TC34 Subcommittee 1: Experimental Techniques
Chair: Dr. Mark Douglas
The purpose is to specify protocols for the measurement of the peak spatial average SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) in simplified models of the head and body of users of radio transceivers used for wireless communications services. It applies to contemporary and future devices with the same operational characteristics as contemporary devices that operate in the 300 MHz–6 GHz frequency range and provides a conservative estimate of the peak spatial average SAR representative of that which would be expected to occur in a significant majority of persons during normal use of these devices. The peak spatial average SAR may not be the absolute maximum value that could possibly occur under every conceivable combination of size and shape of the body, device orientation, and spacing relative to the body.
Subcommittee 1 was established in February 1997. The scope of Subcommittee 1 covers a variety of devices. It initially focused on a recommended practice devoted exclusively to handsets used for personal wireless communication services. The first standard (IEEE Std. 1528-2003) specifies protocols for the measurement of the peak spatial-average SAR in the head of users of certain hand-held radio transceivers that are used for personal wireless communications, operate in the 300 MHz – 3 GHz frequency range, and are intended to be operated while held against the ear. Specifically, this recommended practice describes the concepts, measurement techniques, instruments, calibration techniques, phantom models for SAR system validation, and limitations of systems used for measuring the radio frequency electric field strength for purposes of determining the peak spatial mass-averaged SAR, e.g., per 1 gram or 10 grams of tissue, in simulated tissue models, including homogeneous anatomical models of the human head.
Protocol requirements of IEEE Std. 1528-2003 have been incorporated into IEC Std 62209-1. IEEE Std. 1528-2003 has been explicitly adopted by about 10 countries in Asia, North America and South America.