An Overview' of Fractal Antenna Engineering Research

Douglas H. Werner' and Suman Gangul#

'Communications a n d S p a c e Sciences Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering T h e Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 USA Tel: + I (814) 863-2946; E-mail: [email protected] 'Center For R e m o t e Sensing, Inc. 11350 R a n d o m Hills Rd., Suite 710, Fairfax, VA 2 2 0 3 0 USA Tel: + I (703) 3 8 5 7 7 1 7 ; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract
Recent efforts by several researchers around the world to combine fractal geometry with electromagnetic theory have led to a plethora of new and innovative antenna designs. In ttlis report, we provide a comprehensive overview of recent developments in t h e rapidly growing field of fractal antenna engineering. Fractal antenna engineering research h a s been primarily focused in two a r e a s : t h e first deals with the analysis and design o f fractal antenna elements, and the s e c o n d concerns t h e application of fractal concepts to the design of antenna arrays. Frilctals have no characteristic size, a n d are generally c o m p o s e d of many copies of themselves at different scales. T h e s e uniqile properties of fractals h a v e b e e n exploited in order to develop a new class of antenna-element designs that are multi-band and/or compact in size. On the other hand, fractal arrays are a s u b s e t of thinned arrays, and have been shown to p o s s e s s several highly desirable properties, including multi-band performance. low sidelobe levels, and the ability to develop rapid beamforming algorithms based on t h e recursive nature of fractals. Fractal e l e m e n t s a n d arrays are also ideal candidates for use in reconfigurable systems. Finally, we will provide a brief s u m m a r y of recent work in t h e related area o f fractal frequency-selective surfaces. Keywords: Fractals; electrodynamics; antennas; antenna theory; antenna arrays; frequency selective surfaces; multi-band a n t e n n a s ; log periodic antennas; miniature antennas; antenna radiation patterns

1. Introduction
here has been an ever-growing demand, in both the military as well as the commercial sectors, for antenna designs that possess the following highly desirable attributes: 1. Compact size 2. Low profile 3. Conformal 4. Multi-hand or broadband There are a variety of approaches that have been developed over the years, which can be utilized to achieve one or more of these design objectives. For instance, an excellent overview of .various useful techniques for designing compact (i.e., miniature) antennas may be found in [I]and 121. Moreover, a number ofapproaches for designing multi-band (primarily, dual-hand) antennas have been summarized in [3]. Recently, the possibility of developing a.ntenna designs that exploit in some way the properties of fractals to achieve these goals, at least in part, has attracted a lot of attention. The termfrucrul, which means broken or irregular f r a p e n t s , was originally coined by Mandelbrot [4] to describe a family of complex shapes that possess an inherent self-similarity c,r selfaffinity in their geometrical structure. The original inspiration for
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the development of fractal geometry came largely from an in-depth study of the paltems of nature. For instance. fractals have been successfully used to model such complex natural objects as galaxies, cloud boundaries, mountain ranges, coastlines, snowflakes, trees, leaves, ferns, and much more. Since the pioneering work of Mandelbrot and others. a wide variety of avolications for fractals .. continue to be found in many branches of science and engineering. One such area isfractal electrodynamics 15-1 I], in which fractal geometry is combined with electromagnetic theory for the purpose of investigating a new class of radiation, propagation, and scattering problems. One of the most promising areas of fractal-electrodynamics research is in its application to antenna theory and design, Traditional approaches to the analysis and design of antenna systems have their foundation in Euclidean geometry. There has been a considerable amount of recent interest, however, io the possibility of developing new types of antennas that employ fractal rather than Euclidean geometric concepts in their design. We refer to this new and rapidly growing field of research as fractal antenna engineering. Because fractal geometry is an extension of classical geometry, its recent introduction provides engineers with the unprecedented opportunity to explore a virtually limitless number of previously unavailable configurations for possible use in the development of new and innovative antenna designs. There
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are primarily two active areas of research in fractal antenna engineering. These include: I.) the study of fractal-shaped antenna elements, and 2.) the use of fractals in the design of antenna arrays. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of recent developments in the theory and design of fractal antenna elements, as well as fractal antenna arrays. The related area of fractal frequency-selective surfaces will also be considered in this article. We note that there are a number of patents on fractal antenna designs that have been filed and awarded in recent years. The purpose of this article, however, is to present an overview of letters and papers published in technical joumals that deal with the subject of fractal antenna engineering. Therefore, the contents of specific patents will not be discussed here. The interested reader is encouraged to search the various patent databases for this information.

Stage 0

Stage 1

2. Some Useful Geometries for Fractal Antenna Engineering

This section will present a brief overview of some of the more common fractal geometries that have been found to he useful in developing new and innovative designs for antennas. The first fractal that will he considered is the popular Sierpinski gasket [12]. The first few stages in the construction of the Sierpinski gasket are shown in Figure 1. The procedure for geometrically constructing this fractal begins with an equilateral triangle contained in the plane, as illustrated in Stage 0 of Figure 1. The next step in the construction process (see Stage 1 of Figure 1) is to remove the central triangle with verticcs that are located at the midpoints of

Stage 2

Stage 3

Figure 2. The first few stages in the construction of a Koch, snowflake.

Stage 0

Stage 1

T
x
Figure 3. A Stage 4 ternary fractal tree. the sides of the original triangle, shown in Stage 0. This process is then repeated for the three remaining triangles, as illustrated in Stage 2 of Figure I . The next two stages (i.e., Stages 3 and 4) in the construction of the Sierpinski gasket are also shown in Figure 1. The Sierpinski-gasket fractal is generated by carrying out this iterative process an infinite number of times. It is easy to see from this definition that the Sierpinski gasket is an example of a self-similar fractal. From an antenna engineering point of view, a useful interpretation of Figure I is that the black triangular areas represent a metallic conductor, whereas the white triangular areas represent regions where metal has been removed.
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A
Stage 2

Stage 3

Figure 1. Several stages in the construction of a Sierpinski gasket fractal.

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Another popular fractal is known as the Koch snowflake

[ 121. This fractal also starts out as a solid equilateral triangle in the plane, as illustrated in Stage 0 of Figure 2. However, unlike the
Sierpinski gasket, which was formed by systematically removing smaller and smaller triangles from the original structure, the Koch snowflake is constructed by adding smaller and smaller triangles to the structure in an iterative fashion. This process is clearly represented in Figure 2, where the first few stages in the geoinetrical construction o f a Koch snowflake are shown.
A number of structures based on purely deterministic or random fractal trees have also proven to be extremely useful in developing new design methodologies for antennas and frequencyselective surfaces. An example of a deterministic temary (threebranch) fractal tree is shown in Figure 3. This particular ternarytree structure is closely related to the Sierpinski gasket shown in Figure 1. In fact, the ternary-tree geometry illustrated in Figure 3 can be interpreted as a wire cquivalent model of the Stage4 Sierpinski gasket shown in Figure 1.

w
Figure Sa. Some common fractal geometries found in antenna applications: Koch snowtlakes/islands. These are used in miniaturized loop antennas and miniaturized patch antennas.

