Design and analysis of low profile, enhanced bandwidth UWB microstrip patch antenna for body area network

Abstract

In this paper, a low profile and enhanced bandwidth, ultra-wideband microstrip patch antenna for wireless body area network (WBAN) has been proposed. Application of various bandwidth enhancement techniques result in the ultra-wideband ranging from 4.11 to 13.83 GHz in free space and 5.65–13.83 GHz in proximity of human tissue. The antenna consists of cascaded T-slots and rectangular notches in patch to enhance the operating bandwidth in ultra-wideband frequency range. In addition, fabrication and several analyses have been conducted in free space and close proximity to the canonical phantom for finding the effects of human body on the performance of WBAN antenna. The favorable results of return loss, bandwidth, radiation pattern, and directivity are revealing the proposed antenna as a promising candidate for wireless body area network.