Chapter 3

CPW-FED FRACTAL MULTIBAND ANTENNA

Fractals are space-filling geometries defined with an iterative technique resulting in

self-similar characteristics. It is a shape that appears similar at all scales of

magnification. There are many mathematical structures that are fractals; e.g.

Sierpinski’s gasket, Cantor’s comb, Von Koch’s snowflake and the Mandelbrot set.

The terms fractal was coined by Mandelbrot, the first person associated with the

mathematics of fractals (Mandelbrot, 1983). Fractals have unique properties that can

be enticing for antenna designers. Their space-filling property enables miniaturization

of antennas since electrically large features can be efficiently packed into small areas,

(Gianvittorio and Rahmat-Samii, 2002; Puente et al., 1998). The self-similar

characteristics of fractals encourages their study as a multiband solution since a self

similar antenna will operate in a similar manner at several wavelengths.

When the operating wavelength is large compared to the size of the antenna, the

magnitude of the antenna reactance becomes large compared to its radiation resistance

(McDonald, 2003). This poses the challenge that an effective impedance matching

circuit is needed between the feed line and the antenna. Fractals present the advantage

that it is possible to lower the reactance of the antenna by changing the shape of its

conductors without increasing the overall size of the antenna. Since any arbitrarily

random shape can pick up electromagnetic waves, fractals as antennas may offer more

controlling parameters to the designer. A brief account of some of the recent work

carried out on fractal antennas for multiband applications is presented here.

A multiband antenna using fractal-like geometrical structures is proposed by Aziz et

al. (2011). The antenna can support operation in upto five bands and has an overall

size of 62×89.6 mm2 on a substrate of thickness 0.78 mm and relative permittivity 4.7.

Triple-band and quad-band structures are fabricated and operating bands are suitable

for global system for mobile (GSM), digital cellular systems (DCS), international

mobile telecommunications for year 2000 (IMT-2000) and world inter-operability for

microwave access (WiMAX) applications.

Saidatul et al. (2009) developed a fractal planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) for

multiband applications in GSM, universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS)

and high performance radio local area network (HiperLAN) bands with -6 dB operating

frequency ranges from 1.9-2.1 GHz, 1.885-2.2 GHz and 4.8-5.8 GHz respectively. The

fractal PIFA is fabricated on a substrate of thickness 0.813 mm and relative permittivity

3.38 and has an overall size of 27×27 mm2. The antenna is incorporated into a mobile

phone and a detailed study is also carried out on specific absorption rate (SAR) levels.

This is done to evaluate the antenna performance in the presence of a human body with

emphasis on the human head.

Mirkamali et al. (2010) have presented a modified multiple ring monopole antenna for

multiband applications. The antenna consists of four half rings and a half disk and is

fabricated by printing on a 0.8 mm thick substrate of relative permittivity 4.4. The

antenna is then mounted perpendicularly over a metallic ground plane of size 150×150

mm2. The -10 dB bands are 1.65-2.35 GHz, 3.5-5 GHz and 6.5-10.1 GHz respectively.

44
A CPW-fed multiband antenna using the Sierpinski gasket fractal is proposed by Kaur

et al. (2012). The antenna is designed on a substrate of relative permittivity 4.4,

thickness of 1.59 mm and loss tangent 0.02. Overall size of the antenna is 40×40 mm2

and it is suitable for IEEE Bluetooth/wireless local area network (WLAN), WiMAX

and wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) communication applications.

A multiband CPW-fed slot antenna with fractal stub and parasitic line is proposed by

Hongnara et al. (2012). The conventional wideband slot antenna with a fractal stub is

modified to obtain multiband operation by inserting the parasitic line, resulting in the

dual harmonic notched frequency in wideband operation. The antenna has an overall

dimension of 10×25 mm2 and is fabricated on a substrate of relative permittivity 4.2

and thickness 0.8 mm.

Oraizi and Hedayati (2014) developed a CPW-fed slot antenna using Giusepe Peano

fractal for multiband applications. The antenna is fabricated on a substrate of relative

permittivity 4.4 and thickness 1.6 mm and has an overall size of 33.5×26.5 mm2. The

fractal pattern in the slot increases the electrical length of the antenna without increase

in the overall area occupied by the antenna. The antenna is suitable for WLAN and

WiMAX applications and covers the bands from 2.9-3.3 GHz, 3.8-5.1 GHz and a

wideband 5.8-8.5 GHz.