The space-filling properties of the Hilbert curve and related curves make them attractive candidates for use in the dcsign of fractal antennas. The first four steps in the construction of the Hilbert curve are shown in Figure4 [12]. The Hilbert curve is an example of a space-filling fractal curve that is self-avoiding (i.e., has n o intersection points). Some of the more common fractal geometries that have found applications in antenna engineering are depicted in Figure 5 . The Koch snowflakes and islands have been primarily lused to

5 Y A
Figure 5b. Some common fractal geometries found in antenna applications: Koch curves and fractal trees, used in miniaturized dipole antennas. Figure Sc. Some common fractal geometries found in antenna applications: Sierpinski gaskets and carpets, used in multiband antennas. develop new designs for miniaturized-loop as well as microstrippatch antennas. New designs for miniaturized dipole antennas have also been developed based on a variety of Koch curves and fractal trees. Finally, the self-similar structure of Sierpinski gaskets and carpets has been exploited to develop multi-band antenna elements.

Stage 0

Stage 1

3. iterated Function Systems:

Stage 2
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Stage 3

The Language of Fractals

Iterated function systems (IFS) represent an extremely versatile method for convenicntly generating a wide variety of useful
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Figure 4. The first few stages in the construction of a Hilbert curve.

fractal structures [12, 131. These iterated function systems are based on the application of a series of affine transformations, w, defined by

Now suppose we consider w,, w2, ..., wN as a set of affine linear transformations, and let A be the initial geometry Then a new geometry, produced by applying the set of transformations to the original geometry, A , and collecting the results from >vi ( A ) , wz ( A ) , .", w," ( A ) , can be represented by
N

or, equivalently, bq
w(,r,y) = (ax + by + e, cx + dy + f'),

W(A)=Uw,(A),
, , = I

(4)

(2)

where a , b, c, d , e, and f are real numbers. Hence, the affine transformation, w, is represented by six parameters (3) such that a, b, c, and d control rotation and scaling, while e and f control linear translation.

where W is known as the Hutchinson operator 1121. A fractal geometry can be obtained by repeatedly applying W to the previous geometry. For example, if the set 4 represents the initial geometry, then we will have
AI = W ( 4 ) , A2 = W ( A , ) , ' " . A k i l = W ( A k ) .

(5)

An iterated function system generates a sequence that converges to a final image, & , in such a way that

Figure 6. The standard Koch curve as a n iterated function system (IFS).

Iteration 1

Iteration 2

Iteration 3

Iteration 4
Figure 7. The first four stages in the construction of the standard Koch curve via a n iterated function system (IFS) approach. The trrlnsformation is applied for each iteration to achieve higher levels of fractaliultion.
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Antenoas a n d Propagation Magazine. Vol. 45,NO. I , Febiuaty 2003

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W(&)=&.

(6)

ci

l
I
I

This image is called the attractor of the iterated function system, and represents a "fixed point" of W. Figure 6 illustrates the iterated function system procedure for generating the well-known Koch fractal curve. In this case, the initial set, A,, is the line interval of unit length, i.e.,

0.195 -0.488 0.344 0.443 10.4431 0.2452 0.462 0.414 -0.252 0.361 10.2511 0.5692
I

-0.058 -0.07 0.453 -0.111 10.5976 0.0969 -0.035 0.07 -0.469 -0.022 10.4884 0.5069 -0.637 0.0
I

A, = { x : x ~[0,1]). Four affine linear transformations are then

applied to A,, as indicated in Figure ti. Next, the results of these four linear transformations are combined together to form the first iteration of the Koch curve, denoted by A , . The second iteration of the Koch cuwe, A > , msy then be obtained by applying the same four affine transformations to A , . Higher-order version:; of the Koch cuwe are generated by simply repeating the iterative process until the desired resolution is achieved. The first four iterations of the Koch curve are shown in Figure 7. We note that these curves would converge to the actual Koch fractal, represented by &, as the number of iterations approaches infinity Iterated function systems have proven to he a very powerful design tool for fractal antenna engineers. This is primarily because they provide a general framework for the description, classification, and manipulation of fractals [ 131. In order to further illustrate this important point, the iterated function system code fix such diverse objects as a Sierpinski gasket and a fractal tree haie been provided in Figure 8 and Figure 9, respectively [12].

0.0

0.501 1 0.8562 0.2513

Figure 9. The iterated function system code for a fractal tree.

;
I

4. Fractal Antenna Elements

0.500 0.000 0.000 0.500

0.500 0.000 0.000 0.500
0.500 0.000 0.000 0.500

I 0.000 01.000

i 0.000 0.500

0.500 01.000

4.1 Early Work on Fractal Loop, Dipole, and Monopole Antennas

Apparently, the earliest published reference to use the terms fraclal radiators and fractal anfennas to denote fractal-shaped antenna elements appeared in May, 1994 [14]. Prior to this, the terminology had been introduced publicly during an invited IEEE seminar held at Bucknell University in November, 1993 [IS]. The application of fractal geometry to the design of wire antenna elements was first reported in a series of articles by Cohen [16-19]. These articles introduce the notion offrarlalizing the geometry of a standard dipole or loop antenna. This is accomplished by systematically bending the wire in a fractal way, so that the overall arc length remains the same, hut the size is correspondingly reduced with the addition of each successive iteration. It has been demonstrated that this approach, if implemented properly, can lead to efficient miniaturized antenna designs. For instance, the radiation characteristics of Minkowski dipoles and Minkowski loops were originally investigated in [16-191. Properties of the Koch fractal monopole were later considered in [20, 21 1. It was shown that the electrical performance of Koch fractal monopoles is superior to that of conventional straight-wire monopoles, especially when operated in the small-antenna frequency regime. A fast approximation technique for evaluating the radiation characteristics of the Koch fractal dipole was presented in [22]. Monopole configurations with fractal top-loads have also been considered in 123, 241,
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Figure 8. The iterated function system code for a Sierpinski gasket.

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Figure loa. Variations of the Sierpinski gasket and related multi-hand monopole antennas: a multi-triangular monopole

Figure lob. Variations of the Sierpinski gasket and related multi-band monopole antennas: a standard Sierpinski monopolewith a = 6 0 " a n d 6 = 2 .

Figure 10c. Variations of the Sierpinski gasket and related multi-band monopole antennas: a Sierpinski monopole with a=90"and 6 = 2 .

