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SAR Investigation of Novel Wearable ReducedCoupling Microstrip Antenna Array

M. I. Ahmed, Member, IEEE, E. A. Abdallah, Member, IEEE, and H. M. Elhennawy, Member, IEEE

Abstract Novel KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) slogan

shape microstrip antenna is presented. The single and two
element antenna array were designed and fabricated on a Roger
RT/Duroid 5880 substrate with dielectric constant of 2.2,
thickness of 1.5748 mm, and tan = 0.001. The measured results
were obtained using Anritsu 37297D VNA. The results show that
a reduction in mutual coupling between array elements of 11.9
dB is achieved at 2.542 GHz with band (2.39 - 2.69) GHz, due to
introducing Electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures. EBG
structure is a KSA slogan shape. By increasing the size of EBG
cells and varying the gap distance between cells to certain limit,
the mutual coupling reduction is improved. Also, a reduction in
size of 89.5% is achieved. The microstrip array was simulated by
CST simulator version 2014 and fabricated by proto laser
machine with precision 25m. The specific absorption rate (SAR)
investigation is carried out on CST 2014 Simulator. Maximum
SAR value is 1.36 W/Kg which indicates that the KSA slogan
shape microstrip wearable antennas is safe for human. The
antenna can be used in the military or RFID applications.
Index Term EBG structures, Microstrip antenna array,
Mutual coupling, Wearable antenna.

I. INTRODUCTION
The electromagnetic absorption of a human body has become
an important issue, as the governments strictly limit it. Due to
the extensive spread of wearable antenna, the radiation of
wearable antenna has rapidly been given increased attention.
The radiation can be evaluated by specific absorption rate
(SAR), which represents the time rate of microwave energy
absorption inside the tissue, as follows:

SAR

2
E
2

(1)

where and are the density (kg/m3) and electrical

conductivity (S/m) of the tissue, respectively, E is the internal
induce electrical field (V/m). The SAR value is calculated as
maximum of mass-averaged SAR and is strictly limited by the
governments. Nowadays, two standards of SAR are adopted:

M. I. Ahmed, Microstrip Department, Electronics Research Institute, Giza,

12622 Egypt (e-mail: miahmed@eri.sci.eg).
E. A. Abdallah, Microstrip Department, Electronics Research Institute,
Giza, 12622 Egypt (e-mail: esmataa2@hotmail.com).
H. M. Elhennawy, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo,
11519 Egypt (e-mail: helhennawy@ieee.org).

Europe uses 2 W/kg averaged over 10g tissue (over 10g tissue
means to average the SAR values in a volume with an average
mass of 10g) [1]. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal
Communication Commission (FCC) requires that the SAR
should be lower than 1.6 W/kg averaged over 1g tissues in the
U.S. Due to the lower limited value and smaller averaged
mass, the standard from FCC (1.6 W/kg) is more difficult to
satisfy than the one from EU (2 W/kg) with averaging time of
6 minutes [2].
Mutual coupling is a well-known effect in multi-element array
antennas. Generally, mutual coupling is an unwanted
phenomenon that distorts the behavior of radiating elements in
an antenna array. Every element in an antenna array affects
every other element by radiating over the air or by propagating
surface currents through the ground plane of microstrip
antennas. Surface currents can be a bigger problem, especially
when antenna elements are closely packed. Mutual coupling,
which depends on inter element separation and relative
orientation, causes undesirable effects on antenna
characteristics [3]. To improve the performance of the arrays
EBG cells are to be placed between the patch antennas which
makes the size much larger. So, as to reduce the size of the
antenna the proposed method is designing small cells of KSA
slogan shape for placing EBG cells with vias closer to the
patch antenna placed together in the same layer.
Electromagnetic Band Gap structures (EBGs) are widely used
in microwave circuit and antenna design because they produce
band rejection characteristics [4]. Various configurations of
EBG structures have been successfully applied in the patch
antenna arrays to improve array characteristics, such as
reduction of total size of the array and increasing radiation
efficiency [5-7].The development of radio frequency
identification (RFID) technology is rapidly growing for itemlevel tracking. RFID technology is an automatic identification
method which can be used for product tracking [8-9]. Now
RFID has many applications in many areas such as item
identification and retail management. It makes it possible to
locate the items at the right place. The configuration in this
paper is chosen because the KSA slogan shape is the official
badge for any military application. So, this antenna may be
used in soldier belts, any commodity for the military
application, etc. It should be noted that its main application
depends on the range of frequency. According to the chosen
ranges of the operating frequency it can be used in RFID.
In this paper, a novel KSA slogan shape EBG cells are applied
to reduce the mutual coupling between array elements with the
same shape. The results show that a reduction in mutual
coupling between array elements of 11.8 dB is achieved at
2.542 GHz with band (2.39 - 2.69) GHz. The paper is