From the review carried out on the various fractal antennas proposed in existing

literature, it is seen that fractals offer a distinct advantage in developing compact

antennas for multiband transmission. Also, taking into consideration the advantages

45
offered by CPW-feeding technique, a planar fractal antenna is developed for multiband

operation suitable for GSM, IMT advanced system and upper WLAN applications. The

fractal pattern is developed using a combination of self-similarity and space filling

techniques.

3.1 ANTENNA GEOMETRY

The evolution of the proposed CPW-fed fractal multiband antenna is shown in Fig.3.1.

The simple circular monopole has a very wideband radiation characteristic and its

lowest frequency of operation is determined by the diameter of the monopole.

Inscribing a hexagon within the monopole forms the iteration 0 structure as shown in

Fig. 3.1 (b).

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Fig. 3.1 Evolution of the CPW-fed fractal multiband antenna

geometry (a) Simple circular monopole (b) Iteration 0 (c)
Iteration 1 (d) Iteration 2

Iteration 1 structure results in dual-band operation suitable for GSM and IMT advanced

system applications. Due to the hexagonal slot, the current is forced to flow along a

longer path created by the perimeter of the slot. This lowers the frequency of operation

of the monopole without an increase in its physical size. The diameter of the circle with

46
inscribed hexagon is then scaled down and six such structures are arranged in a

hexagonal manner to form a fractal pattern as shown in Fig. 3.1 (c) in the configuration

of iteration 1. This results in the second band shifting to lower frequencies and an

additional band close to WLAN frequency. Thus a total of three 2:1 VSWR bands are

obtained. Now within each smaller hexagon, the pattern is repeated to obtain the

structure of iteration 2. The results obtained with the iteration 2 structure did not vary

significantly from that of iteration 1 structure. Also, due to fabrication difficulties, this

configuration is not considered further. Fig. 3.2 shows a plot of S11 for the different

iterations with optimal dimensions as detailed in Section 3.2.

Fig. 3.2 Simulated S11 vs frequency of CPW-fed fractal multiband

antenna for various iterations with ϵr = 4.4, h = 1.6 mm, D
= 34 mm, Lg = 17 mm, Wg = 13 mm, Wf = 3 mm, g1 = 0.3
mm, s = 0.55 mm, g2 = 0.6 mm, Lh = 16.7 mm, Di = 8.4
mm and Lhi = 3.9 mm

The CPW-feed line is designed for 50 Ω impedance. For a given characteristic

impedance, there are several solutions for the geometry of a CPW line. The desired

impedance is attained by adjusting the line width, Wf and gap, g1 dimensions.

However, there is a tradeoff between size of the circuitry and the line loss; narrow lines

47
can be quite lossy. Taking into consideration this tradeoff and fabrication limitations,

the width and gap dimensions of the CPW feed line are chosen as 3 mm and 0.3 mm

respectively. The circular monopole has a diameter D and is spaced from the truncated

ground plane of length, Lg and width, Wg by a gap, s. The antenna is designed to

support GSM (1.71-1.98 GHz), IMT advanced system for 4G mobile communication

(3.4-4.2 GHz) and upper WLAN (5.725-5.875 GHz) bands. The geometry is shown in

Fig. 3.3.

D
Z
Y
X

Lh g2 Lhi Di

g1
s
Lg Wf
Wg

W
h

Fig. 3.3 Geometry of CPW-fed fractal multiband antenna with

optimized dimensions W = 34 mm, L = 51.3 mm, D = 34
mm, Lg = 17 mm, Wg = 13 mm, Wf = 3 mm, g1 = 0.3 mm,
s = 0.55 mm, g2 = 0.6 mm, Lh = 16.7 mm, Di = 8.4 mm and
Lhi = 3.9 mm for ϵr = 4.4, h = 1.6 mm

The antenna is printed on a substrate of thickness h = 1.6 mm, relative permittivity Πr

= 4.4 and loss tangent tan δ = 0.02 and has an overall size of 34×51.3 mm2. For the

optimized dimensions, the simulated reflection characteristics show that the antenna

48
exhibits triple-band operation from 1.63-1.98 GHz, 3.46-4.05 GHz and 5.38-6.58 GHz.

This makes the antenna suitable for GSM, IMT advanced system and upper WLAN

applications respectively.

