Mandelbrot fractal microstrip antennas

Abstract

This article proposes the use of complex plane fractal Mandelbrot set geometries, which are of the escape-time fractal type, in the development of microstrip patch antennas fed by a coaxial cable. These antennas are developed for near millimeter-wave applications. Basically, the Mandelbrot fractal geometry is designed from a circular geometry enabling intrinsically a patch element size reduction. In addition, this work is aimed to investigate the effect of using Mandelbrot fractal patch geometry with different iterations. Thereafter, Mandelbrot microstrip patch antennas are designed and simulated using Ansoft HFSS software package. Prototypes are fabricated and tested to validate the design procedure. Good agreement is obtained between simulation and experimental results. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:83–86, 2016