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organized as follows: Section 2 introduces the antenna design

and simulation. Section 3 gives the experimental results and
discussion. SAR calculation is introduced in section 4, while
conclusion is introduced in section 5.

II. ANTENNA DESIGN AND SIMULATIONS

This section is divided into three parts. The first part discusses
the single element geometry of the novel KSA slogan shape
microstrip patch antenna. The second part presents the two
elements of novel KSA slogan shape microstrip patch array
arranged on substrate without EBG and study the effect of
spacing between elements on the mutual coupling. The last
part of this section shows the two elements of novel KSA
slogan shape microstrip patch antenna array arranged on
substrate with EBG elements having the same shape like array
patches (KSA slogan shape). The E- and H-plane radiation
pattern is discussed in each antenna model. Each antenna
structure is modelled in CST Design Suite 2014 Microwave
Studio in which extensive full-wave analysis is performed
based on integral equation method.
A. Single Element
CST numerical simulator was used to simulate the KSA
slogan shape microstrip patch antenna etched on a dielectric
substrate Roger RT/Duroid 5880 with r = 2.2, h = 1.5748
mm, and tan = 0.001 which is similar to the Saudi army
beret slogan. The design process starts with printed monopole
rectangular patch microstrip antenna. Then, the rectangular
shape is changed through four steps to reach the acceptable
shape of real KSA slogan at the resonant frequency of 2.563
GHz as shown in Fig. 1(a). The patchs size Wp x Lp is 27 mm
x 30 mm. This dimension represents the minimum dimension
of a rectangle that contains the KSA slogan shape inside it.
The substrate size Wsub x Lsub is 34 mm x 45 mm (0.39g x
0.51g) at resonant frequency to avoid fringing effect where g
is the guide wavelength at f =2.563GHz. Fig. 1(a) shows the
five design cases: case 1 (conventional rectangular patch),
case 2 (patch with head), case 3 (patch with head and arm),
case 4 (patch with head, arm, and swords), and case 5 (KSA
slogan shape patch). The real slogan on Saudi army beret is
shown in Fig. 1(b). The optimum value of the ground plane
height is Lgp = 29.3 mm as shown in Fig 1(c). The patch is fed
by a matched microstrip line feed with width W 50 = 4.8 mm.
When comparing the conventional microstrip patchs area
46.3 mm x 38.6 mm operating at 2.563 GHz with the proposed
one, an area reduction of 55% is obtained [10]. The metal area
reduction of 89.5% is reached after removing patch corners to
form the KSA slogan. Fig. 2 presents the comparison between
the reflection coefficients of the designed five cases.

(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig. 1. Design steps of the novel shape microstrip patch antenna. (a) The
five designed cases, (b) the real slogan, and (c) the proposed design.

Fig. 2. The reflection coefficient |S11| dB comparison among the five cases.

