A reverberation chamber for rodents’ exposure to wideband radiofrequency electromagnetic fields with different small-scale fading distributions

Abstract

A reverberation chamber (RC) is realized for the rodents’ in vivo exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) with various small-scale fading characteristics. Its performance is evaluated to ensure the exposure experiments from 0.85 to 2.60 GHz. By different configurations, line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight exposures can be established. The measured electric field in the RC is analyzed to determine its statistical distribution. We accordingly reconstruct the EMF environment by numerical methods. Simulations are carried to compare the dosimetric variability due to different small-scale fading characteristics. It demonstrates that the surveyed fading distribution will not change the specific absorption rate in the rats. The possibility to reproduce the realistic multi-reflective EMF environment by adjusting the structures of the RC is discussed. It is the first reported in vivo exposure system aiming to provide the EMF exposure with different small-scale fading distributions.

• In vivo exposure
• reverberation chamber
• small-scale fading
• specific absorption rate

Declaration of interest

The work is supported by the grants from National Key Basic Research Project (2011CB503705) and National Natural Science Foundation Project (grant no. 61001159 and 61371187).