Finite element analysis of antennas and phased arrays in the time domain

Abstract

Antennas and phased arrays play a critical role in wireless communication, remote sensing, space exploration, defense, electronic warfare, and many other electronic systems. A quantitative analysis is important to the design and optimization of antennas and phased arrays, especially for those not easily designed by intuitive approaches, such as ultra-wideband antennas and phased arrays designed with novel materials. Over the past decade, we have focused on the development and application of the finite element method for accurate and efficient analysis of antennas and phased arrays. In this talk, we will provide an overview on this effort in the time domain. More specifically, we will discuss major challenges for the time-domain finite element analysis of antenna and phased-array problems, which include (1) truncation of open free space, (2) modeling of antenna feeds and network, (3) modeling of novel dispersive materials, (4) modeling of large antennas and finite phased arrays, and (5) modeling of infinite periodic phased arrays. For each challenge, we will describe the state-of-the-art solutions and demonstrate their practical applications. The techniques presented are also applicable to a variety of other electromagnetic modeling problems such as modeling of electronic packaging and electromagnetic compatibility problems.