FEST3D User Manual

User Manual 2020

FEST3D User Manual 1

1 Table of Contents
1. Table of Contents 1-4
2. FEST3D Online Help 5

2.1. FEST3D Introduction 5-8

2.2. FEST3D Tutorial 8
2.2.1. Tutorial 1: The First Circuit 8-14
2.2.2. Tutorial 2. Running the Simulation 14-18
2.2.3. Tutorial 3. Accuracy or speed? 18-21

2.2.4. Tutorial 4. Arbitrary Shape Editor 21-27

2.2.5. Tutorial 5. Optimizer 27
2.2.5.1. Tutorial 5.1. Optimizer: setup 27-37
2.2.5.2. Tutorial 5.2. Optimizer: run 37-40
2.2.6. High Power 40
2.2.6.1. Tutorial 6: Electromagnetic field Analysis 40-49
2.2.6.2. Tutorial 7: Multipactor Analysis (single-carrier case) 49-63
2.2.6.3. Tutorial 7: Multipactor Analysis (multi-carrier case) 63-71

2.2.6.4. Tutorial 8: Corona Analysis 71-86

2.3. FEST3D Manual 86-87
2.3.1. Requirements 87
2.3.2. Graphical User Interface (GUI) 87-88
2.3.2.1. The Main Window 88-93

2.3.2.2. Elements bar 93

2.3.2.3. Frequency Specifications 93-96
2.3.2.4. The General Specifications Window 96-99
2.3.2.5. 3D Viewer 99-103
2.3.2.6. The Preferences Window 103-104
2.3.2.7. Parameters configuration 104-106
2.3.2.8. Compare Results tool 106-108
2.3.3. Analysis 108
2.3.3.1. ElectroMagnetic Computational Engine (EMCE) 108-110
2.3.3.2. Adaptive Frequency Sampling Method 110-114
2.3.3.3. Engineering tools 115-129

2.3.3.4. EM Field Analysis 129-132

2.3.3.5. Convergence Study 132-133
2.3.3.6. FEST3D Parallelization 133-136

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2.3.4. Design 136

2.3.4.1. Optimizer (OPT) 136-144

2.3.4.2. Tolerance Analysis (TOL) 144-147

2.3.5. Synthesis Tools 147

2.3.5.1. Synthesis Tools: Low-Pass Filter 147-155

2.3.5.2. Synthesis Tools: Band-Pass Filter 155-166
2.3.5.3. Synthesis Tools: Dual-Mode Filter 166-178
2.3.5.4. Synthesis Tools: Impedance Transformer 178-182

2.3.6. High Power Analysis: Multipactor and Corona. 182

2.3.6.1. Corona Discharge Analysis 182-193

2.3.6.2. Multipactor Analysis 193-209
2.3.6.2.1. Multipactor Practical Considerations 209-211
2.3.7. Export tools 211-212
2.3.8. CLI 212-216
2.4. Elements Database 216
2.4.1. Waveguides 216-221

2.4.1.1. Basic Waveguides 221

2.4.1.1.1. Rectangular Waveguide 221-224
2.4.1.1.2. Circular Waveguide 224-226
2.4.1.1.3. Coaxial waveguide 226-228
2.4.1.2. Arbitrary Rectangular Waveguides 228
2.4.1.2.1. Arbitrary Rectangular (ARW) 228-232

2.4.1.2.2. Coaxial waveguide 232-235

2.4.1.2.3. Cross waveguide 235-238
2.4.1.2.4. Draft waveguide 238-241
2.4.1.2.5. Elliptic waveguide 241-244
2.4.1.2.6. Ridge waveguide 244-247
2.4.1.2.7. Lateral coupling circular waveguide 247-250
2.4.1.2.8. Ridge-gap waveguide 250-253
2.4.1.2.9. Square coaxial waveguide 253-256
2.4.1.2.10. Slot waveguide 256-259
2.4.1.2.11. Truncated waveguide 259-262
2.4.1.2.12. Waffle waveguide 262-265

2.4.1.3. Arbitrary Circular Waveguides 265

2.4.1.3.1. Circular Arbitrary (ACW) 265-271
2.4.1.3.2. ACW with an Ellipse 271-274

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2.4.1.3.3. ACW with a Cross 274-277

2.4.1.3.4. ACW with Screws 277-281

2.4.1.4. Other Waveguides 281

2.4.1.4.1. Curved waveguide 281-285

2.4.1.4.2. Circular-Elliptic Iris 285-286

2.4.1.4.3. Radiating Array 286-290
2.4.2. Discontinuities 290-294
2.4.2.1. Basic Discontinuities 294

2.4.2.1.1. Step 294-301

2.4.2.1.2. N-Step 301-304

2.4.2.1.3. N-Port User Defined 304-306
2.4.2.1.4. 1-Port User Defined 306-308
2.4.2.1.5. Lumped 308-310
2.4.2.1.6. Coupling Matrix 310-313
2.4.2.1.7. Touchstone 313-314
2.4.2.1.8. Rounded corner iris 3D 314-324

2.4.2.2. Junctions 324-325

2.4.2.2.1. Cubic Junction 325-327
2.4.2.2.2. T-Junction 327-328
2.4.2.2.3. Y-junction General with N screws 328-334
2.4.2.2.4. Y-Junction (60 deg) 335-336
2.4.2.2.5. 2D OMT 336-345

2.4.2.2.6. 2D Compensated Tee 345-351

2.4.2.3. Bends 351
2.4.2.3.1. Stepped Bend 352-357
2.4.2.3.2. Mitered Bend 357-363
2.4.2.3.3. 2D Curved 363-368
2.4.2.4. Const width/height discontinuities 368
2.4.2.4.1. Arbitrary shape 368-377
2.4.2.4.2. Waveguide step with N Metal inserts 377-385
2.4.2.4.3. Waveguide step with N Screws 385-392
2.4.2.4.4. Waveguide Step with rounded corners 392-396
2.4.2.4.5. Rounded corner iris 396-401

2.4.2.4.6. 2D Rounded short 401-406

2.4.2.5. Coaxial library 407
2.4.2.5.1. Cavity with posts 407-420

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2.4.2.5.2. Straight feed cavity 420-432

2.4.2.5.3. Mushroom feed cavity 432-445

2.4.2.5.4. Straight contact feed cavity 445-456

2.4.2.5.5. S-Shape contact feed cavity 456-467

2.4.2.5.6. Loop feed cavity 467-478

2.4.2.5.7. Magnetic feed cavity 478-489
2.4.2.5.8. Top contact feed cavity 489-500
2.4.2.5.9. General cavity 500-512

2.4.2.6. Helical resonators library 512-513

2.4.2.6.1. Helical resonator 513-524

2.4.2.6.2. Contact feed to helical resonator 524-536
2.4.2.7. CST solver library 536
2.4.2.7.1. General rectangular cavity 536-554
2.4.2.7.2. General cylindrical cavity 554-572
2.4.2.7.3. Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity 572-581
2.4.2.7.4. T-Junction circular to rectangular 581-590

2.4.2.7.5. T-Junction circular to circular 590-599

2.4.3. Allowed Symmetries 599-600
3. Index 601-604

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2 FEST3D Online Help

The FEST3D help system is organized into the following main topics:

Introduction What is FEST3D.

Tutorial Guided tour of FEST3D features. Recommended for new users.

Manual Using FEST3D - reference manual.

Elements database Description of the elements supported by FEST3D.

2.1 FEST3D Introduction

The objective of this introduction is to explain the motivations behind FEST3D development and the target of FEST3D
software, as well as the approach and basic concepts used by FEST3D.
The introduction contains the following topics:

Objective The objective of FEST3D.

Features Main Features in FEST3D.

Terms and Concepts Terms and concepts widely used in FEST3D and in this documentation.

Features
FEST3D is an efficient software tool for the accurate analysis of passive components based on waveguide technology.
FEST3D is the first commercial software capable to integrate high power effects in the design process.

Analysis
FEST3D is able to efficiently analyse different type of passive microwave structures in waveguide technology. Basically,
FEST3D is based on an integral equation technique combined with the Method of Moments. Additionally, the
Boundary Integral-Resonant Mode Expansion (BI-RME) method is employed for extracting the modal chart of
waveguides with non-canonical shapes. These methods ensure a high degree of accuracy as well as reduced
computational resources (in terms of CPU time and memory).
On this basis, FEST3D is capable to simulate complex microwave devices in extremely short times (of the order of
seconds or few minutes) whereas general purpose software (based on segmentation techniques such as finite
elements or finite differences) can spend hours for the same calculation.
Furthermore, unlike mode-matching techniques, the electromagnetic algorithms employed in FEST3D minimize the
problems of relative convergence leading to more confident results. Moreover, the integral equation technique
extracts part of the frequency dependent computations, allowing a faster computational time per frequency point
when compared to mode-matching techniques. This benefit is more evident when many modes are required for an
accurate analysis of the component.
Based on these methods, the user can analyze a wide range of passive components with FEST3D:
Filters (dual-mode, evanescent, bandstop, interdigital, waffle-iron...)
Multiplexers
Dual-mode filters
Couplers
Polarizers
Waffle-iron filters

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Evanescent filters
Power Dividers
Bandstop filters
Infinite phased array antennas

Synthesis
FEST3D includes the possibility to automatically design several types of components from the user specifications
making use of the so-called Synthesis Tools. Up to now, the user can easily design band-pass filters, low-pass filters,
rectangular tapers, dual-mode filters in circular wavwguide.
The synthesis stage performs full-wave simulations to consider higher waveguide modes. Thanks to this and to
particular algorithms employed in each case, the synthesis process provides very good responses with respect to the
user specifications. In particular, bandpass filters can be designed with up to 25-230 % of BW without the need of
post-optimization, as well as dual-mode filters in circular waveguide with different order and making use of different
resonant modes.
Once the synthesis process is finished, the full structure is simulated and the full-wave result is shown.

Optimization
FEST3D has an optimization tool (OPT) for the refinement of the component geometrical parameters to get the
desired response. The OPT supports multiple optimisation algorithms such as:

Downhill simplex method.

Powell's direction set method.
Gradient method.

The OPT also supports weighted constraints in the form of equalities or inequalities between a left and a right
expression of the parameters being optimised. This allows, for instance, controlling the maximum length of a filter or
to ensure that an element length is larger than a particular value.
The OPT progress can be monitored in real time, as well as stopped, reconfigured and resumed from the Graphical
User Interface (GUI) at any time. Moreover, the results from the previous optimization iteration and the current one
are shown, which allows identifying the source of the improvement in the response.

Tolerances
FEST3D also allows performing tolerace analysis in the components by varying their dimensions according to a
gaussian deviation. The different tries are shown altogether and the user can control the whole process.

High Power
FEST3D can be easily used to analyse high-power breakdown phenomena in several type of components. In particular,
multipactor and corona (arcing) modules are fully integrated into FEST3D which is capable to determine the
breakdown level in complex passive components.

Export 3D geometry
FEST3D can export the 3D geometry to SAT format. This allows an easy interaction with other EM tools and using
FEST3D exported file in, e. g., milling machines.

Export Project to CST MWS® 2019

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FEST3D projects can be exported to a CST Microwave Studio® project.

Terms and Concepts

Several terms and concepts are used in FEST3D. Even though some of them may be well known to some users, these
terms may have different meanings in FEST3D, or some users may not associate them to millimeter-wave and
microwave circuits.

Circuit The kind of circuit currently supported by FEST3D: passive, linear millimeter-wave or microwave
circuit composed on cascaded discontinuities based on rectangular and circular waveguides (and
perturbed variants of them). The full list of the supported waveguides and discontinuities is
available in the Elements Database.

Element The term element is very generic. In FEST3D it indicates each elementary building block of a
passive, linear millimeter-wave or microwave circuit. A synonym also used in FEST3D is
component. The elements, or components, supported by FEST3D are divided in two classes:
waveguides and discontinuities. See also the Elements Database.

Component A synonym for element.

Waveguide A classic microwave waveguide, optionally open-ended (I/O port) or closed on a load, and
attached to something else (one or two discontinuities). A whole section of this manual is
dedicated to the various waveguides supported by FEST3D.

Discontinuity A component connecting two or more waveguides. Discontinuities often have a non-uniform
cross-section and may have non-trivial 3D geometry. In FEST3D you can only connect a
waveguide to a discontinuity, and vice-versa. A whole section of this manual is dedicated to the
various discontinuities supported by FEST3D.

Port Ports are used to connect elements together. Each element has a number of ports equal to the
number of elements it is connected to. Each port of an element is connected to a port of another
element. The connections between elements are represented as black lines in the GUI.

GUI Graphical User Interface. The part of a program devoted to interaction with the user. The FEST3D
GUI activates the other parts of FEST3D on user demand, by launching external executables.

EMCE ElectroMagnetic Computational Engine. The part of FEST3D that actually performs the simulation
of millimeter-wave and microwave circuits.

OPT OPTimization service. The part of FEST3D devoted to optimization. In order to optimize a circuit,
the OPT repeatedly invokes the EMCE. See the Optimizer section in this manual.

Synthesis Additional programs integrated in FEST3D, capable of performing microwave circuits synthesis
Tools from user specifications. See the Synthesis Tools section in this manual.

Engineering Additional programs integrated in FEST3D, used to perform unit conversions and small
Tools computations. See the Engineering Tools section in this manual.

Convergence Convergence Study is an essential technique to reasonably ensure the accuracy of EMCE results.
Study A brief, but incomplete, summary is that the simulation must always start with low numeric
accuracy parameters, continuously increasing them until the response converges. A single
simulation with high numeric accuracy parameters is definitely not enough to ensure accuracy of
the results. In FEST3D, numeric precision parameters include all the number of modes and also
element-specific parameters.
See also the tutorial section Accuracy or Speed?

MoM Method of Moments. A mathematical model of microwave propagation physics, used in FEST3D.

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Integral A mathematical model of microwave propagation physics, used in FEST3D.
Equation

BI-RME Boundary Integral - Resonant Mode Expansion. A very efficient electromagnetic model of
microwave propagation physics, used in FEST3D.

2.2 FEST3D Tutorial

The goal of the tutorials is to show you how to use the basic features of FEST3D to create, edit, analyze and optimize a
millimeter-wave or microwave circuit.
The first three tutorials are provided to familiarize you with the FEST3D user interface. Tutorials 4 and 5 treat more
complex topics, like the Arbitrary Shape Editor and the Optimizer. Tutorial 6 shows how the EM field analysis tool
works, and tutorials 7 and 8 cover high power issues, Multipactor and Corona, respectively.
To learn the basic features of FEST3D, you are recommended to work through tutorials in the order they are
presented. It is also essential to play around with the list of examples provided to you during the installation in the
folder "Examples".

1. The First Circuit is a step by step guide to the creation of a simple microwave circuit.
2. Running the Simulation shows you how to configure and execute the analysis (simulation) of a microwave
circuit.
3. Accuracy or Speed? introduces you in the world of numeric methods, where high accuracy often means long
computation time.
4. The Arbitrary Shape Editor shows you how to create and edit the arbitrary shapes used by some elements.
5. Optimizer is a group of tutorials describing how use the FEST3D Optimizer:
5.1 Optimizer: setup describes how to prepare a circuit for optimization and how to configure FEST3D
Optimizer.
5.2 Optimizer: run shows how to start an interactive optimization and what you can do during it.
6. EM field analysis is a step-by-step guide on how to use the EM field analysis module
7. Multipactor analysis is a step-by-step guide on how to use the Multipactor analysis module for single and
multi-carrier signals.
8. Corona analysis is a step-by-step guide on how to use the Corona analysis module

2.2.1 Tutorial 1: The First Circuit

In this tutorial, you will learn how to create and edit millimeter-wave and microwave circuits with FEST3D.
Tutorial 1 is divided in four lessons. In order to get maximum benefit from the tutorial, you are recommended to work
through the lessons in the order they are presented.

1. Important Concepts: waveguides, discontinuities, connections, coordinate systems gives an overview of

the approach used by FEST3D to represent millimeter-wave and microwave circuits.
2. Creating elements gives a step-by-step guide on how to create the elements contained in a simple circuit.
3. Editing elements explains how to view and modify the properties of created elements.
4. Connecting Elements shows you how to connect the elements together.

Important Concepts: waveguides, discontinuities, connections,

coordinate systems
In FEST3D, circuit means a passive, linear millimeter-wave or microwave circuit. This is what FEST3D supports.
In FEST3D, elements are the basic blocks used to build a circuit. They are represented by icons with a schematic
picture of their 3D shape.

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A circuit is composed by a set of elements connected to each other, respecting certain connection rules.
The connection between two elements goes through the ports of these elements. A port is where the modal
expansion is defined according to a certain coordinate system. When connecting two elements through their ports,
the coordinate systems should match each other. In most of the cases, FEST3D adjusts the coordinate systems of the
elements automatically, but there are some exceptions that need user interaction. The situation of the coordinate
system is defined in the documentation of each element.
Elements are divided into two main groups: waveguides and discontinuities.
Waveguides are the simplest elements. They usually have uniform cross-section, and they can be attached to other
elements at both sides (front and back). Two simple examples are the rectangular waveguide and the circular
waveguide.
The complete list of supported waveguides is in the Waveguides section of this manual.
Discontinuities are used to connect waveguides together. A discontinuity often has non-uniform cross-section and
non-trivial 3D geometry. A discontinuity may have a 3D volume or may be a zero-thickness surface. Two simple
examples are the step and the T-junction.
In FEST3D you can only connect a waveguide to a discontinuity, and vice-versa.
The complete list of discontinuities supported by FEST3D is in the Discontinuities section of this manual.
The following figures show a simple circuit (an asymmetric one-pole cavity) in FEST3D main window and its 3D
geometry:

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In order to interactively view the 3D geometry of the circuit, click on the icon: the 3D Viewer window will open.

In this example, the circuit is composed by five rectangular waveguides ( ) and four steps ( ). The black lines
represent the connections among them.
As you can see, FEST3D main window is divided in three parts:

1. the menubar and toolbar at the top

2. the canvas in the center
3. the canvas in the bottom

The menubar lets you access most FEST3D features, including the usual File Load and Save, cut-and-paste and
FEST3D specific features. The complete description of menubar contents is in the Main Window Menubar section in
this manual.
The toolbar duplicates the most used features of the menubar for faster access.
The canvas in the center contains the current circuit and lets you edit it.
The canvas on the bottom is used to show the output information of a simulation.
In the right side there is a bar containing the FEST3D elements (elements bar). This bar is used to select the element
to be created in the main canvas. The elements bar can be hidden and pop-up by means of the rectangular icon in
the toolbar.

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Creating elements
In FEST3D, creating an element consists in two steps:

1. click on the icon of the element type you want from the elements bar. The icon will stay pressed.
2. click on the canvas. An element of that type will be added where you clicked.

If you click again on the canvas background (not on an element or a connection) further elements of the same type
will be added.
Let's say you want to create the asymmetric one-pole filter seen above. For this purpose, create five rectangular
waveguides and four steps. You should obtain something like the left figure:

Now click on the menubar command structure | show icons. The elements should change to something like the right
figure. If the numbers are ordered differently, you can move the element around as explained below. This is not
needed in general (there is no requirement that the elements you connect have any particular ordering), but you
would better know how to perform such basic operations on elements.

You can move elements on the icon button at the top of the elements bar, then press mouse left
button on an element in the canvas and drag it.
You can select more than one element by pressing mouse left button on the canvas background, then dragging the
mouse. A rectangular selection area will be created, and all elements inside it will be selected.
You can now move all selected elements at once by dragging them with the mouse.
You can also cut, copy or delete all selected elements at once using the corresponding commands in the menubar or
in the toolbar.
After a cut or copy, you can undo the operation or you can paste the contents of the clipboard using the
corresponding commands in the menubar or in the toolbar.
Now that you have learned how to do it, order all the elements as shown in the right picture above and proceed with
the next part of this tutorial.

Editing elements
This part of the tutorial explains how to view and edit the properties of the created elements.
Click with the right mouse button on the rectangular waveguide [1] you created in the canvas. The following

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Element Properties dialog box will appear:

Now you can enter the values for the geometric parameters A, B and L (in millimeters) of the rectangular waveguide.
In this tutorial you are building the one-pole cavity seen above, so enter the following values then click on the OK
button:

A 22.86
B 10.16
L 10.0

Since these dimensions correspond to a standard waveguide, you could have clicked on the standard waveguide
box, and select the WR-90. Doing this, the A and B dimensions (22.86, 10.16) are automatically obtained.

The rectangular waveguide [2] of the circuit has different geometric parameters: A 8.0, B 10.16, L 2.0.
The rectangular waveguide [3] has geometric parameters: A 22.86, B 10.16, L 15.0.
The rectangular waveguide [4] has the same geometric parameters as [2]: A 8.0, B 10.16, L 2.0.
The rectangular waveguide [5] has the same geometric parameters as [1]: A 22.86, B 10.16, L 10.0.
In general you may also want to edit the waveguides Common Properties, but in this case you can leave them to the
default values.
You need instead to change the SubType of rectangular waveguides [1] and [5] to Input/Output Port, in order to
inform FEST3D that they will be the external interfaces of the circuit. Set rectangular waveguide [1] to have I/O Port

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Number 1 and rectangular waveguide [2] to have I/O Port Number 2.
It is now time to edit the four steps. Click with the right mouse button on the step [1]., then click on the Ports page.
The following Element Properties dialog box will appear:

Enter the values for the geometric parameters:

X offset (mm) of port 2 4.0

Y offset (mm) of port 2 0.0
Rotation (degrees) of port 2 0.0

The step [2] is identical to step [1] but of opposite sign, edit it too and enter the values: X -4.0, Y 0.0, Rot 0.0.
The step [3] and step [4], have instead the following values: X 5.0, Y 0.0, Rot 0.0. and X -5.0, Y 0.0, Rot 0.0.,
respectively,
That's all. In the next part of this tutorial you will connect the elements together.

Connecting elements
This part of the tutorial explains how to create and edit the connections among elements.

Click on the connect ( ) button at the top of the elements bar. The mouse pointer shape will change to a
pencil.
Press and hold the left mouse button on the first rectangular waveguide. Drag the mouse to the first step: a black
line connecting the two elements will appear. Release the left mouse button.
Repeat the same procedure until you completed all the connections as in the left figure:

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Click again on the menubar structure -> show icons command, you will obtain the right figure.

You can delete connections by clicking on the arrow ( ) button at the top of the elements bar, then
press mouse left button on a connection in the canvas to select it, finally click on the menubar edit -> delete
command or hit the delete key on the keyboard.
In FEST3D there is a subtlety in definition of the connections. The reason is that for some discontinuities (Step, N-Step,
T-Junction, Constant width/height arbitrary shape, Y-Junction) the various ports where you can connect waveguides
are not equivalent. But when you connect two elements, you have no way to specify the ports to use... a simple first-
free first-used algorithm is used. In other words, the first element you connect is considered as port 1, the second
element as port 2, and so on.
In particular, you saw that a step has two ports but you can specify X offset, Y offset and Rotation only for the second
port.

The Edit Connections dialog exists for changing the port definition. Click on the move ( ) button at the
top of the elements bar, then click with the right mouse button on one of the connections (the black lines) of the
discontinuity. The Edit Connections dialog will appear.
This dialogs allows the user to specify the ports of a discontinuity where each connected waveguide should be
attached. For each connected element, a row of radio-buttons is available to specify which port it should use.
Attaching more than one waveguide on the same port is not allowed.

2.2.2 Tutorial 2. Running the Simulation

Tutorial 2 is divided in two parts. In order to get the maximum benefit from the tutorial, you are recommended to
work through the lessons in the order they are presented. In particular, this tutorial assumes you have read,
understood and practiced the topics treated in Tutorial 1 and you have a circuit already loaded in FEST3D (preferrably
the circuit you created in the previous Tutorials).

Configuring explains how to configure the frequency/angle sweeps and the global circuit parameters. These
windows are explained in detail in the sections Frequency specifications and General Specifications.
Running shows how to compute S parameters or multi-mode S, Z or Y matrices of a FEST3D circuit.

Configuring
Once you have created a millimeter-wave or microwave circuit, there are two main things that must be configured
before you run a simulation on it:

Frequency/angle sweeps configuration

General modes/symmetries configuration

Frequency/angle sweeps configuration

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For this purpose, click on the Frequency Specifications command in the execute menu bar, or click on the

Frequency Specifications ( ) button in the toolbar. A dialog box, typically looking as the following figure, will
appear:

This window lets you edit the frequency range and points where the circuit should be simulated as well as the
method (discrete/adaptive) to be used. In case your circuit contains Radiating Array elements, you can also perform an
angle sweep (theta or phi) instead of a frequency sweep.
The frequency (or angle) sweep is specified by its start and end frequencies in GHz (or degrees for angles), and by the
sampling.
FEST3D supports three different sampling modes:

1. step lets you specify the distance between consecutive points to be sampled.
2. number of points lets you specify the total number of points to sample, including start and end points.
3. manual selection of points lets you manually edit each and every point you want to simulate. Only the last
sampling mode allows non-uniformly distributed points.

For further details, see the General Specifications section in this manual.
In our case (the asymmetric one-pole cavity) you should enter the following values:

Frequency Start 9.0

Frequency End 12.0
Frequency Step 0.001

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Once the frequencies/angle sweeps are defined. It is necessary to configure the global symmetries and the default
waveguides parameters for the circuit.

General specifications

For this purpose, click on the General Specifications command in the execute menu bar, or click on the General

specifications button ( )

For a detailed explanation of the meaning of the various global symmetries and default waveguides parameters, see
again the General Specifications section in this manual.
The asymmetric one-pole cavity example you created, in particular, has constant height and is invariant under
translations along the Y axis. So the Constant height (H plane) symmetry can be applied. Click on it. In this case no
other symmetry is applicable.
Since you are using symmetries, you can (and should) lower the various number of modes used in waveguides. Enter

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the following values:

Number of accessible modes 4

Number of MoM basis functions 10
Number of Green function terms 100

The other parameters can stay at their default values:

Dielectric Permittivity 1.0

Dielectric Permeability 1.0
Dielectric Conductivity 0.0
Metal Resistivity 0.0
Number of Taylor expansion terms 1

Running

Computing the S parameters is really simple: click on the Analyze ( ) button in the toolbar and watch the
progress messages produced by the Electromagnetic Engine (EMCE) integrated in FEST3D.
If the Autoplot option in the graphics menu is active, or if you execute the Plot command (still in the graphics
menu) at the end of the simulation, the S parameters graphical plot will be displayed.
With FEST3D you can also compute the multi-mode S, Z or Y matrix of a circuit, to reuse it later as a single block in a
bigger circuit.

You can stop a running simulation at any moment by clicking on the stop ( ) button.
The following figures show FEST3D main window during the simulation and the produced plot:

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2.2.3 Tutorial 3. Accuracy or speed?

In this tutorial it is explained how to manage and balance for your purposes the tradeoffs between simulation
accuracy and speed that is typical of FEST3D and other numerical simulation software.
This tutorial assumes that you have a circuit already loaded in FEST3D (preferrably the circuit you created in the
previous Tutorials). This tutorial is divided in two parts.

1. Accuracy Parameters explains which parameters control numeric accuracy in FEST3D, their meaning and the
effect of changing them.
2. Balancing shows how to choose a trade-off between accuracy and speed in FEST3D.

Accuracy Parameters
In FEST3D, each element (waveguide or discontinuity) can be configured independently from the others.
Several elements also contain numeric accuracy parameters.
To simplify the task of configuring manually the numeric accuracy (and other) parameters common to all waveguides,
by default their Common page is set to Use General Specifications, i.e. to use the default values stored in the
General Specifications dialog box you used in Tutorial 2.
This allows configuring the parameters common to all waveguides at once, unless you manually set some waveguides
not to use the default values.

Waveguides Common Parameters

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Let's start with the numerical parameters Number of accessible modes, Number of MoM basis functions and
Number of Green function terms.
Here we will not describe the electromagnetic theory and models behind FEST3D, which would be needed to
understand the meaning of the above parameters.
We will only say that Number of accessible modes is the number of modes in a waveguide that are treated as
accessible or propagating by FEST3D i.e. only those modes are assumed to transport E.M. fields and energy across the
whole length of a waveguide.
Increasing these three parameters (Number of accessible modes, Number of MoM basis functions and Number of
Green function terms) will yield more accurate results at the price of higher memory usage and longer computation
time.
Typical values are:

Parameter Low Accuracy Medium Accuracy High Accuracy

Number of accessible modes 10 20 40

Number of MoM basis functions 30 60 120

Number of Green function terms 300 600 1200

For simple circuits, starting with Low Accuracy (i.e. 10 accessible modes, 30 MoM basis functions and 300 Green
function terms) is usually enough to deliver satisfactory results.
Of course, this is true if no symmetries are considered. If symmetries are taken into account, the circuit parameters can
be dramatically reduced, keeping accuracy but increasing speed. This is particularly important if the circuit is going to
be optimized.
Anyway, there is no guarantee that certain fixed values for numeric accuracy parameters will yield satisfactory results
for your particular circuit. It is thus of critical importance to always perform a Convergence Study.
Some elements contain also other numeric accuracy parameters, as explained in the following paragraphs.

Arbitrary Rectangular
The Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide, which is also used as base for all waveguides in the RECT-CONTOUR BASED WG
section in the palette of elements, contains the Number of reference box modes parameter:

The Number of reference box modes is the number of modes to be used in the rectangular cavity to compute the
modes of the arbitrary rectangular waveguide.

The required value for this parameter depends a lot on both the role of the arbitrary waveguide and the ratio between
the reference box area and the arbitrary waveguide area. If the arbitrary rectangular waveguide is smaller than the
surrounding waveguides to which it is connected, i.e. it is playing the role of an iris, the number of generated modes
must be slightly higher than the number of the MoM basis functions of such an arbitrary waveguide. Therefore, the
number of reference box modes has to be adjusted to reach this condition.
If it is set to zero by the user, FEST3D will automatically calculate its value.
On the other hand, if the arbitrary waveguide is larger than one of the waveguides to which it is connected, the
number of generated modes has to be slightly larger than the number of Green function terms of the arbitrary
waveguide. Therefore, the number of reference box modes has to be modified to accomplish such a rule.
In order to get enough generated modes, this number of reference box modes will need to be increased if the area of
the arbitrary waveguide is much smaller than the area of the reference box. By default, the number of reference box
modes is set to the double of the number of Green function terms.

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The Number of reference box modes is also important for another reason: FEST3D can directly connect to each
other two Arbitrary Rectangular waveguides or derivatives using a Step or N-Step. In this case, the coupling integrals
between the two sets of modes are computed by convoluting two coupling integrals matrices. Since the matrices are
only known numerically, in order to obtain accurate results Number of reference box modes and Number of terms in
Green's function should be high enough.

In case you have Arbitrary Rectangular waveguides with TEM modes (the cross section must be non-simply
connected), which propagate even at zero frequency, the two numbers above become more and more important at
frequencies much lower than the cutoff of the first non-TEM mode, since the circuit behaviour strongly depends on
the exact couplings between TEM modes.
With so low frequencies, the Number of accessible modes and Number of MoM basis function will have very little
effect on the overall accuracy, since only the TEM modes will be accessible.
Known accuracy limitations exist in FEST3D if you try to analyze a circuit with TEM modes at extremely low frequencies
(< 0.2 GHz): due to the TEM-TEM couplings being computed numerically and not with analytical exactness, the results
produced by FEST3D will be less and less accurate as frequency decreases.
To solve this problem, you need to progressively increase the Number of reference box modes and Number of
Green's function terms until you get convergence (see Convergence Study above) in the frequency range you are
using.

Arbitrary Circular
The Arbitrary Circular waveguide, which is also used as base for all waveguides in the CIRC-CONTOUR BASED WG
section in the palette of elements, contains two basic precision parameters: the number of box modes and the
Distance between points.
The number of box modes (in this case, the box is a circle!) has the same meaning as for the ARW case, so the same
can be said.

