Fraunhofer FHR

P. Knott, Antenna Engineering

Antenna Modelling and Design
Numerical EM
Modelling Methods
Full Wave Asymptotic
Local
(Differential Eqn.)
FD, FIT, FEM
Global
(Integral Eqn.)
MoM
Field Based
GO / GTD
Source Based
PO / PTD
Hybrid Methods
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Antenna Design Cicle
Design (CAD)
Model Building, Meshing
Analysis
Numerical Calculation of Output
Data (Impedance, Far Field, ...)
Check
Does design fulfill
specs?
Selection of
Antenna Type,
Initial Parameters
Modify Design
Parameters
Verification
Prototype
Measurement
yes no
Specification
(Far Field, Polarisation,
Gain, Size, ...)
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
History of Computational Electromagnetics
Before 1960: Only analytical methods
Simple problems / canonical geometries
Middle of 20
th
century: Asymptotic Methods
Physical Optics (PO), Physical Theory of Diffraction (PTD)
Geometrical Optics (GO), Geometrical Theory of Diffraction (GTD)
Ray Tracing
Late 20
th
century: Full wave analysis
Finite Element Method (FEM)
Boundary Integral / Method of Moments (MoM)
Periodic Structures, Frequency Selective Surfaces (FSS)
Finite-Difference Time-Domain Method (FDTD)
Today: Design Suites (CAD, Analysis, Hybrid Solvers, Circuit Simulators, ...)
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Solutions to Partial Differential Equations
Finding a function u that satisfies (Laplace Equation)
most important partial differential equation (PDE) in physics!
Solution not unique without a set of boundary conditions!
on S (Dirichlet)
on S (Neumann)
0 ) , , (
2
= z y x u
0
2
= u
0 lim
0
2
=
=

u
u
r
Inner Problem Outer Problem
0 = u
0 =

n
u
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Influence of Frequency
Example of slot diffraction
f 0
d
Low frequency region
d <<
(slot is not effective)
Resonance region
d
Wave diffraction
High frequency region
d >>
Ray optical path
subject of current research
subject of current research
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Finite Element Method (FEM)
Subdivision of (inhomogeneous) problem into finite number of segments
(triangle, prism, tetrahedron)
Harmonic time dependency one frequency, steady state
Decomposition of E, H for each subdomain with unknown amplitudes
Energy conservation
Maxwell Equations
Field distribution is stationary
Boundary conditions (natural and artificial) and solution of

+ =
V
2 2
2 2 2
dV
j
E J
E H
F

r r
( ) E f H
r r
=
0 =

F
E
F

=
=
N
i
i i
E E
1
r r

Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
FEM Example Coplanar stripline
|
|
|
|
|
|

\
|
=
|
|
|
|
|
|

\
|

|
|
|
|
|
|

\
|

N N NN N N
N N
J
J
J
Y Y
Y
Y Y
Y Y Y
Y Y
M M
L
O M
M
L
2
1
2
1
1 ,
, 1
33 32
23 22 21
12 11
0 0
0 0
0 0

Sparse matrix
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Finite Differences Time Domain (FDTD)
Solution of Maxwells Equations in differential Form
non-harmonic time dependence
discretisation of time function (time steps)
approximation of differential operators by difference quotients
discretisation of (in)homogenous problem volume with rectangular grid
of homogenous cubes (Nyquist / f
max
)
introduction of artificial boundary conditions for open problems
1 2
1 2
) ( ) (
x x
x f x f
x
f

Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Finite Differences Time Domain Unit Cell
Kane S. Yee, Numerical Solution of Initial
Boundary Value Problems Involving
Maxwells Equations in Isotropic Media, IEEE
Transactions on Antennas and Propagation,
Vol. 14, No. 3, May 1966, pp. 302 - 307 Unit (Yee) Cell
Unit cell specification
(e.g. Eps / Z)
Boundary conditions for
every cell wall
Time step processing
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Artificial Boundary Conditions - Perfectly Matched Layer
Absorb all energy at the boundary of the problem volume
Minimise reflections normal to boundary
For wideband PML, multiple
layers have to be used
Jean-Pierre Berenger, A Perfectly Matched
Layer for the Absorption of Electromagnetic
Waves, Journal of Computational Physics,
Vol. 114, pp. 185-200, 1994
) / ( 1
) / ( 1
cos sin
sin
1
sin
1
0
*
0
2 2
2
2
0
2
1
1
0
1

x
x
x
i yi i xi i
x x
j
j
w
w w G
G
j
G
j

=
+ =
|
|

\
|
=
|
|

\
|

Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
2D FDTD Example Horn Antenna and Obstacle
Simple MATLAB program
100 x 100 unit cells (dx = dy = 2.5 mm)
f = 9.8 GHz / Time step 4.23 ps
PML walls
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Full Wave Analysis Example CST Microwave Studio
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Boundary Element Method / Method of Moments (MoM)
Solution of an integral equation with respect to the tangential E-field
Greens Function
common solution of a differential equation for point source (current)
includes information on the geometry without metallisation
Discretisation of metallic/conducting surfaces using triangles/rectangles
(Nyquist, f
max
)
Approximation of surface current J using piecewise linear / local basis
functions
) ( ) ' ( ) ' , ( ) (
i
tan
tot
tan
r E a d r J r r r E
S
r
r
r r
r
r r
r
+ =

