Implications of Incident Power Density Limits on Power and EIRP Levels of 5G Millimeter-Wave User Equipment

Abstract

User equipment (UE) is required to comply with the relevant radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure limits, which are of relevance to establish the maximum permissible transmitted power and the maximum equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP). Recently, international RF EMF exposure guidelines, such as those published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) as well as by the IEEE, have been updated. In this paper, the implications of the revised incident power density limits are investigated in terms of maximum permissible transmitted power and the maximum EIRP for devices operating in close proximity of the user. A similar analysis is conducted according to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation on RF exposure. EMF compliance of UE is studied by means of numerical modelling of patch antenna arrays of different array sizes taking into consideration of possible beam-steering operations, at frequencies ranging from 10 GHz to 100 GHz. The results are compared with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) requirements on the total radiated power (TRP) and EIRP levels. The present implications of the incident power density limits for 5G millimeter-wave UE will give valuable insights to mobile equipment manufacturers, network operators, and standardization bodies. INDEX TERMS 5G, antenna array, beam-steering, EIRP, incident power density, maximum permissible transmitted power, millimeter wave, RF EMF exposure, user equipment

The Role of Millimeter-Wave Technologies in 5G/6G Wireless Communications

“…Currently, the 5G wireless communication systems mainly adopts the hybrid beamforming scheme. Depending on the application scenarios, the BSs [47] and UTs [48] usually have different requirements. For the BSs, massive MIMO can be deployed to obtain satisfactory equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP), in which the circuit architectures should be designed by considering the power level.…”

Implications of ICNIRP 2020 Exposure Guidelines on the RF EMF Compliance Boundary of Base Stations

“…lower antenna gain) are also expected. From an EMF compliance standpoint, such products present similar characteristics (in terms of transmit power and antenna design) to user equipment like customer premises equipment, for which the implications of ICNIRP 2020 local exposure limits are addressed in detail by (He et al, 2020). For extremely low power levels (about 15 dBm and below), compliance with ICNIRP 2020 and ICNIRP 1998 is obtained very close to the transmitting antennas (within a few centimeters or even at touch position).…”

“…Conducted a systematic investigation of the allowed output power and maximum equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of array antennas operating at frequencies above 10 GHz. These studies were conducted before the publication of the revised limits, and only a single publication addressed the performance of portable devices (e.g., mobile phones) when complying with ICNIRP 2020 (He et al, 2020). To date, and to the knowledge of the authors, no study evaluating the implications of EMF compliance with ICNIRP 2020 for BSs exists.…”

4 × 4 MIMO Antenna System for Smart Eyewear in Wi-Fi 5G and Wi-Fi 6e Wireless Communication Applications

“…PD test frequency is selected which the frequency point has the worst SAR value, and PD safety limit value is 10 W/m 2 . The equation is as follows [27]:…”