Balancing
This section gives basic guidelines to the art of finding a compromise between accurate simulations and fast
simulations. Due to the sheer size an complexity of the topic, only a brief explanation of high-level strategies can be
summarized here.
First of all you should understand which of your goals and needs are immediate, and which can be postponed.
Accuracy issues can be usually postponed, while fatal errors reported by the EMCE should be addressed immediately.

1. Split large circuits and use the User Defined element to import generalized Z matrices generated from sub-
circuits. Apply the rest of this section on each subcircuit if appropriate (i.e. you often cannot optimize a sub-
circuit since you only know the results you want from the complete circuit). This divide-and-conquer strategy
costs some time to set up, but can really make life easier when tackling very large circuits.
2. Once you have created a circuit in FEST3D, the next step should be to complete its simulation without errors.
At this early stage accuracy has no importance at all, but rather can be an obstacle by slowing down each
simulation you perform and halting the simulation due to accuracy errors. For this reason, you should usually
stick down to the "Low Accuracy" values listed above in Accuracy Parameters section.

Now continue retrying to simulate your circuit until you have solved all geometry and numerical errors that the
EMCE may report. Depending on the errors you get, finding a solution may be tricky. It is possible that you
tried to do something not supported by FEST3D, or maybe you made some mistakes and the geometry you
created is not what you think it is. The 3D Viewer section may help you.
3. Ok, now the simulation completes successfully and produces a result. You can be confident that many times
this result will be, at least, inaccurate.
It's now time to think about the next step: Global Symmetries. Enable all the symmetries that apply to your

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circuit, since they will increase the accuracy. If you made mistakes and your circuit does not respect the
symmetries you think it respects, FEST3D will report the error. As above, keep retrying until you have solved all
errors.
4. Understand what is your final goal.
If the geometry you are using is already fixed (i.e. you are only analyzing a pre-defined circuit and you are not
planning to tune or optimize it), then skip all the rest of this section and immediately perform a Convergence
Study. Otherwise, you should start tuning accuracy and speed together.
5. Tuning accuracy and speed together. You will need a lot of compromises, and only you can be the final judge.
Some tips and tricks you may find useful are:

each simulated frequency point costs time. Consider using the Adaptive Frequency Sampling to solve
the frequency sweep, or in case of using the discrete solution, reduce the number of frequency points to
the minimum you can live with. Consider editing manually the list of sampled frequencies.
you don't need a complete Convergence Study, but a quick check that your results are not too far from
convergence is necessary. At this point is very useful to employ the Comparing results tool available in
FEST3D to compare the record of simulation results.
If you use FEST3D optimizer:

do not use too many parameters simultaneously, they slow down optimization and make more difficult
for the algorithm to reach the target (your goal functions).
remember that at any time you can stop the optimizer, manually change some parameters, then
perform one-shot analysis and/or resume optimization.
if possible, use formulas instead of constraints: formulas reduce the effective number of free parameters,
speeding up the optimization.
if a certain optimization algorithm does not reach the goal functions you want, try alternating among
different algorithms and/or slightly change the parameters values manually.

6. Don't forget to perform a Convergence Study.

2.2.4 Tutorial 4. Arbitrary Shape Editor

In this tutorial it is described how to use the Arbitrary Shape Editor to view and edit arbitrary shapes for the FEST3D
elements Arbitrary Rectangular, Arbitrary Circular and Constant width/he¡ght discontinuity .
This tutorial is divided in four parts:

1. Introduction what is the Arbitrary Shape Editor.

2. Terms and Concepts terms and concepts widely used in the Arbitrary Shape Editor and in this documentation.
3. Contours and Region of Interest the high-level structure of an arbitrary shape: how to use them
4. Points, Segments, Arcs, Elliptical Arcs the basic blocks of an arbitrary shape: how to use them
5. Caveats and Differences between Arbitrary Rectangular, Arbitrary Circular and Constant width/height arbitrary
shape discontinuity

Introduction
Some elements supported by FEST3D (Arbitrary Rectangular, Arbitrary Circular and Constant width/height arbitrary
shape discontinuity) do not have a predefined 3D geometry. They allow the user to arbitrarily define their shape or
cross section in a 2D plane, and they are invariant under translations in the direction orthogonal to that plane.
The Arbitrary Shape Editor is a 2D shape editor, allowing to view and edit the arbitrary shape of such elements.
The different kinds of elements allowing arbitrary shapes have slightly different features and limitations. For this
reason, the Arbitrary Shape Editor offers similar, but not identical, functionalities when editing the different arbitrary

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shapes corresponding to the Arbitrary Rectangular, Arbitrary Circular and Constant width/height arbitrary
shape discontinuity elements.
The following figure shows a typical Arbitrary Shape Editor window as it appears on the screen:

Terms and Concepts

Several terms and concepts are used in FEST3D Arbitrary Shape Editor. Even though some of them may be well known
to some users, these terms may have different meanings in FEST3D, or some users may not associate them to arbitrary
shapes of millimeter-wave and microwave circuits.

Contour A planar, continuous, non self-intersecting and possibly closed curve composed by
Segments, Arcs and Elliptic Arcs. An arbitrary shape is made of one or more contours
(possibly enclosing one another, but not intersecting) plus some prescriptions to decide
which connected area contains the electromagnetic fields.

Region of Interest A user-specified Point which must be inside the area intended to contain the
electromagnetic fields.

Point The start or end point of a segment, arc or elliptic arc. If two Segments, Arcs and Elliptic
Arcs arcs have a Point in common, they are consecutive and belong to the same contour.
The user can modify the coordinates of a Point only if it is the start or end point of
segments, not arcs or elliptic arcs.

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Segment A normal, straight segment. In the Constant width/height arbitrary shape it is also possible
to change a Segment into a Port.

Port A Segment used to connect the arbitrary shape with other elements. Only supported by
Constant width/height arbitrary Shape element. Drawn in pink.

Arc A mathematical arc of circle.

Elliptic Arc A mathematical arc of ellipse.

Contours and Region of Interest

If an arbitrary shape contains multiple contours, the contours must not intersect to each another.
A contour may completely contain other contours (again, contours must not intersect to each other).
Using multiple contours also raises an ambiguity: if there are more than one connected areas, which one is intended
to contain electromagnetic fields? The following example comes from the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide:

The shape of the example defines the areas S,S1,S2 or S3 but only one of them can be simulated at once. The user
needs a way to resolve this ambiguity, or at least know which area will be used by FEST3D to simulate the
electromagnetic fields propagation. To do so, the user has to specify the coordinates of a Point (the Region of
Interest): the area containing the Region of Interest will be the one used for the simulation. The Region of Interest
is drawn as a blue cross (

).

Creating and Deleting Contours

You can create a Contour from the Add Contour command in the Edit menu. The following dialog will appear:

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You can only create Contours with a standard shape (rectangular, circular, elliptical) but you are free to modify the
Contours as you want after you created them.
To delete a Contour, click on a part of it (Point, Segment, Arc, Elliptical Arc), then execute the Delete Contour
command in the Contour menu.
If you deleted something by mistake, use the Undo command in the Edit menu.

Editing Points, Segments, Arcs, Elliptical Arcs

These are the building blocks of contours, and thus of arbitrary shapes.
The basic idea behind the Arbitrary Shape Editor is that complicated Contours can be created incrementally, by
progressively creating and editing its building blocks (Points, Segments, Arcs, Elliptical Arcs).
Starting from a simple Contour, you can edit or split its Points, Segments, Arcs, Elliptical Arcs.
If a Point is only connected to Segments, you can edit it and freely change its coordinates.
To edit a Point, Arc or Elliptical Arc (Segments can only be viewed, not edited) do the following:

Select the Point, Arc or Elliptical Arc you want to edit by clicking on it with the mouse left button. It will
become red.
Choose the command you want to perform from the menu bar, or from the popup menu that appear by
pressing the mouse right button.

Editing Points

By selecting a Point, the following Point menu will be accessible, either from the menu bar or pressing the mouse
right button:

Delete Point: deletes the selected Point. The two adjacent Segments, Arcs or Elliptical Arcs are deleted and
replaced by a single segment.
Change corner to arc: changes the Point and the two adjacent Segments, Arcs or Elliptical Arcs into a single
Arc.
Smooth corner: smoothes the corner having the Point as vertex. The user has to define the Radius (value
greater than zero). NOTE: the point must be adjacent to Segments (Arcs or Elliptical Arcs not allowed).
Edit Point: opens a dialog showing Point X,Y coordinates and allowing the user to modify them. NOTE: the

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point must be adjacent to Segments (Arcs or Elliptical Arcs not allowed).

Editing Segments

By selecting a Segment, the following Segment menu will be accessible, either from the menubar or pressing the
mouse right button:

Delete Segment: deletes the selected Segment and extends the adjacent Segments until they converge.
Split Segment: splits the selected Segment in 2 new Segment whose dimensions are defined by means the
‘Split percentage (%)’ value (specified by the user).
Multi-split Segment: splits the selected Segment in N equal segments. The number N is specified by the user.
Change to Arc: allows to change the Segment into an Arc. The user has to define the Radius. Using the
default value the generated Arc will be 90° wide.
Change to Port: allows to change the Segment into a Port. Available only for the Constant width/height
arbitrary shape element.
Toggle Invisible: makes the selected Segment Invisible allowing to create an Open Contour.
Segment Properties: opens a dialog showing Segment properties: extrema coordinates and segment length.

Editing Arcs and Elliptical Arcs

In the following paragraph, the term Arc means both circular Arcs and Elliptical Arcs, unless explicitly stated
otherwise.
By selecting an Arc or Elliptical Arc, the following Arc menu will be accessible, either from the menubar or pressing
the mouse right button:

Delete Arc: deletes the selected Arc and extends the adjacent segments until they converge.
Split Arc: splits the selected Arc in 2 new arcs whose dimensions are defined by means the ‘Split percentage
(%)’ value (specified by the user).
Multi-split Arc: splits the selected Arc in N homogeneous Arcs. The number N is specified by the user.
Polygonize Arc: approximates the selected Arc by N homogeneous Segments. The number N is specified by
the user.
Change to Segment: changes the Arc into a Segment.
Reverse Arc: changes the Arc orientation.

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Edit Arc: opens a dialog box allowing to view and edit Arc properties, as shown in the following figures:

In case the selected Arc is circular, both the Arc and Elliptical Arc pages are active. You can modify the Radius

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or Extent parameters on the Arc page or change the Arc from circular to elliptical modifying the Major Axis
and Minor Axis parameters in the Elliptical Arc page.

Otherwise if the selected Arc is elliptical, only the Elliptical Arc page is active. To transform an Elliptical Arc
back into a circular Arc, set both Major Axis and Minor Axis parameters to the same value and click on the ‘OK’
button. It is also possible to apply a Rotation to an Elliptical Arc.

Caveats and Differences

The elements Arbitrary Rectangular, Arbitrary Circular and Constant width/height discontinuity contain some
differences and caveats the user should be aware of in order to use the arbitrary shape editor properly.
Some differences have been already explained above, here they are only summarized:

Constant width/height discontinuity has no Reference Cavity, the other elements have it and implicitly define it.
Constant width/height discontinuity editor is the only one allowing ports.

2.2.5 Tutorial 5. Optimizer

The goal of this tutorial is to show you how to use FEST3D Optimizer to tune a circuit.
Tutorial 5 will guide new users through the procedure of optimizing (tuning) the circuit you created in the previous
tutorials. Even though it is possible to execute this tutorial on a different circuit, this requires some practice and is not
recommended for new users.

Concepts
In FEST3D, optimization is performed by varying some (user-specified) parameters following an (user-specified)
algorithm in order to minimize the difference between the circuit output and the target (user-specified) output.
The rest of this tutorial explains how to specify the parameters, target and algorithm in FEST3D Optimizer, how to start
and control the optimization, and finally some advanced techniques.

Index
Tutorial 5 is divided in two parts:

5.1 Optimizer: setup describes how to prepare a circuit for optimization and how to configure FEST3D
Optimizer.
5.2 Optimizer: run shows how to start an interactive optimization and what you can do during it.

2.2.5.1 Tutorial 5.1. Optimizer: setup

This tutorial is the first of the two tutorials dedicated to FEST3D Optimizer.
In this tutorial you will learn how to prepare a circuit for optimization and how to configure FEST3D Optimizer.
Tutorial 5.1 will guide new users through the procedure of setting up an optimization for the circuit you created in the
previous tutorials. Even though it is possible to execute this tutorial on a different circuit, this requires some practice
and is not recommended for new users.
Tutorial 5.1 is divided in three parts:

1. Choose which parameters to optimize explains how to prepare FEST3D to optimize the circuit parameters

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you want.
2. Define formulas, goal functions and constraints shows how to setup the target output you would want your
circuit to produce.
3. Choose and configure the algorithm shows how to choose and configure one of the optimization algorithms
supported by FEST3D.

Choose which parameters to optimize

This part of the tutorial explains how to choose the circuit parameters that will be optimized (tuned).

Activate the Show Optimizable Parameters option from the Execute menu in the Menubar. In the Element
Properties there is a small button close to the name of each optimizable parameter. Clicking on the button, it
will change indicating that the parameter will be optimized. It is possible to optimize geometrical,
electromagnetic and, in some cases, numerical parameters.

In our case, you should enable optimization for the following parameters:
rectangular 2: A, L
rectangular 3: L
rectangular 4: A, L
step 1: X offset
step 2: X offset
step 3: X offset
step 4: X offset

Define formulas, goal functions and constraints

Open the Optimization Window from the Execute menu or from the corresponding button ( ) in the
Toolbar. The following window should appear:

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To make parameters labels easier to remember, change the labels as follows:

rectangular 2, L: from x1 to l2
rectangular 2, A: from x2 to a2
rectangular 3, L: from x3 to l3
rectangular 4, L: from x4 to l4
rectangular 4, A: from x5 to a4
step 1, X offset: from x6 to s1
step 2, X offset: from x7 to s2
step 3, X offset: from x8 to s3
step 4, X offset: from x9 to s4
Enter the following Formulas near the specified parameters labels:
step 2, X offset (s2) formula: -s1
step 4, X offset (s4) formula: -s3
This will force the X offsets of step 1 and step 2 to be equal to each other, and the X offsets of step 3 and
step 4 to be equal to each other too.
Create the following constraints in the Constraints page with the Add Constraint button:

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constraints are intended to keep the circuit total length (l2+l3+l4) small, as well as to keep the irises (a2, a4)
narrow. The weights are determined empirically.
Create Goal Functions with the Add Goal Functions button. In general, for each Goal Function you can either
choose an existing goal file or enter a non-existing file name and create/edit its contents. In this case you are
not expected to already have useful goal files available, so instructions will be given below to create them with
the Goal Functions Editor. A common technique for circuits with only two I/O Ports is to create two Goal
Functions, one to tune circuit's S11 and the other for S12. This is what you will be instructed to do.

Now create the following Goal Functions:

It's time to create the goal files. Click on the Edit button of the first Goal Function (near "goal11.out"). The Goal
Functions Editor window will appear, as shown in the following left figure:

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Set the number of columns to 2 and click on Apply: column 1 will be frequency, column 2 will be the goal for
S11.
Set the number of rows to 21 and click on Apply: 21 frequency points will be used. The window will change to
the right figure above.
Enter the frequency points. As you have seen in Tutorial 2 this circuit has a resonance at about 11.1 GHz. We
are interested in the frequencies near it, so enter 11.0 in row 1 of the value column and enter 11.5 in the row
21 of the same column.

Entering all the intermediate frequency values would be tedious and error-prone, so FEST3D is designed to
help you here. Select with the mouse (pressing the left button) all the cells in the value column. Those cells
should now be hilighted (usually in blue) as shown in the following left figure:

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Click on the Linearize button. All the intermediate values will be created automatically, as shown in the right
figure above.
Enter the goal S11, in dB. Experiment with Linearize on the S11 dB column selecting only a subset of the rows
to find the easiest way to obtain the following:

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All done, click on the OK button.

It's now time to edit the second goal file, "goal12.out". Since you should have already learned how to use the
Goal Functions Editor, we leave the procedure to you as an exercise and only present the final result:

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Choose and configure the algorithm

The last step of FEST3D Optimizer setup is choosing and configuring the algorithm.

Click on the Algorithm button on the bottom to select the algorithm among the allowed ones and configure
it. Currently supported algorithms are Simplex, Powell, and Gradient.
For this tutorial, you will use the Simplex algorithm. Click on the corresponding Simplex button, then click on
OK:

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The default values for the algorithms configuration are good in most cases, no need to modify them here.

2.2.5.2 Tutorial 5.2. Optimizer: run

This is the second of the two tutorials dedicated to FEST3D Optimizer.
In this tutorial you will learn how to start, control, stop and resume the optimization of a circuit using FEST3D
Optimizer.
This tutorial supposes you have read, understood and practiced the topics treated in Tutorial 1, Tutorial 2, Tutorial 3
and Tutorial 5.1 and you have already completed the optimizer setup as explained in them.
Tutorial 5.2 will guide new users through the procedure of interactively running an optimization for the circuit created
in the previous tutorials.
Tutorial 5.2 is divided in two parts:

1. Just Run and Watch explains how to start FEST3D Optimizer and observe its progress in real time.
2. Stop, Edit and Resume shows how to interact with setup the target output you would want your circuit to
produce.

Just Run and Watch

This lesson explains the minimal steps required to run FEST3D Optimizer. They reduce to:

Ensure the Auto Plot button ( ) in the Toolbar is pressed and the corresponding Plot Window is visible. This
will let you watch the circuit output (S parameters) as they evolve.
Click on the Optimize button ( ) in the Optimization Window to start optimization. Beware that an
identical button is present in the Main Window Toolbar, but has a completeley different function (runs an S-
parameter simulation).
See the progress. You should see something analogous to the following figures:

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If the optimization succeeded (and it always should in this simple example), you now have a circuit whose
resonance is approximately at 11.25 GHz, instead of the original 11.1 GHz. You can Stop the optimization when
you think the result is good enough, or you can wait for it to stop either because the maximum number of
iterations was reached or because a possible minimum was found.
Click on "Apply Parameter changes" to save your tuned parameters into the file, or click on "Discard
Parameter changes" if you are not satisfied with the results.

Note that if you close the Optimization Window, the Parameters labels and expressions, Goal Functions, Constraints
and Algorithm configurations are not lost. Open again the Optimization Window and you will get them back.

Actions while using optimizer

While using the optimizer you can discard, save or backup your current optimization status, these are the main
diferences:

Discard all optimization steps: This will replace all the current values with the initial values since the last time
you saved your project. If you have not saved it, it will revert to the original status.
Apply opt changes and save project. This will save your current optimization status to the current .fest3
project file.
Save status into a backup file: This option lets you creating a clone of the current optimization status for
future use. So you can keep optimizing and experimenting with new goals/constraints/algorithms and you will
be always capable to revert to the status you had when you created the backup file. The backup file is just a

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.fest3 file so you can re-open it with the open button.

Stop, Edit and Resume

You are recommended to experiment with parameters, goal files and their weights in order to learn how the optimizer
reacts to changes and how to guide the optimization algorithms to your target.
At any moment, you can Stop the Optimizer, edit the setup as you did in Tutorial 5.1 then restart the Optimizer. This
allows changing the Parameters values, the Goal Functions, Constraints, Algorithm and every other aspect of
optimization without losing the progress you already achieved in tuning the circuit.
Try the following experiments:

Change the value of one or more parameters, then restart optimization. Watch whether the
algorithm is able to restore the parameters values to the ones before you modified them or not.
Modify the goal functions to be centered at 11.35 GHz, then restart the optimization. With a little
patience, by repeating this procedure you can move the resonating frequency even by large
frequency intervals.
Goal files. Learn by experiments that using goal files whose dB values are very far from circuit
output can create local minima in the error function and prevent optimization from succeeding.
You will recognize this case by observing that the optimizer is tuning the circuit to have
maximums or minimums of the output exactly at one of the sampled frequencies, instead of
moving them around.
Change the expressions. Learn that the optimization algorithms do not touch or even know
about parameters having an associated expression: they are simply set to whatever value their
expression dictates, independently from the algorithm being used.
Change the constraints. Learn that constraints are only used as additional terms to the error
function, so they are soft constraints and they are not guaranteed to be exactly
satisfied/respected. However, to mitigate this, one can set a very large weight to the constraint
when a hard constraint is needed.
Study the difference between constraints and expressions:

Click on Save status into a backup file.

Create a new constraint containing an equality, as in a4 = a2.
Start the Optimizer. Watch it proceed for some time. Stop it.
Reopen the previous circuit (the backup file) clicking on Open from Main Window
Delete the constraint created above and use a expression instead: enter a2 as the expression
for the parameter a4.
Start again the Optimizer. Watch it proceed: it should converge to minimum quicker than
before.

2.2.6 High Power

2.2.6.1 Tutorial 6: Electromagnetic field Analysis

In this tutorial, you will learn how to configure and launch an electromagnetic (EM) field analysis in FEST3D. For
detailed information on EM field analysis, visit EM Field Analysis section in the manual.
Tutorial 6 presents a guided example in which the EM field analysis process is explained step-by-step. It is divided in 3
parts.

1. Preliminaries. We open an example and see what considerations should be taken prior to the EM field

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analysis.
2. Launching an EM Field Analysis. The main parameters are set and the analysis is launched.
3. Plotting the Fields It gives an overview of the visualization tool Paraview.

Preliminaries
First we need a circuit for EM field analysis. In the tutorial 1 the main steps to create your own circuit are given. In this
example we will open one of the circuits in the examples folder.

Click on the examples icon ( ) and

open HP/Multipactor/single_carrier/multipactor_lowpass/multipactor_lowpass.fest3 file.

In order to increase the resolution of the simulations, increase the number of accessible modes and green functions.

Click on the Global Specification window ( ) and change the global parameters to:

Num. of accessible Modes: 10

Num. of MoM basis functions: 15
Num. of Green's function terms: 100
Num. of Taylor expansion terms: 1

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Launching an EM field Analysis

Click on the EM icon ( ) to open the electromagnetic field analysis window.

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Click on the Specification button, then click again on the frequency button and set 9.5 GHz in the text box.

Click on the resolution button on the Specification window. The number inserted in this text box is the default
characteristic length, in millimeters or inches, used to generate the mesh where the EM field will be evaluated. Set this
value to 1.

Click on the resolution button on the electromagnetic field analysis window to perform the analysis.
It is also possible to override the spatial resolution of an element by clicking on the EM Field folder on the element
properties window. In the next figure is shown how to change the resolution

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Once, the specifications and the resolution have been set press "Run" button, and the EM field analysis starts.

Plotting the fields

During the simulation, the calculated fields are written in ASCII files, in XML Paraview's vtk format. To visualize them it
is necessary to use Kitware's Paraview Software, included with FEST3D distribution. When the simulation is over,
FEST3D launches Paraview automatically for you, and asks which file should open. (The Paraview icon in FEST3D
toolbar ( ) can be pressed at any time to launch Paraview.)

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Remember that the fields are given in peak values and correspond to an average input power of 1 W.
In this case, the name of the simulation output file is "volume_vectorfield_9.5GHz_average.pvd". Click on it and press
"open".

The Paraview main window looks like this

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With the left, right and center button of your mouse you can rotate, zoom and translate the camera view. In the menu
bar there is a display list where the different fields (electric, magnetic, Poynting vector) can be selected.

FEST3D also includes predefined 2D cuts that allow visualizing the fields inside the structure. On the left side of the
Paraview's window, the main object and the 2D cuts are shown in a tree-like distribution. You can show or hide any of
them by simply clicking on their corresponding "eye" icons.

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Computing voltage with Paraview

With Paraview it is also possible to compute the voltage as the integration of the electrical field between two points in
the mesh. In FEST3D, the fields are defined for an input power of 1W, therefore the computed voltage is also at 1W,
called V1W. This can be useful for multipactor to translate from breakdown power to breakdown voltage and compare
results with theoretical parallel-plate predictions. The expression to convert from power to voltage is the following:

V=V1W√P
Be careful because the voltage computed this way depends on the selected path in the mesh. In order to have
meaningful results, the device geometry and fields, should be similar to a parallel-plate case.
The process is as follows:

1. Apply paraview filter "plot over line"

2. Specify the coordinates of the line
3. Apply paraview filter "Integrate variables".

In this particular case we will compute the voltage in the center of the centre iris, where the maximum field is located.
In order to do so, one has to select the "Plot Over Line" filter in Filters->Alphabetical->Plot Over Line menu.

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Select the line for displaying the data by either moving the start and end points with the mouse, or by inserting
coordinates manually. In this case, just press "y axis" button to automatically orient the line properly. Then press
"Apply" button.
A 2D plot with the fields displayed along the selected line appears. Now, apply another filter called "Integrate
Variables" in Filters->Alphabetical->Integrate Variables. This filter will integrate all quantities displayed in the 2D plot.
In this case, we obtain a voltage at 1W of V1W= 17.8 V as shown below.
Note: Line start and end points must be adjusted to be inside a valid data region. If any of the line nodes lies
outside, NaN integration values may appear.

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More information on Kitware's Paraview can be found in https://www.paraview.org .

2.2.6.2 Tutorial 7: Multipactor Analysis (single-carrier case)

In this tutorial, you will learn how to configure and launch a multipactor simulation for high power analysis in FEST3D.
For detailed information on multipactor analysis, visit Multipactor Analysis section in the manual.
Tutorial 7 presents guided examples in which the multipactor analysis process is explained step-by-step. It is divided
in 2 parts, covering single-carrier and multi-carrier signals, respectively.
This first part of the tutorial shows an example of multipactor with a single-carrier signal. It deals with the following
topics:

1. Preliminaries. We open an example and see what considerations should be taken prior to the multipactor
analysis.
2. Launching the simulation. The main parameters are set and the simulation is launched.
3. Interpreting the results It gives an overview of the simulation output.

See the next part of the tutorial for a multi-carrier case example.

Preliminaries
First we need a circuit for multipactor analysis. In the tutorial 1 the main steps to create your own circuit are given. In
this example we will open one of the circuits in the examples folder.

Click on the examples icon ( ) and open

HP/Multipactor/single_carrier/multipactor_lowpass/multipactor_lowpass.fest3 file.

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In order to increase the resolution of the simulations, increase the number of accessible modes and green functions.

Click on the Global Specification window ( ) and change the global parameters to:

Num. of accessible Modes: 25

Num. of MoM basis functions: 100
Num. of Green's function terms: 500
Num. of Taylor expansion terms: 4

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For realistic results, the simulation should be done for frequencies in the transmission band of the circuit. Therefore,
we will run first a circuit analysis to determine the right frequencies for the multipactor simulation.

Press the analyze button ( ) in the menu bar, the frequency response of the circuit is plotted.

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The frequency range depends also on the application, but for this particular example, we will analyze multipactor in
the range from 8 to 11 GHz. We will then set 3 frequencies for simulation, the lowest the highest and the centre one.
Multipactor analysis is done independently for each element in the circuit. Therefore, the elements can be selected or
deselected for simulation. Remember that multipactor analysis is restricted to some kind of components (see
Multipactor Analysis). Of course, if we do not know anything about the circuit, we could select all elements for the
analysis, but this is a rather slow approach since an individual simulation would be launched for each element.
A wiser approach consists on first calculating the fields along the whole circuit using the EM field analysis (see tutorial
6).

Click on the EM field analysis button ( ) and set:

1. Specifications -> resolution to 1.0

2. Specifications -> frequency to 9.5 GHz (with the override specifications option).
3. Click on Run button

The EM field analysis shows the field strength along the whole circuit, which is very helpful to identify the "hot spots"
for multipactor. The elements with short gaps and high field strengths are those with highest probability of
multipactor. In the figure below we see that elements 4, 6 and 8 are the main candidates for multipactor simulation.

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Right-click on elements 4, 6 and 8 and select the multipactor analysis box.

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In order to compute the voltage at the critical gap, see corresponding section in EM field Tutorial.
We are now ready to launch the simulation.

Launching the simulation

Click on Execute -> High power analysis in the menu bar to open the high power analysis window. See Multipactor
Analysis for a description of all the available options.
First of all, you must set the operation mode to Multipactor.
For this particular example, we will analyze multipactor in the range from 8 to 11 GHz. We will then set 3 frequencies
for simulation, the lowest the highest and the centre one. In the input tab, select the option of Frequency loop and set
the start and end frequencies to 8 and 11 GHz and the number of points to 3.
Select

1. Single carrier mode

2. Frequency loop
Frequency start: 8 GHz
Frequency end: 11 GHz
Num points: 3
3. Initial power (W): 500

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4. Precision (dB): 0.1
5. Maximum power (W): 100000

In the configuration tab, select

1. Material: Silver
2. Initial number of electrons: 500
3. Mesh size (mm): 0.3

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Press the "Run" button button . The simulation starts now. Once the simulation starts, an individual simulation is
carried out for each element at each different frequency. The info console shows the current status of the simulation:
the element, frequency, input power and the existence of multipactor or not. When the multipactor breakdown is
found with the desired precision, the next simulation starts.

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Interpreting the results

While simulation runs, it is possible to see the partial results that are being obtained in the results window.

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For each analyzed element, the results include:

a table located in the left-side of the window, which shows the analyzed power levels in the process of
searching the threshold breakdown power. For each power, depending on whether multipactor occurs or not,
it appears either the order of multipactor or the message "No break", respectively.
a graph, where for each analyzed power the electron population evolution is represented versus time.

Multipactor output data also includes a table situated on the top of the window, where it is shown the threshold
breakdown power for the elements under study. By clicking on a cell corresponding to a particular element both the
graph and the left-side table update their values to the current element. Right-clicking on a cell will display a context
menu in which a "show 3d statistics" button appears. This opens a Paraview window with 3D statistical information of
the simulation for that specific element and frequency (see Output section in the manual).
By clicking on the cell corresponding to the frequency value, a bar diagram appears in the graph comparing the
threshold breakdown power for all regions. With this information it is easy to recognize which is the most critical
element in the device for multipactor onset and the limiting power.

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In this example, the multipactor analysis shows that the element with lowest multipactor breakdown (critical element)
is the element number 6, located in the center of the circuit and that it has a multipactor breakdown of 7250 W at the
lowest frequency of the transmission band. That is, the maximum allowed power for this device is 7250 W.

Running Multipactor Video

Alternatively to a multipactor analysis, it is possible to record a video of the electrons moving inside the 3D structure
for a particular input power.
Follow the provided steps for creating your circuit and setting the simulation parameters

Now, press the record video button . The following window will appear:

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Select:

1. Video for element / region : Rectangular WG (W6)

2. Number of Frames / period : 15
3. Maximum video size (MB) (0 = no limit)
4. Start time (ns): 0
5. End time (ns): 20
6. Input Power (W): 10000
7. Frequency (GHz): 9

The remaining parameters, such as SEY properties, number of initial electrons, multipactor criterion, etc. are defined in
the Configuration tab. Press Ok button and choose output file (*.v3d format).
After that, video generation will start. Note that video is saved outside the project and will not erase previous
simulation results.
When the video simulation is finished, you can choose to immediately visualize it, or open it later by pressing the play

video button in the main window at any time.

The video is visualized with the 3D CAD viewer Paraview. 3D rotations, perspective customization and zoom are
allowed on recorded animations. Play, pause, forward and backward buttons can be found on top. Animation
parameters can be changed in the Animation View panel (View -> Animation View). Concretely, the video duration can
be changed in the Duration textbox.

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Video can be exported using File -> Save Animation... The video size, duration and format can be chosen.

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2.2.6.3 Tutorial 7: Multipactor Analysis (multi-carrier case)

The first part of this tutorial covered a multipactor analysis with a single carrier signal.
In the second part of the tutorial, you will learn how to configure and launch a multipactor simulation exciting with a
multi-carrier signal. The following topics are discussed:

1. Preliminaries. We open an example and see what considerations should be taken prior to the multipactor
analysis.
2. Single-carrier analysis. We run first a single-carrier analysis to have an estimation of the breakdown in the
multi-carrier case.
3. Multi-carrier analysis. The main parameters are set and the simulation is launched.
4. Interpreting the results It gives an overview of the simulation output.

