SMARTPHONE MODEL
AND ANTENNA PATTENRS
End-to-end simulations finish at the evaluation of exposure on humans. To estimate the impinging fields and their scattering on the human reliably, we need an accurate 3D model of a handheld smartphone along with the patterns of the receiving antenna.
Plan A
From smartphone designers
Ideally, we receive the full 3D model of the smartphone including its dielectric properties, in order to perform FDTD simulations in Sim4Life. The receiving antenna pattern is also required to model the channel, ideally with an elaborate description of the processing that ultimately determines the received signal strength.
Plan B
From component OEMs
Original Equipment Manufacturers are B2B companies that manufacture components of smartphones for a client designer. In particular the antenna module and its processing chip is usually sold by OEMs. While this route does not provide a full package, their data would be invaluable nonetheless if important commonly-sold components can be assembled into one model for realistic exposure assessment. ​
Plan C
Hand-made from literature or from an online paid asset provider
Current solution
In literature, it is common to use a mock-up phone as a substitute for the smartphone when computing realistic simulations. The phone is either a box made out of pure PEC material, or may have one or two dielectrics (e.g. the glass and battery) with guesstimated dielectric properties. The complexity of the antenna ranges from a simple dipole in the far-field, to a custom-designed pIFA antenna in the near-field. One of the best options is to pay for a '5G smartphone' 3D asset from a reliable online source (e.g. CST), which has a good amount of detail, but does not represent a specific smartphone. While many problems persist with this solution, it is a reasonable backup plan.