Full-Wave Analysis of Indoor Communication Problems, based on a Parabolic Equation – Finite Element Technique

This paper presents a new methodology to compute the electromagnetic field in practical cases of indoor communications. In particular, we consider the highly interesting case of the so-called interface modeling, i.e. when a plane wave propagates to the interior of a building. The proposed technique is based on a parabolic wave equation in three dimensions, while the cross section of the computational domain, as the wave propagates, is modeled by means of a finite element technique, terminated by highly absorbing PML boundaries. This formulation enables a robust computational modeling of obstacles of complex shape in a fully automated way. Unlike standard ray-tracing techniques, the proposed scheme makes it possible to solve a series of complex geometries and structures that would require vast computational resources with existing approaches. Key-Words: Wave propagation, indoor communications, ray-tracing, parabolic equation, finite element method.