3.2 PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS OF CPW-FED FRACTAL MULTIBAND

ANTENNA

To gain insight on how the various dimensions of the antenna determine its

performance, a thorough parametric analysis is carried out at various iteration stages.

Dimensions are optimized at each stage to finally develop a triple-band antenna

suitable for the intended application bands.

3.2.1 Optimization of Simple Circular Monopole for Wideband Response

A CPW-fed circular monopole can exhibit an extremely wide -10 dB bandwidth. The

first resonant frequency is predominantly determined by the diameter of the disc. The

diameter approximately corresponds to the quarter-wavelength at the resonant

frequency (Liang, 2006). Also, the optimal feed gap, s is found to be same as the CPW

line gap, g1. This is because this dimension ensures a smooth transition from the feed

line to the monopole. In accordance with this relationship, a circular monopole is

designed for a resonance frequency of 2.45 GHz. From the current distributions, it is

established that the performance of the antenna is almost independent of the length of

the ground plane. However, a variation in the ground plane width shifts all the

resonance modes across the spectrum.

49
Effect of ground plane width, Wg

A parametric analysis on the ground plane width of a simple circular monopole of

diameter D = 21 mm corresponding to 2.45 GHz resonance frequency is shown in Fig.

3.4.

Wg

Fig. 3.4 Simulated S11 vs frequency of simple circular monopole

structure for varying Wg with ϵr = 4.4, h = 1.6 mm, Lg = 17
mm, Wf = 3 mm, g1 = 0.3 mm, s = 0.3 mm and D = 21 mm

It is seen that to obtain the desired resonance, the width of the ground plane on either

side of the feed line should be around 33 mm. Thus, the overall size of the antenna

becomes 69.6× 38.3 mm2. However, the antenna should be integrated in the system

circuit board of a communication device. The limited space of the circuit board

imposes a constraint on the size of the antenna and its ground plane.

To make the antenna more compact, width of the ground plane, Wg can be reduced.

Since it is observed that this causes a shifting of the operating band to higher

frequencies, the diameter of the monopole, D is increased as detailed next.

50
Effect of diameter, D of circular monopole

Compact monopole antennas can be designed on truncated ground planes with the

additional advantage of broadband behavior. To make the antenna more compact, the

diameter of the monopole is increased while using a smaller ground plane width. The

ground plane dimensions are selected as the optimized values Lg = 17 mm and Wg = 13

mm (Shameena, 2012) for wideband operation. These dimensions correspond to

0.566λc and 0.433λc respectively where λc is the guide wavelength at center of the

UWB operating range. The parametric analysis on diameter of the monopole with this

truncated ground plane is shown in Fig. 3.5.

Fig. 3.5 Simulated S11 vs frequency of simple circular monopole

structure for varying D with ϵr = 4.4, h = 1.6 mm, Lg = 17
mm, Wg = 13 mm, Wf = 3 mm, g1 = 0.3 mm and s = 0.3
mm

For a diameter D = 21 mm which corresponds to quarter-wavelength of 2.45 GHz, the

monopole with truncated ground yields the first resonance at 3 GHz. As diameter of

the monopole is increased, the resonance shifts to lower frequency side and at D = 34

mm, the first resonance is obtained at the desired 2.45 GHz. For this dimension of

51
monopole and truncated ground, the overall antenna size is 34×51 mm2. This structure

has significantly less area compared to the structure without truncated ground.

Effect of spacing between monopole and ground plane, s

The spacing between the monopole and ground plane plays an important role in

impedance matching of antenna, especially at higher frequencies. To determine the

optimum required spacing for the truncated ground structure, a parametric analysis is

carried out as shown in Fig. 3.6.

Fig. 3.6 Simulated S11 vs frequency of simple circular monopole

structure for varying s with ϵr = 4.4, h = 1.6 mm, Lg = 17
mm, Wg = 13 mm, Wf = 3 mm, g1 = 0.3 mm and D = 34
mm

As spacing between the monopole and ground plane is increased, impedance matching

improves and for s = 0.55 mm S11 ≤ -10 dB throughout the operating band. This

corresponds to 0.017λc’ where λc’ is guide wavelength corresponding to center of the

ultrawide operating range from 2.45 GHz.

52
With the monopole optimized for wideband response, a hexagonal slot of side Lh is

inserted to obtain a dual-band response. The optimization of this structure is discussed

next.

