Analysis of wave propagation on human body based on stratified media model

MA Li(马力) ¹, SHEN Hai-bin(沈海斌) ¹, LIU Lei(刘磊) ²

(1. Institute of VLSI Design, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China;
2. Institute of Advanced Technology of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China)

Abstract:Human body communication (HBC) is a promising near-field communication (NFC) method emerging in recent years. But existing theoretical models of HBC are too simple to simulate the wave propagation on human body. In this work, in order to clarify the propagation mechanism of electromagnetic wave on human body, a surface waveguide HBC theoretical model based on stratified media cylinder is presented. A numerical model analyzed by finite element method (FEM) is used for comparing and validating the theoretical model. Finally, results of theoretical and numerical models from 80 MHz to 200 MHz agree fairly well, which means that theoretical model can characterize accurate propagation mechanism of HBC signal. Meanwhile, attenuation constants derived from two kinds of models are within the range from 1.64 to 3.37, so that HBC signal can propagate effectively on human body. The propagation mechanism derived from the theoretical model is useful to provide design information for the transmitter and the modeling of the propagation channel in HBC.

Key words:human body communication; surface waveguide; propagation mechanism; stratified media; propagation constant; attenuation constant