A Low-Frequency-Stable Higher-Order Isogeometric Discretization of the Augmented Electric Field Integral Equation

Abstract

This contribution investigates the connection between isogeometric analysis (IGA) and integral equation (IE) methods for full-wave electromagnetic problems up to the low-frequency limit. The proposed spline-based IE method allows for an exact representation of the model geometry described in terms of nonuniform rational B-splines (NURBS) without meshing. This is particularly useful when high accuracy is required or when meshing is cumbersome, for instance, during the optimization of electric components. The augmented electric field IE (EFIE) is adopted and the deflation method is applied, so the low-frequency breakdown is avoided. The extension to higher-order basis functions is analyzed and the convergence rate is discussed. Numerical experiments on academic and realistic test cases demonstrate the high accuracy of the proposed approach.