Efficient Computational Techniques for Simulating Communication Antennas—Large and Small

Despite the development of a wide variety of antenna modeling codes, including a large number of commercial ones that are of excellent quality, the design of communication and radar antennas - both large and small - continue to challenge us because of their multiscale and complex nature. In this paper we will discuss a number of antenna modeling and design problems that we have encountered in recent years, and present real-world some approaches that have been successfully used to address them. We consider reflector antennas systems and feeds, conformal arrays on curved surfaces, antennas mounted on complex platforms, e.g., an aircraft or the topside of a ship. We also provide illustration examples of small antennas integrated with metamaterials that can be computed-intensive to analyze and microstrip arrays for which efficient simulation methods are needed