Inkjet printed wearable Hilbert monopole fractal antenna optimized for BAN systems

Abstract

A novel wearable inkjet printed fractal antenna based on the Hilbert curve fractals is proposed. The antenna is designed to operate at a frequency band slightly higher than that of the Bluetooth band to account for the frequency shift caused by the on body placement, making it suitable for a wide range of Body Area Network (BAN) applications. Applicability and efficiency of inkjet printing of RF components is explored, as well as the merits of using a fractal based antenna design in size reduction and design flexibility.