Figure 10d. Variations of the Sierpinski gasket and related multi-band monopole antennas: a Sierpinski monopole with a=60" and 6=1.5.

Figure 10e. Variations of the Sierpinski gasket and related multi-band monopole antennas: a mud-3 Sierpinski monopole.
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Figure 10f. Variations of the Sierpinski gasket and related multi-band monopole antennas: a mod-5 Sierpinski monopole.
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as an alternative technique for achieving size miniaturization. Finally, the effects of various types of symmetries on the performance of Koch dipole antennas were studied by Cohen [ 2 5 , 261.

4.2 Research on Sierpinski Gasket Antennas

A multi-band fractal monopole antenna, based on the Sierpinski gasket, was first introduced by Puente et al. [27, 281. The original Sierpinski monopole antenna is illustrated in Figure lob. In this case, the antenna geometry is in the form of a classical Sierpinski gasket, with a flare angle of a = 60" and a selfsimilarity scale factor o f 6 = 2 . The dimensions for a prototype Sierpinski gasket monopole are given in Figure I I . Figure 11 also contains plots of simulated and measured values of the input reflection coefficient versus frequency for the antenna, along with the associated curves for input resistance and reactance. A scheme for modifying the spacing between the hands of the Sierpinski monopole was subsequently presented in [29], and later summarized in [I I]. Figure IOd shows an example of a Sierpinski monopole antenna with a flare angle of a = 60" and a self-similarity scale factor of 6 = 1.5. It was demonstrated in [29] that the positions of the multiple hands may be controlled by proper adjustment of the scale factor used to generate the Sierpinski antenna. The transient response of the multi-band Sierpinski monopole was investigated in [30]. This was accomplished by using a Method of Moments technique to solve the time-domain electric-field integral equation via a marching-on-in-time procedure. Linear parametric modeling techniques were also applied, in order to considerably reduce computation time. The dependence of the radiation characteristics of the Sierpinski monopole on flare angle was documented in [31]. Figure IOc shows an example of a Sierpinski monopole with a flare angle of a = 90" and a self-similarity scale factor of S = 2. Further investigations conceming enhancing the performance of Sierpinski-gasket monopoles through perturbations in their geometry were reported in [ 3 2 ] . It was found that a variation in the flare angle of the antenna translatzd into a shift of the operating hands, as well as into a change in the input impedance and radiation patterns. Fast iterative network models that are useful for predicting the performance of Sierpinski fractal antennas were developed in [33-351. The predicted self-similar surface-cunent distribution on a Sierpinski monopole antenna was verified in [36, 371 by using infra-red thermograms. Breden and Langley [38] presented measurements of input impedance and radiation patterns for several printed fractal antennas, including Koch and Sierpinski monopoles.

80 cm
Figure I l a . A five-iteration Sierpinski monopole, showing the dimensions 1111.

4.3 Research on Fractal Tree Antennas

The multi-hand characteristics of a deterministic fractal tree structure were considered in [39]. On the other hand, the multiband properties of random fractal tree-like antennas, created by an electrochemical deposition process, were investigated by Puente et al. [40]. It was found that these fractal tree antennas have a muitiband behavior with a denser hand distribution than the Sierpinski antenna. The multi-hand and wide-hand properties of printed fractal branched antennas were studied in [41]. Werner et al. [42] considered the multi-band electromagnetic properties of thin-wire structures based on a temary-tree fractal geometry. In particular, the impedance behavior of a tri-band ternary fractal tree was studied by carrying out a numerically rigorous Method of Moments
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f (GHz)
Figure l l b . The input reflection coefficient, Tin, relative to

SOR (a); the input resistance, R,, (b); and the input reactance

A ' , , (e) of a the five-iteration Sierpinski monopole of Figure l l a [Ill. The experimental data a r e the solid cnrves, an FDTD calculation is the dashed curves, and DOTIG4 was used to compute the dashed-dotted curves.
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\ /
U
Figure 17. A contour plot showing the self-similar fractal structure of the far-field radiation pattern of a multi-band Weierstrass planar array, with P = 5 and y = 0.5. Figure 18. A schematic representation for a recursively generated thinned hexagonal array. The first four stages of growth are indicated by the blue (Stage l), red (Stagel), green (Stage 3), and orange (Stage 4) arrays respectively. The sixelement generating sub-array is shown in the upper-right-hand corner, where the elements are located at the vertices of the hex agon .

Theta = 0. Phi = 90

Figure 23a. A tri-band FSS design based on the crossbar fractal tree structure shown in Figure 22.

E I

D1

Frequency

do

Figure 23h. The transmission coeflicient for the FSS of Figure 23a.
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4.5 Variations of Sierpinski Gasket Antennas and the Hilbert Curve Antenna
Dual-band designs, based on a variation of the Sierpinski fractal monopole, were presented in [50] and [ 5 1 ] . Specific applications of these designs to emerging GSM and DECT technologies were discussed. The multi-hand properties of fractal monopoles based on the generalized family of mod-p Sierpinski gaskets were recently investigated by Castany et al. [52]. The advantage of this approach is that it provides a high degree of flexibility in choosing the number of bands and the associated hand spacings for a candidate antenna design. Examples of a mod-3 and a mod-5 Sierpinski monopole are shown in Figure 10e and Figure IOf, respectively. A novel configuration of a shorted fractal Sierpinski gasket antenna was presented and discussed in [53]. Figure IOa shows a multitriangular monopole antenna, which is a variation of the Parany antenna, originally considered in [54]. These multi-triangular antennas have been shown to exhibit multi-hand properties with respect to input impedance and radiation pattems, even though their geometty is not strictly fractal. In particular, the properties of the Parany antenna are very similar to those of the Sierpinski antenna shown in Figure 1Oh. An approach for designing short dual-hand multi-triangular monopole antennas was reported in [ 5 5 ] . This approach has the highly-desirahle feature of a hand ratio of less that two between the first and second hands. The space-filling properties of the Hilbert curve were investigated in [56] and [57] as an effective method for designing compact resonant antennas. The effect of the feed-point location on the input impedance of a Hilbert cume antenna was studied in [ 5 8 ] . It

Figure 12. A photograph of a prototype tri-band teruairy fractal tree antenna.

analysis of the structure. The unique multi-band propelties of the antenna were confirmed by comparing the results of the numerical simulations with actual measurements. A photograph of thl: prototype tri-hand ternary fractal tree antenna, which was con:;tructed and measured, is shown in Figure 12. The space-filling properties of two-dimensional and three-dimensional fractal trees were suggested by Gianvittorio and Rahmat-Samii [43, 441 as good candidates for application to the design of miniaturized antennas. It was shown that a reduction in the resonant frequency of a standard dipole can be achieved by end-loading it with two-dimensional or three-dimensional tree-like fractal stmctures. This decrease in resonant frequency was shown to asymptotically approach a limit as the number of iterations are increased. Ways to improve antenna-miniaturization techniques were discussed in [45], employing fractal tree geometries as end-loads by increasing the density of branches (i.e., by using trees with a higher fractal dimension).

