Novel tree-based algorithms for computational electromagnetics

Abstract

Tree-based methods have wide applications for solving large-scale problems in electromagnetics, astrophysics, quantum chemistry, fluid mechanics, acoustics, and many more areas. This thesis focuses on their applicability for solving large-scale problems in electromagnetics. The Barnes-Hut (BH) algorithm and the Fast Multipole Method (FMM) are introduced along with a survey of important previous work. The required theory for applying those methods to problems in electromagnetics is presented with particular emphasis on the capacitance extraction problem and broadband full-wave scattering.

A novel single source approximation is introduced for approximating clusters of electrostatic sources in multi-layered media. The approximation is derived by matching the spectra of the field in the vicinity of the stationary phase point. Combined with the BH algorithm, a new algorithm is shown to be an efficient method for evaluating electrostatic fields in multilayered media. Specifically, the new BH algorithm is well suited for fast capacitance extraction.

The BH algorithm is also adapted to the scalar Helmholtz kernel by using the same methodology to derive an accurate single source approximation. The result is a fast algorithm that is suitable for accelerating the solution of the Electric Field Integral Equation (EFIE) for electrically small structures.

Finally, a new version of FMM is presented that is stable and efficient from the low frequency regime to mid-range frequencies. By applying analytical derivatives to the field expansions at the observation points, the proposed method can rapidly evaluate vectorial kernels that arise in the FMM-accelerated solution of EFIE, the Magnetic Field Integral Equation (MFIE), and the Combined Field Integral Equation (CFIE).