Doubly periodic volume-surface integral equation formulation for modelling metamaterials

A generalised volume-surface integral equation is extended by way of the periodic Green's function to model arbitrarily complex designs of metamaterials consisting of high-contrast inhomogeneous anisotropic material regions as well as metallic inclusions. The unique aspect of the formulation is the integration of boundary and volume integral equations to increase modelling efficiency and capability. Specifically, the boundary integral approach with equivalent surface currents is adopted over regions consisting of piecewise homogeneous materials as well as metallic perfect electric/magnetic conductor inclusions, whereas the volume integral equation is employed only in inhomogeneous and/or anisotropic material regions. Because the periodic Green's function only needs to be evaluated for the equivalent surface currents enclosing an inhomogeneous and/or anisotropic region, matrix fill time is much less as compared to using a volume formulation. Furthermore, the incorporation of curvilinear finite elements allows for greater geometrical modelling flexibility for arbitrarily shaped high-contrast regions found in typical designs of engineered metamaterials.