4.4 Fractal Volume Antennas

The concept of a fractal volume antenna was introduced in [46], and was demonstrated as a means of increasing the degrees of design freedom for planar fractal antennas, at the expense of some small increase in antenna thickness. Some examples of fractal volume antennas were presented, including a triangular Sierpinski carpet monopole, and a square Sierpinski carpet microstrip antenna. A novel design for a wide-band fractal monopole antenna that used stacked square and diamond Sierpinski carpe1.s was introduced in [47]. The design was shown to essentially achieve a good input impedance match throughout a 1-20 GHz pass band. Other examples of fractal volume antennas include the stacked Sierpinski monopole, considered in [48], and the stacked Sierpinski microstrip patch, considered in [49]. The latter approach made use of small parasitically coupled fractal patch elements, in order to increase the bandwidth compared to a single active fractal patch antenna.

where a,,, b,,, c,,, d,,, e,,,fn are the parameters to be selected by the GA.
Figure 13. The generator and associated iterated function system (IFS) code for fractal dipole antennas of arbitrary shape.

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cu

.* a ; ,
3i
d

"0

0,
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4.7 Combination of Genetic Algorithms with Iterated Function Systems

A powerful design-optimization technique for fractal antennas has been developed by combining genetic algorithms (GA) with iterated function systems (IFS). This GAiIFS technique was succcssfully used as a design synthesis tool for miniature multiband fractal antenna elements [68-701. The fractal antenna element geometries considered in [68-701 were created via an IFS approach by employing an appropriate set of affine transformations, similar to those used in the formulation of the standard Koch curve shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7. The general shape of the generating antcnna, along with the appropriate set of affine transformations that constitutes the IFS, are indicated in Figure 13. Figure 14 shows three different examples of genetically engineered Stage 2 fractal dipole antennas. The GNIFS technique introduced in [68701 is capable of simultaneously optimizing the fractal antenna geometry, the locations of parallel LC reactive loads on the antenna, and the corresponding component values of thesc loads.

Load2

'

Figure 14. Some examples of genetically engineered fractal dipole antennas.

was shown that while a center-fed Hilbert curve antenna may result in a very small radiation resistance: a properly chosen offcenter feed point can always provide a 50R match, regardless of the stage of growth.

I _ 'cm
Load 1:
Load 2:

----I

C1= 3.0 pF L 1 = 2.7 nH CL = 3.3 pF L2 = 3.3 nH

4.6 Research on Fractal Patch Antennas

Borja and Romeu [59] proposed a design methodology for a multi-band Sierpinski microstrip patch antenna. A technique was introduced to improve the multi-band behavior of the radiation pattems by suppressing the effects of high-order modes. Finally, high-directivity modes in a Koch-island fractal patch antenna were studied in [60, 611. It was shown that a patch antenna with a Koch fractal boundary exhibits localized modes at a certain frequency above the fundamental mode, which can lead to broadside directive patterns. Localized modes were also observed in a waveguide having Koch fractal boundaries [62].
Some additional applications of fractal concepts to the (design of microstrip-patch antennas were considered in [63-67:1. For instance, [63] introduced a modified Sierpinski-gasket patch antenna for multi-band applications. A design technique for bowtie microstrip-patch antennas, based on the Sierpinski-gasket fractal, was presented in [64]. A computationally efficient Method of Moments formulation was developed in [ 6 5 ] , specifically far the analysis of Sierpinski fractal patch antennas. The radiation characteristics of Koch-island fractal microstrip-patch antennas were investigated in [66]. Still other configurations for miniaturized fractal patch antennas were reported by Gianvittorio and RahmatSamii [67].
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VSWR VSWR:

1.33 at f=1225MHz 1.10 at f = 1 5 7 5 M H z

Figure 15a. A genetically engineered miniature dual-band fractal dipole antenna element with parallel LC loads.

Figure 15b. A photograph of the dual-band fractal dipole antenna in Figure 15a.
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0.98
0.96 0 . 9 4 0.92

2 4

0 . 9
0 . 8

*
m

0.7
0 . 8

0 . 9
0.88 0 . 8 6

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0 . 4
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2 10 a
12 14

0 . 8 4 0 . 8 2 0.8

0 . 2 0.1
18

2
AmyElemsffi

1 0

12

14

16

Array Elemenis

Figure 21a. A plot showing the magnitude of the impedance matrix for Stage 1 of the triadic Cantor linear fractal array.

Figure Zld. A plot showing the magnitude of the impedance matrix for Stage 4 of the triadic Cantor linear fractal array.

1
OS5

4
08

0 . 9

08

0 75

e 5
P

06
12 16

04

07
065

a 20
24

02

06
0.55

28

32 4
8

1 2

16

20

24

28

32

ArrayELamenB

AnayuenSnb

Figure 21h. A plot showing the magnitude of the impedance matrix for Stage 2 of the triadic Cantor linear fractal array.
1 1
0 . 9
2
0.8

Figure 21e. A plot showing the magnitude of the impedance matrix for Stage 5 of the triadic Cantor linear fractal array.
1

05 0.7

?
$4

m
a
I 5
8

0 . 8
0 . 5 0 . 4

7
8

0 . 3
1 2 3 4 hY5 8 7 8 8 1 8 2 4 3 2 4 0 4 8 5 8 W
.4li7yEbli8

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Figure 21c. A plot showing the magnitude of the impedance matrix for Stage 3 of the triadic Cantor linear fractal array.
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Figure 21f. A plot showing the magnitude of the impedance matrix for Stage 6 of the triadic Cantor linear fractal array.
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5. Fractal Arrays
5.1 Deterministic and Random Fractal Arrays
The term fracral anrenno arrays was originally coined by Kim and Jaggard in 1986 [73] to denote a geometrical arrangement of antenna elements that is fractal. Properties of random fractals were first used in [731 to develop a design methodology for quasirandom arrays. In other words, random fractals were used to generate array configurations that were somewhere between completely ordered (i.e., periodic) and completely disordered (i.e., random). The main advantage of this technique is that it yields sparse arrays that possess relatively low sidelobes (a feature typically associated with periodic arrays, but not random arrays), and which are also robust (a feature typically associated with random arrays, but not periodic arrays). The time-harmonic and time-dependent radiation produced by deterministic fractal arrays in the form of Paskal-Sierpinski gaskets was first studied by Lakhtakia et al. [74]. In particular, the radiation characteristics were examined for Paskal-Sierpinski arrays, comprised of Hertzian dipole sources located at each of the gasket nodes. A family of nonuniform arrays, known as Weierstrass arrays, was first introduced in 1751. These arrays have the property that their element spacings and current distributions are self-scalable and can be generated in a recursive fashion. Synthesis techniques for fractal radiation patterns were developed in [76, 771, based on the self-scalability property characteristic of discrete linear Weierstrass arrays, and the more general class of discrete linear Fourier-Weierstrass arrays. A fractal radiation-pattern synthesis technique for continuous line sources was also presented in [76]. The synthesis techniques developed for linear Weierstrass arrays were later extended to include concentricring arrays by Liang et al. [78].

