The Relationship Between EMF Exposure and MIMO Systems, and the Exposure Advantages of Lowband Massive MIMO System

With the advancement of mobile communications, technologies based on high-element-count antenna systems—such as massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (massive MIMO)—are playing an increasingly important role in enhancing network capacity. However, they introduce new challenges in the measurement and evaluation of electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure. This study presents a detailed, laboratory-based methodology for assessing EMF exposure in cellular systems using Single Input Single Output (SISO) and MIMO technologies. To address the limitations of traditional exposure assessment techniques—particularly under the conditions introduced by 5G and active antenna systems—a shielded test environment with directional antennas was developed and applied across lowband and midband frequency ranges (700–2100 MHz). Downlink electromagnetic power density was measured under standardized modulation, coding, and bandwidth settings for both SISO and MIMO configurations. The results show that MIMO technology does not lead to a significant increase in EMF exposure compared to SISO, with average differences remaining below 1 dB. Moreover, in lower-frequency bands, massive MIMO systems can ensure the required user capacity at significantly lower transmission power, resulting in more than 15 dB reductions in EMF exposure. These findings confirm the potential of massive MIMO to enhance network performance while reducing the level of electromagnetic exposure.