3.2.2 Optimization of Iteration 0 Structure for Dual-band Response

The parametric analysis of Lh for the structure of iteration 0 is shown in Fig. 3.7. All

other dimensions are the optimized values for wideband response for the simple

circular monopole.

Lh

Fig. 3.7 Simulated S11 vs frequency of CPW-fed fractal multiband

antenna Iteration 0 structure for varying Lh with ϵr = 4.4, h
= 1.6 mm, Lg = 17 mm, Wg = 13 mm, Wf = 3 mm, g1 = 0.3
mm, s = 0.55 mm, D = 34 mm

As Lh is increased, the perimeter of the hexagon increases and the two resonances shift

to the lower frequency side. Also, the bandwidth of the second resonance band

decreases. This is because the current on the outer edge of the circular monopole, which

is primarily responsible for wideband characteristic, is perturbed. For the chosen

monopole of 17 mm radius (D = 34 mm), the side length of the hexagon cannot be

53
increased beyond 16.7 mm due to a fabrication tolerance of 0.3 mm. Thus, the iteration

0 geometry with Lh = 16.7 mm offers two resonant bands. The first resonant band (1.63-

2.07 GHz) supports GSM application and the second band (3.58-4.8 GHz) covers the

IMT advanced system for 4G mobile communication application band. This optimized

iteration 0 geometry is further modified by introducing the fractal pattern to obtain

triple-band response as explained below.

3.2.3 Optimization of Iteration 1 Structure for Triple-band Response

Effect of fractal scaling factor, F
€ Ž€
The fractal scaling factor b = = for iteration 1 structure is optimized by a
 Ž

parametric analysis of dimensions of the inner circles. The simulated S11 results with

different scaling factors are shown in Fig. 3.8.

Fig. 3.8 Simulated S11 vs frequency of CPW-fed fractal multiband

antenna for different fractal scaling factors F with ϵr = 4.4,
h = 1.6 mm, Lg = 17 mm, Wg = 13 mm, Wf = 3 mm, g1 =
0.3 mm, s = 0.55 mm, g2 = 0.6 mm, D = 34 mm, Lh = 16.7
mm

54
It is seen that for fractal scaling factor F of 0.3 and greater, the structure exhibits very

wideband characteristics. This is because the inner circles merge with the sides of the

hexagon of iteration 0 structure and the antenna behaves as a simple circular monopole.

For a scaling factor of 0.25, triple-band behavior is observed with a lowering in the

bandwidth of second band of the structure of iteration 0. Triple-band behavior suitable

for GSM, IMT advanced system for 4G mobile communication systems and upper

WLAN is obtained for optimum fractal scaling factor F = 0.25 which results in Di =

8.4 mm and Lhi = 3.9 mm.

Effect of gap between inner circles and hexagonal slot side, g2

The effect of varying the gap g2 between the inner circles of iteration 1 structure and

adjacent edges of hexagonal slot of iteration 0 structure is shown in Fig. 3.9.

g2

Fig. 3.9 Simulated S11 vs frequency of CPW-fed fractal multiband

antenna for varying g2 with ϵr = 4.4, h = 1.6 mm, Lg = 17
mm, Wg = 13 mm, Wf = 3 mm, g1 = 0.3 mm, s = 0.55 mm,
D = 34 mm, Lh = 16.7 mm, Lhi = 3.9 mm, Di = 8.4 mm (for
F = 0.25)

55
The gap variation does not have much effect on the first resonance. However, there is

a change in the bandwidth of second and third resonance band. As the gap decreases,

impedance bandwidth decreases in second band and increases in third band. This could

be due to variation in coupling from outer monopole edge to inner circles as well as

mutual coupling between the inner circles. From the exhaustive simulation, g2 is

optimized as 0.5 mm so that second and third bands cover the intended application

frequencies. This corresponds to 0.014λg3 where λg3 is the guide wavelength at third

resonance.

3.3 SURFACE CURRENT DISTRIBUTION OF CPW-FED FRACTAL

MULTIBAND ANTENNA

The surface current distribution of the antenna at the three resonance frequencies is

shown in Fig. 3.10.