Bandwidth of 382 MHz is obtained. The frequency band

(2.379 - 2.761 GHz) is based on
-10dB reflection
coefficient. Fig. 3 shows that the current is concentrated
around the arm and head parts of the KSA slogan shape at
resonant frequency 2.563 GHz. The radiation patterns at Eand H-plane are shown in Fig. 4 (a), and Fig.4 (b),

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respectively. The E-plane (XZ) is nearly omni-directional,

while the H-plane (YZ) is figure of eight due to the partial
ground plane. In Table I, single patch antenna parameters are
presented. It is observed that the novel antenna achieves 15%
bandwidth in the operation band, good matching, acceptable
gain, and good radiation efficiency.
TABLE I
NOVEL KSA SLOGAN SHAPE MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNA PARAMETERS
Parameters
Results
Frequency (GHz)
2.563
|S11| (dB)
-40.5
B.W.
15 %
Gain (dBi)
3.4
F / B ratio
1.03
H.P.B.W (deg.)
Radiation efficiency
89 %
Antenna efficiency
88 %

Fig. 3. Surface current distribution of KSA slogan shape microstrip single

element antenna at frequency 2.563 GHz.

(a)

Fig. 5. The reflection coefficient |S11| comparison in case of using

multiple curvature radii.

B. Two Elements Array without EBG

Fig. 6 shows the schematic diagram of the two elements array
of novel KSA slogan shape microstrip patch antenna on the
same dielectric substrate as before. The antennas separation
distances is chosen to be 60 mm ( 0.5 0) after optimization
to reduce the mutual coupling, avoid grating lobes, and obtain
the Omni directional and figure of eight radiation pattern
where 0 is the free space wavelength at f = 2.512GHz.
Parametric study on the elements separation was carried out
to obtain the least separation with optimum coupling. The
largest separation 120 mm results in the lowest mutual
coupling but the worst in the reflection coefficient as shown in
Fig. 7 (a). So, we choose 60 mm separation to obtain
acceptable matching and suitable mutual coupling as displayed
in Fig. 7 (b). The ground plane is 100 mm x 45 mm (0.840 x
0.380) at resonant frequency. Each patch is fed by a matched
50 microstrip line feed with width W 50 = 4.8 mm. From
Table II, it is noticed that the mutual coupling is -13.8 dB.The
simulated gain and radiation efficiency are 6 dBi and 91%,
respectively.

(b)

Fig. 4. Radiation pattern of KSA slogan shape microstrip single element

antenna at frequency 2.563GHz (a) E-plane (XZ), and (b) H-plane (YZ).

In order to investigate the bending effect of the single element

antenna, mulitiple parametrical studies have been carried out.
The simulations prove that there is no noticible impact on the
antenna performance in terms of impedance bandwidth and
radiation characteristics. Fig. 5 shows the bending effect on
the reflection coefficient |S11| for different curvature radii
(from 600 mm to 1000 mm).

Fig. 6. The two elements of KSA slogan shape microstrip antenna array.

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(a)

81

(b)

Fig. 9. Radiation pattern of the KSA slogan shape microstrip antenna array
without EBG at frequency 2.512GHz (a) E-plane (XZ), and (b) H-plane (YZ).

(a)

(b)
Fig. 7. The effect of varying the distance between the patches of the array (a)
|S11| in dB, and (b) |S21| in dB.
TABLE II
TWO ELEMENTS OF KSA SLOGAN SHAPE MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNA
WITHOUT EBG
Parameters
Results
Frequency (GHz)
2.512
|S11| (dB)
-17.1
|S21| (dB)
-13.8
B.W.
11 %
Gain (dBi)
6
F / B ratio
1.3
H.P.B.W (deg.)
53
Radiation efficiency
91%
Antenna efficiency
89%

At the resonant frequency of 2.512 GHz, the surface current

distribution shows high value at the arm and sword parts of the
KSA slogan shape which result in good radiation
characteristic at this frequency as shown in Fig. 8. The E- and
H-plane radiation patterns for two elements without EBG are
shown in Fig. 9 (a) and Fig. 9 (b), respectively. The 3-dB
beamwidth becomes more directive rather than single patch.

