Characterizing microwave planar circuits by coupled finite-boundary element method

A general approach to the analysis of microwave planar structures, specifically intended to treat complicated geometries and dielectric load, is presented. The proposed approach is based upon the coupling of the finite element and boundary element methods. Using the method, only the complex media subdomains, which may consist of lossy or anisotropic materials, need to be treated using the finite element method. Elsewhere, the boundary element method is used on the boundary to take into account the circuit configuration. This general approach can handle a problem with mixed electric and magnetic walls, as well as complicated dielectric load such as ferrite materials. Computed and measured data for various complicated devices are compared, showing excellent agreement.<>