Publication Date
2018
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Christopher Barton (Committee Member), Jason Deibel (Committee Member), Sarah Tebbens (Advisor)
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
Finite element method analysis is used to conduct electromagnetic simulations to characterize fractal antennas. This work considers wire (1D) antennas such as the triadic Koch curve, zig zag, and quadratic Koch curve of varying heights, iterations, and cross-sectional areas. Carpet (2D) antennas, including the Sierpinksi carpet, of varying heights, iterations, and deterministic and stochastic iterations are analyzed. The antenna shapes were generated in MATLAB and then modeled with finite element analysis using COMSOL Multiphysics®. The focus of this study is to determine what role various fractal patterns and iterations have on the S11 return loss and far field radiation patterns. Specifically, changes in directionality of the emitted radiation and return loss over a range of frequencies, between 0.2 to 2.2 GHz, are examined. Parameters that are manipulated to assess the influence on antenna performance include varying the fractal generator, varying the number of iterations to make more complex shapes, scaling the antennas, and varying the cross sectional area. Antennas with fractal shapes are shown to have multiple operational bandwidths and exhibit directionality changes with frequency in the far field radiation pattern.
Page Count
173
Department or Program
Department of Physics
Year Degree Awarded
2018
Copyright
Copyright 2018, all rights reserved. My ETD will be available under the "Fair Use" terms of copyright law.
