Finite element formulations of Maxwell´s equations-advantages and comparisons between available approaches

The various vector wave equations derived from Maxwell´s equations are examined. Formulations involving electric field intensity and magnetic field intensity are explored. The curl-curl equation is developed into a finite-element code. Rectangular waveguides are examined as an example problem. The results demonstrate that errors in boundary conditions can give rise to spurious solutions, while solutions with good boundary conditions do not. For waveguides with attenuating media the spurious solutions do not appear.