Efficient analysis of dielectric radomes using multilevel fast multipole algorithm with CRWG basis

Abstract

A full-wave analysis of the electromagnetic problem of a three-dimensional (3-D) antenna radiating through a 3-D dielectric radome is preserued. The problem is formulated using the Poggio-Miller-Chang-Harrington-Wu(PMCHW) approach for homogeneous dielectric objects and the electric field integral equation for conducting objects. The integral equations are discretized by the method of moment (MoM), in which the conducting and dielectric surface/interfaces are represented by curvilinear triangular patches and the unknown equivalent electric and magnetic currents are expanded using curvilinear RWG basis functions. The resultant matrix equation is then solved by the multilevel fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA) and fast far-field approximation (FAFFA) is used to further accelerate the computation. The radiation patterns of dipole arrays in the presence of radomes are presented. The numerical results demonstrate the accuracy and versatility of this method.