C. Two Elements Array with EBG

The two elements of the KSA slogan shape microstrip patch
antenna with the same patch shape EBG cells are shown in
Fig. 10. The distance between the patches 60 mm ( 0.50) is
optimized to reduce the mutual coupling and avoid grating
lobes where 0 is the free space wavelength at f = 2.542GHz.
The ground plane is 100 mm x 45 mm (0.840 x 0.380) at
resonant frequency. Each patch is fed by a matched microstrip
line feed with width W50 = 4.8 mm. The comparison between
|S11| and |S21| parameters in dB for two elements of novel KSA
slogan shape microstrip antenna array without and with EBG
is presented in Fig. 11. The mutual coupling difference is 11.9
dB between with and without EBG. The EBG cell size W cell x
Lcell is 20.7 mm x 18 mm. Both EBG cells are connected to the
ground plane through vias and separated by SEBG = 15 mm.

Fig. 10. The two elements of the KSA slogan shape microstrip antenna array
with EBG cells.

Fig. 8. Surface current distributions of the KSA slogan shape microstrip

antenna array without EBG at frequency 2.512GHz.

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(a)
Fig. 11. S-parameters of the two elements of KSA slogan shape microstrip
antenna array without and with EBG.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(b)

Fig. 13. (a) Comparison between simulated |S11| parameter for all cases, and
Fig. 12. The design steps of the KSA slogan shape EBG cells (a) Case1 (Three small cells
(b)Comparison between simulated |S21| parameter for all cases.
without vias), (b) Case2 (adding vias to the three cells), (c) Case3 (Two large partially
overlapped cells without vias), and (d) Case4 (adding vias to the two large cells).
TABLE III
TWO ELEMENTS OF THE KSA SLOGAN SHAPE MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNA
The comparison between |S11| parameters in dB for two
WITH EBG
elements of the KSA slogan shape microstrip antenna array
Parameters
Results
with the EBG for the four cases in Fig. 12 is presented in Fig.
Frequency (GHz)
2.542
|S11| (dB)
-18
13 (a) which proves that the forth case is the best one. Fig. 13
|S21| (dB)
-25.7
(b) shows the comparison between the mutual couplings in dB
B.W.
12 %
for the four cases. The acceptable one is the case of two large
Gain (dBi)
6.6
partially overlapped cells with vias. Table III, concluded that
F / B ratio
1.21
H.P.B.W (deg.)
56.1
the mutual coupling is improved as compared to the two
Radiation efficiency
92%
elements without EBG. This difference is due to the effect of
Antenna efficiency
90%

the EBG cells between elements in the resonant frequency

band which trapped the surface waves and attenuated the
surface current as shown in Fig. 14.

At the resonant frequency 2.542 GHz, the surface current

distribution indicates that the middle arms of the KSA slogan
shape are responsible for the radiation. The upper cell in case
4 reduces the undesired surface wave resulting in lower
mutual coupling between the array elements. The surface
current distribution indicates that the elements have radiation
around the middle arm and sword parts of the KSA slogan
shape at the resonant frequency as shown in Fig. 14. The Eand H-plane radiation patterns for two elements with EBG are
shown in Fig. 15 (a) and Fig. 15 (b), respectively. The
simulated gain and radiation efficiency are improved rather
than without EBG case by 0.6 dBi and 1%, respectively. The
3-dB beamwidth becomes more directive rather than single
patch or array without EBG.

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Fig. 14. Surface current distributions of the KSA slogan shape microstrip
antenna array with EBG at frequency 2.542 GHz.

(a)

(a)

(b)

Fig. 15. Radiation pattern of the KSA slogan shape microstrip antenna array
with EBG at frequency 2.542 GHz (a) E-plane (XZ), and (b) H-plane (YZ).

(b)
Fig. 16. (a) The fabricated KSA slogan shape microstrip patch antenna,
(b) Comparison between measured and simulated reflection coefficient
of the KSA slogan shape microstrip antenna.

III. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

To verify the conclusions drawn from the simulation, two
microstrip antennas were fabricated on Roger RT/Duroid 5880
substrates by proto laser machine with precision 25m. The
permittivity of the substrate is 2.2, the substrate thickness is
1.5748 mm (62 mil), and tan= 0.001. The measuring results
were obtained using Anritsu 37297D VNA. The measured
results agree well with the simulated results. From this
experimental demonstration, it can be concluded that the EBG
can be utilized to reduce the antenna mutual coupling between
array elements.

B. Two elements array without EBG

In Fig. 17(a), the fabricated two elements array of the KSA
slogan shape microstrip patch antenna array without EBG
photograph is presented. The measured and simulated
reflection coefficient and coupling coefficient of this antenna
are compared in Fig. 17(b). The measurement results give a
good decoupling and matching in frequency band. The
measured mutual coupling is better than simulated one. Also,
there is a small shift toward the lower frequencies due to the
connector bonding and fabrication tolerances because of the
critical dimensions.

A. Single element
Fig. 16(a) shows a photograph of the fabricated novel KSA
slogan shape microstrip patch antenna. Comparison between
measured and simulated reflection coefficient is presented in
Fig. 16(b). There is a little shift toward the lower frequencies
due to the connector bonding and accuracy of fabrication
because of the critical slits dimension.
(a)

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IV. SAR CALCULATION

(b)
Fig. 17. (a) The fabricated two elements of the KSA slogan shape
microstrip patch antenna array without EBG, (b) Comparison between
measured and simulated results of the antenna array without EBG.

C. Two elements array with EBG

The fabricated two elements of the novel KSA slogan shape
microstrip patch antenna array with EBG photograph is shown
in Fig. 18(a). The measured results of the two elements of the
KSA slogan shape microstrip antenna array without and with
EBG are compared in Fig. 18(b). The mutual coupling is
reduced by means of the EBG cells between the array
elements. The results have an acceptable shift because of
bonding of vias with the EBG cells and the ground plane.
Also, fabrication tolerances because of the critical slits
dimension in KSA slogan patch and the EBG cells is the main
factor in any result diffraction.

The SAR limit specified in IEEE C95.1: 2005 has been

updated to 2 W/kg over any 10 g of tissue [11], which is
comparable to the limit specified in the International
Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)
guidelines [12].
In designing antennas for wearable
application, it is important to investigate the SAR value
produced by the radiation from the antenna. The output power
of the antenna need to be set before SAR is simulated. The
reference power of the wearable antenna is set to 500 mW at
the operating frequencies [13]. The SAR calculations are
carried out using the CST 2014 commercial package with
Hugo model CST Microwave Studio [14]; the tissues that are
contained have relative permittivities and conductivities,
according to [15-16]. The tissues frequency dispersive
properties are taken into consideration. As expected, the SAR
values depend on the operating frequency, the antenna type
and the distance between the antenna and the human body. It
is noticed that, the antenna fulfills the IEEE C95.1: 2005 and
the ICNIRP standards. Through the last years, different
methods to reduce the SAR produced by wearable antenna
were used, specifically, auxiliary antenna elements, ferrite
loading, EBG/Artificial magnetic conductors (AMC) surfaces
and metamaterials [1720]. The SAR value is influenced by
various parameters such as antenna positions relative to the
human body, radiation patterns of the antenna, radiation
power, and antenna types [21]. The EBG structures reduce the
surface waves and prevent the undesired radiation from the
ground plane. On other hand, extensive research efforts are
exerted in minimizing wearable antennas in size and cost in
conjunction with increasing the services provided by the
antenna [22, 23].
A. Single Element
SAR calculation is performed at position 1 (antenna on head
of the soldier), Fig. 19(a) and position 2 (antenna on belt of
the soldier), Fig. 19(b). The main factor that effects the
radiation on human body is the distance between the antenna
and human body. The head has some important parts in
human body especially the brain. So, the abdomen (belt
position) is considered as an alternative place to put the
antenna. The simulated SAR field distribution of the head and
body phantoms in the XZ plane for the KSA slogan shape
microstrip antenna excited at 2.563 GHz is shown in Fig.
20(a), and Fig 20(b), respectively.

