Invasive weed optimization based compact hybridized fractal antenna design for RF energy harvesting and multifunctional wireless applications

This paper describes the optimal design and analysis of compact multiband Hybrid Fractal Antenna using Invasive Weed Optimization (HFAIWO). The configured structure involves the fusion of Minkowski, Sierpinski carpet and Giuseppe Peano in a coherent manner. The two-iterative conglomerated fractal antenna is realized physically by considering FR4 epoxy material (dielectric constant, ε_r = 4.4 and mass density = 1,900 kg/m³). The volumetric dimensions of the fabricated prototype are 36 x 36 x 1.6 mm³. In the designing process, the geometrical descriptors, namely, feedline width ‘W_F’ and ground plane dimension ‘L_G’ are optimized specifically using Invasive Weed Optimization (IWO) and Harmony Search Algorithm (HSA) strategies. The optimal solution is searched by changing the descriptor values under a set of practical constraints. The examined values of ‘W_F’ and ‘L_G’ using IWO and HSA are 3 and 31 mm, and 2.6 and 28.7 mm, respectively. Comparative results reveal that IWO offers superior solution quality and convergence than HSA. Afterwards, experimentation of the Projected HFAIWO is done to justify the recommended fractal hybridization approach. Measurements reveal that for VSWR ≤ 2, the fabricated structure produces nine resonance points (1.84, 3.99, 5.15, 5.55, 6.30, 6.58, 8.00, 9.29, and 12.01 GHz) with appreciable gain values. At the respective resonance points, the −10 dB impedance bandwidth is 3.9 %, 3.1 %, 2.1 %, 2.2 %, 1.4 %, 1.2 %, 6.9 %, 1.2 %, and 12.23 %. The provided radiation patterns are arbitrary bidirectional/omnidirectional. By applying the above-said approaches, the radiator size is reduced by 54 %. Importantly, the constructed structure covers two important bands i.e. 1.84 GHz (GSM 1800 band, downlink) and 5.55 GHz (WLAN (Lower) 5.150–5.725 GHz) associated with energy harvesting applications. The practical outcomes suggest that the introduced prototype is a proficient candidate for energy harvesting systems, Satellite communication for downlink, Long range tracking, Battlefield surveillance, Digital broadcast satellite service, Weather Radar, and Maritime navigation radar.