A Fractal Antenna is an antenna that can be broken up into smaller parts. Fractal just means a part of, so in this scenario they are referring to an antenna that can have feelers added or removed. By doing this the Fractal Antenna is following a concept called the self-similarity design module. This basically means you can remove or add part of the design in equal parts. If you ever took a class in Fractal Geometry, you’d learn the mathematical reasoning behind this. The mathematics behind this device is governed by the Mandelbrot Set.
Benoit Mandelbrot is the father of modern day Fractal Geometry. These antennas operate by sending out special electromagnetic signals that cover a specific area or volume depending on how many Fractals the antenna itself has. Fractal Antennas aren’t large or cumbersome by any means. In fact they are very small and have real world application in cellular phones or microwave ovens and other small electronic devices. This antenna is unique in that it can operate at various different frequencies at the same time.
Most antennas have to be specifically rigged to operate at a particular frequency. The highest and best use of the Fractal Antenna is in both wideband and multiband products that require varying frequencies. The first published works of the Fractal Antenna came about by Nathan Cohen in 1995. The beauty of these types of antennas is that they are flexible, but not all of these will work on the same applications.
The two most common type of Fractal Antennas include the Koch Dipole and Common Bipole Antennas. The Common Bipole seems to have a stronger impedence than the Koch Dipole. You can adjust the size on these antennas upwards of two hundred to four hundred percent and maintain great performance.
What I personally feel about this technology is that it’s ironic that hundreds of millions of people all over the world are benefiting from it as we speak, however there’s probably at this point only 100,000 who even know about it and a lot less that really understand what it is. People go to school for years to learn how to develop such things. I think we all owe a debt of gratitude to Nathan Cohen for bringing this technology to fruition.
Now the question to ask yourself is, what effect will this technology play not only in Micro Electronics, but in the ability to create other similar inventions based on this one. A lot of people think that Fractal Antennas have to do with some type of illegal cable hookups. Far from it. As you can now realize, this technology is just one more aspect that makes life easier for all of us in one way or another in the 21st century. This will eventually allow developers to create smaller, more sophisticated yet User-Friendly products. Our review concludes that this is a definitely breakthrough in the electronics industry. Knowledge is cumulative which makes this invention so fascinating to us.
