Q-par Angus Ltd., a microwave development and research company based in Leominster, UK, is offering a new capability for the analysis and design of anisotropic meta-materials. Based on a formulation by Rikte, the improved method provides a well-conditioned scheme for the analysis of multi-layer structures with general bi-anisotropy containing Frequency Selective Surfaces (FSS).
The method provides a determination of reflection and transmission of plane waves through a medium consisting of multiple layers of bi-anisotropic materials and FSS (modeled as anisotropic impedance surfaces). The materials may feature arbitrary losses and dispersion. When used in conjunction with additional software, e.g. from Computer Simulation Technology (CST), Q-par now offers a design route to: (a) determine what combination of anisotropic materials are needed for a particular task and (b) how to synthesize such material.
Current applications include: the design of high power polarization converters over large bandwidths and large ranges of angles of incidence, the design of wide bandwidth, large angular range radar absorbent materials and the analysis of non-reciprocal layered materials comprising, for example, magnetically biased ferrites.
Dr. Andrew Mackay, Q-par's Principle Scientist said, “Our bi-anisotropic analysis method makes a novel use of the Singular Value Decomposition algorithm and permits a stable and accurate analysis in the presence of high losses and/or mode-reducing structures such as polarizing grids. The method can safely be embedded within an optimizer for designing high performance devices."
He continued, “Our technical report, which is free to download from our website, provides all the necessary formulation details to permit an electrical engineer to write their own software. Alternatively, Q-par also accepts design work using this software and as a result is well placed to analyze structures or devices where it is believed anisotropic materials could provide significant performance advantages. The application of meta-materials to RF design is a rapidly growing area and Q-par believes its software provides a novel and timely addition to the tools currently available.”
