Estimation of the peak power density in the vicinity of cellular and radio base station antennas

Prediction formulae for estimating the peak equivalent power density in the near-field of cellular base-station array antennas are demonstrated. Theoretical justification stemming from a uniform asymptotic expansion of the field radiated by collinear arrays is described, and verification is carried out by means of an extensive computational analysis of different classes of base station antennas. The formulae, which depend on a few, readily available parameters, can be conveniently employed for the estimation of compliance distances with respect to RF safety guidelines issued by the International Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which have been adopted in many countries throughout the world, without requiring necessarily extensive and expensive nearfield measurements campaigns.