Electromagnetic scattering from objects composed of multiple homogeneous regions using a region-by-region solution

The paper presents an efficient procedure to calculate the electromagnetic field scattered by an inhomogeneous object consisting of N+1 linear isotropic homogeneous regions. The procedure is based on surface integral equation (SIE) formulations and the method of moments. The method of moments (MM) is used to reduce the integral equations for each homogeneous dielectric region into individual matrices. These matrices are each solved for the equivalent electric current in terms of the equivalent magnetic current. A simple algebraic procedure is used to combine these solutions and to solve for the magnetic current on the outer dielectric surfaces of the scatterer. With the magnetic current determined, the electric current on the outer surface of the scatterer is calculated. Because the matrix corresponding to each dielectric region is solved separately, the authors call this procedure the region-by-region method. The procedure is simple and efficient. It requires less computer storage and less execution time than the conventional MM approach, in which all the unknown currents are solved for simultaneously. To illustrate the use of the procedure, the bistatic and monostatic radar cross sections (RCS) of several objects are computed. The computed results are verified by comparison with results obtained numerically using the conventional numerical procedure as well as via the series solution for circular cylindrical structures. The possibility of nonunique solutions has also been investigated