ABSTRACT
A fractal antenna uses fractals to design compact and multiband antennas. The challenge is to design an antenna for enhanced coverage and better efficiency in Internet of Things (IoT) applications. This chapter presents a novel cross-slotted microstrip fractal antenna that is designed and fabricated in a size of 40 mm × 40 mm. This antenna is capable of operating on frequency bands of 2.41–2.57 GHz and 3.90–4.11 GHz, which indicates that it is useful for IoT applications through Wi-Fi and 5G networks. Because the microstrip patch antennas are directional, the proposed antenna is most suitable for a device mounted on one side of the wall. As compared with the omnidirectional antenna, where the radiation signal is wasted in all directions, the cross-slotted antenna works on a dual-band frequency and provides enhanced network coverage. The antenna result demonstrates steady radiation pattern, return loss, and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), and achieves peak gain of 3.2 dB. The cross-slotted antenna simulation and measured results validate its suitability for IoT applications.
