Miniaturized Wearable Antenna Design for Wireless Body Area Networks at 5.8 GHz

Microstrip patch antennas are extensively utilized due to their strong mechanical properties, lightweight design, ease of manufacturing, and adaptability to both flat and curved surfaces. Additionally, they can support dual and triple frequency operations. For wearable applications, it is crucial to ensure that the antenna poses no harm to the human body while still performing effectively at higher frequencies. In this paper, a microstrip patch antenna was developed to operate in the 5.8 GHz ISM band, specifically targeting wearable use cases. To suit wearable environments, Teflon was chosen as the substrate material due to its low dielectric constant (εr = 2.1), which contributes to better antenna performance. Simulation results from HFSS 2024 revealed a return loss of –32.93 dB, maximum radiation intensity of 496.31 mW/sr, VSWR of 1.4562, gain of 8 dB, and directivity of 8.543 dB, with an overall efficiency of 87.8%. After fabrication, measurements showed a return loss of –30.843 dB, VSWR of 1.0562, and a measured gain of 12.4 dB. These results indicate that the proposed antenna design is not only efficient but also well-suited for wearable devices operating at 5.8 GHz.