=
=
N
i
i i
J J
1
r r

Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Method of Moments Procedure
Typical basis functions: Dirac, Rooftop, RWG, Higher order, ...
Boundary conditions on metallic surface
Multiplication with test function (weighting function)
Galerkins method: test function = basis function
Solve linear system of equations
|
|
|
|
|

\
|
=
|
|
|
|
|

\
|

|
|
|
|
|

\
|
N N NN N
N
V
V
V
Z Z
Z Z
Z Z Z
M M
L
O M
M
L
2
1
2
1
1
22 21
1 12 11

=
=
m
m n
S
m
i
m m
m n n
S S
m mn
a d r E r J V
a d a d r J r r r J Z
r r
r
r
r
r r r
r
r r r
r
) ( ) (
) ' ( ) ' , ( ) (
tan
G
Full matrix
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Comparison of Full Wave Methods
Challenges
Electrically large objects Fast (and accurate) methods
Complex geometries and materials
Multi-physics design suites
efficient for purely
metallic problems,
antennas, scattering
efficient for small volumes
low frequencies / large
bandwith
applied to many physical
fields, e.g. mechanical
analysis, fluid / thermo-
dynamics
surface mesh volume mesh surface/volume mesh
frequency domain time domain frequency domain
MoM FDTD FEM
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Asymptotic Methods (High Frequency Region)
Geometrical optics (GO) method
Transport of energy (intensities)
Ray-tracing
Phase according to path length
Physical optics (PO) method
Equivalent currents
Illuminated / shadowed regions
Far field integration (Greens Function)

=
=
0
) ( 2
i tot
PO
H n H n
J
r
r
r
r
r

=
S
a d J G j E
r
r r
PO
S

=
S
a d J G H
r
r r
PO
S
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Ray-Tracing with PO/PTD
Function
Shooting and bouncing rays
Edge diffraction
PO/PTD incl. dielectric media
Curved surface treatment
Source
Simulation Object
Observation
Points
Applications
Scattering from Large / Complex
Objects
Propagation / Electromagnetic
Compatibility (EMC)
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Ray-Tracing with PO/PTD
Example Scattering by Aircraft (PEC Model M 1:32)
VV-Polarisation HH-Polarisation
Model: 500,000 triangles
Imaging with calculated
monostatic RCS data
Da = 0,25 (721 angles)
f = 25 .. 39 GHz
Df = 50 MHz
(281 frequencies)
N = 200 million rays
CPU time: < 1 month
(36 processors 1.4 GHz)
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Ray-Tracing with PO/PTD
Example Scattering by Car (PEC)
f = 6 10 GHz, f = 10 MHz (401 frequencies)
= 0.2 (=2*900 angles)
N = 10 million rays / aspect angle
CPU time: 1.5 h per angle
Model of original scale car:
Metallic object without wheels
108.000 triangular surface elements
Only surface contributions
Object length: > 100
Simulation:
Polarisation: HH
PO contributions only
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Ray-Tracing Simulation of Propagation in Urban Terrain
Relative
RCS in dB
Simulation number (500 corresponds to 1 km length)
R
a
n
g
e

b
i
n
f = 8 8.25 GHz
f = 0.25 GHz
(1001 frequencies)
Horizontal polarization
Results show HRR profiles
for transmitter/receiver
moving across the scene
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Hybrid Methods
Boundary Integral-Finite Elements-UTD-Hybrid Method
Modelling of Complex Objects
Dielectric / Metallic components
Numerically Rigorous Treatment
Hybrid Ansatz
Finite Element Method (FEM)
Fast BI Method: Multiple Level
Fast Multipole (MLFMM)
Environment
Asymptotic Method (UTD)
Electrically Large / Metallic Objects
Fast Near Field Calculation
dielectric
FEBI object
UTD object

r
O
E
inc
, H
inc
volume
V
A
r
r
R
r
D
closed
surface A
metal
Fraunhofer FHR
P. Knott, Antenna Engineering
Hybrid BI-FE-UTD Method
Example: Antenna Installed on Truck
P-MLFMM-UTD on 50,451 observation points
13 min on Athlon 2800+ PC
Variation of instantaneous near field (E comp.)
- FEBI simulation: 913182 unknowns
3.8 h, 2 GB RAM on
Opteron 2.2 GHz CPU
- delta-gap voltage source excitation of
monopole
- f=1.5 GHz
8.3 m
2.6 m
3.3 m
x
z
y

/4 monopole
antenna
|E | (V/m)
y=0.0 m
x (m)
z

(
m
)
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Installed Antenna Performance
Monopole / patch antenne on truck
Influence of carrier platform
Influence of ground
Original Patch Antenna