Figure 16a. A dual-hand direct-write fractal dipole antenna with a direct-write passive LC load on Kapton.
^_--

Figure 16h. The measured frequency response (i.e., SI, versus frequency) of the antenna in Figure 16a is shown via a network-analyzer screen trace. T h e vertical axis is 10 d B per division with 0 d B as the reference.

5.2 Multi-Band Fractal Arrays

A design methodology for multi-band Weierstrass fractal arrays was introduced in [79, 801. The application of fractal concepts to the design of multi-band Koch arrays, as well as multiband and low-sidelobe Cantor arrays, were discussed in [XI, 541. A simplified Koch multi-band array, using windowing and quantization techniques, was presented in [82]. Finally, it was recently shown, in 183-851, that the Weierstrass-type and the Koch-type of multi-band arrays, previously considered independently in [79, 801 and [XI, 541, respectively, are actually special cases of a more general unified family of self-scalable multi-band arrays. A contour plot of the far-field radiation pattern produced by a multi-band Weierstrass planar array is included in Figure 17.

The fractalization of the wire antenna allows it to be miniaturized, while the reactive loads are used to achieve multi-hand behavior. An example of an optimized multi-band fractal antenna is shown in Figure 15. The objective in this case was to design a miniature dual-band antenna that had a VSWR below 2 1 at fi =IS75 GHz and f2=1.225GHz. The geometry of thc optimized fractal antenna, together with the required load locations and component values, are provided in Figure 15. A photograph showing a prototype of the fractal antenna is also included in Figure 15. The sensitivity of the radiation characteristics of the genetically engineered miniature multi-band fractal dipole antennas to load component values was considered in [71]. As a consequence of this study, several new optimization approaches were developed, which resulted in antenna designs with considerably reduced load sensitivity. A direct-write process for fabricating miniature reactively loaded fractal dipole antennas was introduced in [72]. The direct-write approach was compared to a traditional hoard-routed counterpart, incorporating soldered commercial components. A photograph of a miniature loaded dual-band fractal dipole antenna that was direct-written on Kapton is shown in Figure 16. A plot of the measured SI,versus frequency for the antenna is also shown in Figure 16 (sec the screen trace on the network analyzer). The measured data clearly show the dual-band behavior of the fractal antenna.
50

5.3 Cantor, Sierpinski Carpet, and Related Arrays

Other properties of Cantor fractal linear arrays have been studied more recently in [IO, 86, 871. The radiation characteristics of planar concentric-ring Cantor arrays were investigated in [88901. These arrays were constructed using polyadic Cantor bars, which are described by their similarity fractal dimension, number of gaps, and lacunarity parameter. Planar fractal array configurations, based on Sierpinski carpets, were also considered in [ I O , 86, 871. The fact that Sierpinski carpet and related arrays can be genIEEEAntennasand Propagotion Magazine, Vol. 45. NO. I . February 2003

erated recursively (i.e., via successive stages of growth starting from a simple generating array) has been exploited in order to develop rapid algorithms for use in efficient radiation-pattem computations and adaptive beamfonning, especially for arrays with multiple stages of growth that contain a relatively large number of elements [I0, 1 I , 91, 921. An example of a thinned hexagonal array, formed by this recursive procedure, is shown in Figure 18. The generating sub-array in this case is the hexagonal array depicted in the upper-right-hand corner of Figure 18. The array elements are located at the vertices of the hexagon. The first four stages of growth are indicated bythe blue (Stage I), red (Stage 2), green (Stage 3), and orange (Stage 4) arrays, respectively. Contour plots of the corresponding radiation pattems for each of these four arrays are illustrated in Figure 19. The Cantor linear and Sierpinski-carpet planar fractal arrays were also shown to be examples of deterministically thinned arrays [IO, 86, 871. An efficient recursive procedure was developcd in 1931 for calculating the driving-point impedance of linear and planar fractal arrays. For example, the first four stages in the growth o f a triadic Cantor linear array of half-wave dipoles are shown in Figure 20. There are a total of N p = 2'uniformly excited dipole elements at each stage of growth, P. Plots of the impedance matrix of the Cantor array for thc first SIX stages of growth are presented in Figure21. These illustrations clearly portray the self-similar fractal structure of the impedance matrix. Finally, a method for generating sum and difference patterns. which makes use of Sierpinski carpet fractal subarrays, was outlined in 1941.

Stage4

Stage-2

Stage-3

Figure 22. The design of a tri-band FSS using fractal elements: ' The first three stages in the construction of a crossbar fractal tree. arrays, have also been investigated by Gianvittorio and RahmatSamii [97]. A genetic-algorithm approach for optimizing fractal dipole antenna arrays for compact size and improved driving-point : impedance performance over scan angle was presented in [98]. The technique introduces fractal dipoles as array elements, and uses a genetic algorithm to optimize the shape of each individual fractal element (for self-impedance control), as well as the spacing between these elements (for mutual-impedance control). A useful ' method for interpolating the input impedance of fractal dipole antennas via a genetic-algorithm-trained neural network (called IFS-GA-NN) was presented in 1991. One ofthe main advantages of this IFS-GA-NN approach is that it is more computationally efficient than a direct Method of Moments analysis technique. For example, the method could be used in conjunction with genetic algorithms to more efficiently optimize arrays of fractal dipole elements, such as those considered in 1981.

5.4 IFS Arrays and Compact Arrays

An iterated function system (IFS) approach for the design of fractal arrays was proposed by Baharav [Y5]. The use of IFS provides a very flexible design tool, which enables a wide variety of fractal array configurations, with many degrees of freedom, to he easily generated. A method for array sidclobe reduction by small position offsets of fractal elements was investigated in 1961. It was shown that because of their compact size and reduced coupling. the use of fractal antenna elements allows more freedom to accommodate position adjustments in phased arrays, which can lead to a suppression of undesirable sidelobes or grating lobes. The advantages of reduced mutual coupling and tighter packing, which can be achieved by using fractal elements in otherwise conventional

5.5 Diffraction from Fractal Screens

and Apertures
Lakhtakia et al. [I001 demonstrated that the diffracted field of a self-similar fracfal screen also exhibits self-similarity, This finding was based on results obtained using a particular example of a fractal screen constructed from a Sierpinski carpet. Diffraction from Sierpinski carpet apertures has also been considered in [9], I l l ] , [ l o l l , and [102]. The related problems of diffraction by fractally serrated apertures and Cantor targets have been investigated in [ 103- I I I].

