A wideband highly flexible CPW-fed antenna based on characteristic mode analysis for 5G wireless wearable sensor applications

The rapid augmentation of wearable technology and IoT contributes to a substantial consideration in the design and development of flexible sensor antennas. These types of antennas could detect variations in the signal even when the antenna is deformed when placed over the body for wearable sensing applications. This paper proposes a highly flexible CPW-fed antenna for 5G wearable sensor applications. Holding an overall dimension of 40 x 30 x 0.1 mm3, the antenna covers a measured impedance bandwidth of 4.57-5.50 GHz with a peak gain of 3.8 dBi. The design optimization of the proposed antenna is investigated using the characteristic mode analysis (CMA) which provides a clear insight into the physical performance and radiation characteristics of the antenna. Bending analysis of the antenna is performed for various bending radius along x and y axis, and the antenna gives a satisfactory bending profile. The favourable SAR value as well as the on-body analysis of the antenna demonstrate the application possibilities of the proposed antenna for wireless wearable sensing applications.