Hybridization of the Transmission-Line-Matrix Method (TLM) with the Integral Equation Method for the Analysis of Electromagnetic Coupling

A novel hybrid technique for the numeric computation of electromagnetic fields in the time-domain based on the coupling of the transmission-line-matrix method and an integral equation method is developed and investigated. The partitioning of the fields in total-fields and scattered-fields enables the combination of the two methods. The complexity of the combined method is limited by the computationally intensive recursive solution of the integral equations. An acceleration of the solution algorithm is possible by the expansion of known field components in plane-waves. By this representation in terms of plane-waves the integral equations are solved in an efficient way using a three-step algorithm. The combined method allows the investigation of field interactions over short distances as well as over distances of several wavelengths. Typical problem scenarios include antenna coupling and the computation of shielding effects.