6. Fractal Frequency-Selective Surfaces

Fractals were originally proposed for use in the design of frequency-selective surfaces (FSSes) by Parker and Sheikh [ I 121. This application makes usc of the space-filling properties of certain fractals, such as the Minkowski loop and the Hilbert curve, in order to reduce the overall size of the unit cells that constitute an FSS. A dual-band fractal FSS design, based on a two-iteration Sierpinski gasket dipole, was first demonstrated in [113-115]. It was shown that the fractal FSS reported in [I 13-1151 exhibits two stop-bands with attenuation in excess of 30 dB. Another possible approach that uses fractal tree configurations for realizing multiband FSS designs was first suggested in [42]. A particular example was considered by Werner and Lee [116, 1171, where a tri-band FSS was designed using Stage 3 crossbar fractal tree elements. The first three stages in the construction of a crossbar fractal tree are illustrated in Figure 22. Figure 23 shows four adjacent cells of a
51

Figure 20. The first four stages in the process of generating a triadic Cantor linear array of hnlf-wave dipoles. The dark gray dipoles represent physical elements, while the light gray dipoles a r e virtual elements.
\FEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine. Vol. 45. No. I , February 2003

tri-band FSS. In this case, the individual elements or cells of this FSS are made up of Stage 3 crossbar fractal trees, which provide the required tri-band behavior. The transmission coefficient as a function of frequency is plotted in Figure 23 for a Stage I , Stage 2, and Stage.3 crossbar fractal FSS. The stop-band attenuations of this fractal FSS were found to be in the neighborhood of 30 dB. This particular fractaf FSS design approach also has the advantage of yielding the same response to either TE- or TM-mode excitation. Another noteworthy feature of this design technique is that the separation of bands can be controlled by choosing the appropriate scaling used in the fractal crossbar screen elemenis. More recently, various other self-similar geometries have been (explored for their potential use in the design of dual-band and dualpolarized FSSes [ I 181.

Tenbarge of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The authors would like to express their appreciation to Raj Mittra for his valuable comments relating to this article. The authors would also like to thank Mark A. Gingrich, Douglas J. Kem, Josh S. Petko, and Pingjuan L. Wemer for their assistance with preparing the figures used in this article. Special thanks goes to James W. Culver, Steven D. Eason, and Russell W. Libonati of Raytheon, St. Petersburg, Florida, for providing the photograph of the prototype fractal dipole antenna used in Figure IS. Special thanks also goes to Kenneth H. Church, Robert M. Taylor, William L. Warren, and Michael 1. Wilhelm of Sciperio, Inc., Stillwater, Oklahoma, for providing the photos used in Figure 16. Finally, the authors are grateful to one of the reviewers for kindly supplying Figure 11.

7. Bent-Wire Antennas
There has been some recent work to suggest that some random fractal or non-fractal bent-wire antennas may, in sonie cases, offer performance improvements compared to wires that have strictly deterministic fractal geometries. For instance, a comparison o f the radiation characteristics of deterministic fractal :and nonfractal (or random fractal) loop antennas was made in [I 131. From this comparison, it was concluded that while the loop gecmetry is one factor in determining the antenna performance, it is not as significant as its overall physical area and total wire length in the loop. In [IZO], the performance of Koch fractal and other tent-wire monopoles as electrically small antennas was analyzed and compared. It was found that the simpler, less compressed t,ent-wire geometries of the meander line and normal-mode helix exhibit similar or improved performance when compared to that of a Koch fractal monopole. Finally, a methodology has been developed in [I211 that employs a genetic algorithm to evolve a class of miniature multi-band antennas, called stochastic antennas, which offer optimal performance characteristics. This method is more: general than the approach outlined in [68, 691, since it is not restricted to fractal geometries, and there arc no reactive loads required to achieve the desired multi-band performance. The main disadvantage of the method is the fact that the optimization procedure is much less efficient than the genetic-algorithm approach based on fractal antenna geometries generated via an IFS.

I O . References
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8. Conclusions
Applications of fractal geometry are becoming increasingly widespread in the fields of science and engineering. This article presented a comprehensive overvicw of the research area we call fractal antenna engineering. Included among the topics ccinsidered were I.) design methodologies for fractal antenna elernenis, 2.) application of fractals to the design of antenna arrays, and 3.) frequency-selective surfaces with fractal screen elements. Thr field of fractal antenna engineering is still in the relatively early stages of development, with the anticipation of many more irmvative advancements to come over the months and years ahead.

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11.

9. Acknowledgements
This work was supponed in part by a grant from the Center for Remote Sensing under an SBIR project directed by Mr. Joe
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70. S. D. Eason, R. Libonati, J. W. Culver, D. H. Wemer, and P. L. Werner, UHF Fractal Antennas, IEEE lntemational Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest, Volunie 3, Boston, Massachusetts, July 2001, pp. 636-639. 71. D. H. Werner, P. L. Werner, J. W. Culver, S. D. Eason, and R. Libonati, Load Sensitivity Analysis for Genetically Engineered Miniature Multiband Fractal Dipole Antennas, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest, Volume 4, San Antonio, Texas, June 2002, pp. 86-89. 72. M. J. Wilhelm, D. H. Werner, P. L. Wemer, K. Church, and R. Taylor, Direct-Write Processes as Enabling Tools for Novel Antenna Development, lEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest, Volume 4, San Antonio, Texas, June 2002, pp. 102-105. 73. Y. Kim and D. L. Jaggard, The Fractal Random Array,Proc. IEEE, 74,9, 1986, pp. 1278-1280. 74. A. Lakhtakia, V. K. Varadan, and V. V. Varadan, Timeharmonic and Time-dependent Radiation by Bifractal Dipole Arrays,Inl. J Electronics, 63, 6, 1987, pp. 819-824. 75. D. H. Werner and P. L. Wemer, Fractal Radiation Pattem Synthesis, USNCiURSI National Radio Science Meeting Digest, Boulder, Colorado, January 1992, p. 66. 76. D. H. Wemer and P. L. Wemer, On the Synthesis of Fractal Radiation Patterns, Radio Science, 30, I , Janualy-February 1995, pp. 29-45. 77. P. L. Wemer, D. H. Wemer, and A. J. Ferraro, Fractal Arrays f the 11 Annual and Fractal Radiation Patterns, Proceedings o f Puogm?ss in Applied Computational Electromagnetics Review o (ACES, Volume 11, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, March 1995, pp. 970-978. 78. X. Liang, W. Zhensen, and W. Wenbing, Synthesis of Fractal Patterns From Concentric-Ring Arrays, IEE Electronics Letters, 32, 21,October 1996,pp. 1940-1941 79. D. H. Werner and P. L. Werner, Frequency-independent Features of Self-Similar Fractal Antennas, Radio Science, 31, 6, November-December 1996, pp. 1331-1343. 80. D. H. Werncr, P. L. Wemer, and A. I. Ferraro, FrequencyIndependent Features of Self-Similar Fractal Antennas, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest, Volume 3, Baltimore, Maryland, July 1996, pp. 2050-2053.

