0 IEE 1998 Electronics Letters Online No: 19981128

4 June 1998

M. Himdi, 0. Lafond, S. Laignier and J.P. Daniel (Laboratoire Antennes & Reseaux, UPRESA-CNRS 6075, Universitt! de Rennes I, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France)

References
1
HIMDI, M., DANIEL, J.P., and TERRET, c.: 'Analysis of aperture coupled microstrip antenna using cavity method', Electron. Lett., 1989, 25, (6), pp. 391-392 HADDAD, P.R., and POZAR, D.M.: 'Characterisation of aperture coupled microstrip patch antenna with thick ground plane', Electron. Lett., 1994, 30, (14), pp. 1106-1107 TAKEUCHI, K., CHUJO, w., and FUJISE, M.: 'A slot coupled microstrip antenna with thick ground plane'. EMC'93, pp. 914-916 BHARTIA, P., and BAHL, I.J.: 'Millimeter wave engineering and applications' (Wiley, New York, 1984),pp. 358-382 HADDAD, P.R., and POZAR, D.M.: 'Analysis of an aperture coupled microstrip patch antenna with thick ground plane'. IEEE-APS,

2
3
4 5

measured but is expected to be slightly higher than that of the Bowtie monopole. Radiation patterns over the band were multilobed with dominant multipole behaviour, similar to that of the previously reported patterns [11. The fractal volume concept can be applied to any other type of fractal gasket pattem and methods of further optimising the design remain to be investigated but, in the absence of a precise mathematical model, there are few design gudelines. An inverted planar triangular monopole was recently reconfigured as an anisotropic conducting surface to improve the matching bandwidth [3] and it is likely that there is no unique planar conductor geometry that will give optimal characteristics.

June 1994, Seattle, Vol. 2, pp. 932-935

-30

Fractal volume antennas

G.J. Walker and J.R. James
The fractal volume antenna concept is introduced in order to increase the degree of design freedom associated with fractal antenna elements and hence improve their input matching

-40

5
frequency,GHz

10

characteristics. Practical examples are given involving the Sierpinslu triangular gasket monopole and a novel Sierpinski carpet gasket microstrip antenna. The scope for further optimisation and some manufacturing aspects are noted.
Zntroduction: The recent interest in fractal antenna behaviour has drawn attention to the interesting properties of the Sierpinski gasket antenna [l], whereby an excellent input match is obtained at log periodic frequency separations. At other frequencies the fractal antenna is poorly matched compared to its non-fractal version, the Bowtie monopole. Ways of reconfiguring the Sierpinski gasket antenna to obtain design control of the periodic matching behaviour have been demonstrated [2]. Other types of fractal planar radiating elements will offer different matching characteristics but, like the Sierpinski gasket, the fractal pattern design will always be constrained to two dimensions of freedom. In this Letter, the fractal volume antenna concept is introduced and demonstrated as a means of increasing the degree of design freedom of planar fractal antennas at the expense of some small increase in thickness of the antenna. The volume concept is applied to both monopole and microstrip antennas with the aim of increasing the matching bandwidth. Fractal volume monopole: A previously described [1 1 Sierpinski

Fig. 1 Return loss S,, of various monopole antennas mounted on ground plane (see inset sketches) _ _ _ _ Bowtie antenna .....,,..., Sierpinski gasket antenna A of order 5

fractal volume antenna comprising sandwiched Sierpinski gaskets A, B and C having size scaling factors 1, 0.8 and 1.2, respectively Substrate with relative permittivity = 2.2; h = 0.38"; expanded polystyrene foam thickness d = 1mm
0-

-10-

U 7
9

-20 -

-30-

gasket antenna of order 5 was printed on a 0.38" substrate having a relative permittivity of 2.2. The SI,characteristic relative to a 500" diameter ground plane is shown in Fig. 1 and exhibits the expected multiband response over a band from 0.3 to 13GHz. For comparison, the SI, characteristic of a Bowtie monopole is also given and this antenna is a continuous printed triangular conductor having the same outline dimensions as the Sierpinski gasket monopole item A in Fig. 1. The latter fractal pattem has been reproduced with scaling factors of 0.8 and 1.2 to, respectively, create Sierpinski gaskets B and C which, together with gasket A, are sandwiched together with polystyrene foam spacers to form the fractal monopole antenna whose SI, is given in Fig. 1. The aim here is to compound the scaled multiband resonant characteristics to create a more continuously matched wideband monopole. This has been achieved and the fractal volume antenna is generally as well matched as the Bowtie monopole or considerably better at the deep nulls which now have no regular logarithmic period. Several spacer thicknesses were tried and d = lmm appeared to be optimum. This volume configuration thus equates to the matching performance of a printed Bowtie monopole at the expense of a somewhat thicker assembly of 3.14". The antenna loss was not

10

20

001121 Fig. 2 Return loss SI, of fractal volume microstrip antenna comprising Sierpinski carpet gaskets D, E and F printed on substrate with relative permittivity = 2.2 (see inset sketch)
Fractal volume microstrip antenna: It has previously been estab-

frequency,GHz

lished [4] that microstrip patch antennas can function as radiating elements when holes are cut in their conducting surface. The presence of the holes alters the current paths and hence the tuning. It was considered that the application of the fractal volume concept to a microstrip rectangular patch antenna will create a broadband radiator and the S,, measurements in Fig. 2 confirm this. The volume construction comprises three Sierpinski carpet gaskets, D, E and F in Fig. 2, printed on 0.5" substrates of relative permitivity 2.2. The gaskets are then sandwiched together and laid on a conventional microstrip feed line as shown in Fig. 2. The overlaid assembly is 1.5" thick. Gaskets D and E are, respectively, frstand second-order fractals, while gasket F is a larger hole second-

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order fractal. The return loss is better than -6dB over 7 to 16GHz with the response oscillating around a -1OdB level.

