparts. The antennas were investigated under normal and bent conditions in the absence and in the vicinity
of the human body. In the normal‐state (off‐body scenario), the four antennas work satisfactorily with adequate gain
(greater than 6 dB), efficiency (greater than 60%), and bandwidth (greater than 74 MHz). When the antennas were bent
in free space (in the absence of human body), the radiation efficiency of the Antenna‐1, Antenna‐3, and Antenna‐4 was
reduced below 60%. The efficiency of these antennas has been marginally reduced, when worn on the human arm.
Antenna‐2 radiates efficiently (greater than 69%) in both on and off‐body states because of the high impedance nature
of the mushroom type EBG ground plane. The SAR of the four antennas was investigated in the vicinity of the human
16 of 17 ALI ET AL.

body (arm). The Antenna‐1 give very high value of SAR (7.95 W/kg). The SAR of Antenna‐2, Antenna‐3, and Antenna‐4
has been reduced by 78.06%, 61.64%, and 68.17%, respectively, relative to Antenna‐1. Alternatively, the Antenna‐2
provides the reduced value of SAR (equal to 1.79 W/kg less than 2 W/kg), which makes it a reasonable candidate for
the incorporation within the wearable devices. The prototype of the proposed antennas and EBG ground planes will
be fabricated and measurements will be conducted in order to validate the simulations. The gain of the antennas can
be increased by using a multiple element array of the radiating rectangular patch. The effects of bending and crumpling
on the SAR of the proposed antennas can be analyzed on other parts of human body using voxel model.

ORCID
Usman Ali https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8977-1511
Sadiq Ullah https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5299-1577

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How to cite this article: Ali U, Ullah S, Shafi M, Shah SAA, Shah IA, Flint JA. Design and comparative
analysis of conventional and metamaterial‐based textile antennas for wearable applications. Int J Numer Model.
2019;e2567. https://doi.org/10.1002/jnm.2567