For this example, we propose a multi-carrier signal composed of 4 carriers with the following parameters:

Carrier # Frequency (GHz) Phase (deg)

1 11.5 0

2 11.55 0

3 11.6 0

4 11.65 0

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Preliminaries
First, we need a circuit for multipactor analysis. In the tutorial 1 the main steps to create your own circuit are given. In
this example we will open one of the circuits in the examples folder.

Click on the examples icon ( ) and open HP/Multipactor/multi_carrier/multicarrier_transformer.fest3 file.

In order to change the resolution of the simulations, set the number of accessible modes and green functions. Click

on the Global Specification window ( ) and change the global parameters to:

Num. of accessible Modes: 5

Num. of MoM basis functions: 15
Num. of Green's function terms: 100
Num. of Taylor expansion terms: 4

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For realistic results, the carrier frequencies should be within the transmission band of the circuit. In order to check it,
we will run first a circuit analysis.

Press the analyze button ( ) in the menu bar, the frequency response of the circuit is plotted.

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In this case, all carriers lie inside the pass band of the circuit.
Multipactor analysis is done independently for each element in the circuit. Therefore, the elements can be selected or
deselected for simulation. Remember that multipactor analysis is restricted to some kind of components (see
Multipactor Analysis). Of course, if we do not know anything about the circuit, we could select all elements for the
analysis, but this is a rather slow approach since an individual simulation would be launched for each element.
A wiser approach consists on first calculating the fields along the whole circuit using the EM field analysis and
selecting the elements with higher fields and shorter gaps (see tutorial 6 and tutorial 7 (single carrier)).
In this case we will perform the analysis on the central element of the transformer (element number 5), since it has the
lowest gap and the highest voltage.
Right-click on element 5 and select the multipactor analysis box.

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Single-carrier analysis
It is advisable to run a single-carrier simulation before the multi-carrier one. This is because, for a faster multi-carrier
simulation, it is better to have a good initial guess of the breakdown power per carrier. One way to obtain it, is from
the calculated single-carrier breakdown power.
According to the multipactor theory, the breakdown power per carrier of a multicarrier signal composed of N carriers
is expected to be greater than the single-carrier breakdown power at the lowest frequency divided by N squared.
In other words, in order to estimate the breakdown power per carrier, we proceed as follows:

1. Run a single carrier simulation for the lowest frequency of all carriers (11.5 GHz).
2. Obtain the single carrier breakdown power, Psc.
3. In the multi-carrier simulation, set the initial power per carrier to Psc / 16 (4 carriers in this example).

Alternatively, Psc can be obtained with other methods, such as the ECSS Multipactor tool, or with the classical
multipactor theory.
The steps to analyze the circuit with a single-carrier signal are similar to those given in the first part of this tutorial.
Click on Execute -> High power analysis in the menu bar to open the multipactor analysis window. See Multipactor
Analysis for a description of all the available options. For this particular example, we will analyze multipactor for the
lowest frequency of the multi-carrier signal carriers, which is 11.5 GHz.

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Select

1. Single carrier mode

2. Use single frequency (GHz): 11.5
3. Material: Silver
4. Initial number of electrons: 200
5. Initial power (W): 500
6. Precision (dB): 0.1
7. Maximum power (W): 100000
8. Mesh size(mm): 0.5

Press the "Run" button. The simulation starts now. The results for all selected elements and frequencies can be seen
directly in the output console.

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In this example, the multipactor analysis shows that the multipactor breakdown for the element number 5 at 11.5 GHz
is 1164 W.
Therefore, and according to the multipactor theory, the expected breakdown power per carrier for the multi-carrier
signal must be greater or equal to 1164/16 W / carrier, which is approximately 73 W / carrier.
A slightly lower number, for example 69 W / carrier, is a good starting point for the multi-carrier analysis.

Multi-carrier analysis
Click again on Execute -> High power analysis in the menu bar to open the multipactor analysis window. Select
multi-carrier mode and enter the signal parameters of this example

1. multicarrier mode
2. Number of carriers: 4
3. Fill the table with the signal parameters (see figure)
4. Material: Silver
5. Initial number of electrons: 500
6. Precision (dB): 0.1
7. Maximum power per carrier (W): 100000
8. Mesh size (mm): 0.5

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Press the "Run" button. The simulation starts now.

Interpreting the results

The output console shows the current status of the simulation: The element, frequency, input power per carrier and
the existence of multipactor or not. When the multipactor breakdown is found with the desired precision, the
simulation stops.

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While the simulation runs, a folder is created with the label "multipactor" and the mean frequency (average of all
carriers) of the current simulation. Inside, the output files for each of the selected elements are stored, with
information about the breakdown power and the charge growth with time for each of the tested input powers. Visit
Multipactor Analysis for more information on output files.
Finally, the results for all selected elements and frequencies can be seen directly in the output console.
In this example, the multipactor analysis shows that the maximum allowed power per carrier for this device is 263 W /
carrier. This result is highly dependent on the frequency scheme and the phase distribution of the carriers. Notice that
this simulation does not give necessarily the lowest breakdown power for the circuit, because a different phase
distribution could lead to a worse case. In order to determine which is such worst case, please refer to the ECSS
standards or use specialized tools such as the ECSS Multipactor Tool.

2.2.6.4 Tutorial 8: Corona Analysis

In this tutorial, you will learn how to configure and launch a Corona simulation for high power analysis in FEST3D. For
detailed information about Corona analysis, visit Corona Analysis section in the manual.
Tutorial 8 presents a guided example where the whole Corona analysis process is explained step-by-step. It is divided
in 3 parts:

1. Preliminaries. We open an example and discuss which considerations should be taken prior to Corona
analysis.
2. Launching the simulation. The main parameters are set and the simulation is launched.
3. Understanding the results. An overview of the simulation output is given.

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Preliminaries
First, the circuit where Corona is being analyzed must be created. In the tutorial 1 the main steps for creating your
own circuit are given. In this tutorial we will open one of the circuits in the examples folder.

Click on the examples icon and open HP-> Corona ->lowpass_air-> corona_lowpass.fest3 file.

In order to enhance the resolution of the simulations, increase the number of accessible modes and green functions.

Click on the Global Specification window ( ) and change the global parameters to:

Num. of accessible Modes: 5

Num. of MoM basis functions: 15
Num. of Green's function terms: 100
Num. of Taylor expansion terms: 4

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Then, we have to choose the frequencies for the simulation in the RF range. For realistic results, they should be in the
transmission band of the circuit.

Press the analyze button ( ) in the menu bar, the frequency response of the circuit is plotted.

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The frequency range depends also on the application, but for this particular example, we will analyze Corona in the
range from 8 to 11 GHz. We then choose 3 frequencies for simulation, the lowest, the highest and the centre ones.

Corona analysis is independently done in each element of the circuit. Therefore, the elements can be selected or not
for simulation. Remember that Corona analysis is restricted to some kind of components (see Corona Analysis
Limitations) and that the simulation will involve not only the selected element but also its adjacent ones, whenever
they are of a permitted type. Of course, if we do not know anything about the circuit, we could select all elements for
the analysis, but this is a rather slow approach since an individual simulation would be launched for each element.
A wiser approach consists on first calculating the fields along the whole circuit using the EM field analysis (see tutorial
6).

Click on the EM field analysis button ( ) and set:

1. Specifications -> resolution to 1.0

2. Specifications -> frequency to 9.5 GHz (with the override specifications option).
3. Click on Run button

The EM field analysis shows the field strength along the whole circuit, which is very helpful to identify the "hot spots"
for Corona, as a first approach. The elements with high field strengths are those with highest probability of Corona,
although it is important to notice that Corona breakdown power highly depends on the range of pressures analyzed
and on the geometry of the device. In the figure below we see that elements 4, 6 and 8 are the main candidates for
Corona simulation.

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Right-click on elements 4, 6 and 8 and select the Corona analysis box.

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We are now ready to launch the simulation.

Launching the simulation

Click on Execute -> High power analysis in the menu bar to open the High power analysis window. See Corona
Analysis for a description of all the available options.
First of all, you must set the operation mode to Corona.
For this particular example, we will analyze corona in the range from 8 to 11 GHz. We will then set 3 frequencies for
simulation, the lowest the highest and the centre one. In the input tab, select the option of Frequency loop and set the
start and end frequencies to 8 and 11 GHz and the number of points to 3.

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In the configuration tab, select

1. Minimum pressure (mBar): 6

2. Maximum pressure (mBar): 18
3. Pressure sweep step (mBar): 3
4. Temperature (K): 293
5. Precision (dB): 0.1
6. Characteristic length (mm): 1
7. Gas: air
8. Simulation type: numerical

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Press on the play button . The simulation starts now.

Once the simulation starts, an individual simulation is carried out for each element at each different frequency. The
info console shows the current status of the simulation: the element, frequency, pressure, input power and the
existence of Corona or not. When Corona breakdown threshold power is found with the desired precision for a certain
pressure, next simulation starts.

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Understanding the results

While simulation runs, it is possible to see the partial results that are being obtained in the results window.

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For each analyzed element and frequency, the Paschen curve, that is, the breakdown threshold versus pressure, is
represented and its points are given in the table situated on the left side of the results window.
Besides, the minimum breakdown power in whole pressure sweep is given in the table located on the top of the
window. By left-clicking on a cell corresponding to a particular element and frequency, both the Paschen curve and its
data table are updated to the current element-frequency pair.
By left-clicking on the cell corresponding to a certain frequency, the graph shows together the Paschen curves of all
the elements analyzed.

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It is also possible to compare the results obtained for the analyzed frequencies in a certain element. By left-clicking in
the cell's name of an element the graph shows the Paschen curves of all the frequencies analyzed.

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With all this information, it is easy to compare the results for the selected elements and determine the critical pressure
and minimum power supported by the device. In this example, the Corona analysis shows that at the center frequency
of the transmission band the element with lowest Corona breakdown (critical element) is the element number 6 in the
chosen range of pressures, located in the center of the circuit and that it has a Corona breakdown of 257.818 W at 12
mBars.

Running Corona video

Alternatively to a corona analysis, it is possible to record a video of the electron density growing inside the 3D
structure for a particular input power above the breakdown threshold.
Follow the provided steps for creating your circuit and setting the simulation parameters

Now, press the record video button . The following window will appear:

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Select:

1. Video for element / region : Rectangular WG (W6)

2. Number of Frames: 15
3. Maximum video size (MB) (0 = no limit)
4. Accuracy: High
5. Stop criterion: Maximum electron density aprox. (e/cm^3): 1000
6. Input Power (W): 255
7. Pressure (mBar): 12
8. Frequency (GHz): 9.5

The remaining parameters, such as gas and temperature, are defined in the Configuration tab. Press Ok button and
choose the output file (*.v3d format).
After that, the video generation will start. Note that the video is saved outside the project and will not erase previous
simulation results.
When the video simulation is finished, you can choose to immediately visualize it, or open it later by pressing the play

video button in the main window at any time.

The video is visualized with the 3D CAD viewer Paraview. 3D rotations, perspective customization and zoom are
allowed on recorded animations. Play, pause, forward and backward buttons can be found on top.

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In the tree located on the left of the 3D CAD viewer Paraview window, there are different visualizations of the electron
density evolution:

Electron density: it corresponds to the electron density in the volume of the device at different video frames.
Animation clip: it is a clip made on the electron density volume in order to visualize the discharge inside the
device in a proper way. You can change the plane of the clip to center it in the proper place where the
maximum of the discharge occurs by using the "Properties" tab or by dragging the plane on the visualization
panel.
ElectronDensity last frame: it corresponds to the last frame of the volume electron density.

You can enable/disable each one by clicking on the eye located in their left side.
The video can be exported in Paraview using File -> Save Animation... The video size, duration and format can be
chosen as shown in the following pictures.

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2.3 FEST3D Manual

This section describes the structure of FEST3D and documents the features of each subsystem FEST3D is composed of
(Graphical User Interface, E.M. Engine, Optimizer, Convergency Study).
The FEST3D manual contains the following topics:

Architecture The top-level architecture of FEST3D

Requirements The minimum hardware and software requirements needed to run FEST3D.

Graphical User Interface Description of the Graphical User Interface, its features and how to use it
(GUI)

E.M. Engine (EMCE) Description of the E.M. Engine, its features, and how to activate/control it from the GUI

Optimizer (OPT) Description of the Optimizer, its features, and how to activate/control it from the GUI

Tolerance Analysis (TOL) Description of the Tolerance Analysis, its features, and how to activate/control it from
the GUI

Synthesis: The Synthesis Description of the Synthesis Tools and how to use them to create full filters with a few
Tools mouse clicks

E.M. field analysis Description of the E.M. field computation.

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High Power Description of the corona and multipactor threshold calculations

Engineering Tools Small tools to perform unit conversions and simple computations

Compare Results tool Tool for easily comparing FEST3D output results.

Convergence Study This section explains in detail the procedure to be followed in performing convergence
studies.

Architecture
FEST3D is a CAD tool for linear, passive millimeter-wave and microwave components, based on cascaded
discontinuities in waveguides. It allows the user to design waveguide structures, activate E.M. analysis, optimization
and synthesis and perform the result visualization using an intuitive, user-friendly graphical interface. The list of
elements supported by FEST3D is described in the Elements Database.
At the top-level, FEST3D is composed of three subsystems:

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

ElectroMagnetic Computational Engine (EMCE)
Optimizer (OPT)

Furthermore, the publicly available Gnuplot program integrates the functionalities of the GUI by providing plotting
capabilities.
The GUI is a Java application. It is the part of FEST3D program in charge of interacting with the user and also executes
and coordinates the other subsystems at user's demand.
The EMCE implements the electromagnetic capabilities of FEST3D (except for some parts provided by the Synthesis
Tools and Engineering Tools). The EMCE is designed and tuned for performance and exploits state-of-the-art
techniques both in the electromagnetic and information technology research fields.
The OPT provides the optimization capabilities of FEST3D. It implements a loosely coupled architecture, where the
OPT is a standalone executable and exchanges data with the EMCE and reports status and progress to the GUI and
thus to the user. It uses general-purpose optimization techniques, usually irrespective of the model physics, to
perform variation of the parameters being optimized. Integrated with the other subsystems, the OPT aims at being an
interactive and extensible optimization framework, where the user can view and interact in real-time with the
optimization.
Millimeter-wave and microwave circuits composed of supported elements can be analyzed, obtaining insertion and
transmission losses, as well as the phase and the group delay, versus frequency. The results of the computation are
displayed in graphic form and can also be printed.
The multi-mode S, Z or Y matrix of such circuits can also be computed, effectively reducing a whole circuit to a single
block which can be then reused as a User Defined element in a more complex circuit or system, or exported to other
E.M. simulation tools.
Finally, circuits can be interactively tuned by using the optimizer to reach the desired output.

2.3.1 Requirements
The FEST3D requires at least the following:

Hardware: Dual core with 4GB of RAM and 3GB free disk space.
Operating System: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10. Special requests for Linux or other
Windows versions.
It is necessary to have 3D acceleration (nvidia,ati,intel) working in the computer.

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2.3.2 Graphical User Interface (GUI)

This section describes the architecture of FEST3D Graphical User Interface (GUI), documents its features and how to
use it.
The GUI section contains the following topics:

Requirements The minimum hardware and software requirements needed to run FEST3D GUI.

The Main Window How to use the GUI to design and edit circuits, execute the E.M. Engine (EMCE) and
Optimizer (OPT).

The Elements bar Contains all the buttons of the currently supported FEST3D Elements.

The General Specifications The dialog to view and edit circuit specifications such as symmetries and global
Window numeric parameters.

The 3D Viewer Window Draws the 3D geometry of a circuit.

The Preferences Window The dialog to customize and configure FEST3D.

2.3.2.1 The Main Window

This section describes the FEST3D Main Window and how to use it to create, edit and analyze millimeter-wave and
microwave circuits. The other windows and dialogs that can be opened from the Main Window are also listed.
The Main Window section contains the following topics:

Menubar The top menu bar with standard commands: Load, Save, Quit, Copy, Paste ... and also FEST3D
specific commands.

Toolbar The toolbar on the top, containing buttons for frequently used Menu commands.

Canvas The drawing canvas, where circuit can be created and edited.

Element The dialog box to view and edit elements.

Properties

Edit The dialog box allowing to reorder the connections to an element.

Connections

S parameters A small dialog to choose which S parameters are plotted.

From the Main Window it is also possible to access to the following dialogs or functionalities:

The General Specifications Window

The 3D Viewer
The Preferences Window
The E.M. Engine (EMCE)
The Optimizer (OPT)
Synthesis Tools
Engineering Tools

The FEST3D Main Window typically looks as follows

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Menubar
The menubar at the top of the Main Window gives access to all the GUI functions. The user can select any of them by
using the mouse or by pressing ALT + the underlined letter of the menu item. The following figure shows the
menubar as it typically appears on the screen

The menubar contains the following menus:

1. File
New is used to begin a new project, the old structure is discarded after a confirmation request.
Open a browsing dialog box for file selection appears. By default, the user can choose among *.fest3
files.
Open Examples a browsing dialog box for example file selection appears.
Merge allows to load several FEST3D structures in the same canvas.
Save stores the structure with the name defined before (written at the top of the window) or acts as
Save As if a name was never defined.
Save as stores the structure with a new name, this name becomes the new current name.
A list of the last 5 opened files.
Quit ends the program (closing all windows) asking the user to save modifications if not previously
saved.
2. Edit
Copy copies the selected elements and connections in the clipboard, you can Paste them later.
Paste places in the editing area the elements and connections stored in the clipboard, near the original
ones; the pasted element are automatically selected so that they can be moved. Warning: pasted

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elements may appear over existing ones, move them immediately to avoid errors in the analyzis stage
due to non connected elements.
Cut erases the selected elements and connections and stores them in the local clipboard for future
Paste.
Delete erases the selected elements and connections. They can be recovered only if you immediately
execute an .
Enable sets the selected elements to enabled status (normal).
Disable sets the selected elements to disabled status. Disabled elements are ignored by the EMCE and
OPT.
Toggle Enable inverts the enabled/disabled status of the selected elements.
3. Execute
S-Parameter Analysis starts the E.M. engine to analyze the structure. If errors are detected in the
structure, a message appears and the analyzis is not performed. The resulting single-mode S parameters
are stored in a file with the same name as the input file and with the extension .out. This file is saved in
the same directory as the input file. The S parameters are also automatically plotted at the end of the
simulation.
EM Field Analysis starts the E.M. engine to compute the electromagnetic field distribution of the device
under simulation.
Export fields to SPARK3D allows performing an EM Field Analysis of the circuit which will be saved in a
file ready to be opened with SPARK3D.
High power analysis opens a window for performing Multipactor and/or Corona simulations on the
circuit.
Compute Generalized Z matrix starts the E.M. engine to compute multi-mode Z matrix of the
structure. The result is written in a file with the same name as the input file but with .chr extension. This
file is saved in the same directory as the input file. Such .chr files are suitable to be loaded by User
Defined elements.
Compute Generalized S matrix performs exactly the same multi-mode structure analysis as in
Compute Generalized Z matrix, but produces instead multi-mode S matrix of the structure.
Compute Generalized Y matrix performs exactly the same multi-mode structure analysis as in
Compute Generalized Z matrix, but produces instead multi-mode Y matrix of the structure.
Compute Impressed modes (FEKO) allows computing the impressed modes necessary for interacting
with FEKO software when using the 1-Port User Defined element.
General Specifications opens The General Specifications Window, allowing to edit the circuit
specification data: frequency range and points, symmetries, global numeric parameters. Refer to EMCE
code documentation for detailed description of each parameter.
Frequency Specifications opens The Frequency Specifications Window, allowing to set-up the
frequency sweeps that will be used in the simulation.
Stop Simulation interrupts any running simulation (EMCE) or optimization (OPT). Incomplete data is
lost.
Compare results opens a the compare results tool for selecting and comparing different results of
previously performed simulations.
Show Optimizable Parameters allows to choose which parameters to optimize in each circuit element.
In the Element Properties dialog, a small button will appear near the name of each optimizable
parameter. Clicking on the button, it will change to indicating that the parameter will be optimized.
Optimization Window opens the Optimizer (OPT) window, where the OPT can be configured,
interactively executed and monitored.
Tolerance Analysis Window opens the Tolerance Analysis window, where the tolerance analysis can be
configured, interactively executed and monitored.
4. Export
Export 3D geometry (closed ports) allows the user to create a SAT file with the geometry of the circuit
built as a single metallic piece. Additionally, the existing dielectric volumes will be individually included
in the SAT file as well.
Export 3D geometry building blocks (closed ports) allows the user to create a SAT file with the
geometry of the circuit, in which all the different FEST3D elements that have 3D volume are included as

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individual pieces.
Export Project to CST MWS 2019 opens a wizard that allows to automatically build a CST MWS 2019
project with pre-defined settings that contains the geometry of the current FEST3D circuit, ready to be
analyzed.
Export results to SNP converts the FEST3D output file to a TOUCHSTONE format.
5. Structure
Select Element allows the user to select and move elements and connections in the Canvas.
Connect Element starts the connection mode. Connections between elements are established by
pressing left mouse button on an element, dragging the mouse to another elements, finally releasing
left mouse button.
Element Properties opens the dialog box containing the selected Element Properties and allows the
user to modify them.
Show Icons changes the view mode from icons to numeric labels and vice versa.
Add element allows selecting a new element to place in the editing area. The Elements bar can be used
to perform the same operation.
6. Synthesis allows to choose and open the Synthesis Tools dialog boxes, configure and execute them.
7. Tools allows to choose and open the Engineering Tools dialog boxes.
8. Options
Edit Preferences opens the Preferences window, allowing to configure the cache system, and set the
number of processors used.
Auto-Save Options at exit if active, FEST3D options will be automatically saved at program exit (on by
default).
Clean Cache for current project deletes the cache files related to the open project. See Preferences to
activate/deactivate the cache system.
Clean Compare Folder deletes the content of the compare folder (located in the workspace folder).
Change workspace configuration allows the user the change the directory used as workspace for
FEST3D.
Reset preferences resets the Preferences to the default installation values.
9. Help
About shows FEST3D version information.
Help opens FEST3D Online Help.
License diagnostics checks the license server status and writes information on the screen. This can be
used in case that there is a problem with the license system.

Toolbar
The toolbar is the horizontal row of buttons at the top of the window, it duplicates the most frequently used menu
commands, allowing to perform the basic functions: new, open, save, print circuit, undo, copy, paste, cut,
specifications, analyze, stop computation, optimization window, plot, help, 3D viewer... The following figure shows the
toolbar as it typically appears on the screen

Canvas
The wide area in the middle of the main window contains the block diagram representation of the current structure.

Pressing the New button in the toolbar or selecting New from the File menu erases the existing structure and
starts a new one.
To add an element to the structure, press the left button of the mouse on an element of the Elements bar,
move the mouse in the editing area where the element must be located, and press again the left button.

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To edit the properties of an element press the right button of the mouse on the element (or do it later after the
structure is completed). The Element Properties dialog will appear.
To connect elements, set mode to connecting by pressing the Edit Connections dialog will appear. Connections
are always between a waveguide and a discontinuity.
You can use the Undo, Copy, Cut, Delete and Paste functions to edit the structure.
To erase a connection or delete elements press the arrow button of the elements bar, select the connection or
the elements with the left button and press the scissors button (Cut) in the toolbar or select Cut or Delete
from the Edit menu. To move the editing area use the scroll bars or press the middle mouse button (if
available) and move it.

Element Properties
To see and modify the element properties press the right button on the element in the editing area. A dialog box,
allowing the user to view and edit the element properties will appear. The exact content of the dialog box depends on
the element you are editing, see the Elements Database for details. The following figure shows a typical element
properties dialogs as they appear on the screen.

Edit Connections
The order of the connections is relevant for some elements. To modify it, the user just needs to click with the right
mouse button on the connection. The Edit Connections dialog will appear, typically looking as the following figure:

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This dialogs allows the user to specify the ports of an element where each connected element should be attached. For
each connected element, a row of radio-buttons is available to specify which port it should use. Attaching more than
one element on the same port is not allowed.

2.3.2.2 Elements bar

The elements bar gives access to all the elements supported by FEST3D, as well as to the Select and
Connect menu commands. The figure on the left shows the elements bar as it typically appears on the
screen.

The first button (select) executes the Select command: the user can now select, move, copy, delete
elements or edit properties. Use the left mouse button to select and move elements, the right one to
edit properties. The middle button (if it exists) can be used to move (pan) rapidly the editing area.
The second button (connect) executes Connect command, used to connect elements together. Press
the left mouse button on an element, move the mouse on another element and release the left
button. The order of the connections is relevant for some elements, to modify it select the arrow
button and click with the left mouse button on the connection. The Edit Connections dialog will
appear. Connections are always between a waveguide and a discontinuity.
The other icons are used to place the corresponding elements to the Canvas.

2.3.2.3 Frequency Specifications

This section explains how the user can create multiple sweeps and the types of algorithms that can be chosen to
solve such sweeps.
In order to configure the sweeps in a FEST3D project, click on the Frequency Specifications in the execute menu bar,

or click on the Frequency Specifications ( ) button in the toolbar. The frequency specifications window (see next
image), will pop up:

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Frequency Specifications window

A typical window for the configuration of the frequency specifications is shown in this figure:

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In this window, different sections are highlighted:

- Section 1: Selection of the type of sweep for this project. FEST3D allows selecting between frequency, theta
and phi sweeps.
- Section 2: Add sweep: With this button, new sweeps can be added. FEST3D allows simulating multiple
sweeps.
- Section 3: This is a list of all sweeps created for this project. Modification of all parameters can be done per
sweep.
- Section 4: This is the list of the sweeps used by the optimizer. This is a read-only list to have an easy way to
see the sweeps defined in the optimizer. Optimizer sweeps can be only changed in the optimizer window.

Algorithms for sweep solution

Discrete algorithm: This is the typical sweep where all the points defined are simulated. So, for
instance, if the user defines 100 frequency points, FEST3D will solve the problem in ALL 100 points.
Adaptive sampling: This method is used to reduce the number of simulated points. This method is
explained in detail in the section Adaptive Frequency Sampling method.

Parameters of the adaptive sampling

There are two parameters to configure for the adaptive sampling: target error and the scattering parameters to be
used in the error calculation (and its relative weight).
In order to configure the parameters for adaptive sampling, the button "Config" must be selected, see image below:

The window that appears to configure the parameters for adaptive sampling is the following:

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These parameters are available after pushing the button "Advanced" in each adaptive sweep in the window Sweeps. In
addition, each sweep is configured separately.

Target error: The method stops when the current error is below this value during 3 consecutive
iterations. The default value, 0.001, guarantees the convergence of the response in a wide range of
circuits and cases.
Parameter relevance: The internal calculations will be done only using the parameters selected by the
user. In addition, in the case that two or more parameters are used, the relevance of those parameters
can be selected with the "weights" column.

Note 2: Regardless of what parameters are used in the internal calculations, the final response will contain all
parameters of the circuit.
Note 3: Internally, the weight of the selected parameters is normalized to one.

2.3.2.4 The General Specifications Window

This section describes the General Specifications Window and how to use it to view and edit the circuit specification
data: "symmetries" and "global numeric parameters". This window is opened from the toolbar on the top of the main
window.
The general specifications window section contains the following topics:

Global Symmetries The global symmetries flags supported by FEST3D.

Global Waveguide Settings Default values for parameters common to all waveguides.

The general specifications window typically look as in the following figure:

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Global Symmetries
Global symmetries and global circuit parameters can be configured from the general specifications window right tab.
The following global symmetries are available, even though most elements only support a subset of them (see below):

All-Inductive (H plane, constant height) The circuit has a fixed height and is invariant under vertical (Y)
translations. All components must have the same height. In all discontinuities, Y offsets and Rotation must be
zero. With this symmetry the Rectangular waveguides use only the TEz(m,0) modes.
All-Capacitive (E plane, constant width) The circuit has a fixed width and is invariant under horizontal (X)
translations. All components must have the same width. In all discontinuities, X offsets and Rotation must be
zero. With this symmetry the Rectangular waveguides use only the TEz(1,n) and TMz(1,n) modes.
X symmetric (symmetric under horizontal reflection) The left half and right half of the circuit are symmetric:
reflecting the circuit across the plane X = 0 does not change it. In all discontinuities, X offsets and Rotation
must be zero. With this symmetry the Rectangular waveguides use only the TEz(2m+1,n) and TMz(2m+1,n)
modes.
Y symmetric (symmetric under vertical reflection) The upper half and lower half of the circuit are symmetric:
reflecting the circuit across the plane Y = 0 does not change it. In all discontinuities, Y offsets and Rotation
must be zero. With this symmetry the Rectangular waveguides use only the TEz(m,2n) and TMz(m,2n) modes.
All-Cylindrical (All-Centered Circular waveguides) The circuit is invariant under rotations around the Z axis. The
circuit can only contain Circular waveguides and Steps. In all Steps, X and Y offsets must be zero. With this
symmetry the Circular waveguides use only the TEz(1,n) and TMz(1,n) modes.

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TEM (All-Centered) The circuit is invariant under rotations around the Z axis. The circuit can only contain
Circular, Circular coaxial waveguides, and Steps. In all Steps, X and Y offsets must be zero. With this symmetry
the Circular waveguides use only the even TMz(0,n) modes and the Circular coaxial waveguides use the TEM
and even TMz(0,n) modes. Circuits with such a symmetry should begin and finish with Circular coaxial
waveguides.

Only one symmetry can be specified for a circuit, except for the following cases:

All-Inductive symmetry also allows simultaneous X symmetry

All-Capacitive symmetry also allows simultaneous Y symmetry
X symmetry and Y symmetry be specified together if no other symmetry is active
All-Cylindrical symmetry allows X and Y symmetry. Indeed, an All-Cylindrical circuit is always symmetric
respect X and Y since no offsets are allowed. Then, in the GUI, when the All-Cylindrical symmetry is activated
the X and Y symmetries are automatically activated as well.

Symmetries are used to discard unnecessary waveguide modes, so they allow using fewer modes which in turn results
in lower computational time.
If symmetries are added to a circuit, the following numeric parameters related to number of waveguide modes
should be reduced accordingly. In the following section aproximate rules are explained to easily modify the numeric
parameters.

Number of accessible Modes, Number of MoM basis functions, Number of green function terms.

If instead symmetries are removed from a circuit, the same numeric parameters should be increased accordingly.
The exact amount to increase or decrease these numeric parameters depends on the circuit and there is no general
formula. The following approximate rule can be used, but users are recommended to perform Convergence Study on
each circuit:

All-Inductive allows replacing all the number of modes with their square root
All-Capacitive allows replacing all the number of modes with the double of their square root
X symmetry allows dividing all the number of modes by 2 (exact rule)
Y symmetry allows dividing all the number of modes by 2 (exact rule)
All-Cylindrical allows replacing all the number of modes with the double of their square root
TEM allows replacing all the number of modes with the half of their square root

In order to specify a certain symmetry in a circuit, all elements in the circuit must allow such a symmetry. The
symmetries that are allowed by each element, can be found in Allowed Symmetries section

Global Parameters
Global symmetries and global circuit parameters can be configured from the general specifications window right tab.
The following global parameters are available. They are used as default values for parameters common to all
waveguides.

Dielectric Permittivity Relative permittivty constant of the homogeneous dielectric medium that fills the
waveguide (default: 1.0 i.e. vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability Relative permeability constant of the homogeneous dielectric medium that fills the
waveguide (default: 1.0 i.e. vacuum).
Dielectric Conductivity Intrinsic conductivity of the homogeneous dielectric medium that fills the waveguide,
in S/m (default: 0.0).
Metal Resistivity Intrinsic resistivity of the metallic walls of the waveguide, in Ohm · m (default: 0.0).

