CRS has developed a novel conformal multiband antenna
utilizing fractal geometries. Fractals have no characteristic
sizes and are generally composed of many copies of seed
element. This enables the antenna structure to have an
infinite number of resonances and provides a means of
realizing ultra-wideband antennas. Fractal antennas possess
highly desirable attributes such as: (1) compact size,
(2) low profile, (3) conformal, and (4) multiband or broadband.
The antenna was shown to achieve a good input impedance
matching and desirable hemispherical beam patterns throughout
a 1-15 GHz range. The designed antenna is a microstrip
patch-type antenna, which can be easily printed on a substrate
material. A variety of combinations of operating frequencies
and bandwidths are possible. CRS’s fractal antenna
is best suited for conformal applications. The ground
plane in the backside of the substrate offers great versatilities
in applying it on various mounting platforms. CRS’s
fractal antenna can be easily mounted on aircraft or spacecraft
bodies. The footprint of the antenna is only 50mm (W)
x 50mm (L) x 3.175mm (H). It can also be formed as an
array configuration for SatCom applications. Other versions
of fractal antennas for various applications are also
available.