Marrying Circuit Simulation and Electromagnetics to Speed Antenna Design

Electromagnetic analysis of antenna systems has made enormous strides in the past ten years. Fast solvers, hybrid methods and domain decomposition techniques allow engineers to compute the electromagnetic radiation from complex antennas in greater detail and with higher accuracy than ever before. The focus has now shifted to using this complex electromagnetic analysis in conjunction with modern electronic equipment. Circuit simulation methods give the designer the ability to study system performance with different antenna components and weigh performance tradeoffs in near real time. By tying the electromagnetic field simulation of different antenna components or subsystems together at the circuit level, the speed, accuracy and effectiveness of antenna system simulation is greatly enhanced.