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Number of accessible Modes Number of accessible (i.e. connecting, propagating) modes of the waveguide.
Only the accessible modes of a waveguide are assumed to transmit E.M fields (and energy) across the whole
waveguide length. (default: 10).
Number of MoM basis functions Number of modes used in the internal MoM to calculate the discontinuities
attached to the waveguide (default: 30).
Number Green function terms Number of terms in the frequency-independent (static) part of the Green's
function, which describes the discontinuities attached to the waveguide (default: 300).
Number of Tailor expansion terms Number of terms in the Taylor expansion of the frequency-dependent
(dynamic) part of the Green's function, which describes the discontinuities attached to the waveguide (default:
1).
Reference port 3D Number of I/O port of the circuit used as a global reference coordinate system. See.

2.3.2.5 3D Viewer
This section describes the 3D Viewer integrated with FEST3D, documents its features and how to use it.

Features
The 3D Viewer window can be opened from the FEST3D GUI Main Window by clicking on the icon:

3D Viewer
The 3D Viewer is a tool that allows the user to visualize a graphical 3D model of the circuit that is currently opened in
the FEST3D GUI. This 3D model is created as a SAT file that contains the different elements of the circuit, classified in 3
main groups:

Ports: A list of the intput/output surface ports of the circuit, sorted by ascending number.
Waveguides: A list of the waveguides of the circuit with the same names that appear in the canvas, sorted by
ascending number.
Discontinuities: A list of the discontinuities of the circuit with the same names that appear in the canvas,
sorted by ascending number. In addition, the internal details of discontinuities that belong to the coaxial library
and the helical resonators groups are also shown as independent geometries.

The user must also bear in mind that waveguides and discontinuities in the circuit whose geometry is not drawn
as a volume (for example Step discontintuities, or waveguides with length equal to zero) will be ommited from
the 3D model and therefore will not appear in the corresponding list.

A typical view of the 3D model is shown in the figure below:

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Interaction with the 3D View

This view shows the 3D model. Hovering with the mouse over this view will highlight elements that are currently
located under the mouse. Highlighted items in the 3D view are highlighted in the navigation pane as well.
The following mouse interaction is supported:

Holding the left mouse button down allows changing the perspective of the view. Depending on the currently
selected Mouse Mode , the view can be rotated, panned, or zoomed.
Clicking the right mouse button shows a context menu, which allows invoking the actions listed in the table
below.

Action Description
Hide Only appears if the mouse is placed on an element of the 3D model. Allows hiding that specific
Element element.

Mouse Sub menu to change the mouse interaction mode of the 3D view.
Mode

Mouse Rotate the 3D view.

Mode >

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Action Description
Rotate

Mouse Rotate the 3D view in the current view plane.

Mode >
Rotate in
Plane

Mouse Move the 3D view.

Mode > Pan

Mouse Zoom the 3D view in and out.

Mode >
Zoom

View Mode Sub menu to change the perspective of the 3D view.

View Mode Predefined perspective view.

>
Perspective

View Mode Rotate the model to view its front face.

> Front

View Mode Rotate the model to view its back face.

> Back

View Mode Rotate the model to view its left face.

> Left

View Mode Rotate the model to view its right face.

> Right

View Mode Rotate the model to view its top face.

> Top

View Mode Rotate the model to view its bottom face.

> Bottom

View Mode Rotate the model to the nearest axis.

> Nearest
Axis

Fit View Zoom the current view to fit the 3D model.

Resize To Sub menu to allow resizing the 3D view. Available resolutions are: 1920x1440 , 1200x900 , 1024x768 ,
800x600 , 640x480 , and 400x300 .

In addition, the following keyboard interaction is supported:

Keyboard shortcuts:
Space : Fits the entire 3D model into the view.
0 : Change to perspective view.
1 : Change to perspective view.
2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 : Change view to Bottom , Back , Left , Front , Right , Top

Navigation & Visualizing Model Internals

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The navigation pane shows a list of available elements in the loaded model. By default, a tree view is shown. If desired,
a flat list view is available as well through the context menu. When one or more elements are selected in the
navigation pane, the 3D view shows all deselected elements transparently. This way the user can visualize internal
details that are otherwise hidden. By default, the first input Port of the circuit will be always selected in the 3D View.
In addition, it is possible to hide elements. This can be done through the context menu by choosing Hide or Hide All .
The action Show All forces all elements to be visible again.

Toolbar Actions

The toolbar allows the user to quickly access the following actions:

Action Description
Navigation Show / hide the navigation pane.

Rotate Switch mouse interaction to rotate the 3D view.

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Action Description
Rotate in Plane Switch mouse interaction to rotate the 3D view in the current view plane.

Pan Switch mouse interaction to move the 3D view.

Zoom Switch mouse interaction to zoom the 3D view in and out.

View Mode Popup menu to change the perspective of the 3D view.

Fit View Zoom the current view to fit the 3D model.

Save Picture Save a picture of the 3D model as file.

Cutplane If enabled, allows setting the cutplane through the 3D model along the x, y, and
z axes. The position of the cutplane can be set through either the edit field, or
the slider.

Help Popup menu to access this documentation as well as the about dialog.

2.3.2.6 The Preferences Window

This section describes the Preferences Window and how to use it to customize and configure some parameters of
FEST3D.
The preferences window look as in the following figure:

The parameters that can be configured are:

Create compare files if active, all the simulation results are saved also in the folder Compare inside the
installation directory of FEST3D. This allows comparing several results of the same or different circuits.
Enable cache system. This option is activated by default. When the cache system is activated, FEST3D will
store, in disk , data that can be reused later on in the computations of next simulations. FEST3D automatically
identifies if there were elements analysed in previous simulations that are equal to elements in the current
simualtion, and loads their data from cache files avoiding to repeat certain computations. This may result on a
great CPU time saving. The files containing cache data are stored in the project folder, which is located in the
same folder as the input file with its same name. Thus, each FEST3D project will store and have access only to

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its own cache data. Since these data may consume hundreds of MB, it is recommended to delete the cache files
if not needed(see Options->Clean Cache for current project in the Main Window menu bar), or even
deactivate the cache system.
Number processors used : Independently of the number of logical cores available of the processor, the user
can select any number of logical cores to be used when resolving circuits.
Units (mm or inches) : Selects whether to use millimeters or inches when defining the circuit parameters.
Changing this will force to restart the program.

2.3.2.7 Parameters configuration

This section describes how to define parameters (Par) in the FEST3D user interface.
The use of parameters in a circuit has many advantages, i.e:

When there is a large number of waveguides or discontinuities with the same value and you want to
change the value of all of them.
When you are going to optimize a circuit with elements whose properties are related between them,
defining them as parameters and setting up expressions to relate parameters leading to a fast
definition in the optimization window.
When you are trying to perform a tolerance analysis with elements whose properties are related
between them, defining them as parameters and setting up expressions to relate parameters
leading to a fast definition in the tolerance window.

The Par section contains the following topics:

How to set parameters Describes how to set/unset parameters in your circuit properties

Using the parameters Details the parameter window where the user can use expressions and set as
window optimizable every parameter

How to set parameters

Defining parameters in FEST3D is as easy as:

Open the details of the waveguide or discontinuity.

Every parameter of that element shows an small button with two different colors: ( ) or ( ).
By default all the parameters have the which means that they will not appear in the parameters
window.
Clicking over the button will make it a parameter showing the mark.
Once all the parameters are defined, it is time to open the parameters window in order to set up the expressions.

Using the parameters configuration window

The FEST3D parameters configuration window typically looks as follows:

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There are two types of parameters listed in the window:

Dummy parameters for general purpose, which are listed on the top of the window (the list is empty by
default). New dummy parameters can be added by pressing the Add Parameter button. Besides, any existing
dummy parameter can be removed by clicking the corresponding delete button placed on the right.
Element parameters, which are listed below the dummy parameters. These parameters have been previously
selected by the user at each Element Properties window of the circuit (see How to set parameters section
above).

The fields for each parameter are:

Description contains the element to which it belongs and the parameter description as reported in the
Element Properties. In the case of dummy parameters, the description can be edited according to the user
needs.
opt allows temporarily disabling the parameter for the optimizer by clicking on the box. The color will be
turned to red, indicating that the parameter will not be changed: its value will remain fixed. Clicking again re-
enables the parameter and the color will turn back to green. On the other hand, in cases in which a parameter
is not defined as a numerical value, opt will be marked as crossed out, meaning that such parameter will not be
considered for direct modification by the optimizer tool (but the parameter value may be modified indirectly in
optimization steps if its expression depends on other parameters which are optimized).
Name the name uniquely identifying the parameter. You can edit it.
Expression allows setting direct values or mathematical expressions which define the parameter value or its
relationship with other parameters. For example, a parameter can be defined as follows:
x2+5
(x5+x6)/x2
sin(x5) + cos(x7)
abs(x1-x2)
sqrt(x2)

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The value of the parameter.

Using expressions

Once you have set any expression, the value will be automatically updated by pressing the Enter or Tab key.

LIMITATIONS

An expression of a parameter can contain any other parameter(s) defined above or below it. However,
the parameter(s) in the expression must already exist in the window.

Expression can contain trigonometric and other functions. In particular:

sin(x), The sine of x, x is in radians.
cos(x), The cosine of x, x is in radians.
tan(x), The tangent of x, x is in radians.
sinh(x), The hyperbolic sine of x.
cosh(x), The hyperbolic cosine of x.
tanh(x), The hyperbolic tangent of x.
log(x), The logarithm (base e).
exp(x), The exponential value of x.
sqrt(x), The square root of x.
abs(x), The absolute value of x.

2.3.2.8 Compare Results tool

The "Compare Results" Tool is used for comparing output results of FEST3D. This can be very useful if, for instance, a
convergency analysis wants to be performed.
By default, this tool is deactivated in FEST3D. To activate it, go to Options -> Edit Preferences -> Preferences. The
following window should appear:

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Activate the "Create compare files" by clicking in the corresponding box. Now, you can take a particular FEST3D input
file and run it. After that, modify the file a little bit (the geometry for instance) and run again the simulation. It is
important that the simulation arrives until the end of the frequency sweep. After this, please go to "Execute ->
Compare Results". A window like the following one should appear:

In this case, we chose to run a file called six_pole_triple_mode_w_losess.fest3. FEST3D has saved both simulations by
adding to the output file the date and time of the simulation. Now you can select both input files (for instance,
keeping pressed the "control" key) and press "open". The compare window will appear:

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It is seen that both results are compared. By defult, the comparison will show the Module (in dB) of the Scattering
Parameters of the all the ports of the circuit. The type of result (Phase, Group Delay, Module) and the number of
scattering parameters which are compared can be modified at any moment, as in the normal results window. Please,
notice that you can compare more than two results. Moreover, the FEST3D input file is also saved each time, so you
can recover the input file of a particular simulation. This is very useful while performing a convergence analysis.

2.3.3 Analysis
This section describes all the analysis capabilities that are present in FEST3D:

EMCE Explanation of the Electromagnetic computational engine.

Adaptive Frequency Explanation of the Adaptive Frequency Sampling algorithm that allows speeding up
Sampling Method performance in frequency sweeps.

Engineering tools Explanation of Engineering tools, a set of tools that helps you in the creation of your
project.

EM Field analysis How to perform an EM Field analysis with FEST3D.

Convergence Study How to perform a convergence study with FEST3D.

Parallelization Explanation of parallelizaton of FEST3D and how to use it efficiently.

2.3.3.1 ElectroMagnetic Computational Engine (EMCE)

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This section describes the structure of FEST3D E.M. Engine (EMCE), documents its features and how it can be activated
from the User Interface and from the command prompt.
The EMCE section contains the following topics:

Requirements The minimum hardware and software requirements needed to run FEST3D EMCE.

Features Description of EMCE features and capabilities.

Using the How the EMCE can be activated and controlled from the User Interface or, in case you need, from
EMCE the command prompt.

Requirements
The EMCE requires at least the following:

Hardware: Dual core with 4GB of RAM and 3GB free disk space.
Operating System: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10. Special requests for Linux or other
Windows versions.

Features
The EMCE supports passive, linear millimeter-wave and microwave devices, composed on cascaded waveguides and
discontinuities. The full list of the supported elements is available in the Elements Database.
Millimeter-wave and microwave circuits can be analyzed, obtaining insertion and transmission losses, as well as the
insertion phase, versus frequency. The results of the computation are displayed in graphic form and can also be
printed.
The multi-mode S, Z or Y matrix of such circuits can also be computed, effectively reducing a whole circuit to a single
block which can be then reused as a User Defined element in a more complex circuit or system, or imported from or
exported to other E.M. simulation tools.

Multimode Network Representation

The EMCE uses an equivalent multimode network representation, where each element is represented by a Z matrix.
This way, all computations are performed in a multimode space. By combining the Z matrices of all network elements
(waveguides and discontinuities), a new Z matrix representing the whole network can be created. The network
structure can be excited to calculate the scattering (S) or the Z matrix. All this is done for each point of the requested
frequency range. Thus, the EMCE produces as final result the scattering (S) or Z matrix at the input/output ports of the
network for each frequency point.

Frequency-independent and Frequency-dependent parts

Furthermore, for an efficient analysis, the computation of the Z matrix for complex structures like discontinuities,
where heavy calculations take place during the simulation, is divided into two parts: the frequency-independent
(static) and the frequency dependent (dynamic) parts. This is possible since the splitting is used also in the Integral
Equation approach: the used integral equation is based on a kernel which has been split into these two parts. FEST3D
EMCE first initialises all the network elements using the algorithms that do not depend on the frequency. This is done
outside the frequency loop and the computed quantities are also stored in cache files, to allow reusing them in
subsequent runs. After that, the EMCE enters the frequency loop where the frequency-dependent part is computed
and combined with the frequency independent one, obtaining the Z matrix at each frequency point.

Using the EMCE

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The EMCE is completely integrated with the Graphical User Interface. Starting the EMCE is just a matter of clicking on
the Analyze button in the Main Window, watch the progress messages, and look at the plot produced at the end of
the simulation. Clicking on the Stop button in the Main Window will interrupt the simulation.
Almost surely, you will want to open the General Specifications window to edit the analysis specification data:
frequency range, symmetries, global numeric parameters, etc. Refer to EMCE code documentation in order to have a
detailed description of each parameter.
The Simulation Output window automatically opens when a simulation is running, and progress is reported in real
time. If errors are detected during the simulation, a diagnostic message is produced in the Simulation Output window.
The scattering (S) matrix is stored in a file with the same name as the input file and with .out extension. The result of Z
matrix computation is written in a file with the same name as the input file but with .chr extension. Both .out and .chr
files are saved in the same directory as the input file.

2.3.3.2 Adaptive Frequency Sampling Method

This section explains the adaptive analysis method, how it is configured and provides key points to maximize the
efficiency of the analysis.
The adaptive sampling [1] is a method used to reduce the number of simulated points (reducing thus the
computational time) without losing accuracy in the simulated response. The reduction is possible because the
response in a broad frequency range (or angle, depending of the sweep variable) is approximated by a rational
function using a reduced set of points. These points are found automatically by the method by comparing consecutive
approximations.
In order to perform an adaptive analysis of a sweep, the option "Adaptive" (see image) in the column Algorithm must
be selected.

Note 1: The adaptive sweep only works for sweeps with more than 5 points.

Example using discrete and adaptive algorithms

This section shows the difference between the discrete and adaptive algorithms in terms of computational time and S
parameters results.
Let's consider the following band-pass filter (from the list of examples in FEST3D):

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In a particular computer, the resolution of the 100 frequency points takes (only the simulation time in the frequency
loop is considered):

Discrete method: 4 seconds

Adaptive sampling: 0.9 seconds

The S parameters perfectly match in both cases, as shown in the following figure, where one can verify that the results
are virtually the same.

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How adaptive sampling works

The steps followed by the method are:

Step 1: The method starts by developing two rational approximations of each scattering parameter, one
with 2 support points and one with 3 support points. The approximation with 2 support points uses the
start point and the end point of the sweep. The approximation with 3 support points add a new point in
the middle of the sweep to the previous ones.
Step 2: An error curve between approximations is calculated using the approximations with 2 and 3
support points of each scattering parameter.

Step 3: An error value is calculated from the error curve. This error term tends to cero when the
difference between approximations decreases. In other words, when the approximation converges to a
final response.

Step 4: A new point is selected in the maximum of the error curve. By using this point and the previous
points, a new approximation is done. The error curve is updated, and the new error is also determined.

Step 5: The step 4 is repeated until the error value is lower than a threshold value selected by the user
during three consecutive steps.

Efficiency of the adaptive sampling

The error quantifies the variations between consecutive approximations and is normalized to 1, therefore the value of

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0.001 for Max error means that the final response has converged and stays stable, because the variations between the
latest approximations in the whole range are less than 0.1%.
The cost of the rational approximation is independent of the circuit and increases with the number of iterations. This
cost depends of the number of points of the sweep (Figure 1) and the number of parameters used in the internal
calculations (Figure 2). In addition, increasing the number of threads used reduces significantly the time of the rational
interpolation (Figure 3).
If the cost of performing each rational approximation remains negligible with respect to the cost of each
electromagnetic simulation, the time saving will be related directly with the number of points which are not calculated
but interpolated.
If many iterations are needed to converge to the final response (for example in complex circuits as multiplexers or
multiband filters), it is recommended to divide the sweep in several smaller sweeps. This can accelerate the simulation.
As mentioned before, the number of S parameters which are taken to determine the error affects significantly to the
time savings. In most circuits, just by enabling the parameter S11 is enough to guarantee a right convergence. This is
typical in a bandpass filter (in a bandstop filter it is better choosing S21 to calculate the error).
In complex circuits, it may be interesting to add to the S11 any significant S parameter in the particular range of
analysis.

Figure 1: Evolution of the cost of the rational approximation with respect to the points of the sweep (1 S-parameter
and 1 thread).

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Figure 2: Evolution of the cost of the rational approximation with respect to the number of scattering parameters
(sweep with 500 points and 1 thread).

Figure 3: Evolution of the the cost of the rational approximation with respect to the number of threads (sweep with
500 points and 1 S-parameter).

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2.3.3.3 Engineering tools

The Engineering Tools are a collection of useful tools for general Electromagnetic Design.
These tools, based on analytical formulas [N. Marcuvitz, Waveguide Handbook, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.
1951] & [G. L. Matthaei, L. Young, and E. M.T. Jones, Microwave Filters, Impedance-Matching Networks and coupling
Structures, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1964], help the user in the process of designing a passive component
e.g. quality factor, constant of propagation, sorting of modes, manufacturing tolerances and so on.
The Engineering Tools are activated through clicking the Tools->Engineering Tools menu on the GUI menu bar.

Fig.1. GUI menu for the Engineering Tools

Next, the different Engineering Tools are described. As will be seen, they are easy to use, giving a nearly instantaneous
output.

(M,N) Modes Propagation in RectWG

This tool provides the propagation constant of the propagating modes and losses under cut-off for a given length in a
rectangular waveguide.
Fig. 2. shows its GUI, composed of the following input parameters:

Width of the Rectangular Waveguide [mm]

Height of the Rectangular Waveguide [mm]
Length of the Rectangular Waveguide [mm]
Operating Frequency [GHz]
Maximum M for the (M,N) modes list
Maximum N for the (M,N) modes list

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Fig. 2. GUI for the (M,N) Modes Propagation in RectWG Engineering Tool

Once all the parameters are specified, the output (Fig. 3) sorts the propagating modes in the waveguide together with
the propagation constant and losses in dB. Alpha is given as a negative number and Beta as positive.

Fig 3. Results given by the (3,3) Modes Propagation in RectWG Engineering Tool

Resonances in Cylindrical Resonator

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This Engineering Tool gives the resonances of a cylindrical resonator according its dimensions. The list of Input
parameters are:

Diameter of the cylindrical resonator [mm]

Length of the cylindrical resonator [mm]
Reduction factor for the unloaded Quality Factor [0-1]
Maximum M for the (M,N,P) modes sorting
Maximum N for the (M,N,P) modes sorting
Maximum P for the (M,N,P) modes sorting
Conductivity [Siemens/m]-->Introduced by the user or selected by default (Fig. 4)

Fig. 4. GUI for Resonances in Cylindrical Resonator Engineering Tool

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Its output sorts the modes in the cylindrical resonator according to its frequency, together with its unloaded and
reduced / practical Quality Factor (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5. Results given by the (3,3,3) Resonances in Cylindrical Resonator Engineering Tool

Resonances in Rectangular Resonator

It gives the resonances for a rectangular resonator according its dimensions. Similarly to the cylindrical resonator, here
are the requested specifications:

Width of the rectangular resonator [mm]

Height of the rectangular resonator [mm]
Length of the cylindrical resonator [mm]
Resonance frequency [GHz] or length [mm] of the rectangular resonator
Reduction factor for the unloaded Quality Factor [0-1]
Maximum M for the (M,N,P) modes sorting
Maximum N for the (M,N,P) modes sorting
Maximum P for the (M,N,P) modes sorting
Conductivity [Siemens/m]-->Introduced by the user or selected by default

The selection between the resonance frequency or the length of the rectangular resonator is up to the user (Fig. 6). If
the resonance frequency is selected, the different modes with the required length are shown (Fig. 7); on the other
hand, by filling in the length of the rectangular resonator, the different modes are sorted as seen in Fig. 5.

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Fig. 6. GUI for Resonances in Rectangular Resonator Enginnering Tool

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Fig. 7. Lengths given by the (3,3,3) Resonances in Rectangular Resonator Tool (geometry fixed)

Q values at 3 dB Bandwidth in Resonators

This Engineering Tool calculates the loaded, unloaded and external Quality Factor, requiring for such a calculation the
following parameters (Fig. 8) :

Insertion Loss [dB]

Center Frequency [GHz]
3dB Bandwidth [MHz]

Fig. 8. Input Parameters for the Q values at 3dB Bandwidth in Resonators tool

Please note that, as specified in the output (Fig. 9), a symmetric coupling input-output is assumed for the calculations.
The formulas to calculate all the Quality Factors are also described in order to avoid the user's confusion.

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Fig. 9. Quality Factors calculated by the Engineering Tool

Losses in CoaxWg
The Input parameters are:

Dielectric Permittivity
Operating Frequency [GHz]
Conductivity for inner conductor [Siemens/m]
Conductivity for outer conductor [Siemens/m]
Tan delta of permittivity * Dimensions of the outer conductor [mm]
Diameter of the inner conductor [mm]

It is possible to choose the outer conductor between a squared or coaxial waveguide as seen in Fig. 10. The tan of
delta is used for the losses calculation.

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Fig. 10. Input parameters for the Losses in CoaxWg Tool

As seen in the output (Fig. 11), not only the losses but also the Impedance and the 1st higher order mode are
calculated, all of them with their corresponding units.

Fig. 11. Output given by the Losses in CoaxWg Tool

Losses in RectWg
This Engineering Tool calculates the losses in a Rectangular Waveguide. The user has to fill in the following
parameters (Fig. 12) :

Dielectric Permittivity

Working Frequency [GHz]

Width of the Rectangular Waveguide [mm]
Height of the Rectangular Waveguide [mm]
Length of the Rectangular Waveguide [mm]
Tan delta of permittivity
Conductivity [Siemens/m]-->Introduced by the user or selected by default

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In this case, the output produced gives more specific information regarding the losses in the rectangular waveguide
(Fig. 13), separating the losses by conductivity and permittivity. Note that when tan delta is zero, there are no losses
by permittivity. The skin depth is provided in the output as well.

Fig. 12. Losses in RectWg Engineering Tool input

Fig. 13. Losses in RectWg Engineering Tool output

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Losses in CircWg
Similarly to the previous Engineering Tool, the input (Fig. 14) requested is:

Dielectric Permittivity
Operating Frequency [GHz]
Diameter of the Circular Waveguide [mm]
Length of the Circular Waveguide [mm]
Tan delta of permittivity
Conductivity [Siemens/m]-->Introduced by the user or selected by default

Fig. 14. Losses in CircWg Engineering Tool input

The produced output is similaro to the one for the Losses in RectWg Tool (Fig. 13).

Tolerance of Chebycheff filters

This Engineering Tool gives the manufacturing tolerances for a Chebycheff band pass filter. Therefore, the input
parameters are:

Degree of the filter

Return loss [dB]
Center frequency [GHz]
Bandwidth [MHz]

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Fig. 15. Tolerance of Chebycheff filters Tool

The output, given in micrometers, is depicted below in Fig. 16.

Fig. 16. Tolerance of Chebycheff filters output

Insertion Loss
This Engineering Tool calculates the Insertion Loss for a band pass filter given the following specifications:

Degree of the filter

Return loss [dB]
Center frequency [GHz]
Bandwidth [MHz]
Unloaded Quality Factor

The GUI for the input parameters and its output are shown in Fig. 17 and 18, respectively:

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Fig. 17. Insertion Loss Tool input

Fig. 18. Insertion Loss Tool output

VSWR <> S11 <> RefCoef <> Ripple

This Engineering Tool differs from the previous ones because instead of giving an output, it shows the relationship
among the following parameters:

VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio)

S11 / Return loss [dB]
Reflection Coefficient
S21 / Ripple [dB]

When the user changes one of the parameters and presses Enter, the rest of values are automatically updated
according to the new specification provided. Fig. 19 shows an example, where VSWR, Reflect. Coef. and S21/Ripple
have been changed automatically once the user has introduced the new value for S11/Return Loss (i.e. S11 = 30 dB).

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Fig. 19. VSWR<>S11<>RefCoef<>Ripple Tool

dB Transformation
This Engineering Tool, like the previously seen WG Dimensions Tool in the GUI of FEST3D (Fig. 1), is composed of two
submenus: W<>dBm<>dBW<>dBc and dB<>Np<>Abs tools.

W<>dBm<>dBW<>dBc
As in the VSWR<>S11<>RefCoef<>Ripple tool, this tool gives the relationship among the following
parameters seen in Fig. 20:
Watts [W]
dBm
dBW
dBc and carrier [W]

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Fig. 20. The W<>dBm<>dBW<>dBc Tool

In Fig. 20 the power in Watts has been changed to 40Watts, changing the rest of the parameters once Enter
has been pressed.
dB<>Np<>Abs
This tool follows the same approach but considering the following units (Fig. 21):
Decibel [dB]
Neper [Np]
Absolute value

Fig. 21. The dB<>Np<>Abs Engineering Tool

WG Dimensions
These tool gives the waveguide dimensions for either a rectangular or circular waveguide according the established
standard waveguides. As the dB transformation Tool, it is composed of two submenus depending on the type of
waveguide.

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Fig. 22 GUI for the RectWG standard dimensions tool

RectWG standard dimensions As seen in Fig. 22, the user selects the type of waveguide among all the list of
standard waveguides. Once this action is performed, the fields corresponding to the dimensions and frequency
range are updated.
CircWG standard dimensions It follows the same approach seen in the last point, but in this case for a circular
waveguide (Fig. 23):

Fig. 23 GUI for the CircWG standard dimensions tool

2.3.3.4 EM Field Analysis

The EM field analysis section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly done when using this FEST3D feature.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced when computing the EM fields, and solutions or
workarounds to them.

Using the EM field How to use this feature in FEST3D from the User Interface or, in case you need, from
computation the command prompt.

Visualization of EM fields How to use visualize the EM fields.

Hints Non-trivial properties of the computation of the EM field.

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Definition
The EM field analysis computes the electromagnetic fields inside components. The structure is always excited with an
average input power of 1 W. The fields are given in peak values.

Limitations
The EM field analysis can be used in components based on rectangular, circular, coaxial, rectangular-arbitrary and
circular-arbitrary waveguide elements. Most of the discontinuity elements which have 3D volume can perform EM
field computations as well. If a particular circuit contains elements which are not supported, the EM fields will not be
calculated on those specific elements, but only on the supported ones.
In the case that the circuit contains lumped elements, the EM field can not be computed.

Errors
No errors are reported for this feature.

Usage
Clicking on the entry EM Field Analysis opens the following menu:

Specifications allows you to change the computational parameters that control the precision of the
electromagnetic field computation.

Run starts the electromagnetic field computation.

Cancel: Nothing will be done. However, parameters that have been changed keep their values.

Specifications

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Mesh size controls the number of sampling points to represent the electromagnetic field.

Frequency allows you to specify for which frequency the field should be computed.

Close closes the dialog.

Mesh size
This parameter allows you to control the resolution of the electromagnetic field. Values are greater than 0. The
default value is 1.

This value represents the mesh size in mm or inches used to generate a second order element mesh.
Remark: Care should be taken when increasing the resolution. As a rule of thumb: doubling the resolution increases,
in general, the number of sampling points in each direction by a factor of 2. For a 3D representation the number of
sampling points thus increases approximately by a factor of 23=8.

Frequency

In this menu you can define for which frequency the electromagnetic field should be computed.

Output Data
The calculation provides the following vectorial quantities in the complete volume of all elements:

Mag(Max_E) (V/m) In time domain, the maximum value of the magnitude of the electric field in a period,
which is useful for high power applications, such as corona or multipactor analysis.

Mag(Max_H) (A/m) In time domain, the maximum value of the magnitude of the magnetic field in a period.

Max_E (V/m) In time domain, the maximum value of electric field in a period.

Max_H (A/m) In time domain, the maximum value of magnetic field in a period.

S_re (W/m2) The average value of the Poynting vector.

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S_im (V*A/m2) In frequency domain, the imaginary part of (1/2)*(E x H).

E_re (V/m) In frequency domain, the real part of the electric field.

E_im (V/m) In frequency domain, the imaginary part of the electric field.

H_re (A/m) In frequency domain, the real part of the magnetic field.

H_im (A/m) In frequency domain, the imaginary part of the magnetic field.

Running EM Field Analysis from command prompt

It is also possible to execute the EM Field Analysis from command prompt. The executable name is fest3d.exe on
Windows platform and fest3d on Unix-like platforms, and is located in the directory where FEST3D is installed (you can
view/edit the installation directory from the Preferences window). Executing the command fest3d -h (prefixed by
FEST3D installation directory if necessary) will show all command-line arguments and options supported by the EMCE,
including how to specify input and output files. A typical invocation of the EM Field Analysis looks as follows:
<full-path-to-fest3d/FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat> --mode=emfield --chdir=<full-path-to-
working-directory> --in=mycircuit.fest3 --override_frequency_mode=selected-frequency -
-nthreads=number-of-cores-to-use
IMPORTANT NOTES
It is necessary to indicate the directory where cache files are stored (by default, cache directory is located in
FEST3D_WORKSPACE directory, but you can choose a different one). The option --override_frequency_mode
allows choosing a frequency for EM field calculation different from the one defined in the input file.
If any of the paths contain spaces, you should add double quotes. IE: --tmp="C:\path with spaces"

The possibility to launch FEST3D from command line allows to use it in combination with external programs. This way,
scripts to launch several executables sequentially can be generated or it can be combined with a synthesis or
optmization tool.

Visualization
The 3D quantities can be visualized by means of Paraview. To visualize the data, open paraview in your system and
then go to "file: open data", and open the file "volume_vectorfield_FrequencyGHz_average.pvd", where "Frequency"
represents the value of the frequency at which you have simulated. The structure appears in the main canvas (you can
rotate it with the left mouse button). In order to visualize the fields, select the quantity you wish( Max_E, Max_H,...) in
the top left side combobox. The scalar bar is activated pressing the button situated in the left side of the previous
combobox.
Paraview allows you to perform many operations on the data you are plotting.
See the EM field tutorial for more information about visualization.

Hints
Set the frequency to one single value in each simulation. Otherwise, many calculations (memory waste) are
done.