(a)

(b)
Fig. 18. (a)The fabricated two elements of the KSA slogan shape
microstrip patch antenna array with EBG, (b) Comparison between
measured results of the two elements of the KSA slogan shape
microstrip antenna array with and without EBG cells.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 19. The KSA slogan shape microstrip antenna at two positions (a)
position 1 (Head), and (b) position 2 (Belt).

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Table IV shows the averaged 10g and 1g SAR at the
aforementioned operating frequency when the antenna is in
close proximity to the body at the two positions (head & belt).
SAR in belt position is greater than in head position because
the voxel model has two hands beside and in front of antenna
at frequency 2.563GHz. So, the effect of the hands increases
the SAR in the abdomen region. Maximum 10g SAR value is
0.648 W/Kg that in belt position at frequency 2.563GHz.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 20. SAR simulation at frequency 2.563 GHz for two positions (a) position
1 (Head), and (b) position 2 (Belt).
TABLE IV
SAR OF THE KSA SLOGAN SHAPE MICROSTRIP PATCH WEARABLE ANTENNA
AT TWO POSITIONS

Frequency ( GHz)

2.563
Position1
( Head )

Position 2
( Belt )

SAR (w/kg) [ 10g ]

0.479

0.648

SAR (w/kg) [ 1g ]

1.028

1.446

Positions

B. Array without EBG

The SAR calculations on human head model (Hugo Voxel
model) in the presence of the KSA slogan shape microstrip
antenna array without EBG in the XZ plane at frequency
2.512GHz are shown in Fig. 21(a), and Fig. 21 (b),
respectively. Table V shows the averaged 10g and 1g SAR at
the aforementioned operating frequency when the antenna is
in close proximity to the body at two positions (head & belt).
Maximum SAR value of 1.64 W/Kg is obtained in belt
position.

TABLE V
SAR OF THE KSA SLOGAN SHAPE WEARABLE ANTENNA ARRAY WITHOUT
EBG AT TWO POSITIONS
Frequency ( GHz)

2.512
Position1
( Head )

Positions

(a)

(b)

Position 2
( Belt )

SAR (w/kg) [ 10g ]

0.956

1.64

SAR (w/kg) [ 1g ]

1.8

2.814

C. Array with EBG cells

The SAR calculations on human head model (Hugo Voxel
model) in the presence of the KSA slogan shape microstrip
antenna array with EBG in the XZ plane at frequency
2.542GHz are shown in Fig. 22(a), and Fig. 22 (b),
respectively. Table VI shows the averaged 10g and 1g SAR at
the aforementioned operating frequency when the antenna is
in close proximity to the body at two positions (head & belt).
Maximum SAR value of 1.36 W/Kg is obtained in belt
position. The SAR values with the EBG structures are reduced
by 17% with respect to the conventional array. From the
simulated results, the EBG structures are capable of reduction
of SAR and protection of the human head and abdomen from
electromagnetic fields.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 22. SAR simulation at frequency 2.542 GHz for two positions (a)position
1 (Head), and (b) position 2 (Belt).
TABLE VI
SAR OF THE KSA SLOGAN SHAPE WEARABLE ANTENNA ARRAY WITH EBG AT
TWO POSITIONS

Frequency ( GHz)

2.542
Position1
( Head )

Position 2
( Belt )

SAR (w/kg) [ 10g ]

0.835

1.36

SAR (w/kg) [ 1g ]

1.46

2.716

Positions

Fig. 21. SAR simulation at frequency 2.512 GHz for two positions (a) position
1 (Head), and (b) position 2 (Belt).

