Overview of the main research topics in the Electromagnetics Group
This page is still under construction. At this moment we refer for topics not yet treated below to a recent presentation of the group and to the projects, publications, research facilities and PhDs pages for more information regarding our research activities.
The research efforts conducted by L. Knockaert are mainly in the domain of rational frequency-domain modeling and model order reduction techniques for state-space systems derived from Maxwell's equations using rational orthonormal bases. Further attention is also devoted to the use of artificial boundary conditions and the application of signal processing theory in electromagnetic signal identification and model order selection issues.
Integral equation techniquesOne aspect of the research on electromagnetic modeling focuses on the application of fast methods in order to simulate ever larger and more complex electromagnetic field problems. This research builds on a long tradition of the application of integral equations in the electromagnetics group to compute electromagnetic fields. Active research activities deal with the development of fast multipole and fast Fourier transform methods as well as parallellisation of these methods in GRID computing environments. Applications range from waveguide problems, scattering problems, material design, passive optical components to electromagnetic compatibility problems. Research on fast multipole methods and time domain integral equation techniques is done in close collaboration with Prof. Eric Michielssen from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Open FMM is a free collection of our electromagnetic software for scattering at very large objects. It currently consists of a fast two-dimensional TM solver Nero2d. In the near future, a full wave solver aimed at simulating photonic crystals will be added. Work on a full wave three-dimensional solver is currently in progress. We aim for solvers that are capable to handle extremely large problems. The Nero2d solver, makes use of a parallel variant of the Multilevel Fast Multipole Algorithm (MLFMA).
Full wave simulation of a lens using a GRID fast multipole algorithm.