2.3.3.5 Convergence Study

This section explains in detail the procedure to be followed in performing convergence studies. Such a convergence
study consists of several steps, which require changing all the numeric accuracy parameters involved in the Integral

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equation technique used in FEST3D, as explained below:

1. Number of accessible modes. To fix the optimum value of this parameter, we must start our study with a very
reduced number of accessible modes (i.e. 5), and moderate values for the remaining parameters (i.e. 200 basis
functions, 1000 Green function terms). To proceed, we must increase the number of accessible modes and see
the evolution of the simulated response. If such response does not change, it means that the initial value for
the number of accessible modes already provides convergent results, and then we must move to the next step,
tuning the Number MoM basis functions. On the contrary, if the simulated response changes, it means the
convergence has not been reached, and it will be required to increase the number of accessible modes (in
steps of 5 to 10 additional accessible modes) until the response is fixed (i.e. no longer changes).

2. Number of MoM basis functions. To fix this parameter value, the user must always employ the number of
accessible modes determined before, and fix the number of Green function terms to 1000. With regard to the
initial number of MoM basis functions to be considered, it will be set to the previously selected number of
accessible modes plus 1, with a minimum of 20. Then, we will run the software to obtain an initial response.
Since the initial number of MoM basis functions is very low, this number will have to be increased (for instance
in steps of 10 to 20 each time) and the new response will be computed. If no changes between both responses
is observed, we can fix the number of basis functions and proceed to the next step (Number of Green
function terms). If the responses are different, we must continue increasing the number of MoM basis
functions until convergence is reached. It can happen that convergence is never reached even when the
maximum number of basis functions allowed is used (the maximum is number of Green function terms minus
one). In such a case, the number of Green function terms must be increased and the whole procedure for fixing
the optimum number of MoM basis functions must be repeated.

3. Number of Green function terms (also named Number of kernel terms). The third parameter to be fixed is
the number of Green function terms. To proceed, the number of accessible modes and MoM basis functions
will be fixed to the optimum values already determined, and the initial value for the number of Green function
terms will be the same employed in the previous step (i.e. 1000). In this case, the convergence analysis is
performed in the following way: starting from the initial value for the number of Green function terms, it will be
reduced (in steps of 100 to 200 terms each time) until the simulated response starts to change. The optimum
value for this parameter is the previous one before the response has moved. It can happen that the response is
moved with the first reduction of the number of Green function terms. In such a case, the initial number of
Green function terms considered must be increased, and the convergence study must return to the step 2
(adjustment of the Number of MoM basis functions).

Once these convergence studies are finished, it is recommended to compare the responses provided by FEST3D using
the optimum values just determined and employing extremely high values each parameter (much higher than the
optimum values found). If both results are very similar, it is guaranteed that the convergence study has provided
optimum values that can be used in the next simulations of the structure under consideration.

2.3.3.6 FEST3D Parallelization

Many computations in FEST3D can run in more than one processor simultaneously. In the following, it is explained
how this multi-threading feature works.
The parallelization section contains the following topics:

Enabling multicore simulations How to switch on the multicore mode.

How it works Description about how FEST3D runs in parallel.

Special elements Notes about special elements and parallelization.

Nested parallelism Elements which can use more than one thread.

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Known limitations Problems that can happen during a parallel simulation.

How it works
Switching on the multicore option can be done in the combo box located at the top-right corner of the Main Window
(see figure below), selecting the number of the threads wanted between one and the maximum of physical cores. By
default, the number of cores for simulations will be chosen as the maximum value between one and the total number
of cores detected in the machine minus one.

Nested parallelism
In FEST3D, all computations are divided in a static part (frequency independent) and in a dynamic part (frequency
dependent). The parallelization applies to both parts in a different way.

Static part
FEST3D without parallelism computes each element separately one after another. The total time taken to finish this
part is the addition of the time needed to compute each element. When more of one core is selected, each waveguide
or discontinuity is assigned to a core if idle. Therefore, each thread solves the associated element it and waits for a
new element to be solved. If there are no more elements, it will wait (suspended) to the frequency dependent part.
There are some dependencies between elements in FEST3D. For example, a discontinuity cannot be computed until its
attached waveguides are solved, or if an element is equal to another (from network), the original one has to be
computed first.
Time estimations here are difficult. On an hypothetical circuit in which all elements take a similar amount of time and
the number of elements is multiple of the cores used, the computational time will be approximately the time needed
in sequential mode divided by the number of threads. This is, of course, the optimum case. However, if an element is

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very slow compared to the rest of the elements in the circuit, the computational time shall be similar to the sequential
case.
Besides, some elements have nested parallelism inside them. In other words, the solution of the element (its static
part) can be solved also in parallel. See the nested parallelism section for more information.

Dynamic part
In this part, for each frequency, the generalized impedance (Z) matrices of each element are computed in
parallel, similarly as done in the static part. But the total number of cores used for this task will not be the one
specified at input. Instead, this number will be fixed to an optimum value depending on the specific circuit.
However, despite this parallelization the solution of the resulting system of equations (which is built by putting
together all Z matrices) is solved in sequential. In some case, it is possible that the Z matrices are solved very fast and
then the multi-threading leads to a small slow down of the simulation. It is also possible that, if the circuit is too big
and/or has many bifurcations, the frequency part is not significantly accelerated since the solution of the system of
equations takes the longest time.
Additionally, in case that a frequency sweep is solved using the Adaptive Frequency Sampling algorithm, the rational
interpolation performed for the parameters not selected for optimization is also computed in parallel using all
available cores.

Nested parallelism
These are the elements that can use more than one thread simultaneously during their own solution.

Waveguides based on the arbitrary circular/rectangular waveguides.

TE and TM modes are calculated in different cores if possible.

Constant width/height library

TE and TM modes are calculated in different cores if possible.

Coaxial cavity library

In the coaxial cavity library elements multicore is used to speed up the building of complex full matrices employed in
the electromagnetic kernel.

EM Fields
The Field analysis has an additional issue related to parallelism. The use of external tools that are not "thread-safe"
forces FEST3D to run them in sequential, loosing performance. In other words, the mesh generation cannot be done in
parallel. Everything else runs concurrently, just like during an S-parameter analysis.

Known limitations

Computer overload
It is highly recommended not to select the maximum number of cores unless the computer is going to be used mainly
for the FEST3D simulation because it can slow down other actions to be done in the computer. Also, if you are running
heavy simulations with other (or even FEST3D) software tools at the same time, the parallelism can be seriously

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affected and the simulation time can be even larger than with just one processor. It is recommended in such a case to
reduce the number of threads to be used.

RAM use
FEST3D usually requires more RAM in parallel mode than in sequential mode. The same simulation that works in
sequential can fail with several cores if there is not enough memory available. As a consequence, slowdowns in the
computer may occur if the circuit contains several different high memory-consuming elements such as those present
in the coaxial cavity library.

2.3.4 Design
This section describes the optimizer and tolerance analysis that are typically used to design circuits:

Optimizer Explanation of FEST3D optimizer and the methods available

Tolerance analysis Explanation of the Tolerance analysis tool

2.3.4.1 Optimizer (OPT)

This section describes the structure of FEST3D Optimizer (OPT), documents its features and how to configure,
interactively execute and monitor it from the User Interface and from the command prompt.
The OPT section contains the following topics:

Features Description of OPT features and capabilities.

Using the How to configure, interactively execute and monitor the OPT from the User Interface or, in case you
OPT need, from the command prompt.

Features
The OPT is completely integrated with the GUI and allows the user to interactively access all functionalities using
mouse, canvas and dialogs:

Define dummy parameters if needed

Choose which parameters to optimize
Define expressions, goal functions and constraints
Choose and configure the optimization algorithm
Start, monitor, stop, resume the optimization algorithm
Manually change the parameters and run the EMCE or OPT with the modified values.

The OPT currently includes the following three algorithms:

Simplex
Powell
Gradient

Using the OPT

A step-by-step guide to use FEST3D OPT is also available in the Tutorial 5. Optimizer section of this manual.
Performing a circuit optimization with FEST3D OPT can be divided in four steps:

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1. Choose which parameters to optimize By default, in the Element Properties dialogs, a small button appears
near the name of each optimizable parameter, which indicates if it is used ( ) or not ( ) in the optimization
process. Click on it to activate or deactivate its corresponding parameter. By default, all optimizable parameters
are deactivated. Besides, the user may define dummy parameters in this window as well.
2. Define expressions, goal functions and constraints Open the Optimization Window from the Execute

menu or from the corresponding button ( ) in the Toolbar. Enter expressions as you need near each
parameter's label. Create and enter constraints as you need in the Constraints tab. Create Goal Functions with
the Add Goal Functions button, choose a goal function file (or enter a non-existing file name) and create or
edit its contents with the Goal Functions Editor. Choose which circuit S parameters to compare with which
goal function S parameters with the Sxy and Compare buttons. Change the Weight as you need.

3. Choose and configure the algorithm Click on the Algorithm button on the bottom to select the algorithm
among the allowed ones and configure it. Currently supported algorithms are Simplex, Powell and Gradient.

4. Start, monitor, stop, resume the optimization algorithm To start the optimization click on the PLAY button
( ). The parameters values, iteration count and error function will be updated in real time. If Auto Plot in the
main window Graphics menu is active, the graphic plot of the circuit analysis results will be updated in real time
too. The optimization stops when the algorithm finds a (possible) minimum, or the error function reaches the
target error, or the maximum number of iterations is reached. You can also stop it in any moment by clicking
on the Stop button ( ). In all cases, clicking on the Apply parameter changes button, you can apply to the
current circuit the values of optimization parameters obtained during the last optimization loop. At any
moment that optimization is not running, you can modify the optimization parameter expressions, constraints,
goal functions and algorithm.

The FEST3D Optimization Window typically looks as follows

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Parameters
The upper part of the window contains the parameters to optimize, which can be configured and edited in the same

way as can be done in the Parameters configuration ( ). Each parameter is defined by the following:

Description contains the element to which it belongs and the parameter description as reported in the
Element Properties. In the case of dummy parameters, the description can be edited according to the user
needs.
opt allows temporarily disabling the parameter for the optimizer by clicking on the box. The color will be
turned to red, indicating that the parameter will not be changed: its value will remain fixed. Clicking again re-
enables the parameter and the color will turn back to green. On the other hand, in cases in which a parameter
is not defined as a numerical value, opt will be marked as crossed out, meaning that such parameter will not be
considered for direct modification by the optimizer tool (but the parameter value may be modified indirectly in
optimization steps if its expression depends on other parameters which are optimized).
Name the name uniquely identifying the parameter. You can edit it.

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Expression allows setting direct values or mathematical expressions which define the parameter value or its
relationship with other parameters. For example, a parameter can be defined as follows:
x2+5
(x5+x6)/x2
sin(x5) + cos(x7)
abs(x1-x2)
sqrt(x2)
Expression can contain trigonometric and other functions. In particular:
sin(x), The sine of x, x is in radians.
cos(x), The cosine of x, x is in radians.
tan(x), The tangent of x, x is in radians.
sinh(x), The hyperbolic sine of x.
cosh(x), The hyperbolic cosine of x.
tanh(x), The hyperbolic tangent of x.
log(x), The logarithm (base e).
exp(x), The exponential value of x.
sqrt(x), The square root of x.
abs(x), The absolute value of x.

The current, previous, delta and initial values of the parameter. Delta value is the difference between the
current and the initial value, not between the current and previous value. The current value can be directly
edited by changing the expression tab, provided that optimization is not running

Goal Functions
The lower part of the window contains the goal functions and constraints. The error function is computed by adding
together all the contributions of the goal functions and constraints.

Each goal function is defined by the following:

Circuit Sxy parameter to be tuned, taken from circuit S parameters output. The numbers x and y can range
from 1 to the number of I/O ports defined in the circuit. The user can choose which part of the Sxy to consider:
Module (dB), Phase (Radians) or G.D. (Group Delay).
Equality or inequality that circuit Sxy parameter should satisfy with respect to goal Sxy parameters. Available
settings are = (equal), <= (lesser or equal) and >= (greater or equal).
= means the goal is to find a curve equal to the goal function

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<= means the goal is to find a curve lower or equal than the goal function
>= means the goal is to find a curve higher or equal than the goal function.
Goal Sxy parameter indicates the column of the goal file to consider, and is chosen in the same way as circuit
Sxy parameter. It should be chosen after selecting or creating the goal file.
weight is the relative weight of this goal with respect to the other goals and constraints. It can be any number
greater than zero. The contribution of each goal function to the error function is normalized (i.e. divided) by
the number of points it contains, then multiplied by the weight
Enable/disable flag allows to temporarily disable the goal function by clicking on the button: it will change
to indicating that the goal function will be ignored by the optimizer. Clicking again re-enables the goal
function.
Goal file has the same format as EMCE .out S parameters files. Each goal file can contain different frequency
sweeps (ranges). The circuit will be simulated only on the union of all used frequency sweeps. Each goal Sxy
parameter will be compared to the corresponding circuit Sxy parameter only on the frequency points where
they are both defined. The average of the square of the differences will be multiplied by the weight to compute
the contribution of this Goal Function to the error function.

Goal Functions Editor

A Goal Function can be created in two ways:

1. An existing goal file can be used. In this case use the Open button and choose the goal file you want. You can
click on the Edit button to view and modify the contents of the file. Goal files have the same format as EMCE
.out S parameters files.
2. A new goal file can be created. In this case, type a non-existing file name in the goal file and click on the Edit
button.

In both cases, clicking on the Edit button opens the following Goal Functions Editor window:

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The Goal Functions Editor window lets you view and edit the contents of a goal file as a spreadsheet table (the first
column is a counter, the second is frequency):

you can add or remove rows and columns and you can manually edit the values in each cell.
you can remove multiple rows and columns at once by selecting them and clicking on the Remove button.
if you add new rows, interpolation or extrapolation on the table values is performed automatically.
modifications are saved to the goal file only when you click on the OK button.

You can easily create linear progressions (or, as particular case, repetitions of a constant value) as follows:

1. type the initial value of the progression in a cell and type the final value in another cell of the same column
2. select with the mouse all the cells between the initial and final value (remember to also select the cells
containing initial and final value)
3. click on the Linearize button

If you select multiple column ranges, Linearize acts on them all.

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Constraints
The lower part of the window also contains the constraints tab, which typically looks as follows:

Each constraint is defined by the following:

Weight is the relative weight of this constraint with respect to the other goals and constraints. It can be any
number greater than zero.
Enable/disable flag allows to temporarily disable the constraint by clicking on the button: it will change to
indicating that the constraint will be ignored by the optimizer. Clicking again re-enables the constraint.
Left expression can refer to all optimization parameters, even the ones whose value is defined by a expression
and disabled ones.
Equality or inequality that left and right expressions should satisfy. Available settings are = (equal), <=
(lesser or equal) and >= (greater or equal).
= means the goal is have left expression equal to right expression
<=means the goal is to have left expression less than or equal to right expression
<=means the goal is to have left expression greater than or equal to right expression
Right expression can refer to all optimization parameters, even the ones whose value is defined by a
expression and disabled ones.

The contribution of each Constraint to the error function is the square of the difference between left and right
expression, multiplied by the weight. Obviously the contribution is taken to be zero if the equality or inequality is
satisfied.
Technically speaking, the Constraints defined here are not the same concept as the ones used in Constrained
Optimization techniques. In that case, the optimization algorithms handle the constraints separately from the error
function and usually guarantee that the constraints will be satisfied in the final solution. The Constraints used in
FEST3D OPT are soft: optimization algorithms do not need to know about them, since they are already taken into
account by the error function, but no guarantee is made that they will be satisfied.
For this reason, if a Constraint can be expressed as a parameter needing to be equal to a function of the others, it is
more efficient and accurate to use a parameter expression instead of a Constraint.

Algorithms
FEST3D Optimization Algorithm window typically looks as follows

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FEST3D OPT currently supports the following algorithms:

1. Simplex is the well-known Downhill Simplex Method often found in literature. It performs very well on the
highly non-quadratic error functions of FEST3D. parameters are:
Initial step size the initial size of the Simplex.
2. Powell is the Powell's Direction Set Method, coupled with Brent's unidimensional minimization. It does not use
gradients. Parameters are:
Initial step size the initial size of steps in Brent's unidimensional minimization.
Allowed Tolerance the relative tolerance of minima found by Brent's unidimensional minimization.
3. Gradient is the well-known first-order iterative optimization algorithm for finding the minimum of a function.
Gradient is used to find the minimum error by minimizing a cost function.
Initial step size the initial size of steps. In order to find a local minimum, one takes steps proportional
to the negative of the gradient of the function at the current point.
Allowed Tolerance the relative termination tolerance for the cost function.

Additional optimization algorithms can be added. If you want to combine your own optimizer with FEST3D, do not
hesitate to contact FEST3D development team for further information and help.

All algorithms have the two common parameters:

Max Iterations the maximum number of iterations. Algorithms will always stop when this number of iterations
is reached (or little after), even if a minimum was not yet found.
Target Error the error function's threshold value. Algorithms will always stop when the error function becomes
smaller than this value (or little after), even if a minimum was not yet found.

Running the OPT from command prompt

It is also possible to execute the OPT from command prompt. The executable name is opt3d.exe on Windows
platform and opt3d on Unix-like platforms, and is located in the directory where FEST3D is installed (you can
view/edit the installation directory from the Preferences window). Executing the command opt3d -h (prefixed by
FEST3D installation directory if necessary) will show all command-line arguments and options supported by the OPT,
including how to specify EMCE location, input and output files. Please note that progress messages, including the
values of parameters, by default are printed on standard error with priority notice. A typical invocation looks as
follows:

<full-path-to-fest3d/OPT3D_CLI_launcher.bat> --chdir=<full-path-to-working-directory> -
-out-curr=mycircuit.out --out-prev=mycircuit.out.prev --engine=<full-path-to-
fest3d/FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat> --in=mycircuit.fest3 -- --nthreads=number-of-cores-to-
use

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If any of the paths contain spaces, you should add double quotes. IE: --tmp="C:\path with spaces"

2.3.4.2 Tolerance Analysis (TOL)

This section describes the structure of FEST3D Tolerance Analysis (TOL), its features and how to configure, interactively
execute and monitor it from the User Interface and from the command prompt.
The TOL section contains the following topics:

Features Description of TOL features and capabilities.

Using the How to configure, interactively execute and monitor the TOL from the User Interface or, in case you
TOL need, from the command prompt.

Features
The FEST3D Tolerance Analysis performs an automatic study of the effects that the deviations of the structure
parameters have on the circuit response. This is useful, for example, for taking into account the mechanical tolerances
of the component dimensions in the manufacturing process. The parameters that have been selected for the analysis
are perturbed randomly around its initial value in successive iterations. It uses a Gaussian probability density function
with a user-defined standard deviation. At the same time, the resulting responses of the circuit for the modified circuit
are calculated and plotted consecutively. This way, the effect of the tolerances can be inspected at a simple glance.
The tool, completely integrated in the GUI, allows the user to:

choose easily the parameters to study.

define the standard deviation for each parameter independently.
manually change the parameters and run the EMCE or TOL with the modified values.
start, monitor, stop, resume the tolerance analysis.

Using the TOL

The FEST3D Tolerance Analysis Window typically looks as follows

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Performing a Tolerance Analysis of a circuit with FEST3D TOL can be divided in three steps:

1. Choose which parameters to analyze. By default, in the Element Properties dialogs, a small button appears
near the name of each parameter, which indicates if it is used ( ) or not ( ) in the tolerance analysis process.
Click on it to activate or deactivate its corresponding parameter. By default, all parameters are deactivated.

2. Define standard deviation for each selected parameter. Open the Tolerance Analysis Window from the

Execute menu or from the corresponding button ( ) in the Toolbar. Enter a standard deviation near each
parameter's label. Please bear in mind that in the Tolerance Analysis Window the existing parameters will be
only listed, but they cannot be edited. In order to modify the definition of parameters (names, expressions,

addition/removal of dummy parameters) you can use the Parameters configuration ( ) or Optimizer ( )
buttons in the Toolbar.

3. Start, monitor, stop, resume the tolerance analysis. To start the analysis click on the PLAY button ( ). The
parameters values, iteration count and error function will be updated in real time. If Auto Plot in the main
window Graphics menu is active, the graphic plot of the circuit analysis results will be updated in real time too
(see example below). The analysis stops when the algorithm finds a (possible) minimum, or the error function

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reaches the target error, or the maximum number of iterations is reached. You can also stop it in any moment
by clicking on the Stop button ( ).

At any moment that tolerance analysis is not running, you can modify the parameters values.

The upper part of the window contains the parameters to analyze. Each parameter is defined by the following:

Description contains the element to which it belongs and the parameter's description as reported in the
Element Properties
Enable/disable flag allows to temporarily disable the parameter by clicking on the button: it will change to
indicating that the parameter will not be analyzed: its value will remain fixed. Clicking again re-enables the
parameter.
Name the name uniquely identifying the parameter.
The current, previous, delta and initial values of the parameter. Delta value is the difference between the
current and the initial value, not between the current and previous value. The current value of a parameter can

only be edited using either the Parameters configuration ( ) or Optimizer ( ) button in the Toolbar.
The standard deviation for that analysis. By default, every parameter has set a standard deviation of 0.01.
This can be changed individually for every parameter or also can be changed globally with the "Set Common
STDDev" button which can be found at the bottom of the window.

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The bottom part of the window contains several buttons:

Play button: Starts the tolerance analysis

Stop button: Stops the tolerance analysis
Reset values button: Which will reset the values to the starting ones after a tolerance analysis has been done
% error: Shows the percentage of iterations that have not fullfilled the goal functions' requirements
Max iter: Allows the user to change the maximum number of iterations
Set Common STDDev: Allows the user to change the standard deviation for all the parameters at the same
time

Running the TOL from command prompt

It is also possible to execute the TOL from command prompt. The executable name is opt3d.exe on Windows
platform and opt3d on Unix-like platforms, and is located in the directory where FEST3D is installed (you can
view/edit the installation directory from the Preferences window). Executing the command opt3d -h (prefixed by
FEST3D installation directory if necessary) will show all command-line arguments and options supported by the OPT,
including how to specify EMCE location, input and output files. Please note that progress messages, including the
values of parameters, by default are printed on standard error with priority notice. A typical invocation looks as
follows:
opt3d --close-all-fds--engine=<full-path-to-fest3d> --engine-in=mycircuit.fest3 --
in=mycircuit.opt3 --out=mycircuit.out --log-notice=mycircuit.log --
out_modes=mycircuit.mod --infinity=1000

2.3.5 Synthesis Tools

This section describes the Synthesis Tools integrated into FEST3D and how to use them to synthesize low-pass filters,
band-pass filters, transformers and dual-mode filters.
The Synthesis Tools section contains the following topics:

Introduction General information, architecture, requirement and integration of the Synthesis Tools.

Low-Pass Filter The Synthesis Tool to create low-pass filters.

Band-Pass Filter The Synthesis Tool to create band-pass filters.

Tranformers The Synthesis Tool to create impedance tranformers.

Dual-mode Filter The Synthesis Tool to create dual-mode filters.

Introduction
The Synthesis Tools integrated with FEST3D are able to synthesize a variety of millimeter-wave and microwave circuits
from user specifications. A typical use of the Synthesis Tools is to quickly create filters with given band, insertion loss
and number of poles.

2.3.5.1 Synthesis Tools: Low-Pass Filter

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The waveguide Low-Pass Filter Synthesis Tool (LPF) is an instrument providing and advanced automatic design of
rectangular and coaxial waveguide Chebyschev response low-pass filters.
LPF automatically determines the physical dimensions of the structure once the specifications have been given. Due to
the consideration of higher modes in the synthesis procedure, no optimization is normally required.
At the end of this help there are some tips to help the users to make the most of this synthesis tool.
LPF can synthesize the following list of lowpass filters:

Rectangular symmetric and asymmetric corrugated lowpass filters with squared corners.
Rectangular symmetric lowpass filters with rounded corners.
Rectangular symmetric and asymmetric iris-coupled lowpass filters with squared corners.
Coaxial lowpass filters.

For all these components, transformers can be attached. In that case, a post-optimization may be required. FEST3D
automatically launches this post-optimization if it has been required during the specification of the lowpass filter
characteristics.

Fig.1: Five-section rectangular waveguide low-pass filter.

In Fig. 1, a Corrugated Rectangular lowpass filter in a symmetric configuration is depicted. The filter shown has an odd
number of sections, in this case N=5, so the input and output ports have the same height. On the other hand, even
degree filters have not the same input and output height.
The GUI has been organized to ease the work of the designer in the process of synthesizing, and if required,
optimizing a lowpass filter. The wizard guides the user and in just 7 steps the filter is fully customized.

1. Project properties
When the Lowpass wizard GUI is launched, the user can select among two options: create a new project or to restore a
previous existing one. Fig.2 shows the Project Management Window. The project is stored in a ".syn" file in which all
data are saved.

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Fig.2: Project Management Window.

In this tutorial a rectangular low pass filter will be designed and the proper impedance transformers will be attached
in order to match to standard waveguide ports.

2. Topology
The second step (see Fig. 3) shows all the available structures. They are:

1. Rectangular corrugated.
2. Rectangular with capacitive iris.
3. Coaxial.

In this window some other data are also required. These are:

1. Symmetry
Enable or disable the symmetry in the horizontal plane.
2. Impedance Transformer (TRF)
In case the Impedance Transformer is selected, the Step 5 will be used to fulfill the TRF. If not selected
Step 5 will be skipped.
3. Rounded Corners
Rounded corners will be used. The machining radius will be required in Step 4.
4. Synthesis Model
Starts with inductive element. Given a height for the input port, the next element will have a lower
height.
Starts with capacitive element. Given a height for the input port, the next element will have a larger
height.

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Fig.3: Topology selection.

3. Electrical Specifications
Just after selecting the topology options, the electrical specifications are required. Fig. 4 shows a window in which two
main areas can be distinguished. The one on the top is related to the In-Band electrical specifications and the second
one to the Out-of-Band electrical specifications.
The In-Band specifications require the highest transmission frequency (GHz) and the return loss (dB).
The Out-of-Band can be given in four different ways, an explanatory graph is shown in every case to emphasize what
is the GUI expecting.

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Fig.4: Electrical specifications.

In-Band electrical specifications includes:

Highest transmission frequency (GHz): marked in the graph as the "A" point.

Return loss (dB): Maximum value for the |S11| parameter in the in-band frequency span.

The Out-of-Band electrical specifications can be defined in 4 different ways:

Two out of band frequencies and their corresponding attenuations.

One out of band frequency, its attenuation and the section length.

Maximum attenuation frequency and the maximum attenuation level (Recommended) .

Number of sections and section length.

Due to the length compensation, the final length of each element shall be different (but close) to the one provided by
the user.

4. Geometrical parameters
Once the electrical specifications have been given, important parameters regarding the final dimensions of the
structure have to be given. Fig. 5 shows the window for the rectangular corrugated configuration.

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Fig.5: Geometrical parameters.

In this case, since a rectangular filter is being designed, the wizard requests the width of the filter. As the filter is
homogeneous all the elements will have the same width.
Secondly, one height must be given. These parameters can be specified in two ways and some restrictions to these
parameters apply.
As the filters' height increases some higher modes, which are excited in the large height elements, are not attenuated
enough at the low height elements and propagate through the structure. This causes a severe degradation in the final
response. Although the synthesis technique implements some resources to fix these problems, it is better to avoid the
use of very large heights. By very large heights can be understood values close to the standard waveguide height in
the input port of the filters.

In-Band electrical specifications includes:

By setting the first waveguide height the user can be sure about the filter ports at the end of the synthesis.
Nevertheless, nothing can be known beforehand about the minimum height that the structure will have.

The second option may be interesting when a minimum power handling capability is expected. In this case, it is
useful to set the minimum height in the whole structure.

In case of designing a coaxial filter, the wizard prompts for the external radius (which is constant in the whole filter),
and the internal radius. Analogously to the rectangular filter case, the internal radius can be specified in two ways:

Giving the first internal radius.

Giving the largest internal radius in the filter.
One important option which should not be underestimated is the "Use same input and output ports". This option
forces the filter to have and odd number of sections. Thus, once the order is determined by means of the electrical
specifications, the order is set to the nearest upper odd value.

5. Impedance Matching (optional)

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Only when the option "Attach an Impedance transformer" is selected at Step 2 the following window is prompted by
the wizard after configuring the Geometrical Parameters. As shown in Fig. 6, the input and output Impedance
Matching Networks can be configured.
Both, the input and output transformers require an output height to be fixed. The Return Loss figure should be, at lest,
3 to 5 dB greater than the value used for the filter design. Otherwise, the lowpass response is too degraded.
The number of sections and the centre frequency in each transformer can be specified by means of:

Setting a value for the order.

Indirectly by filling the bandwidth span, given by the Minimum and the Maximum Frequency, in which the
impedance transformer must work.

Fig.6: Impedance transformer window.

6. Simulation parameters
The final step in the synthesis wizard is shown in Fig. 7. At this stage some parameters to set up the FEST3D engine
must be given. The final simulation frequency span and number of points must be specified.
At the bottom of the window, the user can enable the post-optimization. By doing so, the GUI will suggest to reduce
the number of points used in the optimization. Two parameters can be optimized combined or separately. Although
the length optimization is much more faster, hence recommended when only filters are being designed, when an
impedance transformer is attached it could be required to optimize both filter sections lengths and heights.
The optimization process is launched once the synthesis finishes and will stop once the filter has been successfully
optimized.

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Fig.7: Simulation parameters.

Once the design is finished, the structure is automatically opened in the FEST3D canvas and analysed by the
electromagnetic simulator engine.

7. Running the synthesis from Command Line/Matlab/Octave

To execute the synthesis from the command line (or using the system() function in Matlab), the user should use the
following command line sequence (keep the argument order).
"$paht_to_LPF_executable/LPF" --adrFEST="$path_to_FEST_executable" --adrWork="$path_to_syn_fyle" --
prjName=#Project_Name_without_.syn_extension
An example will be shown:

Path to the LPF executable. C:\Program Files\FEST3D-2018\bin\64\LPF_2018.exe

Path to the FEST3D executable. C:\Program Files\FEST3D-2018\bin\64\fest3d.exe
Path to the syn file. C:\My LPF Tests\
Project Name. LPFTest.syn. The file name must not contain any spaces.

Pay attention to the presence of the quotation marks which must embrace all the paths which contains spaces.
"C:\Program Files\FEST3D-2018\bin\64\LPF_2018" --adrFEST="C:\Program Files\FEST3D-2018\bin\64\fest3d" --
adrWork="C:\My LPF Tests" --prjName=LPFTest

8. Design tips
In this section some tips are given to help the user to achieve satisfactory results when using the synthesis tool.

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General
When the option "Use same input and output ports" is selected, the obtained filter will have some important
properties.
This option forces the filter to have and odd number of section. Thus, once the order is determined by
means of the electrical specifications, the order is set to the nearest upper odd value.
The obtained filter will be symmetric in the propagation direction.
Due to the symmetry property, both the design and post optimization will take advantage of that and
the required time will be reduced dramatically.

Rectangular corrugated
It has been found that an increment in the height of the filter makes the final response to loose its
equiripple properties due to higher modes effects. This can be solved by reducing the initial section
height. As a beginning point, a height around 2/3 of the standard height is recommended.
Given a height, the asymmetrical geometries always have a worst frequency response than symmetrical
ones. This effect takes place because evanescent modes with lower cut-off frequencies are excited.
In short, any asymmetrical filter has an equivalent behaviour to one of the double height in a
symmetrical geometry.
When synthesizing rounded structures some restrictions apply:
The section length must be big enough to fit the machining radius.
The analysis of rounded structures is slower than its squared counterparts. Thus the optimization
process can be much more slower if the height is included as optimization parameter.
If the obtained response is not equiripple try to decrease the structure height by choosing an smaller
input waveguide height.

Capacitive iris
This topology has some useful properties which can be interesting when the filter input height is very
important. Nevertheless the out of band response, despite having a greater selectivity, is not as good as the
corrugated topology due to the proximity of the second replica.

Coaxial
Due to the TEM properties of this technology, the results which are obtained are excellent in every
configuration.

