05-07-2013, 12:05 PM
Fractal Antennas
[attachment=56463]
INTRODUCTION
Antenna design is a very tricky problem. Common designs are sensitive to only a narrow range of frequencies, and are not efficient if they are smaller than a quarter of the wavelength. This is a problem for small, portable antennas, such as those on cellular phones.
Fractal antenna designs (see Hohlfeld and Cohen) can overcome some of these problems. Experiments have shown that antennas built with only a small number of iterations of a fractal process can exhibit sensitivity at several frequencies. As the number of iterations increases, the lowest frequency of the antenna gets lower, and additional higher frequencies are added. Also, fractal antennas can operate efficiently at one-quarter the size of more traditional designs. Properly harnessed, these features represent real advantages. Several companies already are using fractals for compact, multifrequency antennas in cellular phones and military communications hardware. Fractal Antenna Systems, http://www.fractenna.com, a company founded by Nathan Cohen, has built a Sierpinski carpet cellular phone antenna fitting inside the body of the phone, and the multifrequency aspect of the antenna will allow GPS to be incorporated in the phone. Other applications include compact, multifrequency wireless LAN and maritime antennas. Several Fractal Antenna System designs are shown below.
Fractal Antenna Technology
Fractus applies the space-filling and multiple-scale properties of fractal geometries to the development of fractal antennas for mobile telecommunications devices and infrastructure. This enables Fractus to produce maximum antenna performance with minimum antenna space.
The key benefits of fractal antenna technology are:
• Reduced antenna size
• Multi-band functionality
• Improved antenna performance
Robust communications links are achieved with fractal-shaped antennas by not only using repeating and self-similar shapes, but also with irregular shapes that may not be immediately recognised as fractal.
Fractal antenna technology is geometry-based, not material based. Therefore, fractal antennas are manufactured from standard materials and substrates, using standard processes. OEMs, ODMs and CEMs are able to take advantage of maximum flexibility and cost-effectiveness, from design through to final assembly, with no need to change processes or deal with special materials to produce Fractus fractal antennas.
Fractus pioneered the use of fractal antenna design and development, and employs an experienced and highly qualified team of antenna design engineers committed to continual development of Fractus' fractal antenna technology and to customer service and support. R&D plays an integral role at Fractus. This way, Fractus ensures that new products have the right fractal antenna at the right price and the right time.
Fractus commitment to fractal antenna R&D resulted, in 2006, in the announcement of the first fractal based antenna integrated into a semiconductor package, enabling true Antenna-in-Package technology for the first time.
Fractals
Fractals are patterns that feature geometric elements at ever smaller scales to produce both self-similar and irregular shapes and surfaces. Fractal shapes are often self-similar (segments look like each other and like the whole object) and independent of scale (they look similar, no matter how close you zoom in).
Fractals found in naturally occurring phenomena such as lightning and snowflakes, take fractal forms because they provide structural efficiency. Plants like ferns and capillary patterns in skin have evolved fractal forms because they effectively exploit all the available space to maximize their functions.
[attachment=56463]
INTRODUCTION
Antenna design is a very tricky problem. Common designs are sensitive to only a narrow range of frequencies, and are not efficient if they are smaller than a quarter of the wavelength. This is a problem for small, portable antennas, such as those on cellular phones.
Fractal antenna designs (see Hohlfeld and Cohen) can overcome some of these problems. Experiments have shown that antennas built with only a small number of iterations of a fractal process can exhibit sensitivity at several frequencies. As the number of iterations increases, the lowest frequency of the antenna gets lower, and additional higher frequencies are added. Also, fractal antennas can operate efficiently at one-quarter the size of more traditional designs. Properly harnessed, these features represent real advantages. Several companies already are using fractals for compact, multifrequency antennas in cellular phones and military communications hardware. Fractal Antenna Systems, http://www.fractenna.com, a company founded by Nathan Cohen, has built a Sierpinski carpet cellular phone antenna fitting inside the body of the phone, and the multifrequency aspect of the antenna will allow GPS to be incorporated in the phone. Other applications include compact, multifrequency wireless LAN and maritime antennas. Several Fractal Antenna System designs are shown below.
Fractal Antenna Technology
Fractus applies the space-filling and multiple-scale properties of fractal geometries to the development of fractal antennas for mobile telecommunications devices and infrastructure. This enables Fractus to produce maximum antenna performance with minimum antenna space.
The key benefits of fractal antenna technology are:
• Reduced antenna size
• Multi-band functionality
• Improved antenna performance
Robust communications links are achieved with fractal-shaped antennas by not only using repeating and self-similar shapes, but also with irregular shapes that may not be immediately recognised as fractal.
Fractal antenna technology is geometry-based, not material based. Therefore, fractal antennas are manufactured from standard materials and substrates, using standard processes. OEMs, ODMs and CEMs are able to take advantage of maximum flexibility and cost-effectiveness, from design through to final assembly, with no need to change processes or deal with special materials to produce Fractus fractal antennas.
Fractus pioneered the use of fractal antenna design and development, and employs an experienced and highly qualified team of antenna design engineers committed to continual development of Fractus' fractal antenna technology and to customer service and support. R&D plays an integral role at Fractus. This way, Fractus ensures that new products have the right fractal antenna at the right price and the right time.
Fractus commitment to fractal antenna R&D resulted, in 2006, in the announcement of the first fractal based antenna integrated into a semiconductor package, enabling true Antenna-in-Package technology for the first time.
Fractals
Fractals are patterns that feature geometric elements at ever smaller scales to produce both self-similar and irregular shapes and surfaces. Fractal shapes are often self-similar (segments look like each other and like the whole object) and independent of scale (they look similar, no matter how close you zoom in).
Fractals found in naturally occurring phenomena such as lightning and snowflakes, take fractal forms because they provide structural efficiency. Plants like ferns and capillary patterns in skin have evolved fractal forms because they effectively exploit all the available space to maximize their functions.