Modeling of electromagnetic wave propagation in complex structures

Abstract

This project aims at providing the Telecommunications Group of the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of São Paulo, São Carlos, with the adequate tools for the modeling of complex computational problems. To do so, two crucial points need to be addressed: 1) creation of a high performance electromagnetic computational center, offering to all Group members the most up-to-date numerical tools to solve complex electromagnetic problems. This will necessarily require the acquisition of a commercial package based on finite elements (COMSOL Multiphysics), in addition to all softwares locally developed based on finite differences (in time and frequency domains). This software (COMSOL) will grant us an unprecedented productivity gain in the analysis of electromagnetic problems that do not require the development of a specific numerical method to solve it (in addition to being a valuable benchmark for the validation of the numerical methods currently being developed in our Group under my supervision); 2) proceed with the modeling of structures based on artificial materials, including metamaterials and complex materials, such as metals (deposited atop a dielectric substrate for the generation of surface plasmons (SPP). Both cases require the utilization of metals in the formation of the structure's geometry, which passes, necessarily, by the incorporation of material models for the electric permittivity and magnetic permeability (such as the Drude and/or Lorentz material models). In the case of metamaterials the goal is particularly the investigation of electromagnetic transparency applications (cloaking). In the case of SPP, the idea is the investigation of nanostructures for sensing and optical communications applications. (AU)