Impedance Transformers
The synthesis program performs the synthesis of the filter and the impedance transformers in a separate way.
That means that some effects cannot be taken into account at the design time. That is the reason why a post
optimization is normally required. To improve the results and obtain shorter filters follow the following tips:
The matching network requires more sections as the lower adaptation frequency approaches the
waveguide cut-off (fc) frequency. Usually the microwave systems do not use all the frequency up to "fc".
So configure your matching network to match your required span.
Set a return loss figure which is, at least, 3-5 dB greater than the one from the filter. If both elements
have the same value a longer optimization will be required and, perhaps, the desired result will not be
achieved.

References
[1] R. Levy, "Tables of Elements Values for the Distributed Low-Pass Prototype Filter", Transactions on Microwave
Theory and Techniques, vol. 13, no. 5. pages 519-535, 1965.
[2] R. Cameron, "Microwave Filters for Communication Systems", Wiley, 2007.
[3] Monerris, O.; Soto, P.; et at., "Accurate Circuit Synthesis of Low-Pass Corrugated Waveguide Filters", EuMW, 2010.

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2.3.5.2 Synthesis Tools: Band-Pass Filter

The waveguide Bandpass Filter Synthesis Tool (BPF) is an instrument to design waveguide Chebyschev bandpass
filters. BPF is able to design narrow and very wide-band bandpass filters with or without a short optimization.
This synthesis tool is capable to synthesize the following structures:

1. Inductive iris coupled filters (Figs. 1 a-b)

2. Metal insert filters (Figs. 1 c-f)
3. Inductive post filters (Figs. 1 g-j)

Interestingly, all the filters can be homogeneous or inhomogeneous. In other words, the width of the cavities can be
kept constant along the whole filter or not. Inhomogeneity is normally employed to get a better out-of-band
performance.
Furthermore, one or two obstacles can be used in the metal insert and inductive post configuration.
In this tutorial, the BPF tool shall be explained and some advices will be given.

Fig. 1 All the possible geometries that can be sinthesized.

Fig.1.a Homogeneous iris cavity filter. Fig.1.b Inhomogeneous iris cavity filter.

Fig.1.c One Metal Insert In/homogeneous. Fig.1.d Two Metal Inserts In/homogeneous.

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Fig.1.e One Metal Insert In/homogeneous. Fig.1.f Two Metal Inserts In/homogeneous.

1. Project properties
When the BPF wizard GUI is launched, the user can select between two options: to create a new project or to load a
previous existing one. Fig. 2 shows the Project Management Window. All the design files have the extension ".syn". In
this file all the synthesis project data are saved.

Fig. 2: Project Management Window.

2. Topology
Once a project has been selected, the wizard shows the three geometries which can be synthesized.

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Fig. 3.a Inductive Iris.

Fig. 3.b Metal Inserts.

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Fig. 3.c Inductive Posts.

Fig 3. shows this step and allows the user to configure some parameters which depend on the final geometry of the
structure:

Symmetry: This leads to a symmetric filter in the propagation direction. If selected, all the data retrieved in the
following steps take this into account.
Homogeneity: This sets the filter to have constant width or not. In the second case Step 5 lets the user to set
each section width.
Number of obstacles: In the metal inserts and inductive posts cases, the user can configure whether he/she
wishes to place one or two obstacles in each iris.

3. Port parameters
Once the desired topology has been selected, the input and output ports must be chosen. In Fig. 4 a list of available
standard waveguides is shown. Nevertheless, other dimensions can be set manually in case that non-standard
waveguide ports are wished.
In case that the input and output ports are different, the filter must be asymmetric and inhomogeneous. In any other
case only one port can be customized.

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Fig. 4: Port parameters.

4. Frequency parameters
Next, the frequency specifications are required. As depicted in Fig. 5, little information is needed. The purpose of this
step is to determine the order of the filter in terms of the frequency parameters.
In band parameters
Out-of-band parameters
Filter order
The estimate button uses the information gathered in the fields above to calculate the required filter order in order to
meet the specifications. Given that a Chebyshev response is being used, once the data have been filled, the estimate
button can be used.

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Fig. 5: Frequency parameters.

5. Resonator parameters
In this step, the resonators width must be filled. This window is only shown if in Step 2 the user has set the filter to be
inhomogeneous. In that case a table has to be filled with the desired widths of each resonator.
Pay attention that, if the symmetry option has also been selected, the values in the table must be symmetric as well.
When wrong values are filled an error message is shown and it will not be possible to advance to the next step.

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Fig. 6.a: Resonators width.

Fig. 6.b: Table in which the resonator widths must be filled.

6. Iris parameters
Once the previous steps have been followed, the iris dimensions can be configured (Figs. 7a-c). As expected, three
different windows are available, each of them for one topology.

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Fig. 7.a: Inductive Iris.

Fig. 7.b: Metal Inserts.

Fig. 7.c: Inductive Posts.

Each iris has, at least, two parameters, but only one can be used in the design process. The other one must be set in
this step to its final value.

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The next list shows all the parameters of each type of iris.
Inductive iris filters
Width
Thickness
Metal inserts filters
Width
Thickness
Iris thickness
Offset: Only available when two obstacles are placed in each iris. This parameter refers to the gap
between the two metal inserts.
Inductive posts filters
Displacement
Radius
When fixing the radius, these values could be used as first approach
Input waveguide Radius range
WR-187 0.8 - 4.5 mm

WR-75 0.2 - 2.5 mm

WR-34 0.1 - 1.5 mm

The fixed parameters are set using a table (see Fig 7.d). As before, the fixed parameters in the different irises must be
symmetric in case that the symmetry option has been selected.

Fig. 7.d: Table in which the iris fixed parameters must be filled.

Although the design parameters do not require any configuration, the user can set the maximum and minimum value
which it can take. Doing so, the program will try to achieve a successful synthesis in which the design parameter exists
in the region defined by the user. Those values are introduced in two tables like the one shown in Fig. 7d.

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7. Simulation parameters
The final step in the synthesis wizard is shown in Fig. 8. At this stage some parameters to set up the FEST3D engine
must be given. The final simulation frequency span and number of points must be specified.
At the bottom of the window, the user can enable the post-optimization. The optimization is done over the cavity
length and the iris design parameter.
The optimization process is launched automatically once the synthesis finishes and stops once the filter has been
successfully optimized.

Fig. 8: Simulation parameters.

Once the design is finished, the structure is automatically opened in the FEST3D canvas and analysed by the
electromagnetic simulator engine.

8. Running the synthesis from Command Line/Matlab/Octave

To execute the synthesis from the command line (or using the system() function in Matlab), the user should use the
following command line sequence (keep the argument order).
"$path_to_BPF_executable/LPF" --adrFEST="$path_to_FEST_executable" --adrWork="$path_to_syn_fyle" --
prjName=#Project_Name_without_.syn_extension
An example will be shown:

Path to the BPF executable. C:\Program Files\FEST3D\bin\32\BPF.exe

Path to the FEST3D executable. C:\Program Files\FEST3D\bin\32\fest3d.exe
Path to the syn file. C:\My BPF Tests\
Project Name. BPFTest.syn. The file name must not contain any spaces.

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"C:\Program Files\FEST3D\bin\32\BPF" --"C:\Program Files\FEST3D\bin\32\fest3d" --"C:\My BPF Tests" --BPFTest
Pay attention to the presence of the quotation marks which must embrace all the paths which contains spaces.

9. Design tips
In this section some tips are given to help the user to achieve satisfactory results when using the synthesis tool.

When a filter is being synthesized, the coupling level required in the input iris is always bigger than the level
required in the central sections. Thus, the fixed parameter in the iris must be set wisely in order not to force the
design parameter into very small or very big values.
When fixing the parameter set them in a way that the coupling level is greater for the input and output
sections and smaller for the middle ones. Doing so all the variable parameters will be much more same sized.
Next a list of tips to increase the coupling is presented in terms of the design parameter.
Window width The coupling increases as the window gets wider.
Window thickness The coupling increases as the window gets narrower.
Metal insert offset A metal insert placed in the middle of the cavity blocks the zone in which the field is
maximum. When two metal inserts are used, a bigger offset achieve a greater coupling level.
Metal insert thickness As this parameter increases much more field is blocked so less coupling level is
achieved.
Post radius A bigger radius implies less coupling level. Use the table provided in Step 6 to choose the
radius wisely.
Posts offset A post placed in the middle blocks much more EM field than the same post placed in a
side. So an offset post always achieve a greater coupling level.

References
[1] G. Matthaei, L. Young, y E.M.T. Jones, Microwave Filters, "Impedance-Matching Networks, and Coupling Structures".
Noorwood, MA: Artech House, 1980.
[2] S.B. Cohn, "Generalized design of band-pass and other filters by computer optimization," in 1974 IEEE MTT-S Int.
Microwave Symp. Dig., 1974, pp. 272-274.
[3] J.D. Rhodes, "A low-pass prototype network for microwave linear phase filters," IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory
Tech., vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 290-301, Jun. 1970.
[4] R. Cameron, "Microwave Filters for Communication Systems", Wiley, 2007.

2.3.5.3 Synthesis Tools: Dual-Mode Filter

The Dual-Mode Filter (DMF) synthesis tool is an instrument to automatically design Dual-Mode Filters. The filter
structure is composed of circular cavities connected between them through rectangular or cross irises. Additionally,
coupling and tuning screws are placed inside each cavity.
This type of filters achieves responses with 2N poles, where N is the number of cavities, due to the two degenerated
modes inside each cavity. It means that dual-mode filters are smaller (about 2 times shorter) than other classical
configurations. This feature makes them very appropriate for satellite applications, in which the weight and size
reduction of components is a must.
An example of a four-pole dual mode filter structure is shown in Fig. 1.

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Fig. 1 Four-pole filter

In this tutorial, the use of the DMF tool is explained and some pieces of advice are provided.

Step 1 - New Project / Open Project

When the DMF wizard GUI is launched, the user can select between two options: to create a new project or to reload a
previous existing one. Fig. 2 shows the Project Management Window. All the design files have the extension ".syn". In
these files the synthesis project data are saved.

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Fig. 2: Project management window.

Step 2 - Filter order, topology, mode and coupling matrix

Once a project has been selected, a window as shown in Fig. 3 appears.

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Fig. 3: General specifications window.

First of all, the filter order must be selected. This tool is capable of synthesizing dual-mode filters of 4-, 5-, 6-, 8-, 10-
or 12- order.
For 6-, 8- and 10- order filters, it is possible to choose between two different topologies: symmetric and asymmetric.
The symmetry considered here is related to the dimensions of the structure. In the symmetric topology, the filter
dimensions will be symmetric with respect to the propagation direction, and all the cavities will be connected through
cross irises. In the asymmetric topology, there is no symmetry in the structure, and some of the cavities are connected
through cross irises and other ones through slot irises.
Next, the resonant mode inside the cavities must be chosen. Modes TE111, TE112, TE113, TE114 and TE115 are
available. The last number of the mode name indicates the number of maximums of electromagnetic field in each
cavity. The higher this number is, the higher is the quality factor but the longer is the filter structure. Besides, the
mode chosen determines the position of the screws, since the screws must be located in a maximum of
electromagnetic field. Therefore, for TE111, TE113 and TE115 modes, screws will be located in the center of the cavity,
but for TE112 and TE114, screws will not be located in the center of the cavity.
Since this tool synthesizes the physical dimensions of the filter from a coupling matrix, the user can choose between
using his/her own matrix or, on the contrary, it is the program itself that calculates it. In case the coupling matrix is
autocalculated by the tool, there is the possibility to choose between calculating the matrix from a doubly or singly
terminated network. A doubly terminated filter network has resistor terminations at both ends, which is indeed the
most common case. In singly terminated filter networks, the source impedance is equal to zero. They are designed to
operate from very high or very low impedance sources and they provide an input admittance response that is very
appropriate for the design of contiguous-channel multiplexers. Note that a singly terminated single network forces an

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asymmetric topology.
Finally, the precision level must be selected. The user can choose between medium, high or very high precision. This
precision level configures the number of modes considered in the structure elements in the design process. So, the
higher the precision is, the more accurate the final design is, but the longer the simulation will be.

Step 3 - Frequency parameters

Next, frequency specifications are required. They must be introduced in a window like the one depicted in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4: Frequency parameters window.

The parameters that must be specified in this step are:

1. Center frequency of the filter

2. Bandwidth
3. Return loss
4. Number of equalization zeros
5. Equalization bandwidth or equalization zeros
6. Transmission zeros

The bandwidth is referred to the frequency band where S11 is under the level specified by the parameter "Return
loss".

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It is possible to include group delay equalization if needed. In some cases, (high order filters) it is possible to choose
the number of equalization zeros. If the number of equalization zeros is increased, the number of transmission zeros
decreases. Therefore, if a great number of equalization zeros is chosen, the group delay response will be very plane,
but the selectivity of the filter will be lower.
If equalization is needed, the user has two possibilities. The first one (Autocalculate zeros) is to introduce the
bandwidth percentage to be equalized (equalization bandwidth) and press "Calculate" so that the tool gives the
optimum equalization zeros. The second one (Manual zeros) is to select the desired position of this equalization
zeros. This tool is only capable to consider symmetric equalization zeros placed in the real axis of the s plane. For
symmetric 8-order filters equalization is only possible with 4 equalization zeros, and for symmetric 12-order filters
equalization is not available.
The number of transmission zeros will depend on the filter order and the number of equalization zeros. For 4-pole,
5-pole or 6-pole filters, there will be a maximum of two symmetrical transmission zeros, for an 8-pole or 10-
pole filters, the response will have a maximum of four transmission zeros (two symmetrical to the other two), and for
12-pole filters, there will be a maximum of six symmetrical transmission zeros (three symmetrical to the other three).
Only the zeros which are over the center frequency must be specified, the symmetrical ones are automatically
obtained.
Once all these parameters are introduced, the "Calculate matrix & Visualize" button must be clicked, and the ideal
response calculated with the information given by the user will be shown. If the theoretical response is correct, you
can proceed to the next step. Otherwise, any parameter can be changed, and the theoretical response visualized
again. Also the calculated coupling matrix is shown and it can be exported to a file from this window.
In case the coupling matrix is defined by the user, the corresponding coupling values in the matrix can be introduced,
or it can be imported form a file. Note that in this case, many of the parameters are already defined by the user-
defined coupling matrix itself, therefore, it is only necessary to indicate the center frequency and the bandwidth of the
filter to be synthesized.

Step 4 - Input/output waveguides and irises

In this step, some geometrical parameters of the filter are configured, which are:

1. Input/output waveguide ports: There is a list of available standard waveguides. Nevertheless, other dimensions
can be set manually in case that non-standard waveguide ports are wished, by selecting "Non-standard" in the
previous list.
2. Cavity radius.
3. Width, thickness, round corner radius and vertical and horizontal offset of the input/output irises.
4. Width, thickness, external round corner radius and internal round corner radius of the intercavity irises.

In this case, the window is like the one in Fig. 5.

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Fig. 5: Geometrical parameters window.

If the topology chosen has both cross and slot intercavity irises, width and thickness will be the same in both type of
irises, and round corner radius of the slot irises will be the same as the external round corner radius of the cross irises.

Step 5 - Screws
Now, some parameters related to the screws must be configured. The window will have the appearance shown in Fig.
6. The number of cavities depends on the filter order.

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Fig. 6: Screws window.

Screws used in these structures have squared cross section, so screws thickness refers to the square side length.
In practical designs, screws penetration cannot be too short due to mechanical reasons. Therefore, the user can
specify a screws minimum length, so none of them will be shorter than the dimension specified.
Finally, the user can choose the position of the screws, that is, the angle around the circumference of the circular
cavity. Screws in different cavities can be chosen separately, but some considerations must be taken into account:

1. Vertical screws can be only located in two different positions: top (90º) and bottom (270º).
2. Horizontal screws can be only located in two different positions: left (0º) and right (180º).
3. Oblique screws can be only located in four different positions: 45º, 135º, 225º and 315º.
4. The position of the oblique screws of different cavities is not independent. When two cavities are
interconnected through a slot iris, positions of their oblique screws must differ in 0º or 180º. Alternatively, if
they are connected through cross irises, the right position will vary depending on whether equalization has
been used and the number of equalization zeros employed. Therefore, the positions of the oblique screws
must be modified accordingly to this rules. Tables 1-a and 1-b shows the difference of position between each
pair of cavities depending on the filter order. A difference of position of 90º in the tables means that this
difference can be of +90º or -90º.

Table 1-a. Relative positions of the oblique screws in each pair of cavities when equalization is not used.

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Cavities
Cavities 1-2 Cavities 2-3 Cavities 3-4 Cavities 4-5
5-6

Order 4 symmetric 90º - - - -

Order 4 asymmetric 90º - - - -

Order 5 asymmetric 90º - - - -

Order 6 symmetric 90º 90º - - -

Order 6 asymmetric 90º 0º or 180º - - -

Order 8 symmetric 90º 90º 90º - -

Order 8 asymmetric 90º 0º or 180º 90º - -

Order 10 symmetric 90º 90º 90º 90º -

Order 10 asymmetric 90º 90º 90º 90º -

Order 12 symmetric 90º 90º 90º 90º 90º

Order 12 asymmetric 90º 0º or 180º 90º 0º or 180º 90º

Table 1-b. Relative positions of the oblique screws in each pair of cavities when equalization is used.

Cavities
Cavities 1-2 Cavities 2-3 Cavities 3-4 Cavities 4-5
5-6

Order 4 symmetric (2 eq. 0º or 180º - - - -

zeros)

Order 4 asymmetric (2 eq. 0º or 180º - - - -

zeros)

Order 5 asymmetric (2 eq. 0º or 180º - - - -

zeros)

Order 6 symmetric (2 eq. 0º or 180º 0º or 180º - - -

zeros)

Order 6 asymmetric (2 eq. 0º or 180º 0º or 180º - - -

zeros)

Order 8 symmetric (4 eq. 90º 0º or 180º 90º - -

zeros)

Order 8 asymmetric (2 eq. 0º or 180º 0º or 180º 90º - -

zeros)

Order 8 asymmetric (4 eq. 0º or 180º 0º or 180º 0º or 180º - -

zeros)

Order 10 symmetric (2 eq. 90º 0º or 180º 0º or 180º 90º -

zeros)

Order 10 symmetric (4 eq. 0º or 180º 90º 90º 0º or 180º -

zeros)

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Order 10 asymmetric (2 eq. 90º 0º or 180º 90º 0º or 180º -
zeros)

Order 10 asymmetric (4 eq. 90º 0º or 180º 90º 0º or 180º -

zeros)

Order 12 asymmetric (2 eq. 0º or 180º 0º or 180º 90º 0º or 180º 90º

zeros)

Order 12 asymmetric (4 eq. 0º or 180º 0º or 180º 0º or 180º 0º or 180º 90º

zeros)

Note that in 4- and 10- order filters, the asymmetric topology only is allowed if a singly terminated filter network is
used. It should also be noted that the 5- order filters always have an asymmetric topology.
Finally, everything is ready to start with the design process of the dual-mode filter.
After clicking "Finish", the design process starts. Once the design is finished, the structure is automatically opened in
the FEST3D canvas and analyzed by the electromagnetic simulator engine.
NOTE: The length of the waveguide ports is adjusted so that the theoretical and simulated phases match.

Tips and limitations

Accuracy: Tables 2-a to 2-e shows the number of modes used in each element of the filter structure
depending on the precision level chosen.

Table 2-a. Number of modes used in input/output waveguides.

Medium precision High precision Very high precision

Num. of accessible Modes 10 10 10

Num. of MoM basis functions 120 200 300

Num. of Green's function 2000 3000 6000

terms
Table 2-b. Number of modes used in input/output irises.

Medium precision High precision Very high precision

Num. of accessible Modes 30 35 45

Num. of MoM basis functions 120 200 300

Num. of Green's function 2000 3000 6000

terms

Table 2-c. Number of modes used in circular waveguides.

Medium precision High precision Very high precision
Num. of accessible Modes 20 20 20

Num. of MoM basis functions 120 200 300

Num. of Green's function 2000 3000 6000

terms

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Table 2-d. Number of modes used in cross/internal irises.
Medium precision High precision Very high precision

Num. of accessible Modes 30 35 45

Num. of MoM basis functions 120 200 300

Num. of Green's function 2000 3000 6000

terms
Table 2-e. Number of modes used in screws.

Medium precision High precision Very high precision

Num. of accessible Modes 30 35 45

Num. of MoM basis functions 120 200 300

Num. of Green's function 2000 3000 6000

terms

It has been verified that if the filter obtained with the "medium precision" or "high precision" option is synthesized
and then the modes in the "very high precision" option are chosen, the response can be recovered by changing ONLY
the length of the screws. Again, this has been done for some particular designs we have tested. It could be possible
that, in other cases, the response cannot be recovered.

Bandwidth: This design method is focused in dual mode filters with little bandwidth (less than 1% - 1.5%). If a
bandwidth over 1% is specified, it is possible than the results obtained are not good.

Return Loss: Return loss value must be between 5 dB and 40 dB. Otherwise, an error message will appear.
Transmission zeros: Obviously, all transmission zeros must be outside the pass-band. Besides, if the
transmission zero value specified is very high, a warning message will appear since it is possible to obtain a
degraded synthesis result.
Equalization zeros: This tool is only capable to consider symmetric equalization zeros placed in the real axis
of the s plane. For symmetric 8-order filters equalization is only possible with 4 equalization zeros, and for
symmetric 12-order filters equalization is not available.
Input/output waveguide ports: They must be chosen properly. Its cutoff frequency must be under the center
frequency. Apart from this, they cannot be very big, because it could happen that the necessary input/output
coupling is not achieved.
Cavity radius: This is a critical point, since the quality of the results obtained in the design process strongly
depends on this choice. Because of that, an appropriate cavity radius is automatically calculated from the
center frequency specified in the previous step. However, this is only a rough estimation. It does not mean that
with other cavity radius the algorithm does not work. Therefore, the user can modify it manually. Nevertheless,
it is recommended to choose a value close to the one automatically obtained, and if the radius specified is very
small (cutoff frequency over center frequency of the filter) or very big, an error message will appear. Besides, it
could happen that a spurious mode resonance appears near the pass band, and this is difficult to predict.
When the algorithm detects this effect, an error message is shown. An easy way to correct it is changing the
radius value.
Input/output iris offset: The synthesis method used by this tool assumes that only the vertical mode of the
circular cavity is excited by the input/output iris. Therefore, the offset of the input/output iris cannot be very
big. Otherwise, not only the vertical mode is excited, but also the horizontal mode, and the results obtained will
not be accurate enough.

Screws thickness: The right thickness needed to obtain a good design is related to the wavelength. The bigger
the wavelength is, the bigger the thickness of the screws must be. Table 3 shows some examples of right
dimensions of the screws thickness. They are for guidance only, and it is assumed that the recommended

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radius has been chosen.

Table 3. Hints to choose the dimensions of the screw thickness.

Central frequency (GHz) Cavity radius (mm) Screws thickness (mm)

4 35.1 6

6 23.4 4

8 17.5 3

10 14 2.5

12 11.7 2

14 10 1.7

16 8.8 1.5

Iris thickness: In microwaves band, typical thickness used are between 1-2 mm. If thickness specified is too
big, coupling required will not be achieved.
I/O-iris height and cross arm thickness: In this design method, couplings between input/output waveguides
and cavities are carried out by rectangular irises (a cross iris is composed by two orthogonal rectangular irises).
A rectangular iris allows coupling of modes which are orthogonal to it (for example, a horizontal iris allows
coupling of vertical modes). To achieve that, the big dimension of the rectangle must be much bigger than the
small one, to select only the corresponding mode (horizontal or vertical). Therefore, input/output-iris height
and cross-iris arm thickness cannot be too big, to avoid the coupling of the wrong mode. If this happens, an
error message will be shown, and the corresponding dimension will have to be changed.

Running the synthesis from Command Line

To execute the synthesis from the command line, the user should use the following command line sequence (KEEP the
argument order).
"$path_to_DMF_executable\DMF" "--$path_to_FEST_executable" "--$path_to_syn_file" "--
#Project_Name_without_.syn_extension" "--$path_to_cache_folder" "--(win for windows and lin for linux)" "--
nthreads=number_of_threads" "--mode=synthesis"
An example is shown:

Path to the DMF executable. C:\Program Files\FEST3D-2018\bin\64\DMF_2018.exe

Path to the FEST3D executable. C:\Program Files\FEST3D-2018\bin\64\fest3d.exe
Path to the .syn file. C:\My DMF Tests\
Project Name. DMFTest.syn.
Cache folder. C:\Documents and Settings\User\My documents\FEST3D_workspace
Operating system. Windows
Number of threads used. 2

Pay attention to the presence of the quotation marks which must embrace all the paths which contain blank spaces.
"C:\Program Files\FEST3D-2018\bin\64\DMF_2018" "--C:\Program Files\FEST3D-2018\bin\64\fest3d" "--C:\My DMF
Tests" "--DMFTest" "--C:\Documents and Settings\User\My documents\FEST3D_workspace" "--win" "--nthreads=2" "--
mode=synthesis"
It is also possible to obtain the ideal response given by certain specifications. To do that, the procedure is the same as
for the complete synthesis, but substituting "--mode=synthesis" by "--mode=theo". In this case, the output will not be

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a .fest3 file, but a .theo file which will contain the S parameters of the ideal (or theoretical) response. This output file
will be saved in the "tmp2018" folder inside the workspace folder.

Based on MATLAB (R) 9.5.0.944444. (c) 1984-2018 The Mathworks Inc.

2.3.5.4 Synthesis Tools: Impedance Transformer

The Impedance Transformer Tool (ITT) is an instrument providing automatic design of rectangular and coaxial
waveguide Chebyschev type multi-section impedance transformers.
ITT automatically determines the physical dimensions of the structure once the specifications have been given. Due to
the consideration of higher modes in the synthesis procedure, no optimization is normally required.
ITT can synthesize the following list of impedance matching networks:

Rectangular symmetric (a) and asymmetric (b) with squared corners.

Rectangular symmetric with rounded corners (c).
Coaxial (d).

Fig.1: Types of transformers that can be implemented.

The new GUI, available in FEST3D 6.5 and upper, has been organized to ease the work of the designer in the process

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of synthesizing, designing and, if required, optimizing the impedance adapter. Current version takes less than 1
minute from the very first click to the final result. The specifications are given in a 4 step wizard and allows the user to
fully costumize its own design.

1. Project properties
Each time the GUI opens, the user can select to create a new project or restore a previous one. The wizard creates a
.syn file in which all data are stored. Fig. 2 shows the Project Management Window in which a stored project can be
opened or a new one can be created.

Fig.2: Project Management Window.

In this tutorial the whole process is shown from the very beginning. So a new project option is selected.

2. Topology
The second step (see Fig. 3) shows all the available structures. They are:

1. Rectangular
2. Coaxial

At this step the user can specify whether the structure must be symmetrical or asymmetrical and, if appropriate, set
the steps to be rounded or squared.

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Fig.3: Topology selection.

3. Electrical and Geometrical parameters

Now the wizard requests the information regarding some configurable dimensions.

Fig.4: Geometrical parameters.

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In this case, the wizard requests the width of the impedance adapter (which is constant) and the input and output
waveguide height. In case that a rounded corner structure is being designed, the machining radius must be
introduced.
The electrical specificactions which must be filled in are the Return Loss dB and one of the two following options:

1. Number of elements and center frequency of the impedance adapter.

2. Frequency range in which the Return Loss specification must be accomplished. This is defined by the minimum
and maximum frequencies.

4. Simulation parameters
The final step is shown in Fig. 5. At this stage, the wizard allows the user to modify some parameters to setup the
FEST3D engine. It also allows changing the frequency sweep in which the simulation shall be performed.
At the bottom of this step the user can enable the post-optimization. It is possible to optimize the lengths
(recommended), the heights or both at the same time.

Fig.5: Simulation parameters.

Limitations:
Here some limitations of the synthesis tool are described:

Rounded Corners
The synhtesis tool automatically changes the rounded corners to square when the height difference
between the two waveguides is smaller than the radius diameter.

References

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[1] R.S. Elliot, "An Introduction to Guided Waves and Microwave Circuits", Prentice Hall 1993.

2.3.6 High Power Analysis: Multipactor and Corona.

This section describes the computation of the high-power response of the device in terms of its Multipactor and
Corona breakdown levels:

Corona analysis How to determine the corona threshold using FEST3D.

Multipactor analysis How to determine the multipactor threshold using FEST3D.

2.3.6.1 Corona Discharge Analysis

The Corona Discharge analysis section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly done when using this FEST3D feature.

New Features Which are the new capabilities of Corona module in the current version of FEST3D.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced when performing the Corona Discharge analysis, and
solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Corona Discharge How to use this feature in FEST3D from the User Interface or, in case you need, from
module the command prompt.

Output of a Corona Description of the output of a Corona Discharge simulation.

Discharge simulation

Hints Non-trivial properties of the use of the Corona Discharge module.

Definition
The Corona Discharge analysis computes the corona breakdown power threshold for a range of pressures of one or
more particular elements selected by the user from the current device. It is important to point out that Corona onset is
analyzed inside the chosen element together with the ones adjacent to it, whenever they are among the element
types where Corona analysis can be performed (see Limitations below). The breakdown power calculated is the input
power at port 1.
This module is based on the work developed under the ESA/ESTEC contract "Multipactor and Corona Discharge:
Simulation, Prediction and Design in Microwave Components" ESA/ESTEC Contract No. 16827/02/NL/EC. For a
detailed report about corona theory and results see http://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/598/1/diss_vicente.pdf.

Features
Automatic corona threshold determination.
Single-carrier simulations.
Possibility of using: Air, Nitrogen, Helium, Argon, SF6 and CO2 as filling gases.
Computation of Paschen curves for a chosen pressure range.
High pressure breakdown estimate based on empirical rule.
Corona analysis can be carried out in elements in which EM field can be computed.

Limitations

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It is only possible to analyse Corona breakdown in elements in which the EM field can be computed.
With respect to precision, on the one hand the results given by the software have limited accuracy if the pressure (in
mBar) is below the pressure at which the breakdown threshold is minimum (critical pressure). The value of such a
minimum (in mBar) is normally very close to the frequency value (in GHz).
On the other hand, depending on the particular geometry of the selected element and its adjacent ones, a too dense
mesh could be necessary in order to achieve a convergent result in the threshold breakdown power. This situation
could then lead to a memory overflow, which ultimately would fix the limit in the results' accuracy.

Errors

Errors can occur when creating the mesh. Considering a too small value of the mesh size parameter could
produce a mesh so dense that there could be a memory overflow in the numerical simulation. When this occur,
a higher value for the aforementioned parameter should be taken.
In rare cases, a particular value of the mesh size can cause a failure in the generated mesh, which will entail the
program interruption. In these situations, it is recommended to slightly change the mesh size.
In linux: when getting the error:

net.contentobjects.jnotify.linux.JNotifyException_linux: Error watching /home/omry/file : No

space left on device
The solution is running as root the following command: echo 32000 >
/proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_watches

Usage
In order to select the specific elements of the structure to analyze, the option "Corona Analysis" of their respective
dialog boxes must be marked (see for example Using the Rectangular Waveguide).The corona discharge analysis of
the device under simulation is controlled through the GUI, that allows setting the input parameters.

Input tab
First, the frequency of analysis must be selected in the input tab, as is shown in the following screen shot. It is possible
to compute corona discharge either in a frequency sweep or in a single frequency.

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Configuration tab
The configuration window permits setting the rest of the simulation parameters as is shown in the next menu:

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Minimum Pressure at which the pressure sweep will start.

pressure
(mBar)

Maximum Pressure at which the pressure sweep will finish.

pressure
(mBar)

Increment Step in pressure for the pressure sweep.

pressure
(mBar)

Gas Several gases can be considered in the simulation: dry air, nitrogen, helium, argon, SF6 and CO2.
Data for helium, argon, SF6 and CO2 were downloaded from LXCat, which is an open-access
website with databases contributed by members of scientific community.

