Design and Equivalent Circuit Model Extraction of a Fractal Slot-Loaded 3–40 GHz Super Wideband Antenna

Abstract

In this paper, we present the design and equivalent circuit model (ECM) of a fractal slot-loaded super wideband (SWB) antenna for compact and high-performance applications operating in the 3–40 GHz range. The proposed antenna features a compact dimension of 40 × 35 × 1.57 mm³, a measured bandwidth ratio of 13:1, a peak gain of 9.7 dBi, an average radiation efficiency of 94%, and a low cross-polarization level across the entire bandwidth. The presented ECM is derived using transmission line theory and incorporates the individual behavior of each constituting element of the antenna. A dual sequential optimization approach is employed to determine the optimal element values. The ECM results show good agreement with both simulated and measured results in terms of the magnitude of reflection coefficient | (Formula presented.) | and both real and imaginary impedances with low mean absolute percentage errors of 4.9%, 7.5%, and 7.7%, respectively, demonstrating the model’s ability to accurately predict the antenna’s performance.