Comparison of Low-Cost 5G Electromagnetic Field Sensors

Kenneth Deprez; Loek Colussi; Erdal Korkmaz; Sam Aerts; Derek Land; Stephan Littel; Leen Verloock; David Plets; Wout Joseph; John Bolte

doi:10.3390/s23063312

Comparison of Low-Cost 5G Electromagnetic Field Sensors

Sensors (Basel). 2023 Mar 21;23(6):3312. doi: 10.3390/s23063312.

Authors

Kenneth Deprez¹, Loek Colussi², Erdal Korkmaz³, Sam Aerts^{1

3}, Derek Land³, Stephan Littel³, Leen Verloock¹, David Plets¹, Wout Joseph¹, John Bolte^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Information Technology, IMEC-WAVES, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
² Radiocommunications Agency, 9726 AH Groningen, The Netherlands.
³ Research Group Smart Sensor Systems, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, 2521 EN Den Haag, The Netherlands.
⁴ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), 3721 MA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.

Abstract

This paper compares different low-cost sensors that can measure (5G) RF-EMF exposure. The sensors are either commercially available (off-the-shelf Software Defined Radio (SDR) Adalm Pluto) or constructed by a research institution (i.e., imec-WAVES, Ghent University and Smart Sensor Systems research group (S³R), The Hague University of Applied Sciences). Both in-lab (GTEM cell) and in-situ measurements have been performed for this comparison. The in-lab measurements tested the linearity and sensitivity, which can then be used to calibrate the sensors. The in-situ testing confirmed that the low-cost hardware sensors and SDR can be used to assess the RF-EMF radiation. The variability between the sensors was 1.78 dB on average, with a maximum deviation of 5.26 dB. Values between 0.09 V/m and 2.44 V/m were obtained at a distance of about 50 m from the base station. These devices can be used to provide the general public and governments with temporal and spatial 5G electromagnetic field values.

Keywords: 5G new radio; RF measurement; RF-EMF; electromagnetic fields; exposure assessment; measurement equipment.

Grants and funding

This work is part of the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreements No 101057527 (NextGEM) and No 101057262 (GOLIAT). Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.