Radio Science Meeting URSI Digest, Salt Lake City, Utah, July 2000, p. 28 I 84. M. A. Gingrich, D. H. Werner, and P. L. Werner, A SelfSimilar Fractal Radiation Pattem Synthesis Technique for the f Design of Multi-Band and Broad-Band Arrays, Proceedings o the 17 Annual Review o f Progress in Applied Computational Electromagnetics (ACES), Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, March 2001, pp. 53-60. 85. D. H. Werner, M. A. Gingrich, and P. L. Werner, A SelfSimilar Fractal Radiation Pattem Synthesis Technique for Reconligurable Multi-Band Arrays, accepted for publication in the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Pyopagation. 86. R. L. Haupt and D. W. Wemer, Fast Array Factor Calculations for Fractal Arrays, Proceedings oJthe 13 Annual Review ofprogress in Applied Computational Electromagirelics (ACEV. Volume I, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, March 1997, pp. 291-296. 87. D. H. Wemer and R. L. Haupt. Fractal Constructions of Linear and Planar Arrays, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest, Volume 3, Montreal, Canada, July 1997,pp. 1968-1971. 88. D. L. Jaggard and A. D. Jaggard, Cantor Ring Arrays, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digert, Volume 2, Atlanta, Georgia, June 1998, pp. 866-869. 89. D. L. Jaggard and A. D. Jaggard, Cantor Ring Arrays, 144icrowave and Optical Technologj Letters, 19, 1998, pp. 121125.

90. D. L. Jaggard and A. D. Jaggard, Fractal Ring Arrays, invited paper submitted to Wave Mution, L. Felson and N. Engheta eds. ofspecial issuc, 1999. 91. D. H. Werner and P. L. Werner, The Radiation Characteristics of Recursively Generated Self-Scalable and Self-Similar Arrays, Proceeding.7 o f the 16 Annual Review of Progress in Applied Computational Electromagnetics (ACES), Volume Il, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, March 2000, pp. 829-836. 92. D. H. Wemer and P. L. Werner, A General Class of Self-Scdlable and Self-Similar Arrays, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest. Volume 4, Orlando, Florida, July 1999, pp. 2882-2885. 93. D. Baldacci and D. H. Werner, An Efficient Recursive Procedure for Calculating the Driving Point Impedance of Linear and Planar Fractal Arrays, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest, Volume 3, Boston, Massachusetts, July 2001, pp. 620-623. 94. D. H. Wemer, K. C. Anushko, and P. L. Werner, The Generation o f Sum and Difference Pattems Using Fractal Subarrays, Microwove and Opticai Technolr,gy Lettws, 22, I , July 1999, pp. 54-57, 95. Z. Baharav, Fractal Arrays Based on Iterated Function Systems (IFS), IEEE Intemational Symposium on Antcnnas and Propagation Dige.st. Volume 4, Orlando, Florida, July 1999, pp. 2686-2689.

81. C. Puente Baliarda and R. Pous, Fractal Design of Multiband and Low Side-lobe Arrays, IEEE Trnrrsactions on Antennos and Propagution, AP-44, 5, May 1996, pp. 730-739.
82. S. E. El-Khamy, M. A. Aboul-Dahab, and M. 1. Elkashlan, A Simplified Koch Multiband Fractal Array Using Windowing and Quantization Techniques, IEEE lntemational Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest, Voiume 3, Salt Lake City, Utah, July2000, pp. 1716-1719. 83. D. H. Werner, M. A. Gingrich, and P. L. Werner, A Generalized Fractal Radiation Pattem Synthesis Technique for the Design of Multiband and Broadband Arrays, IEEE lntemational Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNCAJRSI National

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96. N. Cohen and R. G. Hohlfeld, Array Sidelobe Reduction by Small Position Offsets of Fractal Elements, Proceeding.r of the IhIh Annual Review o f Progress in Applied Compututionill Electromogxetics (ACES), Volume 11, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, March 2000, pp. 822-828. 97. J. P. Gianvittorio and Y . Rahmat-Samii, Fractal Elements in Array Antcnnas: Investigating Reduced Mutual Coupling and Tighter Packing, IEEE lntemational Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest. Volume 3, Salt Lake City, Utah, July 2000, pp. 1704- 1707. 98. S. Mummareddy, D. H. Werner, and P. L. Werner, Genetic Optimization of Fractal Dipole Antenna Arrays for Compact Size and Improved Impedance Performance Over Scan Angle, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest, Volume 4 , San Antonio, Texas, June 2002, pp. 98-101 99. K . M. Neiss, D. H. Werner, M. G. Bray, and S. Mummarcddy, Nature-Based Antenna Design: Interpolating the Input Impedance of Fractal Dipole Antennas via a Genetic Algorithm Trained Neural Network, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC/URSI National Radio Science :Meeting URSJDigesf,San Antonio, Texas, June 2002, p. 374.
100. A. Lakhtakia, N. S. Holier, and V. K. Varadan, Self-Similarity in Diffraction by a Self-similar Fractal Screen, IEEE Transactions on Antennas atid Propagation, AP-35, 2, February 1387,pp.

sium on Antennas and Propagation and USNCiURSl Radio Science Meeting URSI Digest, Ann Arbor. Michigan, JunelJuly 1993, p. 314. 109. D. L. Jaggard and A. D. Jaggard, Polyadic Cantor Superlattices with Variable Lacunarity, Opt. Lett., 22, 1997, pp. 145-147.

I IO. A. D. Jaggard and D. L. Jaggard, Cantor Ring Diffractals, Optics Com,nunications, 15X, 1998, pp. 141-148.
I 11. A. D. Jaggard and D. L. Jaggard, Scattering from Fractal Superlattices with Variable Lacunarity, J, Opt. Soc. Ani. A , 15, 1998, pp. 1626-1635.