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 3.10 Simulated surface current distribution of CPW-fed fractal

multiband antenna at resonance frequencies (a) 1.8 GHz (b)
3.8 GHz (c) 5.8 GHz with ϵr = 4.4, h = 1.6 mm, D = 34 mm,
Lg = 17 mm, Wg = 13 mm, Wf = 3 mm, g1 = 0.3 mm, s = 0.55
mm, g2 = 0.5 mm, Lh = 16.7 mm, Di = 8.4 mm and Lhi = 3.9
mm (for F = 0.25)

56
At the first resonance, a full wave variation in current is seen along the perimeter of

the hexagon. This confirms that the first band can be designed based on the side of the

hexagon Lh. The current distribution on the inner circles indicates that they have

minimal effect on the first resonance band. At the second resonance, there is a variation

in current on the upper and middle inner circles which shows an increased coupling of

energy between monopole and inner circles. This results in the shifting in resonance of

the second band to the lower side when the structure is iterated to iteration 1, as seen

in Fig. 3.2. At the third resonance, current variation is seen on all the inner circles and

also along the length and width of the ground plane.

3.4 DESIGN EQUATIONS OF CPW-FED FRACTAL MULTIBAND

ANTENNA

Based on the parametric analysis it is seen that each resonance is controlled by a

different set of antenna parameters. Accordingly, the design equations for the triple-

band antenna are formulated. The step by step procedure for designing the antenna is

as follows:

1) Design a 50 Ω CPW line of width, Wf and gap, g1 on a substrate with relative

permittivity Πr (Garg et al., 2001). Calculate effective permittivity of the
substrate Πreff using Πreff = (Πr + 2) / 3.

2) The length of the ground plane on either side of the feed line is calculated using

‘ = 0.566•X (3.1)

where λc is the guide wavelength corresponding to center frequency of the

UWB operating range.

3) The width of the ground plane on either side of the feed line is calculated using

c‘ = 0.433•X (3.2)

57
4) Design a circular monopole of diameter

˜ = 0.405•™ (3.3)

where λm is the guide wavelength corresponding to the average frequency, fm

of desired lower resonance frequency and UWB lower limit.

5) The gap between monopole and ground, s is set using

š = 0.017•Xœ (3.4)

where λc’ is the guide wavelength corresponding to center of ultra wide

operating range from fm.

6) Design the hexagonal slot side length using the regression equation

 = −5.33† − 0.85Œ − 0.558ℎ + 30.987 (3.5)

where f1 is the frequency in GHz corresponding to the first resonance. This

equation is valid for substrates with 2.2 < Πr < 6.15 and 0.8 mm < h < 2 mm
for frequency range 1.6 GHz < f1 < 2.2 GHz.

7) The inner circles that form the fractal pattern are designed using fractal scaling
factor
€ Ž€
b= 
= Ž
= 0.25 (3.6)

8) Spacing between inner circles and hexagonal slot side is calculated as

 = 0.014•‘& (3.7)

where λg3 is the guide wavelength corresponding to the third resonance.

To validate the design equations, the antenna dimensions to obtain three resonance

frequencies 1.8 GHz, 3.8 GHz and 5.8 GHz are computed for different substrates as

shown in Table 3.1. The simulated reflection characteristics obtained for the antennas

so designed on different substrates are shown in Fig. 3.11.

58
 Table 3.1 CPW-fed fractal multiband antenna parameters for
different substrates obtained from design equations
Substrate

Parameter 1 2 3 4
(mm) Rogers Rogers
Rogers 5880 FR-4 Epoxy
RO4003 RO3006
Gr = 2.2 Gr = 4.4
Gr = 3.55 Gr = 6.15
h 1.57 0.8 1.6 1.28

Wf 4 6 3 2.58

g1 0.17 0.3 0.3 0.45

Lg 21 18.2 16.98 15.03

Wg 16.03 13.94 13 11.49

Lh 18.65 17.9 16.7 15.45

D 41.9 36.5 33.9 31

s 0.66 0.57 0.53 0.47

Di 10.5 9.1 8.5 7.75

Lhi 4.4 4.25 3.9 3.63

g2 0.61 0.53 0.49 0.44

Fig. 3.11 Simulated reflection characteristics of CPW-fed fractal

multiband antenna on different substrates

59
On all the substrates, the designed antenna resonances are in reasonably good

agreement with desired results which ensures repeatability of the proposed design. The

resonances obtained by simulation are compared with the desired resonances and

percentage error is shown in Table. 3.2. On all substrates, the design results in triple-

band operation for similar frequency ranges with a maximum error less than 3 %.

