A Compact Dual-band Metantenna on PDMS Substrate for WBAN Applications

A compact dual-band metantenna for wireless body area network (WBAN) applications is presented. The design is realized using conductive fabrics on a polydimethylsiloxane substrate, ensuring flexibility. The dual-band periodic metasurface exhibits polarization-insensitive behavior from 0° to 90° under normal incidence and maintains stable performance over a wide range of oblique incidence angles. Measured impedance bandwidths of 840 MHz and 1120 MHz are achieved at 2.45 GHz and 5.8 GHz. Anechoic-chamber measurements confirm stable S-parameters and radiation characteristics under bending conditions. The metasurface enhances the realized gain by 115.7% at 2.45 GHz and 103.7% at 5.8 GHz. On-body specific absorption rate evaluations demonstrate compliance with safety standards. The results indicate that the proposed antenna is suitable for wearable WBAN applications.