Initial Results of Semisolid Phantoms Based on Synthetic Hydrogels for the cmWave Band

Tissue phantoms are commonly used in experimental assessments related to body area networks. The main bands for these applications are located in the cmWave region, where many attempts to mimic the tissues have been performed. Recent studies showed that acetonitrile mixtures are suitable to obtain liquid phantoms in this band, but semisolids are advisable for some kinds of tests. Natural polymers are normally used for making gels, but they are fragile and cannot be formed with solvents different from water. This paper proposes the use of synthetic polymers instead. The analyses include mechanical and dielectric properties from 0.5 to 26.5 GHz.