Table 3.2 % Error in simulated frequency of CPW-fed fractal

multiband antenna for different dielectric substrates at f1
= 1.8 GHz, f2 = 3.8 GHz and f3 = 5.8 GHz

Simulated Frequency
Substrate Error (%)
(GHz)
f1 f2 f3 f1 f2 f3
Rogers 5880
1.77 3.71 5.89 1.6 2.3 1.5
(¡r = 2.2, h = 1.57 mm)
Rogers RO4003
1.79 3.79 5.82 0.55 0.26 0.34
(¡r = 3.55, h = 0.8 mm)
FR-4 Epoxy
1.82 3.7 5.91 1.11 2.63 1.86
(¡r = 4.4, h = 1.6 mm)
Rogers RO3006
1.81 3.86 5.72 0.55 1.5 1.37
(¡r = 6.15, h = 1.28 mm)

3.5 REFLECTION CHARACTERISTICS OF CPW-FED FRACTAL

MULTIBAND ANTENNA

The antenna is fabricated on a substrate of thickness 1.6 mm and permittivity 4.4 with

optimized dimensions as shown in Fig. 3.12 (a). Measurements are carried out using

Agilent PNA E8362B. The reflection characteristics show fairly good agreement as

seen in Fig. 3.12 (b).

60
 (a) (b)

Fig. 3.12 (a) Fabricated prototype (b) Simulated and measured

reflection characteristics of the CPW-fed fractal multiband
antenna with ϵr = 4.4, h = 1.6 mm, D = 34 mm, Lg = 17 mm,
Wg = 13 mm, Wf = 3 mm, g1 = 0.3 mm, s = 0.55 mm, g2 =
0.5 mm, Lh = 16.7 mm, Di = 8.4 mm and Lhi = 3.9 mm (for
F = 0.25)

Simulated and measured results show similar behaviour and desired triple-band

characteristics are obtained.

At higher frequencies, the measured and simulated results show some difference. This

may be due to uncertainty in thickness and/or dielectric constant of substrate and

soldering effects of the sub miniature version A (SMA) connector, which have been

neglected in the simulations. But the structure still exhibits triple-band behaviour as

observed in simulated results. The measured bandwidths are from 1.63 - 2.07 GHz,

3.63 - 4.22 GHz and 5.08 - 6.48 GHz for S11 ≤ -10 dB.

3.6 RADIATION PATTERN OF CPW-FED FRACTAL MULTIBAND

ANTENNA

The simulated 3D radiation pattern of the antenna at the resonance frequencies is

plotted in Fig. 3.13. As is seen in the current distribution of Fig. 3.10, the first

61
resonance is due to perimeter of the hexagon alone and there is negligible contribution

of the ground plane. This results in a doughnut shaped pattern which is typical of a

dipole antenna.

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 3.13 Simulated 3D radiation patterns of the CPW-fed fractal

multiband antenna at the three resonance frequencies (a)
1.8 GHz (b) 3.8 GHz (c) 5.8 GHz with ϵr = 4.4, h = 1.6
mm, D = 34 mm, Lg = 17 mm, Wg = 13 mm, Wf = 3 mm,
g1 = 0.3 mm, s = 0.55 mm, g2 = 0.5 mm, Lh = 16.7 mm, Di
= 8.4 mm and Lhi = 3.9 mm (for F = 0.25)

At the second resonance, the current distribution along the perimeter of the hexagon

resembles a second order harmonic. Thus the pattern changes its shape to a slightly

pinched doughnut with a radiation increase along θ = 45º as shown in Figure 3.13 (b).

At the third resonance, current distribution along the perimeter of the hexagon

corresponds to a higher order mode. There is a current variation on the lower and

middle inner circles which also causes radiation. Due to the combined effect a slight

degradation is seen in the radiation pattern.

Measured radiation patterns of the antenna at the resonances observed during testing

are plotted in Fig. 3.14.

62
 X-Z X-Y

(a)

(b)

(c)
Co- polarization
Cross-polarization

Fig. 3.14 Normalized 2D radiation pattern of the CPW-fed fractal

multiband antenna measured at (a) 1.8 GHz (b) 3.8 GHz
(c) 5.8 GHz with ϵr = 4.4, h = 1.6 mm, D = 34 mm, Lg =
17 mm, Wg = 13 mm, Wf = 3 mm, g1 = 0.3 mm, s = 0.55
mm, g2 = 0.5 mm, Lh = 16.7 mm, Di = 8.4 mm and Lhi =
3.9 mm (for F = 0.25)

Normalized patterns of the antenna are plotted in two principal planes. The antenna

has a figure-8 pattern in the E-plane (X-Z). In the H-plane (X-Y) the pattern is non-

directional in all the frequency bands of interest like that of an ordinary dipole antenna.