Loaded monopole antenna: Fourier series and admittance coefficient analysis

A.D. Wunsch
A Fourier series method is presented for determining the self and mutual admittance between two generators driving a monopole antenna. It is shown that the admittances are useful in practical problems involving a monopole with a lumped load. They are applied to the loading of a base driven monopole to produce an outgoing travelling wave between generator and load.

Introduction: The perfectly conducting wire antenna with lumped

-90

I
0 e,deg

90

Fig. 3 H-plane radiation patterns of fractal volume microstrip antenna of Fig. 2

_---

loads has been studied with the Wiener-Hopf [l] and King-Middleton [2] methods. We present a simple altemative approach. With a Fourier series solution to the integral equation for a monopole we find the self and mutual admittances for the two generators in Fig. 1. Knowing these parameters, we have essentially solved three important problems for the base driven monopole: the effect on the driving impedance of a given load, the load needed to produce a given driving impedance, and the load required to produce a travelling outgoing wave on the antenna. Results for a monopole are adaptable to the dipole.

7.5GHz 12GHz
monopole

f
IcI I

A continuous conducting patch of the same shape resonates around 1.2GHz and a resonant peak at this frequency is present. The current flow in the fractal volume antenna concept is necessarily influenced by the screening effect of one gasket on another and the stacking sequence D, E, F used in Fig. 2 was an optimum combination. Some small increase in antenna loss is again anticipated but was not measured. Examples of the radiation patterns at two frequencies are given in Fig. 3. The use of other types of fractal gaskets in this volume concept remains to be investigated and it is of interest for establishing the extent to which the perfomance of conventional stacked broadband microstrip antennas [SI can be approached or indeed exceeded for a given overall thickness of the antenna.
Conclusion: It has been demonstrated that the fractal volume antenna concept gives additional degrees of freedom when designing fractal wideband printed monopole and microstrip patch antennas. The thickness of the planar antenna elements is necessarily increased and some small increase in loss is likely. The polarisation characteristics will, however, be significantly perturbed as is typical of fractal radiating elements. Whether or not the fractal volume antenna concept can be optimised further to exceed the matching performance of conventional printed elements remains to be investigated. The fractal volume concept can be advantageously constructed as a moulded composite material which is attractive from a manufacturing and robustness standpoint. 0 IEE 1998 Electronics Letters Online No: 19981135
10 June 1998

Fig. 1 Monopole fed at base and z = L Theory: In Fig. 1, I(z) is the axial phasor current along the wire monopole of length h and diameter 2a. The currents supplied by the generators are Il and I*. The relationships between generator voltages and currents are given by the equations

4 = y21v1 y2zv2 1 1 = y l l w +Yl2m (1) where ylZ= yzl. The method used to find y , is an extension of a method of Zuhrt [3, 41 for the centre-driven wire dipole. We apply the method of images to treat the multiply-driven monopole. With the current along the antenna approximated by the finite Fourier series
1 ( z )=

G.J. Walker and J.R. James (Department of Aerospace, Power and

Sensors, Royal Military College of Science. Cranfeld University, Shrivenham, Swindon, Wilts. SN6 8LA, United Kingdom)

c
N
n=l

a, cos((2n - l ) m / ( 2 h ) )

(2)

the coefficients a,, are given as the solution of

ca,zmn=bm
n= 1

References
c., ROMEU, J., PIOUS, R., GARCIA, x., and BENITEZ, F.: Fractal multiband antenna based on the Sierpinski gasket, Electron. Lett., 1996, 32, (I), pp. 1-2 2 PUENTE, c., ROMEU, J., BARTOLEME, R., and PIOUS, R.: Perturbation of the Sierpinski antenna to allocate operating bands, Electron. Lett, 1996, 32, (24), pp. 2186-2188 3 ANDRASIC, G., DREWETT, R., MORROW, I., and JAMES, J.R.: New
1
PUENTE,
anisotropic monopole

m=1,2,3 ,...,N

(3)

where
zmn = Cmn

/o

O0

y2 JJ (yv)Hi(yv) cos2 (7rx/2)dx [ ( 2 m- 1 ) 2 - $][(an - 1)2 - X Z ]

(4)

and

bandwidth

extension

concept,

Electron

Lett., 1994, 30, (24), pp. 1998-2000

and ANDRASIC, G.: Superimposed dichroic microstrip antenna arrays, IEE Proc. H, 1988, 135, (9,pp. 304312 5 TARGONSKI, s.D., WATERHOUSE, R.B., and POZAR, D.M.: Wideband aperture coupled stacked patch antenna using thick substrates, Electron. Lett., 1996, 32, (21), pp. 1941-1942
JAMES, J.R.,

v = 7ra/(2h) IC =
y = Jy2
y=
-

x2 for x

5y
y = 4h/X

- j d m for x 2 y

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