A time-domain physical optics heuristic approach to passive intermodulation scattering

Passive intermodulation (PIM) is a phenomenon which often arises at junctions between different materials. This may be a major issue in tightly packed antenna farms as those typically present on communication satellites. Here, an heuristic nonlinear extension to the time-domain physical optics (TD-PO) is proposed, to take into account electromagnetic scattering at intermodulated frequencies when such a junction is illuminated by two impinging electromagnetic fields at different frequencies. Simulation results are compared with measures to validate the model