Design and implementation of on-body PEC backed 2 × 2 MIMO antenna

Abstract A Multiple Input and Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna operating at 2.4 GHz Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) band is specifically built and studied for on-body communication. The MIMO elements are identical and designed to resonate at an operational frequency of 2.4 GHz. They are specifically designed to function within an impedance bandwidth of 78.7 MHz. MIMO antenna is constructed on a substrate made of FR-4 material, which has a thickness of 1.6 mm, with a loss tangent of 0.002 and permittivity of 4.4. The simulated and experimental findings indicate that the antenna exhibits favourable levels of isolation, ranging from −20 dB to −22 dB. The designed antenna maintains an Envelope Correlation Coefficient (ECC) below 0.02 and a Diversity Gain (DG) approaching 10 dB across its entire operational bandwidth. The suggested antenna utilizes a Perfect Electric Conductor (PEC) as a reflector in order to enhance the gain and mitigate the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) of the MIMO antenna system. The incorporation of a PEC reflector in the MIMO antenna significantly reduces the SAR value for 10 g of tissue from 6.93 W/kg to 0.0255 W/kg.