Understanding Computation of Impulse Response in Microwave Software Tools

In modern microwave engineering curricula, the introduction of the many new topics in microwave industrial development, or of software tools for design and simulation, sometimes results in students having an inadequate understanding of the fundamental theory. The terminology for and the explanation of algorithms for calculating impulse response in microwave software tools are not always beginner-oriented and might be over-sophisticated for undergraduate students. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the impulse response computation from the viewpoint of microwave engineering education. A new method of teaching the impulse response computation is presented. The new method should help students to gain a thorough understanding of how to compute the impulse response either in the time domain or from frequency response samples.