Results obtained for SF6 and CO2 should be considered as rough approximations, due to the
lack of enough breakdown measurements to cross-check with our simulations and ensure their
acuteness.

Temperature Ambient Temperature. The default is taken as the room temperature of 293 K.
(K)

Simulation Three different simulation types can be considered:

type
Numerical, which corresponds to a numeric algorithm that uses an adapted FEM technique to
solve the free electron density continuity equation.
Analytical rule, which is detailed in high pressure analytical rule section

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Numerical & analytical, which enables both simulation types.

Initial power Power from which the threshold breakdown power is looked for. It must be set for both "Numerical"
(W) and "Numerical & analytical" simulation types. Its value may be set by the user or it may be taken
automatically (enabling the "Automatic" check box) from the high pressure analytical approach.

Precision This parameter sets the desired precision in power level for the corona breakdown onset.
(dB)

Mesh This parameter sets the maximum size of the elements that form the mesh used in the numerical
size (mm) simulation of corona analysis. Considering a small/big value of this parameter relative to the device's
dimensions will produce a dense/coarse mesh.

Video Record

If corona mode is selected videos can be saved by pressing the record button and opened at any time with the

play button
The record video dialog is the following

Video for Here, the region in which the video is going to be recorded is selected
element /
region

Number of Specifies the frame rate of the recording. The higher the smoother the animation, but bigger video
Frames / sizes will be generated.
period

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Maximum If different from zero, the video will be cropped when the video file (approximately) exceeds the set
video size size.
(MB)

Accuracy Sets the level of accuracy that will be used in the electron density computation. The higher is this
level, the more accurate, time and memory consuming is the computation.

Stop criterion Sets the criterion used in the last frame of the video to stop the computation of the electron
density:

If "Maximum electron density approx." is selected, the maximum value of the

computed electron density in the last frame of the video will be approximately the value
fixed by the user.
If "End time" is chosen, the electron density time evolution will be calculated till the time
specified by the user.

Input Power Sets the input power for this specific video recording.
(W)

Pressure Sets the pressure value for this specific video recording.
(mBar)

Frequency Sets the signal frequency for this specific video recording.
(GHz)

Other parameters are taken from current configuration, such as gas type and temperature.
When the Ok button is pressed, an output file must be selected (*.v3d extension) and the simulation starts. Results
from previous simulations will not be deleted. The video will be stored outside of the project and it is independent of
it (can be opened from other projects, for example).
Once the simulation is finished, the user can select to immediately open the video, or to open it at any time with the

play video button . The videos are opened with the 3D CAD viewer software Paraview, which allows for 3D
rotations, perspective customization and zoom on the saved animations. It also allows for exporting the animation to
popular video formats, such as avi format for instance. See the Video Tutorial for further information.

High pressure analytical rule

At high pressures, where diffusion is negligible, it is also possible to include the breakdown power threshold
corresponding to a high pressure analytical rule by enabling its corresponding check-box. The obtained results
are based on the well-known relation for ionization breakdown in air at sea level (W. Woo and J. DeGroot, Microwave
absorption and plasma heating due to microwave breakdown in the atmosphere", IEEE Physical Fluids, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 475-
487, 1984), which in the case of air corresponds to:
Ebreakdown = 30.17 (pressure^2 + 2·frequency^2)^0.5 (V/cm)
Similar analytical approaches are used for nitrogen, helium, argon, SF6 and CO2. These rules are conservative at all
pressure ranges. At high pressures, they give an estimation for the breakdown power threshold whereas at low
pressures - where diffusion losses are much more important- they only result in a very conservative breakdown onset.
It is important to point out that the results are extremely dependent on the maximum value of the Electric field
magnitude, Emax. This means that if this value changes, the high pressure analytical results will also change. Such a
modification usually occurs in problems where the maximum electric field is concentrated on small localized regions,
like in devices where metal corners are present. There are several reasons for such a variation:

Change in the mesh used to compute the EM field. If the mesh is not dense enough, the maximum value found
for Emax may not be the absolute maximum and small changes in the mesh may lead to different results.

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The use of non-convergent results for EM field calculation. If the EM field computation has not converged, a
change in the simulation parameters may lead to different values of Emax and consequently to different results.

Running Corona Discharge Analysis from command prompt

It is also possible to execute Corona Discharge Analysis from command prompt. The executable name is fest3d.exe on
Windows platform and fest3d on Unix-like platforms, and is located in the directory where FEST3D is installed (you can
view/edit the installation directory from the Preferences window). Executing the command fest3d -h (prefixed by
FEST3D installation directory) will show all command-line arguments and options supported by the EMCE, including
how to specify input and output files. A typical invocation of Corona Discharge Analysis looks as follows:
<full-path-to-fest3d/fest3d.exe> --mode=corona --chdir=<full-path-to-working-
directory> --ca=<full-path-to-cache-directory> --tmp==<full-path-to-temporal-
directory> --in=mycircuit.fest3 --out=mycircuit.corona --config_file=mycircuit.cin --
output_path==<relative-path-to-output-directory>

If any of the paths contain spaces, you should add double quotes. IE: --tmp="C:\path with spaces"
The full path is required since the EMCE will search for the license file in the same directory as the full path specified.
It is also necessary to indicate the directory where cache and the temporary files are stored (by default, cache and
temporal directories are located in FEST3D_WORKSPACE directory, but you can choose a different one). The file
mycircuit.cin keeps all configuration parameters for Corona simulation and must be created before running the
simulation from command prompt. Its format looks as follows:
begin "corona"
configuration_name "config1"
gas "air"
analysis_type "breakdown_threshold"
minimum_pressure 6
maximum_pressure 18
increment_pressure 3
initial_power 100
temperature 293.0
precision 0.1
simulation_type "numeric"
end "corona"
In the command line example given above, this file is stored in the same directory as mycircuit.fest3 file. All these
parameters are described in the Usage of Corona Discharge from User Interface.
The possibility to launch FEST3D from command line allows using it in combination with external programs. This way,
scripts to launch several executables sequentially can be generated or it can be combined with a synthesis or
optimization tool.

Output
Corona module provides the threshold breakdown power of the selected elements of the structure. The simulation
process can be visualized in the info window of the GUI where a sweep in input power is shown as the simulation runs,
indicating how the simulator tries to approach to the corona breakdown threshold level.
The results of the analysis are given both in graphic and tabular form to make their interpretation easier. There are
two tables and one graph, as can be seen in the following figure:

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In the left-hand side table the threshold breakdown power for each pressure point corresponding to a certain
element and signal is represented, which is selected by left-clicking on its corresponding cell in the upper
table. If the high pressure analytical rule has been also selected for evaluation, the table will have three
columns instead of two, where the last one corresponds to the empirical rule.

The data of the left-hand side table correspond to the Paschen curve, which is represented in the graph. If the
high pressure analytical rule is enabled, there will be two curves, one corresponding to the numerical analysis
and the other one to the analytical rule.

In the table located on the top of the results window the minimum breakdown power in the whole pressure
sweep is represented for each element analyzed and for each frequency studied. Besides, through this table the
user can handle the results shown both in the left-hand side table and the graph:
By left-clicking on a cell corresponding to a particular region both the graph and the left-side table
update their values to the current element.
By left-clicking on the cell corresponding to the signal value, the whole row is selected and the graph
shows together the Paschen curves of all the regions analyzed. With this information it is easy to
recognize which is the most critical element for Corona discharge and the minimum breakdown power
supported by the device.

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By left-clicking on the cell's name of an element, the whole column is selected and the graph shows
together the Paschen curves of all the frequencies analyzed.

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The data represented in the graph can be saved into a .png file through the button or into a .csv file through

the button .

Hints
The minimum of corona discharge breakdown occurs at pressure levels (in mBar) close to the frequency value
(in GHz). It is therefore recommended to include such a value in the pressure interval to be given.
It is necessary to carry out a convergence study of the threshold breakdown power as a function of the mesh
used in the description of the EM fields. It is advisable to perform this previous study with a single pressure,
which should be chosen close to the frequency value.
Start the process with a coarse mesh. Increase progressively the number of points in the mesh to obtain denser
meshes and compare the results. Once convergence is achieved, use the coarser mesh that involves
convergence to analyze the entire range of pressures.
It should be pointed out that for certain structures a too dense mesh, that would lead to a memory overflow,
should be required in order to achieve convergent results.

LXCat references:
Argon

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Dutton database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 09/05/2018

Jack Dutton, Survey of Electron Swarm Data, J.Phys.Chem.Ref.Data, 4, 577, 1975
Wagner, E.B., Davis, F.J., Hurst, G.S., J.Chem.Phys. 47, 3138, (1967)
Kruithof A A 1940 Physica 7 519
EHTZ database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 09/05/2018
Haefliger P, Franck C M, 2018, Detailed precision and accuracy analysis of swarm parameters from a Pulsed Townsend
experiment, Review of Scientific Instruments 89, 023114
Laplace database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 09/05/2018/p>
Nakamura, Y., Kurachi, M., J.Phys.D: Appl.Phys. 21, 718 (1988)
Kucukarpaci, H.N., Lucas, J., J.Phys.D 14, 2001 (1981);
Pack, J.L., Voshall, R.E., Phelps, A.V., Kline, L.E., J.App.Phys., 71, 5363, (1992);
IST - Lisbon database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 09/05/2018
L.L.Alves, The IST - Lisbon database on LXCat, J.Phys.Conf.Series 2014, 565, 1
Bozin J V, Jelenak Z M, Velikic Z V, Belca I D, Petrovic Z Lj and Jelenkovic B M 1996 Phys.Rev.E 53 4007
Jelenak Z M, Velikic Z B, Bozin J V, Petrovic Z Lj and Jelenkovic B M 1993 Phys.Rev.E 47 3566;

Helium

IST - Lisbon database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 29/03/2018

L.L.Alves, The IST - Lisbon database on LXCat, J.Phys.Conf.Series 2014, 565, 1
Cavalleri G 1969 Phys.Rev. 179 186;
Laplace database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 29/03/2018
DallArmi, G., Brown, K.L., Purdie, P.H. and Fletcher, J., Aust.J.Phys., 45, 185 (1992)
Pack, J.L., Voshall, R.E., Phelps, A.V., Kline, L.E., J.App.Phys., 71, 5363, (1992);
Dutton database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 29/03/2018
Jack Dutton, “Survey of Electron Swarm Data”, J.Phys.Chem.Ref.Data, 4, 577, 1975
Stern, in Proceedings of the sixth International Conference on Ionization Phenomena in Gases(Paris, 8 - 13 July 1963)
P.Hubert and E Cremieu - Alcan, eds. (Serma, Paris, 1963), Vol. 1, p. 331
Chanin, L.M.Rork, G.D., Phys.Rev. 133, A1005(1964);

SF6

CHRISTOPHOROU database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 13/02/2018

L.G. Christophorou and J.K. Olthoff (2000) Electron Interactions With SF6. Journal of physical and chemical reference
data, 29(3), p.267.
UNAM database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 16/08/2018
L. G. Christophorou and J. K. Olthoff, Electron Interactions with SF6, Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data,
Vol. 29, No. 3, pp.267 - 330 (2000);

CO2

Dutton database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 05/09/2018

Wagner, E. B., Davis, F. J., Hurst, G. S., J. Chem. Phys. 47, 3138 (1967)

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FEST3D User Manual 193
Elford, M. T., Austr. J. Phys. 19, 629 (1966)
Frommhold, L., Z. Physik 160, 554 (1960)
Pack, J. L., Voshall, R. E., Phelps, A. V., Phys. Rev. 127, 2084 (1962)
Schlumbohm, H., Z., Phys. 18 317 (1965)
Schlumbohm, H., Z. Physik 184, 492 (1965)
EHTZ database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 09/05/2018
Haefliger P, Franck C M, 2018, Detailed precision and accuracy analysis of swarm parameters from a Pulsed Townsend
experiment, Review of Scientific Instruments 89, 023114
Laplace database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 05/09/2018
Elford, M.T., and Haddad, G. N., Aust. J. Phys. 33, 517 (1980)
Roznerski W, Leja K J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 17, 279-285 (1984);
UNAM database, www.lxcat.net, retrieved on 05/09/2018
J L Hernández-Ávila, E Basurto and J de Urquijo, Electron transport and swarm parameters in CO2 and its mixtures
with SF6, Journal of Physics D, 35 2264 (2002);

2.3.6.2 Multipactor Analysis

The Multipactor analysis section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly done when using this FEST3D feature.

Features List of Features.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced when performing the Multipactor analysis, and solutions
or workarounds to them.

Using the Multipactor How to use this feature in FEST3D.

module

Output of a Multipactor Description of the output of a multipactor simulation.

simulation

Hints Non-trivial properties of the use of the Multipactor module.

Definition
The Multipactor analysis computes the multipactor breakdown power threshold of one or more particular elements of
the structure. It supports single and multi-carrier operation. The breakdown power for each carrier is calculated at
input port 1.
For a more detailed information about multipactor theory and results see:
C. Vicente, M. Mattes, D. Wolk, H. L. Hartnagel, J. R. Mosig, and D. Raboso, "FEST3D: A simulation tool for multipactor
prediction," in Workshop on Multipactor, RF and DC Corona and Passive Intermodulation in Space RF Hard- ware, pp.
11–17, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, Sept. 12-14 2005.

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S. Anza, C. Vicente, B. Gimeno, V. E. Boria, and J. Armendariz, "Long-term multipactor discharge in multicarrier
systems," Physics of Plasmas, vol. 14, pp. 082112–082112–8, Aug. 2007.
S. Anza, C. Vicente, D. Raboso, J. Gil, B. Gimeno, V. E. Boria, “Enhanced Prediction of Multipaction Breakdown in Passive
Waveguide Components including Space Charge Effects", in IEEE 2008 International Microwave Symposium , June
2008, Atlanta (Georgia), USA.
E. Sorolla, S. Anza, B. Gimeno, A.M. Perez, C. Vicente, J. Gil, F.J. Perez-Soler, F.D. Quesada, A. Alvarez, V. Boria, "An
analytical model to evaluate the radiated power spectrum of a multipactor discharge in a parallel- plate region", IEEE
Transactions on Electron Device Letters , vol.55 no. 8, pp. 2252-2258 Aug. 2008.
S. Anza, C. Vicente, J. Gil, B. Gimeno, V. E. Boria, and D. Raboso, "Non-stationary Statistical Theory for Multipactor,"
Physics of Plasmas, vol. 17, June 2010.

Features
Single-carrier and multi-carrier simulations with arbitrary number of carriers and phase schemes.
Custom SEY curves. Possibility of using Predefined SEY materials (according to ECSS standards), user defined
parameters or import from text file.
Computation of electron evolution for each applied input power.
Automatic multipactor threshold determination.
Advanced 3D output statistics with average impact energy, average SEY, and emitted electron density for the
different surfaces in the structure.
Possibility to add external uniform DC magnetic field.
Electron path algorithm with adaptive refinement which allows for faster and more accurate simulations. The
electron trajectories are now computed with a certain error introduced by the user.
Different multipactor criteria. The multipactor criteria allows for automatically stop the simulation and
decide whether there is multipactor discharge or not. The election of one or another have implications on the
accuracy and speed of the simulation. This is of special importance in multi-carrier simulations. The user can
easily change the criteria from the configuration window. The available criteria are: charge (automatic), charge
(fixed factor) and charge trend.
Impact angle dependence for SEY curves imported from text files.
Multipactor video recording feature. The user can export videos of electrons moving in a 3D structure and
open them at any time. 3D rotations, perspective customization and zoom are allowed on recorded animations.
Final export to popular video formats (such as .avi) can also be done.
Automatic power loop, in which input power levels are automatically computed to find the multipactor
threshold, and Custom power loop, in which the user can specify as many arbitrary input power levels as
desired
Multipactor analysis can be carried out in elements in which the EM field can be computed.
In addition to the magnetic case, homogeneous electric DC field can be added to the simulation.
List of SEY properties for ECSS standard materials and Aerospace Corporation aluminium (TOR-2014).

Limitations
Due to numerical limitations on the electron path integration, in rare cases and for very high fields, false single-
surface discharges may occur at very low multipactor orders (below 0.05). These are easily identified and must not be
taken as real discharges. If this occurs, please contact technical support for possible solutions to this issue.

Errors
Due to the nature of the phenomenon, the results can slightly differ from simulation to simulation. This deviation can
be considered an intrinsic error caused by the phenomenon itself. However, this error is normally so small that it is not
relevant for practical applications.

Usage

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A step-by-step guide on how to use the multipactor analysis module is also available in Tutorial 7.Multipactor
Analysis.
In order to select the specific elements of the structure to analyze, the option "Multipactor Analysis" of their respective
dialog boxes must be marked (see for example Using the Rectangular Waveguide).
The multipactor analysis of the device under simulation is controlled with the Execute -> High power analysis menu.
First, the frequency of analysis must be selected in the input tab, as is shown in the following screenshot:

Input tab
In the input tab of the multipactor analysis, the properties of the input signal are configured such as simulation mode
(single or multi-carrier) and frequency of operation.

Single If single carrier mode is selected, the simulation will be done with only one carrier at the specified
carrier frequency

Multicarrier In this mode, an arbitrary number of carriers are combined at the input port. The frequency, power
mode and relative phase of each one can be configured independently.

Single carrier mode

This section configures the input signal when single carrier mode has been selected.

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Single Specify a single frequency point for the simulation.

frequency
(GHz)

Frequency Specify a frequency sweep (start, end and number of points) for the simulation.
loop

Automatic If selected, the multipactor module will search automatically for the multipactor threshold, starting
power from the initial power and stopping when the desired precision is reached. Bisection method is
loop employed, and the multipactor criterion (to determine whether there has been a discharge or not) is set
by the Multipactor criterion in the Configuration tab below. The parameters are:

Precision (dB): This parameter sets the precision in power level desired for the multipactor
breakdown onset. The default is 0.1 dB.
Initial power (W): This will be the initial input power used to search the multipactor breakdown
onset. This can be changed to an input power level close to the final breakdown onset if some
information is known a priori.
Maximum power (W): Sets the maximum allowed power for multipactor breakdown
search. The default is 100 kW.

Custom If selected, the input power steps are selected by the user by pressing the edit button, see the figure
power below. A multipactor simulation will be done for each step. The criterion for stopping the simulation
loop can be chosen from:

Stop based on multipactor criterion: The simulation will stop if a discharge (or not discharge)

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is detected, using the selected criterion in the Configuration tab below.
Stop on fixed time: The simulation time is fixed, no matter whether there is a discharge or not,
unless the number of electrons decreases to 0, or reaches the maximum allowed number of
electrons (1e15 for numerical stability reasons).

If Custom power loop is selected, the user can choose the input power steps by pressing the edit button. The
following window appears,

where arbitrary number of power steps with arbitrary power value can be defined.

Multicarrier mode

This section configures the input signal when multicarrier mode has been selected.
In this mode an arbitrary number of carriers is combined at the input port of the device. The frequency, initial power
and relative phase of each carrier can be individually configured. The output of the simulation is the breakdown power
per carrier for the selected element. Notice that the power ratio of each carrier is fixed by the initial power per carrier
set in the simulation parameters (for example if the initial power of the first carrier is twice the others, all the tested
powers per carrier in the simulation will keep this ratio).

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Number of Specify the number of rows in the carrier definition table. When apply button is pressed, the table
carriers changes its dimension to the specified value.

Import Imports a carrier table from a file in ECSS Multipactor Tool format.
from
Multipactor
Tool

Carrier It specifies the configuration of each carrier, including frequency, initial power and relative phase. The
table "ON" check in the right side allows for switching on and off each carrier individually. Notice that the
power ratio for all carriers during the simulation is constant and fixed by the initial power per carrier
set in this table.

Apply same When apply button is pressed, the value in this field is applied to all carriers.
power to
all (W)

Maximum Sets the maximum allowed power per carrier for multipactor breakdown search.
power per
carrier (W)

Precision This parameter sets the precision in power level desired for the multipactor breakdown onset. The
(dB) default is 0.1 dB.

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Configuration tab
The configuration window permits setting the rest of the simulation parameters as is shown in the next menu:

Material

Allows you to choose metals with well studied Secondary Electron Yield (SEY) properties. It also allows you to create
new materials and save them for future simulations.

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Material name Six materials are included with their SEY properties. User defined materials can be
saved and loaded.

Maximum secondary Maximum SEY of the material. Typical values are between 1.5 and 3.
emission coefficient

Secondary emission SEY of elastically reflected electrons at low impact energies.

coefficient below lower
crossover

Lower crossover electron The lowest electron impact energy at which the SEY crosses the value of 1. This is a
energy (eV) typical value between 20 and 45 eV for the materials for space applications.

Electron energy at The electron impact energy at which the SEY is maximum. Typical values are
maximum SEY (eV) between 150 and 300 eV.

It is also possible to use a custom SEY by importing it from an input file. The file must be in CSV (comma-separated-
value) format, which is text file with .csv extension that consists on tabulated data. The SEY file should have 2 columns:
the first one contains the electron impact energy in eV and the second one corresponds to the SEY of the material at
normal incidence. FEST3D will automatically add the angle dependence for each electron impact. For energies outside
the range defined in the input file, the SEY will be set to 0.

Press the button with the icon close to a SEY definition to open a new window with a plot of the selected SEY
curve.

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The selection and definition of the SEY curve has an important effect on the multipactor simulation. See some
practical considerations when selecting the material properties.

DC fields
By selecting the B fields or the E fields check boxes, uniform external DC fields are added to the simulation. The
uniform B and E DC fields are given in Tesla and V/m respectively.

Simulation preferences

Initial This defines the initial number of electrons launched in a particular component element. This number
number of can vary in order to obtain reliable results. The default value of 100 electrons should be quite accurate
electrons in single-carrier mode and in waveguide elements where the parallel plate approximation holds.
However, if the length of the waveguide element is of the order of its height more electrons could be
necessary. For a complete simulation, the best idea is to start with a low number of electrons in order
to get a fast idea of the approximated breakdown power level. After that, more electrons can be
launched using an input power level close to the one obtained in the simulation with few electrons. In
general, multi-carrier simulations need a higher number of initial electrons to reach convergence. In
this case, an initial number of electrons of 500 is a good starting point.

Mesh This parameter sets the density of the 3D mesh of the element under study. The mesh size sets the
Size (mm) maximum length of the edges of the tetrahedra in the mesh. The smaller the value the denser the
mesh, the higher the precision but the longer the simulation. A good starting point is to set this value
to one tenth of the largest dimension.

Multipactor Multipactor criterion is the mechanism that automatically decides whether there is a discharge or not
criterion at a certain input power and stops the simulation. Then, next power is simulated until the precision is

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by: reached. There are three different criteria, all of them based on the electron population:
Single-carrier operation

Charge (automatic), only for single-carrier: This is the default mode. At each RF half-cycle,
the ratio between the current number of electrons and the initial ones is checked. This
criterion establishes a factor depending on the current number of simulated half-cycles. If the
number of electrons is above such a factor, multipactor is detected. Basically, it sets higher
factors for lower number of half-cycles (beginning of the simulation) and more relaxed ones for
larger number of half-cycles (longer simulations). This is done in order to avoid false detection
during the initial stages of the simulation. Additionally, if after a certain number of cycles, the
ratio is below a certain number, the simulation is stopped and no multipactor is detected. This
is done in order to avoid excessively large simulations in which there is not a clear electron
growth.
Charge (fixed factor): It is equivalent to the automatic one, where the factor is not automatic
but set by the user. Gives more control on the simulation but needs of more trim and
knowledge from the user side. It does not have any check for low number of electrons. Only
populations decreasing to zero are considered no discharges. Therefore there is a risk of long
simulations.
Charge trend: It fits the electron evolution to a exponential curve and checks whether there is
positive or negative growth. It detects both discharges and no discharges. In general, this
method detects multipactor much faster than the others. However, it may suffer from higher
variability between consecutive simulations. In such cases, it is advisable to use a high number
of initial electrons.

Multi-carrier operation

Charge (fixed factor): It is equivalent to the single-carrier one.

Charge trend: This method, takes the advantage of the multi-carrier envelope periodicity. First,
it checks the electron ratio. If it is higher than 1e7, multipactor is detected. In addition, it checks
inter-period accumulation. This is, it stores the maximum population at each period of the
envelope and compares it with the initial one. If noticeable growth is detected, then there is a
multipactor discharge.

Other simulation options

Write It writes advanced statistics in paraview mesh format that can be visualized from the results tab (see
3D output section):
stats
Average SEY: It shows the average SEY of the impacting electrons in each surface of the mesh.
Average Impact Energy: It shows the average impact energy of the impacting electrons in each
surface of the mesh.
Impact Density: It shows the electron impact density (impacts/m2) for each surface of the mesh.
Emission Density: It shows the electron emission density (emitted electrons/m2)for each surface of
the mesh. It can be positive (more electrons were emitted than absorbed) or negative (more
electrons were absorbed than emitted).

Restore Gives back to the configuration parameters used in the last simulation.
values

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Advanced Dialog

The Advance Dialog allows for setting extra simulation parameters which are not usually needed for typical
simulations but that provides extra control for advanced users.

The Advance Dialog allows for setting the following parameters:

Relative error for adaptive electron path integration: This parameter specifies the maximum error in the
electron path integration. The FEST3D electron tracker incorporates an automatic step refinement for each
electron at each time step. This implies that the integration step for electrons in high field regions will
be smaller than for those in low field regions, ensuring a maximum error for all of them. This process is
iterative. Large values imply less accurate simulations but less adaptive iterations and thus faster simulations.
Small values imply more accurate but slower simulations. The default value (1%) is normally a good trade-off
for most cases.
Homogeneous initial electron distribution: Normally, initial electrons are located on high electric field
locations on metallic surfaces. If this option is checked, initial electrons will distribute uniformly on all surfaces.
This can be useful in situations where high electrical field is present in reduced areas (metal edges)
and multipactor is known to occur in other places.

Video Record

If multipactor mode is selected videos can be saved by pressing the record button and opened at any time with

the play button

The record video dialog is the following

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Video for element / Here, the region in which the video is going to be recorded is selected
region

Number of Frames / Specifies the frame rate of the recording. The higher the smoother the animation, but bigger
period video sizes will be generated.

Maximum video If different from zero, the video will be cropped when the video file (approximately) exceeds
size (MB) the set size.

Start time (ns) Sets the initial time for video recording.

End time (ns) Sets the maximum time for video recording.

Input Power (W) Sets the input power for this specific video recording.

Frequency (GHz) Sets the signal frequency for this specific video recording.

Other parameters are taken from current configuration, such as SEY definition, number of electrons, multipactor
criterion, single or multi-carrier simulation, etc . Autofill button completes the fields based in the last simulation (using
results such as breakdown power, multipactor order, etc.
When the Ok button is pressed, an output file must be selected (*.v3d extension) and the simulation starts. Results
from previous simulations will not be deleted. The video will be stored outside of the project and it is independent of
it (can be opened from other projects, for example).
Once the simulation is finished, the user can select to immediately open the video, or to open it at any time with the

play video button . The videos are opened with the 3D CAD viewer software Paraview, which allows for 3D
rotations, perspective customization and zoom on the saved animations. It also allows for exporting the animation to
popular video formats, such as avi format for instance. See the Video Tutorial for further information.

Running Multipactor Analysis from command prompt

It is also possible to execute Multipactor Analysis from command prompt. The executable name is fest3d.exe on
Windows platform and fest3d on Unix-like platforms, and is located in the directory where FEST3D is installed (you can
view/edit the installation directory from the Preferences window). Executing the command fest3d -h (prefixed by

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FEST3D installation directory) will show all command-line arguments and options supported by the EMCE, including
how to specify input and output files. A typical invocation of Multipactor Analysis looks as follows:
<full-path-to-fest3d/fest3d.exe> --mode=multipactor --chdir=<full-path-to-working-
directory> --ca=<full-path-to-cache-directory> --tmp==<full-path-to-temporal-
directory> --in=mycircuit.fest3 --out=mycircuit.multipactor --
config_file=mycircuit.min --output_path==<relative-path-to-output-directory>

If any of the paths contain spaces, you should add double quotes. IE: --tmp="C:\path with spaces"
The full path is required since the EMCE will search for the license file in the same directory as the full path specified.
It is also necessary to indicate the directory where cache and the temporary files are stored (by default, cache and
temporal directories are located in FEST3D_WORKSPACE directory, but you can choose a different one). The file
mycircuit.min keeps all configuration parameters for Multipactor simulation and must be created before running the
simulation from command prompt. Its format looks as follows:
begin "multipactor"
begin "power_steps"
num_steps 1
100.0
end "power_steps"
multipactor_criterion_sc "charge_automatic"
criterion_fixedfactor_sc 100.0
multipactor_criterion_mc "charge_fixed_factor"
criterion_fixedfactor_mc 100.0
material_name "silver"
ext_DC_BField 0
B_DC_x 0.0
B_DC_y 0.0
B_DC_z 0.0
ext_DC_EField 0
E_DC_x 0.0
E_DC_y 0.0
E_DC_z 0.0
write_3D_stats 0
m_pdf_report 0
maximum_secondary_emission_coefficient 2.3
secondary_emission_coefficient_below_lower_crossover 0.5
lower_crossover_electron_energy 35.0
electron_energy_at_maximum_SEY 165.0
initial_number_of_electrons 500
sc_precision 0.1
sc_initial_power 500.0
sc_max_power 1000000.0
iteration_type "bisection"
custom_fixed_time 1
custom_max_time 1.0E-8
mc_precision 0.1
mc_initial_power 0.0
mc_max_power 1000000.0
SEE_statistics "maxwellian_velocity"
path_rel_precision 1.0
homogeneous_emission 0
metallic_contours 0
analysis_type "breakdown"

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sey_type "vaughan"
end "multipactor"
In the command line example given above, this file is stored in the same directory as mycircuit.fest3 file. All these
parameters are described in the Usage of Multipactor Discharge from User Interface.
The possibility to launch FEST3D from command line allows using it in combination with external programs. This way,
scripts to launch several executables sequentially can be generated.

Output
The multipactor module provides the input power breakdown threshold per carrier of the selected elements of the
structure. The simulation process can be visualized in the info window of the main FEST3D canvas, where a sweep in
input power is shown as the simulation runs, showing how the simulator tries to approach the breakdown threshold.
Multipactor results are given both in tabular and graphic form. They can be seen in run-time through the results
window, which looks as follows:

There are two tables and one graph:

1. The left-hand side table shows for each analyzed power whether there has been breakdown or not. When
breakdown occurs for a certain input power, the multipactor order is given in the second column of the table
whereas when there is no breakdown the message "No break" appears.
2. In the graph it is represented the electron evolution with time for each power analyzed. This way it is easy to
follow the increase/decrease of the electron population as the simulation runs. When left-clicking on the
cell corresponding to a certain power of the left-side table, its corresponding curve is highlighted on the graph
for a better recognition.
3. The upper table contains the threshold breakdown power for each element under study. Through this table the
user can handle the results shown both in the left-side table and the graph:
By left-clicking on a cell corresponding to a particular element both the graph and the left-side table

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update their values to the current element.
By right-clicking on a cell corresponding to a particular element an option "Show 3D Stats" appears. This
option launches a paraview window and shows the position of the electrons in the structure, and the 3D
stats, if enabled in the configuration tab (see 3D statistics section).
By left-clicking on the cell corresponding to the signal value, the whole row is selected and a bar
diagram appears in the graph comparing the threshold breakdown power for all elements. With this
information it is easy to recognize which is the most critical element for Multipactor and the minimum
breakdown power supported by the device.

The data represented in the graph can be saved into a .png file through the button or into a .csv file through

the button .

3D statistics
As explained in Output section above, when a cell of the general results table (upper table) is right-clicked, a context
menu indicating "Show 3d Stats" appears.

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If clicked, a Paraview window opens with the 3D statistics of the multipactor simulation associated to the region and
the signal of the cell. Different datasets are present:

Init_Elec_Positions.vtu: Initial electron positions at time t=0.

