EMSS FEKO Altair HWU 7.0.2 EKO is a comprehensive electromagnetic simulation software tool for the electromagnetic field analysis of 3D structures. It offers multiple state-of-the-art numerical methods for the solution of Maxwell’s equations, enabling its users to solve a wide range of electromagnetic problems encountered in various industries. 3D antenna design analysis of horns, microstrip patches, wire antennas, reflector antennas, conformal antennas, broadband antennas, arrays Antenna placement analysis of antenna radiation patterns, radiation hazard zones, etc. with an antenna placed on a large structure, e.g. ship, aircraft, armoured car Electromagnetic coupling and interference (EMC, EMI) analysis of diverse EMC problems including shielding effectiveness of an enclosure, cable coupling analysis in complex environments, e.g. wiring in a car, radiation hazard analysis Bio-electromagnetics analysis of homogeneous or non-homogeneous bodies, SAR extraction 3D RF components analysis of waveguide structures, e.g. filter, slotted antennas, directional couplers 3D EM circuits analysis of microstrip filters, couplers, inductors, etc. Radomes analysis of multiple dielectric layers in a large structure Scattering problems RCS analysis of large and small structures Antenna Analysis corrugated horn antenna near field FEKO is well-suited to the analysis of wire antennas, horn and aperture antennas, reflector antennas, microstrip antennas, phased array antennas, conformal antennas, broadband antennas and more. Many special formulations enable the analysis of practical antenna problems. One example is a MoM-based solution method that was designed specifically for the analysis of windscreen antennas. Multiple layers of windscreen glass can be taken into account, without meshing the glass. Antenna elements may consist of either wire or metallic elements which are located inside a layer or on the boundary between adjacent layers. Multiple windscreens may be included and coupling with external geometry, e.g. a car body, is accurately modelled. A full 3D MoM formulation is available for the analysis of microstrip antennas with arbitrarily oriented metallic wires and surfaces in multi-layered dielectric media. Interpolation tables are used for faster simulation times. lte-antenna-smartphone-SAM.png FEKO also offers solutions for mobile and wireless antennas. Inherent parametric modelling and fast and accurate solvers provide quick insight into the initial design performance. CAD import filters can be used to add mechanical data, e.g. device housing and components, to the model. The optimisation platform is ideal for automated modification of the geometry to meet user specified goals. Antenna Placement ship navy various antennas Measurements of the radiation characteristics of antennas mounted on large platforms are difficult or even impossible to perform, necessitating accurate simulation. The MoM/FEM, MoM/PO, MoM/RL-GO, MoM/UTD hybridisations and the MLFMM enable the analysis of antennas in electrically large environments where the interaction with the nearby structures influences the antenna characteristics, e.g. UHF antennas on aircraft or ships or GSM antennas on motor vehicles. The visualisation of UTD rays can be very informative in identifying high frequency scattering and reflection points. EMC Analysis reverberation chamber FEKO is used extensively for EMC analysis, especially in the automotive industry. It has also been used in various lightning protection and RFI mitigation studies. FEKO can efficiently calculate the radiation patterns and antenna factors of EMC antennas. Another application is the investigation of the shielding effectiveness of enclosures, whether metallic or made of non-perfect screening materials. A special technique for metallic enclosures allows for shielding factors of 200 dB or more to be computed. It is also a powerful tool for the calculation and visualisation of surface currents and near-fields, and is relied on by engineers to guide them in electromagnetic interference (EMI) characterisation. Cable Coupling Analysis airbus with magnified cable image Many problems of electromagnetic compatibility and interference involve cables, which either radiate through imperfect shields and cause coupling into other cables, devices or antennas, or which receive external electromagnetic fields and then cause disturbance voltages and currents which could potentially result in a malfunctioning of the system. FEKO is useful for computing cable-to-cable and cable-to-device coupling and for the investigation of cable radiation effects. It can solve both radiation and irradiation problems, through standard multi-conductor transmission line (MTL) theory or its unique combined MoM/MTL solution method. Supported cable types include single conductor, ribbon, twisted pair, predefined or specified coaxial cable, non-conducting elements and user-defined cable bundles. If shielded, cables can be defined to have solid or braided shields. FEKO provides an internal database listing the transfer impedances for more than 20 popular cable types and additionally allows users to specify their own cable transfer impedance and admittance properties. Bio-Electromagnetics and Biomedical Applications 7T_head_coil_B1.png While MoM offers efficient and accurate solutions for metallic structures, FEM excels at simulation of inhomogeneous dielectric geometries, such as human bodies. Therefore the hybridisation of these two methods is a natural choice for the biomedical industry. MoM can be employed to design or analyse the performance of the radiating structure. Dielectric sheets or coatings can also be analysed efficiently, and a dielectric half space can be used to mimic an anatomical load as an intermediate simulation step. The final simulation of the radiator and detailed anatomical phantom can be analysed with hybridised MoM/FEM, enabling accurate field calculations inside the body for field propagation, dosimetry, SAR and safety analysis. Typical applications include active and passive implants, hearing aids and other body worn antennas, hyperthermia and RF tissue ablation, MRI and other microwave imaging technologies. Radiation Exposure Safety Studies ICNIRP_transmitter_tower.png The MoM or MLFMM may be used to compute near-field values around complex building and antenna structures where people work. Isosurface plots are then instrumental in determining where the safety boundaries conforming to international radiation safety guidelines are located. Such information is typically used to place signage and barriers at the site, ensuring safety of the public and personnel in proximity to the transmitters. The fields inside lossy dielectric regions may be used for computation of the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). FEKO reliably calculates the volume averaged SAR in 1g or 10g tissue cubes or as a whole body average. It has been applied extensively in studies regarding the compliance of mobile phone antennas and cellular base stations to international radiation exposure guidelines. Microwave and RF Components and Circuits waveguide-step-transition.png Components such as filters, circulators, couplers, power dividers, mixers, isolators and others can be simulated in FEKO. Multi-layer planar dielectric MoM for the analysis of substrates can be used for the simulation of microstrip circuits. The FEM is available as an efficient method for solving closed waveguide structures. Circuit co-simulation is often used for feeding and matching networks. Circuit schematics can be created with lumped elements, SPICE network models, S-, Z- and Y-parameter blocks and networks specified by data from Touchstone files. Time Domain Analysis pulse_signal_waveform FEKO is based on a frequency domain formulation, but time domain information can be obtained by applying Fourier Transforms on broadband frequency-domain data. An interface is provided in POSTFEKO which facilitates users in the specification of time domain pulse shapes. Time domain analysis has successfully been applied to perform lightning strike analysis and to evaluate time domain characteristics of ultra-wideband antennas, such as fidelity. GUI Features FEKO offers a graphical user interface (GUI) with easy workflow, running on Windows or Linux. The GUI can be used every step of the way, from model creation in CADFEKO through to visualisation of results in POSTFEKO. The scripting editor may be used for to automate model setup or for advanced post-processing of results.