112. E. A. Parker and A. N. A. El Sheikh, Convoluted Array Elements and Reduced Size Unit Cells for Frequency-Selective H , 138, I , Feb. 1991, pp. 19-22. Surfaces, IEEProceeding.~
113. J. Romeu and Y . Rahmat-Samii, A Fractal Based FSS with Dual Band Characteristics, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest. Volunie 3, Orlando, Florida, July 1999, pp. 1734-1737.

114. J. Romeu and Y . Rahmat-Samii, Dual Band FSS with Fractal Elements, IEE Electr-onics Letters, 35, 9, April 1999, pp. 702703.
115. J . Romeu and Y. Rahmat-Samii, Fractal FSS: A Novel DualBand Frequency Selective Surface, IEEE Transactions on Antennas andPropagatioir, 48, 7, July 2000, pp. 1097-1 105.
116. D. H. Werner and D. Lee, A Design Approach for DualPolarized Multiband Frequency Selective Surfaces Using Fractal Elements, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest, Volume 3, Salt Lake City, Utah, July 2000, pp. 1692- 1695.

236-239.
101. C. Allain and M. Cloitre, Spatial Spectrum of a General Family of Self-similar Arrays, Phyr. Rev. A , 36, 1987, pp. 57515757.

102. D. L. Jaggard and A. D. Jaggard, Fractal Apertui:es: The Effect of Lacunarity, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and North American Radio Science Meeting URSIDigest, Montreal, Canada, July 1997, p. 728.

103. M. M. Beal and N. George, Features in the Optical Transform of Serrated Apertures and Disks, 1 Opt. Soc. A m , A6, 1989, pp. 1815-1826.

117. D. H. Werner and D. Lee, Design of Dual-Polarized Multiband Frequency Selective Surfaces Using Fractal Elements, IEE Electrotiics Letters, 36, 6, March 2000, pp. 487-488.
118. I. P. Gianvittorio, Y . Rahmat-Samii, and J. Romeu, Fractal FSS: Various Self-Similar Geometries Used for Dual-Band and Dual-Polarized FSS, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest, Voluriie 3, Boston, Massachusetts, July 2001, pp. 640-643.

104. Y. Kim, H. Grebel, and D. L. Jaggard, Diffraction by Fractally Serrated Apertures,J Opt. Soc. A m , AX, 1991, pp. 20-26.
105. D. L. Jaggard, T. Spielman, and X. Sun, Fractal Electrodynamics and Diffraction by Cantor Targets, IEEE lntemational Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and North A.merican Radio Science Meeting URSI Digest, London, Ontario, Canada, June 1991,p.333.

106. T. Spielman and D. L. Jaggard, Diffraction by Caritor Targets: Theoly and Experiments. IEEE International Sympcssium on Antennas and Propagation and North American Radio Science Meeting URSIDigest, Chicago, Illinois, July 1992, p. 225.
107. D. L. Jaggard and T. Spielman, Diffraction From Triadic Cantor Targets, Microwave arid Optical Technology Ldters, 5, 1992, pp. 460-466.
108. D. L. Jaggard, T. Spielman, and M. Dempsey, Diffraction by Two-dimensional Cantor Apertures, IEEE Intemational Sympo-

119. S. R. Best, The Fractal Loop Antenna: A Comparison of Fractal and Non-Fractal Geometries, IEEE lntemational Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Dige.st, Volume 3, Boston, Massachusetts, July 2001, pp. 146.149.
120. S. R. Best, On the Performance of the Koch Fractal and Other Bent Wire Monopoles as Electrically Small Antennas, IEEE lntemational Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest, Volunie 4 , San Antonio, Texas, June 2002, pp. 534-537.
121. P. L. Werner and D. H. Werner, A Design Optimization Methodology for Multiband Stochastic Antennas, IEEE Intemational Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Digest. Volume 2, San Antonio, Texas, June 2002, pp. 354-357.

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Introducing the Feature Article Author

tled Frontiers in Electromagnetics. He has also contributed a chapter for a Wiley Interscience hook entitled Electromagnetic Optimization by Genetic Algorithms. He was the recipient of a College of Engineering PSES Outstanding Research Award and Outstanding Teaching Award in March, 2000, and Marchl 2002, respectively. He was also recently presented with an IEEE Central Pennsylvania Section Millennium Medal. His research interests include theoretical and computational, electromagnetics, with applications to antenna theory and design, microwaves, wireless and personal communication systems, elec- , tromagnetic wave interactions with complex meta-materials, fractal and knot electrodynamics, and genetic algorithms.

Dr. Douglas H. Werner is an Associate Professor in the Pennsylvania State University Department of Electrical Engineering. He is a member of the Communications and Space Sciences Lab (CSSL), and is affiliated with the Electromagnetic Communication Research Lab. He is also a Senior Research Associate in the Electromagnetics and Environmental Effects Department of the Applied Research Laboratory at Penn State. Dr. Werner received the BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 1983, 1985, and 1989, respectively. He .also received the MA degree in Mathematics there in 1986. Dr. Wemer was presented with the 1993 Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society (ACES) Best Paper Award, and was also the recipient of a 1993 lntemational Union of Radio Science (URSI) Young Scientist Award. In 1994, Dr. Wemer received the Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory Outstanding Publication Award. He has also received several Letters of Commendation from the Pennsylvania State University Department of Electrical Engineering for outstanding teaching and research. Dr. Werner is a former Associate Editor of Radio Science, an Editor of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a member of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), USNC/URSI Commissions B and F, the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society (ACES), Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and Sigma Xi. He has published numerous technical papers and proceedings articles, and is the author of eight book chapters. He recently published a new book for IEEE Press, cnti-

Dr. Suman Ganguly has been working in the areas of Radio Science, Radio Engineering, Electronics, Ionospheric and Plasma Physics for over 30 years. He graduated from Calcutta University, India, with a Masters in Physics and Electronics in 1962. He obtained his PhD from the same university in 1970, specializing in Ionospheric Physics. Since then, he has been working in a variety of disciplines and in different institutions. He worked at Lancaster University, UK, dealing with the ATS-6 satellite beacon project. He joined Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico, during 1976, and worked with the 1000-foot radar, probing the ionosphere. During 1979, he joined Rice University, where he continued his research on ionospheric and plasma sciences. He was actively involved in ionospheric modification using high-powered radio waves, and the first ULF generation in the ionospherc at Arecibo was reported by him. During 1986, he started a small R&D organization, Center for Remote Sensing, in Virginia, and has been active 'in numerous projects involving communication, navigation, signal processing, electromagnetics, instrumentation, space science, and other areas of radio engineering. Center For Remote Sensing (http:Nwww.cfrsi.com) comprises several engineers, and has provided advanced technology development,to most of the govemment agencies as well as private organizations. He has over 200 publications, and is a member of numerous professional organizations. : E

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