The radiation patterns show good cross polarization levels at the first and third

resonance. At the second resonance however, the antenna exhibits poor cross

63
polarization which could be attributed to the second harmonic characteristics seen at

this resonance.

3.7 GAIN AND EFFICIENCY OF CPW-FED FRACTAL MULTIBAND

ANTENNA

The antenna gain and efficiency are measured and the results are shown in Fig. 3.15.

(a) (b)

Fig. 3.15 (a) Peak gain and (b) Efficiency of CPW-fed fractal
multiband antenna with ϵr = 4.4, h = 1.6 mm, D = 34 mm,
Lg = 17 mm, Wg = 13 mm, Wf = 3 mm, g1 = 0.3 mm, s =
0.55 mm, g2 = 0.5 mm, Lh = 16.7 mm, Di = 8.4 mm and
Lhi = 3.9 mm (for F = 0.25)

The antenna has a peak gain of 2.51 dBi in the first band, 2.45 dBi in the second band

and 2.67 dBi in the third band. The efficiency plot shows a similar variation as the gain

values with a maximum of 78 %, 52 % and 76 % in the three bands respectively.

3.8 CHAPTER SUMMARY

This chapter presents a CPW-fed fractal antenna design for triple-band applications.

The overall antenna size is 34×51.3 mm2 on a substrate of relative permittivity 4.4 and

64
thickness 1.6 mm. The operating bands are 1.63-2.07 GHz, 3.63-4.22 GHz and 5.08-

6.48 GHz which makes the antenna suitable for GSM, IMT advanced system for 4G

mobile communication systems and upper WLAN applications. The results of the

proposed antenna were published initially, however further optimization led to better

results which are presented in this chapter. The antenna is compared with some of the

recently proposed multiband fractal antennas as shown in Table 3.3.

Table 3.3 Comparison of proposed antenna with existing multiband

fractal antennas

No. of Lowest
Antenna Size(mm3) Peak
operating operating ¡r
Gain
bands frequency
43×43×0.8
Mirkamali et 5 0.89 GHz 4.4 1.9-7.1
Ground plane-
al. (2010) dBi
15 cm×15 cm
Aziz et al. 4 0.88 GHz 62×89.6×0.78 4.7 1-4 dBi
(2011)
Hongnara et 3 1.67 GHz 48×50×0.8 4.2 1-3.5
al. (2012) dBi
Oraizi and
Hedayati 3 2.9 GHz 26.5×33.5×1.6 4.4 3-5 dBi
(2014)

Kumar et al. 3 2.33 GHz 50×50×3.34 2.2/ 6.33-

(2014) 4.4 8.68 dBi

Proposed 3 1.63 GHz 34×51.3×1.6 4.4 2.45-

antenna 2.67 dBi

In the antenna proposed by Mirkamali et al. (2010), higher number of operating bands

with a much lower operating frequency is reported. The antenna monopole is also

compact; however, a very large ground plane is required. The antenna by Aziz et al.

(2011) also has a higher number of operating bands with a much lower operating

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frequency for the first resonance, but the antenna size is much larger compared to the

proposed structure. The performance of the antenna by Hongnara et al. (2012) is quite

similar to the proposed antenna but is of larger size. Three operating bands are achieved

in the antenna by Oraizi and Hedayati (2014), and the antenna size is smaller than the

proposed geometry. However, the lowest operating frequency is much higher for this

antenna. The antenna proposed by Kumar et al. (2014), has much higher gain than the

proposed antenna. However, a stacked design involving two types of substrates with

an air gap in between is used which makes the antenna very bulky. Hence on

comparison with some of the antennas developed on substrates with similar relative

permittivity, it is seen that the proposed antenna has a compact size and appreciable

gain. The antenna is thus suitable for multiband wireless applications in handheld

devices.

The objective was to develop a multiband antenna incorporating UWB applications.

Multiband behavior is achieved by inserting a hexagonal slot in a circular monopole

and then creating a fractal pattern. However, on introducing the hexagonal slot, UWB

characteristics of the circular monopole degraded. To achieve lower bands of operation

while retaining UWB characteristics, the shape of the hexagonal slot is modified to

create a new design as proposed in Chapter 4.

66