On the applicability of numerical tools for simulating wave-ports close to the cutoff frequency

Abstract

This paper focuses on a common drawback in electromagnetic numerical computer aided design computer aided design (CAD) tools: high frequency structure simulator (HFSS), computer simulation technology (CST) and FEKO, where the excitation by using a wave-port below and close to the cutoff frequency has unreliable values for the reflection coefficient. An example for such problem is presented in the design of a dual horn antenna fed by two different waveguide sections. To overcome this numerical error in the results of these CAD tools, a tapered waveguide section is used in the simulation as an excitation mechanism to the feeding waveguide. The cross section of the input port at this tapered waveguide section is designed to have a cutoff frequency smaller than the lowest frequency under investigation for the original problem. Then, by extracting the effect of the tapered section from the obtained reflection coefficient, it would be possible to obtain the reflection coefficient of the original problem.