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Computational electro magnetics consists of predicting electric and magnetic fields. Electromagnetic (EM) field problems permeate several fields of study in electrical engineering from high power machines to high bandwidth communications. Design of electric machinery is critically dependent on accurate solutions of magnetic and electric fields in the stationary and rotating parts of motors and generators. Power electronic designers today are investing more and more resources in calculating and minimizing the electromagnetic interference caused by high power switching circuits. Semiconductor device design is another area where the classical models for circuit elements like resistors, capacitors and inductors are becoming less and less valid as their operating frequencies go higher and higher. Communication systems need constant improvement of signal-to-noise ratio that calls for more exact characterization of the media. Design of antennas and receivers need reasonably accurate EM field solutions.

In short, from milli-watt to mega-watt, from 60 hertz to several giga-hertz, Electrical Engineering today leans on accurate methods to obtain solutions for electromagnetic fields. There is a also growing interest in many quarters of industry and military in acquiring the ability to predicting electromagnetic (EM) effects. These effects include radar scattering attributes of objects such as airplanes, missiles, tanks, ships, etc., the mutual interference of a multitude of antennas on board a single aircraft or ship, and the propagation of pulses through dispersive media such as soil, treetops, or concrete, etc. to detect pollutants or hidden targets, or to asses the health of airport runways. All of the above require extensive computation and, solution of the Maxwells equations. Despite that fact the equations are linear in all these cases, their does not exists a single electro magnetic simulation code that will complete the simulation in a timely manner and with minimum errors in the obtained solutions.