RF EMF Radiation Exposure Assessment of 5G Networks: Analysis, Computation and Mitigation Methods

Abstract

This paper presents the impact of radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) radiation exposure induced by wireless networks, most importantly 5G cellular networks for both the uplink and downlink radio emissions using exposure index-based power control algorithm (EIPCA), a novel simulation method that quantifies the realistic electromagnetic exposure of the human user. The exposure index (EI) is used to characterize the EMF exposure taking in account the power density, specific absorption rate (SAR); using both the electric field strength and magnetic field strength as well as considering the variability of other factors such as environment, the conductivity and the mass density of tissue. This work aims at simulating the radiations emitted from access points (APs) and mobile devices, analyzing and comparing them with the threshold set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) for the understanding of radiation impact. The numerical results reveal that the maximum radiation exposure emitted is far lower than the ICNIRP standard. It is shown that the exposure from mobile devices (uplink) has more EI compared with the ones due with the transmitting stations (downlink) radio emissions, and both can be minimized when there is an optimal power control scheme in the network as revealed in the power density received from the APs. Moreover, it compares the exposure level in both the fourth-generation (4G) and the fifth-generation (5G) networks, this will increase the health awareness concerning radiation exposure of 5G networks to the general public.