FEKO
Encyclopedia
FEKO is a software product developed by EM Software & Systems - S.A. (Pty) Ltd. for the simulation of electromagnetic field
s. The name is derived from a German acronym which can be translated as "Field Calculations for Bodies with Arbitrary Surface". The software is based on the Method of Moments (MoM) integral formulation of Maxwell's equations
. It was the first commercial computational electromagnetics
(CEM) software to implement the Multilevel Fast Multipole Method
(MLFMM)
and pioneered the commercial implementation of various hybrid methods:
Electromagnetic field
An electromagnetic field is a physical field produced by moving electrically charged objects. It affects the behavior of charged objects in the vicinity of the field. The electromagnetic field extends indefinitely throughout space and describes the electromagnetic interaction...
s. The name is derived from a German acronym which can be translated as "Field Calculations for Bodies with Arbitrary Surface". The software is based on the Method of Moments (MoM) integral formulation of Maxwell's equations
Maxwell's equations
Maxwell's equations are a set of partial differential equations that, together with the Lorentz force law, form the foundation of classical electrodynamics, classical optics, and electric circuits. These fields in turn underlie modern electrical and communications technologies.Maxwell's equations...
. It was the first commercial computational electromagnetics
Computational electromagnetics
Computational electromagnetics, computational electrodynamics or electromagnetic modeling is the process of modeling the interaction of electromagnetic fields with physical objects and the environment....
(CEM) software to implement the Multilevel Fast Multipole Method
Fast Multipole Method
The fast multipole method is a mathematical technique that was developed to speed up the calculation of long-ranged forces in the n-body problem...
(MLFMM)
and pioneered the commercial implementation of various hybrid methods:
- Finite Element MethodFinite element methodThe finite element method is a numerical technique for finding approximate solutions of partial differential equations as well as integral equations...
(FEM) / MoM where a FEM region is bounded with an integral equation based boundary condition to ensure full coupling between the FEM and MoM solution areas of the problem.
- MoM / Physical OpticsPhysical opticsIn physics, physical optics, or wave optics, is the branch of optics which studies interference, diffraction, polarization, and other phenomena for which the ray approximation of geometric optics is not valid...
(PO) where computationally expensive MoM current elements are used to excite computationally inexpensive PO elements, inducing currents on the PO elements. Special features in the FEKO implementation of the MoM/PO hybrid include the analysis of dielectric or magnetically coated metallic surfaces.
- MoM / Geometrical OpticsGeometrical opticsGeometrical optics, or ray optics, describes light propagation in terms of "rays". The "ray" in geometric optics is an abstraction, or "instrument", which can be used to approximately model how light will propagate. Light rays are defined to propagate in a rectilinear path as far as they travel in...
(GO) where rays are launched from radiating MoM elements.
- MoM / Uniform Theory of DiffractionUniform theory of diffractionIn numerical analysis, the uniform geometrical theory of diffraction is a high-frequency method for solving electromagnetic scattering problems from electrically small discontinuities or discontinuities in more than one dimension at the same point. UTD is an extension of Joseph Keller's...
(UTD) where computationally expensive MoM current elements are used to excite canonical UTD shapes (plates, cylinders) with ray-based principles of which the computational cost is independent of wavelength.