A Volume PEEC Formulation Based on the Cell Method for Electromagnetic Problems From Low to High Frequency

Abstract

A new and general partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) formulation based on electric and magnetic vector potentials and the cell method is presented. The purpose of this paper is manifold. First, a comprehensive review of well-established PEEC method is given and the state-of-the-art of the method with focus on the inclusion of magnetic media in the formulation is discussed. Then, a new and general formulation of the PEEC method based on integral equations is proposed. The formulation is valid for conductive, dielectric, and magnetic media and its advantages with respect to the state-of-the-art PEEC formulations are underlined. Unlike the existing PEEC methods, this novel formulation, thanks to the reinterpretation of PEEC in the context of integral equation methods, allows for maintaining a circuit interpretation for both electric and magnetic media. Thus, a standard Spice-like solver can in principle be adopted for the solution of electromagnetic (EM) problems also when magnetic media are involved. The imposition of the divergence condition for the current density vectors is guaranteed and also the case of inhomogeneous and anisotropic media is considered. A thorough discussion on the suitability of the method for the study of both low- and high-frequency EM problems is also presented. Finally, the case study of a near-field communication antenna is considered as an example of the applicability of the formulation to problems of industrial interest. Comparisons with commercial softwares, measurements, and the state-of-the-art PEEC method are given in order to demonstrate the accuracy and the advantages of the proposed PEEC formulation.