Design and simulation of a novel THz patch antenna for early detection of malignant neoplasms

Abstract

This research presents a novel patch antenna prototype that operates in the THz range for early detection of malignant cancerous cells. The antenna has dimensions of 100 µm × 100 µm and achieves −27.3 dB return loss at an operating frequency of 2.34 THz. The proposed sensor is optimized for a polyimide substrate with a dielectric constant of 3.5 and thickness of 15.7 µm. The prototype’s sensitivity and performance are evaluated by simulating different malignant neoplasms using High-Frequency Simulation Software (HFSS) for five types of breast cancer cells. The results indicate that the variation in resonant frequency and the S₂₁ parameter between malignant cells and healthy breast cells are the primary factors that determine the sensitivity of the prototype. The proposed patch antenna’s high sensitivity and low profile make it a promising solution for the early detection and prognosis of cancerous cells.

Keywords:

• Dielectric constant
• malignant neoplasms
• patch antenna
• resonant frequency
• THz range
• tumor prognosis

Acknowledgement

Authors thank Director, CSIR-NPL, New Delhi, India, for showing interest in the present work. Pm is thankful to CSIR, India, for the award of SRF and AcSIR for providing an opportunity to do a doctorate. B.P.S is thankful to Ministry of Science and Technology Taiwan for providing funding for postdoctoral research.

Authors contributions

V.V.A. directed and designed the research. Pm carried designing and simulation, prepared Figures, collected data and did the literature survey. B.P.S. wrote and edited the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).