Assessment of the potential risk for humans exposed to millimeter-wave wireless LANs: the power absorbed in the eye

This paper deals with the interaction between a millimeter-wavelength plane wave and the human eye. The study has been conducted utilizing the finite difference time domain (FDTD) numerical technique, and an accurate eye model obtained through photographic images of the human head. A partly automatic procedure has been developed to obtain the FDTD-compatible eye model. The dielectric properties of the human tissues at millimeter wavelengths have been extrapolated from experimental data available at lower frequencies and by using Debye’s dispersion equation. The power distribution in the exposed eye has been calculated in both conditions of closed and open eye, and the results have been compared with the limits settled by some of the most recognized safety standards for human exposure.