Optimum design of planar quasi‐Yagi antenna for wearable Internet of Things (IoT) applications

This paper presents the design of a novel dual‐band quasi‐Yagi antenna for on‐body communications. The proposed antenna is designed on 0.05 mm thin microwave laminate and is designed to cover the 2.45 and 3.5 GHz spectrum to meet the needs of on‐body Internet of Things networks. Microstrip to slot‐line transition is used for the excitation of the feeder element. The conventional feeder of the quai‐Yagi is replaced with F‐shaped radiators to obtain a dual‐band response. In addition, a pair of directors are used to enhance the antenna gain. The proposed quasi‐Yagi antenna is optimized using the spider monkey algorithm. The chosen algorithm is used to synthesize the dimensions of the dual‐band radiator and is preferred to obtain quick convergence, unlike the traditional optimization algorithms. The optimized planar quasi antenna offers 5% bandwidth in both operating bands with a measured gain of 5.7 and 5.8 dBi, respectively. The optimization time is also considerably reduced in comparison with traditional optimization algorithms. The simulated and optimized antenna is fabricated and tested.