Improving the accuracy of the MFIE with the choice of basis functions

In the method-of-moments (MOM) and the fast-multipole-method (FMM) solutions of the electromagnetic scattering problems modeled by arbitrary planar triangulations, the magnetic-field integral equation (MFIE) can be observed to give less accurate results compared to the electric-field integral equation (EFIE), if the current is expanded with the Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions. The inaccuracy is more evident for problem geometries with sharp edges or tips. This paper shows that the accuracy of the MFIE depends strongly on the quality of the current modeling and that the accuracy can be significantly improved by the choice of the basis functions. Comparisons are performed for four different basis functions.