Fractal elements in array antennas: investigating reduced mutual coupling and tighter packing

Effective array design should take into account mutual coupling. This becomes even more of a troublesome area as arrays are packed tighter to increase the scan angles in phased array systems. One attempt to control mutual coupling that is utilized here is to miniaturize the elements of the arrays. The smaller elements decrease the amount of coupling by increasing the spacing between the elements, thus enhancing the array performance. To miniaturize the elements, fractal geometries are used. Fractal geometries have also been used in arrays by defining the distribution of elements.