85

V. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, a new concept of a wearable antenna is easily
integrated into clothing. A novel KSA slogan shape microstrip
antenna is presented. The single and two element antenna
array are designed and fabricated on a substrate with dielectric
constant of 2.2, thickness of 1.5748 mm, and tan = 0.001.
The microstrip array was studied by CST simulator and
fabricated by proto laser machine with precision 25m. The
antenna can be used in the official or RFID applications. This
configuration is chosen because the KSA slogan shape is the
official page for any military application. So, this antenna
may be used in soldier belts, any commodity for the official
application, etc. The EBG cells in the shape of small size

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KSA slogan are inserted between the adjacent coupled
elements in the array to suppress the pronounced surface
waves. Mutual coupling is reduced by 11.9 dB at 2.542 GHz.
The measured results agree well with those obtained by the
CST. SAR calculation is carried out to measure the effect of
those antennas on Human bodies. Maximum SAR result is
1.46 W/Kg that is acceptable to the IEEE C95.1: 2005 and the
ICNIRP standards.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors acknowledge the support of Prince Sultan
Advanced Technologies Research Institute (PSATRI) and
KACST-TIC in Radio Frequency and Photonics
(RFTONICS).
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Mohamed Ismail Ahmed received a B.Sc. degree,
with grade very good with honors, in electronics and
communication engineering from the Zagazig
University, Zagazig, Egypt in 1998. He was awarded
the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from Al
Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt in 2007. His M.Sc.
area was in Design, simulation, fabrication, and
measurement of fractal microstrip patch antennas.
He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in
the area of design and implementation of wideband
antenna array based on electromagnetics band gap structures (EBG) at
Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. Currently, he is a Researcher
Assistant at the Microstrip Department, Cairo, Egypt. He has joined the
Electronics Research Instute (ERI) since 1999 as an Assistant
Researcher. From 2010 to 2012, he was a Researcher in the Prince
Sultan for Advanced Technology Research Institute (PSATRI), King
Saud University, Saudi Arabia. . His research interests include the design,
simulation, and fabrication of microstrip antenna array for wideband
applications in the microwave band. Aslo, he interests in antenna mutual
coupling reduction using EBG and DGS.
Esmat A. Abdallah graduated from the Faculty of
Engineering and received the M.Sc. and Ph.D.
degrees from Cairo University, Giza, Egypt, in 1968,
1972, and 1975, respectively. She was nominated as
Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and
Professor in 1975, 1980 and 1985, respectively. In
1989, she was appointed President of the Electronics
Research Institute ERI, Cairo, Egypt, a position she
held for about ten years. She became the Head of the
Microstrip Department, ERI, from 1999 to 2006. Currently, is the
Microstrip Department, Electronics Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt. She
has focused her research on microwave circuit designs, planar antenna
systems and nonreciprocal ferrite devices, and recently on EBG
structures, UWB components and antenna and RFID systems. She acts as
a single author and as a coauthor on more than 160 research papers in
highly cited international journals and in proceedings of international
conferences in her eld.

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International Journal of Engineering & Technology IJET-IJENS Vol:15 No:03

87

Hadia M. El Hennawy received the B.Sc. and the

M.Sc. degrees from Ain Shams University, Cairo,
Egypt, in 1972 and 1976, respectively, and the
Ph.D. degree from the Technische Universitat
Braunschweig, Germany, in 1982. In 1982, she
returned to Egypt and joined the Electronics and
Communications Engineering Department, Ain
Shams University, as an Assistant Professor. She
was nominated an Associate Professor in 1987 and
then a Professor in 1992. In 2004, she was appointed as the Vice-Dean
for graduate study and research. In 2005, she was appointed as the Dean
of the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University. She has focused
her research on microwave circuit design, antennas, microwave
communication and recently wireless communication. She has been the
Head of the Microwave Research Lab since 1982. She has published
more than 100 journal and conference papers and supervised more than
50 Ph.D. and M.Sc. students. Prof. El Hennawy was the Editor-in-Chief
of the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Scientic Bulletin
from August 2004 to August 2005 and is a member of the Industrial
Communication Committee in the National Telecommunication
Regulatory Authority (NTRA), Educational Engineering Committee in
the Ministry of Higher Education, and Space Technology Committee in
the Academy of Scientic Research. She is deeply involved in the
Egyptian branch activities.

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