Modeling and simulation of broad-band antennas using the time-domain finite element method

Abstract

This paper presents a time-domain finite element method (TDFEM) for the modeling and simulation of complex broad-band antennas. Two critical components, namely the modeling of antenna feeds and the truncation of infinite free space, are discussed in detail. An accurate waveguide port boundary condition is employed to model the commonly used coaxial feeds, which is also applicable to other waveguide feeding structures. An improvement to the simplified probe feed model is also presented. The formulation and implementation of perfectly matched layers are briefly described for the truncation of the TDFEM computational domain. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the modeling and simulation of typical broad-band antennas, which include a logarithmic spiral antenna, a Vivaldi antenna, and a Vlasov antenna.