High-Frequency EM — RF, Microwave & Full-Wave Analysis
Full Maxwell's equations, FDTD and frequency-domain FEM, S-parameters, resonant cavities, waveguide analysis, and numerical methods for RF.
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Quick Explainer
What is the fundamental difference between quasistatic and full-wave EM analysis?
Quasistatic analysis ignores wave propagation effects — valid when the structure is much smaller than the wavelength (roughly structure < lambda/10). Full-wave analysis solves complete Maxwell's equations including retardation. Full-wave is required when the structure dimension is comparable to or larger than lambda/10 at the operating frequency.
What are S-parameters and how does FEM compute them for a microwave component?
S-parameters describe how an N-port network transmits and reflects power. S11 is reflection at port 1; S21 is transmission from port 1 to port 2. FEM excites port 1 with a mode, solves for fields throughout the structure, then projects output fields onto port modes to extract complex S-parameters over a frequency sweep.