Numerical Study on the Feasibility of a 24 GHz ISM-Band Doppler Radar Antenna for Near-Field Sensing of Human Respiration in Electromagnetic Aspects

Abstract

The feasibility study of a 24 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band Doppler radar antenna in electromagnetic aspects is numerically performed for near-field sensing of human respiration. The Doppler radar antenna consists of a transmitting (Tx) antenna and a receiving (Rx) antenna close to the human body for a wearable device. The designed slot-type Doppler radar antenna is embedded between an RO4350B superstrate and an FR-4 substrate. To obtain the higher radiation pattern of the antenna towards the human body, a ground plane reflector is placed underneath the substrate. The measured -10 dB reflection coefficient (S-11) bandwidth is 23.74 to 25.56 GHz and the mutual coupling (S-21) between Tx and Rx antennas is lower than -30 dB at target frequencies. The Doppler radar performance of the proposed Doppler radar antenna is performed numerically by investigating the signal returned from the human body. The Doppler effect due to human respiration is investigated through the I/Q and arctangent demodulation of the returned signal. According to the results, the phase variation of the returned signal is proportional to the displacement of the body surface, which is about 0.8 rad in accordance with 1 mm displacement. The numerical experiments indicate that the proposed Doppler radar antenna can be used for near-field sensing of human respiration in electromagnetic aspects.