Human Exposure to RF Fields in 5G Downlink

TL;DR

This paper investigates human exposure to RF fields in 5G downlink, revealing higher power density and SAR levels compared to current systems, emphasizing the importance of SAR in exposure assessment.

Contribution

It is the first comprehensive analysis of human RF exposure in 5G downlink, highlighting the need to consider SAR alongside power density in mmW bands.

Findings

5G downlink RF fields produce higher power density than current systems.

SAR levels in 5G downlink are significantly elevated and should be considered.

SAR is a critical factor for assessing human RF exposure in mmW bands.

Abstract

While cellular communications in millimeter wave (mmW) bands have been attracting significant research interest, their potential harmful impacts on human health are not as significantly studied. Prior research on human exposure to radio frequency (RF) fields in a cellular communications system has been focused on uplink only due to the closer physical contact of a transmitter to a human body. However, this paper claims the necessity of thorough investigation on human exposure to downlink RF fields, as cellular systems deployed in mmW bands will entail (i) deployment of more transmitters due to smaller cell size and (ii) higher concentration of RF energy using a highly directional antenna. In this paper, we present human RF exposure levels in downlink of a Fifth Generation Wireless Systems (5G). Our results show that 5G downlink RF fields generate significantly higher power density (PD) and specific absorption rate (SAR) than a current cellular system. This paper also shows that SAR should also be taken into account for determining human RF exposure in the mmW downlink.