Final_Elec_Positions_X_W.vtu: Electron positions at the moment of the discharge for input power X W. This
dataset is only present if a multipactor was detected at this power during the simulation.
Mesh3DFields_X_GHz.vtu: Electromagnetic fields for the region at the input frequency X GHz
Surface3D_stats_X_W.vtu: Collection of 3D surface statistics for the region at the specific input power of X W.
These datasets are only present if the option "3D statistics" is enabled in the configuration tab. Different
statistics can be visualized for this dataset:
Avg_Impact_energy: For each of the surfaces (triangles) in the region, this represents the average
impact energy of all impacting electrons.
Avg_SEY: For each of the surfaces (triangles) in the region, this represents the average SEY value of all
impacting electrons.
Emission_Density: For each of the surfaces (triangles) in the region, this represents the total number of
emitted electrons minus the total number of absorbed electrons, divided by the area of the surface. The
units are electrons / m2. Therefore, a positive number indicates that surface contributed positively for
the discharge (source) and a negative number indicates that it contributed negatively to the discharge
(sink).
Impact_Density: For each of the surfaces (triangles) in the region, this represents the total number
of impacting electrons divided by the area of the surface. The units are impacts / m2.

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Hints
To speed up the simulation use the multipactor module with the minimum accuracy possible to have a rough
idea about the breakdown level. However, the EM fields do normally need more modes for convergence, so it
is recommended to increase the number of accessible modes in the element where multipactor is going to be
computed.
Set the multipactor criterion to charge-trend. This will speed up the simulations significantly. This is of special
importance in multi-carrier simulations. Only if high variability is found between simulations change back to
charge (automatic), or charge (fixed factor) criteria.
Set the frequency to one single value in each simulation. Otherwise, many calculations are done.

2.3.6.2.1 Multipactor Practical Considerations

Secondary Emission Yield (SEY)
The multipactor discharge is a complex physical phenomenon which is strongly related to many factors. Concretely,
the most important one is the Secondary Emission Yield (SEY) of the surfaces of the device.
The correct modeling of the SEY properties of the surface is crucial for having reliable simulations. FEST3D multipactor
module, allows for using custom SEY parameters or even import ASCII SEY definition files (see material definition).
Unfortunately, in the real world, there is a high uncertainty with the real values of the SEY:

First of all, the SEY of a certain surface depends not only on the material itself but on the microscopic
roughness, impurities, cleanness, and oxidization processes. This means that there are no "universal" SEY
curves for the different materials. For example the SEY of the silver coating of a company may differ from the
SEY of the silver coating of another company.

In addition, there are more caveats. The SEY properties of a material may change with time in which is
known as Ageing process. That means that a certain sample may present important deviations of the SEY

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measured at a particular time, and the SEY measured some time later. In [1] it has been reported the variations
of the SEY during 6 and 18 months of many types of coatings coming from different companies. As a result, it
has been observed that the Ageing can cause an important variation in the multipactor breakdown (2dB-7dB).

See below an example in Table 1, where the measured SEY properties of silver coatings coming from different
companies are compared (extracted from [3], company names are confidential). A big difference can be observed.
Values measured at different moments are also presented, showing a noticeable variation.

Table 1: Comparison of Silver SEY for different companies and variation with time (Ageing).

Initial After 6 months After 18 months

E1 SEYmax Emax E1 SEYmax Emax E1 SEYmax Emax

Company1 20 2.8 380 20 3.1 298 20 3.1 268

Company2a 40 1,9 410 29 2,1 322 24 2,6 288

Company2b 44 2,0 484 39 2,3 376 39 2,2 376

Company3 43 1,7 210 34 2,1 366 34 2,1 385

With all this in mind, the engineer must interpret the breakdown discharges given by the software with caution,
expecting some margin in experimental measurements. Our recommendation is to do a SEY sensitivity analysis,
simulating the same structure with different SEY curves, to see the impact on the breakdown power, since this
impact will strongly depend on the particular component under analysis.

Standard SEY materials

FEST3D includes typical SEY parameters for most relevant materials, extracted from European ECSS standard [2]
and American Aerospace Corp. standard [3]. Both standards give worst-case multipactor breakdown charts which may
be useful to easily estimate the breakdown levels for the parallel-plate case. For real structures, numerical simulation
with FEST3D provides more accurate results.
The ECSS standard figures correspond to different materials and come from the fitting of the multipactor breakdown
results to a particular test campaign done in [4]. For that reason, numerical simulations with FEST3D (with simple
structures, close to parallel-plate geometry) and ECSS SEY parameters, provide results similar to those of the ECSS
standard.
In turn, the SEY parameters provided by the Aerospace standard do not correspond to real measurements, but
correspond rather to a single material which represents theoretically the worst-case (lowest breakdown levels). On the
other hand, the Aerospace Corp. standard is based on the classical multipactor theory for parallel plates without
experimental data fitting. As a result, numerical simulations with FEST3D (with simple structures, close to parallel-plate
geometry) and the Aerospace Corp. SEY, provide more realistic (higher) breakdown levels. Fig. below shows the
difference (around 3 dB).

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References
[1] ESA-ESTEC TRP AO/1-4978/05/NL/GLC "SEY Database", Final Report, December 2011.
[2] "Space Engineering: Multipacting Design and Test", volume ECSS-20-01A, edited by ESA-ESTEC. ESA Publication
Division, The Netherlands, May 2003.
[3] AEROSPACE REPORT NO. TOR-2014-02198, "Standard/Handbook for Radio Frequency (RF) Breakdown Prevention
in Spacecraft Components"
[4] A. Woode and J.Petit. "Diagnostic investigations into the multipactor effect, susceptibility zone measurements and
parameters affecting a discharge". Technical report, ESTEC working paper No. 1556, Noordwijk, Nov. 1989.

2.3.7 Export tools

This section describes the export tools present in FEST3D. There exist 4 different exportations:

Export Project to CST MWS® 2019: One may generate a CST Microwave Studio® project from a FEST3D
project. For this purpose, one may:

Open in FEST3D the. fest3 file that you want to export.

Go to Export-> Export Project to CST MWS® 2019. The following window will pop up.

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You may choose the exportation units, as well as the type of solver to be used in CST MWS®.

Once you click the OK button, the corresponding .cst file will be generated. You may then open it in
CST Studio®.

Export 3D geometry (closed ports): This option allows exporting the complete device as a single block to a
Standard ACIS Text (SAT) file. Additionally, the existing dielectric volumes will be individually included in the
SAT file as well. The geometry generated by FEST3D considers that all input/output ports are closed, as mere
walls of the whole circuit.

Export 3D geometry building blocks (closed ports): This option allows exporting the device to a Standard
ACIS Text (SAT) file. By using this option, the different elements used to build the device in the FEST3D
schematics will be embedded in the SAT file as different ACIS bodies. The geometry generated by FEST3D
considers that all input/output ports are closed, as mere walls of the whole circuit.

No information about dielectric objects is given in this option. Thus, if the user intends to simulate the
exported geometry with another CAD tool, the dielectric parts must be specified manually inside the new
software, as well as the possibility of using them as input/output ports, before performing any analysis.

Export Results to SNP: Converts the FEST3D output file to TOUCHSTONE format. The generated file has the
same name as the original .fest3 file, but with snp extension.

2.3.8 CLI
The executable file to launch FEST3D in command-line mode can be found in the installation directory of FEST3D. The file is different depending on the
platform where it is being used:

FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat for Windows platforms

fest3d.exe for Linux platforms.

The executable can be invoked with different combinations of options. Options can be:

optional (enclosed with square brackets "[ ]" ),

required (shown between parens "( )" ) or
mutually exclusive (separated by pipes " | ").

All options are required by default, if not included in brackets "[ ]". However, sometimes options are marked explicitly as required with parens "( )". For
example, when they belong to a group of mutually-exclusive or mutually-dependent options.
Together, these elements form valid usage patterns, each starting with FEST3D executable.

Usage patterns
FEST3D has two patterns for different usages in command-line mode:

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FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat --help To show the usage and all comand-line options

FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat To launch FEST3D in different modes

[ (-Z | -S | -Y) ]

[--mode= (sparameter | emfield | visualization)]

--chdir=<dir>

--in=<file>

--out=<file>

[--licenseServer=<port@ip_address | port@hostname>]

[--nthreads=n]

[other options depending on mode]

Options
The table below collects FEST3D command-line options in both long and short forms together with their description. Options with arguments are followed
by "arg" in the table.

Option Usage and meaning

--help [-h] prints help usage.

--licenseServer = <port@ip_address | Set the address of the license server, typically 27000@localhost for Node-locked License or
port@hostname> 27000@ip_address for LAN License. If it is not set, FEST3D will search for a valid license.

ANALYSIS OR EXPORT

--mode=<mode> define type of analysis. <mode> can be:

sparameter (default)
emfield
multipactor
corona
visualization
exportfile
exportfileblocks
exportcst
export_emfield

*1 IF --MODE IS NOT WRITTEN, IT WILL BE ASSUMED "--mode=sparameter"

CHARACTERIZATION

-Z calculate multi-mode impedance matrix Z

-S calculate multi-mode scatter matrix S

-Y calculate multi-mode admittance matrix Y

MANDATORY PARAMETERS FOR ANY TYPE OF

LAUNCH

--chdir=<dir> set working directory

--in=<file> set .fest3 input file

--out=<file> set output file

[--nthreads=<value>] set number of threads used in the calculation. Although it is optional, it is heavily recommended
to use it. Default value is 1

EXTRA ARGUMENTS
DEPENDING ON SIMULATION
MODE

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EMFIELDS parameters

--override_frequency_mode=<f> Specifies the frequency point in which the electromagnetic fields will be calculated. The value is in
GHz and must be a non-negative

MULTIPACTOR AND CORONA SIMULATIONS

--chdirHP=<dir> set working directory for HP simulation (relative to chdir)

--output_path=<file> path relative to chdir where High Power simulation stores output data

--config_file=<file> path and file name (relative to chdir) where High Power (Corona/Multipactor) input parameters
are defined

EXPORTATION

--efile=<file> path and name of the file where the export will be created

--eunits=<type> set the type of units to which export the circuit. Types can be meters, mm (default), inches

--esatversion=<value> indicates the version of ACIS in which the exported SAT file will be written. By defalt is 28.0

EXTRA MODIFIERS

CACHE MODIFIERS
--disable_init_lastsimpr disable use/creation of cache files

OTHER MODIFIERS
-verbose=<LEVEL> set mildest severity <LEVEL> that is reported (default: info)

Launching mode examples

S-PARAMETER LAUNCH
FORMAL <installation_path/FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat>
LAUNCH
--chdir="<folder_containing_fest3d_file>"
--in=<name>.fest3
--licenseServer=27000@localhost
--out=<name>.out
--nthreads=<number>

EXAMPLE "C:\Program Files (x86)\FEST3D-2019\FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat" --

chdir="D:\fest3d_wspace2019\Examples\Analysis\Rectangular\Bandpass\Bandpass" --in=bandpass.fest3 --licenseServer=27000@localhost --
out=bandpass.out --nthreads=4

EM-FIELDS LAUNCH
FORMAL <installation_path/FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat>
LAUNCH
--chdir="<folder_containing_fest3d_file>"
--in=<name>.fest3
--licenseServer=27000@localhost
--nthreads=<number>

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--mode=emfield
--override_frequency_mode="<frequency_for_evaluating_fields_in_GHz>"

EXAMPLE "C:\Program Files (x86)\FEST3D-2019\FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat" --

chdir="D:\fest3d_wspace2019\Examples\Analysis\Rectangular\Bandpass\Bandpass" --in=bandpass.fest3 --licenseServer=27000@localhost --
nthreads=4 --mode=emfield --override_frequency_mode=13.0

EXPORTATION LAUNCH
FORMAL <installation_path/FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat>
LAUNCH
--chdir="<folder_containing_fest3d_file>"
--in=<name>.fest3
--licenseServer=27000@localhost
--out=<messages_outputfile>
--mode=exportfile
--esatversion=<sat_version>
--efile=<path\sat_filename>.sat
--eunits=<units>

EXAMPLE "C:\Program Files (x86)\FEST3D-2019\FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat" --

chdir="D:\fest3d_wspace2019\Examples\Analysis\Rectangular\Bandpass\Bandpass" --in=bandpass.fest3 --out=bandpass.messages --
licenseServer=27000@localhost --mode=exportfile --esatversion=27.0 --efile="D:\fest3d_wspace2019\tmp2019\3dview.sat" --eunits=mm

MULTIPACTOR LAUNCH
FORMAL <installation_path/FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat>
LAUNCH
--chdir="<folder_containing_fest3d_file>"
--chdirHP=<name>
--in=<name>.fest3
--licenseServer=27000@localhost
--nthreads=<number>
--config_file=<relative_path_to_min_file>
--output_path=<relative_path_hp_output>
--mode=multipactor

EXAMPLE "C:\Program Files (x86)\FEST3D-2019\FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat" --

chdir="D:\fest3d_wspace2019\examples\HP\Multipactor\single_carrier\lowpass --chdirHP=multipactor_lowpass --
licenseServer=27000@localhost --in=multipactor_lowpass.fest3 --nthreads=4 --config_file=sims/m_confs/conf1/conf1.min --
output_path=sims/m_confs/conf1/out --mode=multipactor

CORONA LAUNCH
FORMAL <installation_path/FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat>
LAUNCH
--chdir="<folder_containing_fest3d_file>"
--chdirHP=<name>
--in=<name>.fest3
--licenseServer=27000@localhost
--nthreads=<number>
--config_file=<relative_path_to_cin_file>
--output_path=<relative_path_hp_output>
--mode=corona

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EXAMPLE "C:\Program Files (x86)\FEST3D-2019\FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat" --chdir="D:\fest3d_wspace2019\examples\HP\Corona\lowpass_air" --
chdirHP=corona_lowpass --in=corona_lowpass.fest3 --nthreads=4 --config_file=sims/c_confs/conf1/conf1.cin --
output_path=sims/c_confs/conf1/out --mode=corona --licenseServer=27000@localhost

OPTIMIZER LAUNCH
FORMAL <installation_path/OPT3D_CLI_launcher.bat>
LAUNCH
--chdir="<folder_containing_fest3d_file>"
--in=<name>.fest3
--out-curr=<output_current_step>
--out-prev=<output_previous_step>
--engine=<path/FEST3D_CLI_launcher.bat>
--
--licenseServer=27000@localhost
--nthreads=<number>

EXAMPLE "C:\Program Files (x86)\FEST3D-2019\OPT3D_CLI_launcher.bat" --

chdir="D:\fest3d_wspace2019\Examples\Analysis\Circular\Page_URSI_2001\Page_URSI_2001_to_optimize" --
in=Page_URSI_2001_to_optimize.fest3 --out-
curr="D:\fest3d_wspace2019\Examples\Analysis\Circular\Page_URSI_2001\Page_URSI_2001_to_optimize\Page_URSI_2001_to_optimize.out" --
out-
prev="D:\fest3d_wspace2019\Examples\Analysis\Circular\Page_URSI_2001\Page_URSI_2001_to_optimize\Page_URSI_2001_to_optimize.out.prev"
--engine=C:\Program Files (x86)\FEST3D-2019\bin\64\fest3d -- --licenseServer=27000@localhost --nthreads=4

2.4 Elements Database

This section describes the components supported by FEST3D, as well as the dialog boxes used to view and edit them.
In FEST3D, the term "element" and its synonim "component" indicates each elementary building block of a circuit. The
elements supported by FEST3D are divided in two classes: waveguides and discontinuities. Waveguides can only be
connected to discontinuities, and vice-versa.
Each element has its own reference system, whose position and orientation depend, firstly, on the type of component
and, ultimately, on the element's location inside the current circuit. On the one hand, discontinuities set the reference
system of each one of their ports. On the other hand, taking into account that the reference systems of the
components connected to each other must match, waveguides' reference system is settled by its counterpart located
in the discontinuities connected to them. However, there is an ambiguity in the determination of elements' coordinate
systems, in general, which is solved by setting the global property reference port 3D. Once we select an I/O port
number for this global property, a reference system is anchored to this I/O waveguide port and the ambiguity of the
whole circuit is solved through the ports' matching between waveguides and discontinuities.
The Elements Database section contains the following topics:

Waveguides Definition of waveguide, and the list of waveguides supported by FEST3D.

Discontinuities Definition of discontinuity, and the list of discontinuities supported by FEST3D.

Symmetries Description of the symmetries, and the list of the available ones for each element.

2.4.1 Waveguides
This section describes all the waveguides supported by FEST3D, and how they can be used as building blocks to

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compose circuits.
The waveguides section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a FEST3D waveguide, and how it can be used in a circuit.

Waveguides List All waveguides supported by FEST3D.

Common The common properties to all waveguides, their meaning and the dialog box to view/edit
Properties them.

Definition
In FEST3D, a waveguide is an element with uniform cross-section (with a single exception). Waveguides can be either
normal transmission lines, open-ended (I/O port) or closed on a load.
Waveguides can only be connected to one or two discontinuities.

Coordinate System
The coordinate system in a waveguide port is imposed by the one corresponding to the discontinuity port connected
to it. The coordinate system in the other waveguide port will be parallel to the previous one. The next figure shows
this behavior with a rectangular arbitrary waveguide.

Waveguides List
FEST3D supports a large number of different waveguides. In the following, all these waveguides are described and
grouped by their type:

Basic Waveguides
Rectangular The classic, uniform waveguide with rectangular cross section.

Circular The classic, uniform waveguide with circular cross section.

Coaxial The classic, uniform waveguide with an external and an internal circular contours.

Rectangular-Contour Based Waveguides

Here is the list of all waveguides based on an Arbitrary Waveguide with Rectangular-Contour (ARW):

Arbitrary A uniform waveguide with arbitrary (i.e. defined by the user) cross-section. Supports inner
Rectangular conductors (and thus TEM modes), strip lines and fin lines. The cross-section contour can be
composed by straight segments, arcs and elliptic arcs. It uses BI-RME method on a Rectangular
reference section.

Coaxial A uniform waveguide with a circular inner conductor and with an external conductor either

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rectangular or circular. Always has a single TEM mode.

Square A uniform waveguide with both rectangular inner and external conductors.
coaxial

Cross A uniform waveguide with two arms of a given width. The extremes of the arms can be rounded.

Draft A uniform rectangular waveguide in which the lateral walls have a triangular shape due to
manufacturing processes.

Elliptic A uniform waveguide with elliptic cross-section (can be rotated).

Ridge A uniform waveguide with ridged cross-section.

Slot A uniform rectangular waveguide with rounded corners.

Truncated A uniform circular waveguide which has been truncated by horizontal and/or vertical rectangular
segments.

Waffle A uniform rectangular waveguide with rectangular metallic insertions in the top and/or the bottom
walls. Also called a multi-ridge waveguide.

Ridge-gap A uniform rectangular waveguide with rectangular metallic insertions symmetrically placed with
respect to the central axis in the top and/or the bottom walls.

Lateral The lateral coupling circular waveguide is a dumbbell-shaped element which allows a lateral
coupling rectangular coupling between two circular cavities.
circular
waveguide

Circular-Contour Based Waveguides

Here is the list of all waveguides based on an Arbitrary Waveguide with a Circular Contour (ACW):

Arbitrary A uniform waveguide with arbitrary (i.e. defined by the user) cross-section. Implemented as a Circular
Circular waveguide with perturbations. Supports fin lines, but not strip lines or inner conductors (and thus no
TEM modes). The cross-section contour can be composed by straight segments and by arcs belonging
to the unperturbed Circular waveguide. Uses BI-RME method on a Circular reference section.

Arbitrary A uniform waveguide with a elliptic section (axes can have any rotation).
Circular
with an
Ellipse

Arbitrary A uniform waveguide with a cross-shaped section.

Circular
with a
Cross

Arbitrary A uniform waveguide with a "circular with screws" section.

Circular
with
Screws

Other Waveguides

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Here is the list of all waveguides that do not fit in the previous groups:

Radiating A mathematical representation of an infinite, periodic array of rectangular or circular I/O ports opened
Array in the free space. Can only be used as I/O Port. It is currently the only FEST3D component with
antenna-like characteristics.

Curved A waveguide with rectangular cross-section, constant curvature radius and curved either left or right.
There are also techniques to obtain waveguides curved up or down.

Circular- An optimized elliptical iris that can be connected only to two circular waveguides.
Elliptic
iris

Common Properties
Each waveguide can be used in one of the following three modes (SubType):

Transmission Line. It is the normal type. It has two connections (ports), one at each side, attached to two
discontinuities.
Input/Output port. The waveguide terminates one of its sides with an input/output port. The user has to
define the Port Number, consequently identifying the input/output port, and the order number of the Excited
mode, in the range [1, Number of accessible Modes]. It is also possible to use different order numbers for the
Input mode and Output mode, which must be in the same range.
Termination. The waveguide terminates with an adapted load or short circuit on one of its sides. The user has
to define the reflection coefficient within the range [-1,1]. The waveguide has only one connection, attached to
a discontinuity.

The waveguides have the following common modal parameters which set the accuracy of the computation:

Number of accessible Modes Number of accessible (i.e. connecting, propagating) modes of the waveguide.
Only the accessible modes of a waveguide are assumed to transmit E.M fields (and energy) across the whole
waveguide length. (default: 10)
Number of MoM basis functions Number of modes used in the internal MoM to calculate the discontinuities
attached to the waveguide (default: 30)
Number of Green function terms Number of terms in the frequency-independent (static) part of the Green's
function, which describes the discontinuities attached to the waveguide (default: 300)

By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for these properties (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in each
waveguide.
The dialog box of all waveguides contains a Specific tab, where the SubType and some related parameters can be
edited:

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FEST3D waveguides have three common sets of properties: Ports, that shows which discontinuities are attached to the
current waveguide, Material, which contains a basic set of physical material properties, and EM Field, which involves
the resolution of the electromagnetic field calculated for the current waveguide. They typically look as follows:

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The Ports cannot be edited. To change the connections among elements, see the Elements Bar paragraph in the Main
Window section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button in the Material or in the EM Field tab, each waveguide can be
configured to either use the default values for these properties (stored in the General Specifications window) or to
per-waveguide user-specified values.
The material parameters are the following (they are also described in the General Specifications window):

Dielectric Permittivity Relative dielectric constant of the dielectric homogeneously filling the waveguide
(default: 1.0 i.e. vacuum)
Dielectric Permeability Relative dielectric constant of the dielectric homogeneously filling the waveguide
(default: 1.0 i.e vacuum)
Dielectric Conductivity Intrinsic conductivity of the dielectric homogeneously filling the waveguide, in S/m
(default: 0.0)
Metal Resistivity Intrinsic resistivity of the metallic walls of the waveguide, in Ohm · m (default: 0.0)

2.4.1.1 Basic Waveguides

2.4.1.1.1 Rectangular Waveguide

This section describes the Rectangular waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Rectangular waveguide section contains the following topics:

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Definition What is exactly a Rectangular waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Rectangular How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Rectangular waveguide is a uniform waveguide with rectangular cross section, as shown in the following figure:

Limitations
The Rectangular waveguide has no limitations.

Errors
The Rectangular waveguide should never produce errors.

Using the Rectangular

The dialog box of the Rectangular waveguide is quite minimal, yet it is the standard base for the dialog boxes of all
other Waveguides.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm) the waveguide width

B (mm) the waveguide height
L (mm) the waveguide length

Additionally, in order to fill the A and B parameters, one can choose between a set of standard rectangular
waveguives by clicking in the box of Use Standard Waveguide.
In order to perform either Multipactor Analysis or Corona Analysis in such a waveguide just click in the
corresponding box.
Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

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Hints
The length of this waveguide can be zero.

2.4.1.1.2 Circular Waveguide

This section describes the Circular waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Circular waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a Circular waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Circular How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Circular waveguide is a uniform waveguide with circular cross section, as shown in the following figure:

Limitations
The modes of the Circular waveguides are pre-computed. The maximum number of supported modes is
approximately 160000.
In case that "all-cylindrical" symmetry is used, this basically means that NO more than 795 terms of the green function
can be used. However, this number should be more than enough to reach convergence and it is not a real limitation.
In case that TEM symmetry is used, this basically means that NO more than 200 terms of the green function can be
used. However, this number should be more than enough to reach convergence and it is not a real limitation.

Errors
If the user specifies more than approximately 160000 modes (the maximum supported), an error is produced and the
simulation stops. The Circular waveguide produces no other errors.

Using the Circular

The dialog box of the Circular waveguide is the following:

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

R (mm) the waveguide radius

L (mm) the waveguide length

The user can choose standard circular waveguides by clicking the corresponding box and selecting one of the
waveguide numbers.
In order to perform either Multipactor Analysis or Corona Analysis in such a waveguide just click in the
corresponding box.
The first mode of the circular waveguide is chosen as the one with vertical polarization.
Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

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Hints
The length of this waveguide can be zero. This is sometimes useful if the direct coupling between two
waveguides is not available in FEST3D.

2.4.1.1.3 Coaxial waveguide

This section describes the circular coaxial waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The coaxial waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly an circular coaxial waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the circular coaxial How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
waveguide

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The coaxial waveguide is a uniform waveguide with circular cross section, as shown in the following figure:

Limitations
The direct coupling of this element to the circular waveguide can be done only in the case that the circuit has TEM
symmetry. Circuits with such a symmetry should begin and finish with coaxial waveguides, no offsets should be
present and the circuit can be only composed by coaxial and circular elements.

Errors
In the case of coaxial-circular connections, only the discontinuities showed in the following picture can be directly
computed with a step.

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Other cases should be tackled by using an intermediate zero length circular waveguide of the same radius than the
outer bigger radius of the attached waveguides.
The coaxial waveguide produces no other errors.

Using the coaxial

The coaxial waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the coaxial waveguide.

The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides

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Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The number of basis functions for the coaxial waveguide is automatically given as a function of the number of terms
of Green's function terms:

TEM symmetry: the number of basis functions is two times Number of Green's function terms. The maximum
number is set to 150 since this provides around 45000 modes.
Without symmetry: the number of basis functions is three times the square root of the Number of Green's
function terms. IMPORTANT: If a large amount of accessible modes is desired, and the number of Green's
funcions is not high enough, a warning message will appear inidicating the recommended number of Green's
functions for computing the high modes with a certain accuracy. If this requirement is not fulfilled, numerical
instabilities may occur in the simulation.

The following parameters can be edited:

L (mm): waveguide length.

Outer Radius (mm): radius of the outer circular.
Inner Radius (mm): radius of the inner circular.

Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.
Material tab allows customizing the physical material properties for the current waveguide, as described in the
Waveguides Common Properties section.

Hints
When the symmetry TEM is active, it is recommended to reduce a lot the number of Green's function terms.
Values around 20 or even below of this number could already provide convergent results.

2.4.1.2 Arbitrary Rectangular Waveguides

2.4.1.2.1 Arbitrary Rectangular (ARW)

This section describes the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly an Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the Arbitrary How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
Rectangular

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition

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The Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide computes the modal chart of any waveguide with an arbitrary cross section
defined by a combination of linear, circular and elliptical arcs, which must be included in a fictitious, bigger
rectangular waveguide (reference box).
The reference box is a fictitious rectangular waveguide that surrounds the contour of the Arbitrary Rectangular
waveguide and is needed by the mathematical theory used by this element (BI-RME Method).
The cross-section of this element can be composed by one or more contours, which define its geometry. Each
contour can be defined by means of straight, circular and elliptical arcs, as well as of any possible combination
between these three kinds of segments.
The user must define only the portions of the arbitrary contour that not coincide with the surrounding rectangular
box. In the following picture the contour of the arbitrary waveguide divides the reference box into an internal area S
and a complementary area.

The cross-section to be analyzed can have multiple inner contours, such as the ones shown in the following picture,
which defines the internal areas S,S1,S2,S3. In this case the user must be careful, since there are four regions (or areas)
that the program can use to perform the analysis. Only one region of interest (S1, S2, S3 or S) must be indicated for
modal analysis purposes.

The Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide supports TEM modes when the arbitrary contour has inner conductor(s). The
number of TEM modes present in an Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide is equal to the number of inner conductors.

Important: The hollow section of the arbitrary waveguide is defined by the "X" point present in the mesh editor/file.

Limitations
The Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of.

3D Visualization

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This element can be only visualized in 3D by making use of the 3D Viewer which is accessible from the
main Window top menu bar.
Connections to other elements
The Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide can only be connected to Step or N-Step. It is possible to connect the
remaining ports of those Steps and N-Steps to Rectangular, Circular, Arbitrary Rectangular, (or derived, as
Coaxial and Elliptic) waveguides. If the connected waveguides have the same reference box as this element and
their X,Y offsets and rotation are zero, a specialized routine is used to compute the coupling integral, which is
faster and more accurate than the general case.
Invalid contours
A contour cannot exceed the rectangular surrounding box. Contours cannot touch or intersect one another but
can touch the external reference box. Contours cannot contain invalid parameters:
the radius of a circular portion must be grater than zero
the minor semi-axis of an elliptical portion must be lesser than the major semi-axis and greater
than zero
only one region of interest of the cross-section can be specified (this is handled automatically by
FEST3D)

If a contour defined by the user is invalid, the program generates a fatal error and stops the simulation.

Tangent contours
Each contour can take any shape, and it can be therefore also tangent or incident to the external box as in the
pictures below. Some precautions should be taken in this case. If a circular or elliptical arc is tangent to the
external rectangular box in points different to the starting and ending points of the arc, this will not be
detected by the program. For this reason, the user must split or rearrange the arcs so that only the starting
and/or ending points of the arc are tangent to the rectangular box. Furthermore, in this case some errors may
happen. Such errors must be adequately treated as discussed in convergence failed paragraph below.
Very big or very small cross-section areas (>95% or <30% of the reference box area)
If the contour of the arbitrary structure nearly coincides with the rectangular surrounding waveguide, the
program may produce the error no points to test E.M. fields explained below.
In the opposite case, if the cross-section defines a very small area (<30%), the method will need a big number
of resonant modes to generate the same number of valid modes for the arbitrarily shaped waveguide. In such a
case, the user should use a smaller reference box, or an extremely high number of modes for the rectangular
box (the latter solution highly increases consumed memory and computational time of simulation.
Low accuracy at extremely low frequencies (<0.1 GHz)
If an Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide with inner conductor(s) and thus TEM modes is used to simulate a circuit
at extremely low frequencies (<0.1 GHz), the results produced will be very probably inaccurate. In such case,
the user should increase only the number of reference box modes and the number of Green function terms.
This problem has two correlated causes:
1. The Integral Equation method shows numeric instabilities at extremely low frequencies and fails at
exactly zero frequency.
2. The coupling integrals corresponding to the possible connections between the Arbitrary Rectangular
modes (in particular the TEM modes) and the connected waveguides modes are computed numerically
and are thus not analitically exact. This numeric error enhances the above numeric instabilities resulting
in low accuracy.
The proposed solution (increase only the number of reference box modes and the number of Green function
terms) produces more accurate coupling integrals and thus solves the problem for the used frequency range.
Be aware that, by going further down in frequency range, the problem will re-appear.

The accuracy vs. speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error, the
possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

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error in subroutine GEIG/EIG: convergence failed in lapack for solving TE/TM eigenvalue problem
This error may be produced when the arbitrary contour is tangent to the reference box as shown in the picture
above. In this case, the user should either reduce the number of modes of the reference box or use a bigger
reference box.
Error: no points to test the E.M. fields
This error may be produced if the contour of the arbitrary structure nearly coincides with the rectangular
surrounding box. In this case, you can increase the number of modes or use a bigger reference box.
Error: not enough arbitrary modes generated
If the number of generated modes is less than required, the program generates this warning message. The
program automatically reduces the number of basis functions to go ahead in the simulation. If no convergence
is reached, the user must start a new simulation specifying more reference box modes.
Error: LTM Matrix is not positive definite. Please, try to increase the number of reference box modes.
This error can occur if the geometry is tricky. For instance, if a small arc is employed. To solve the problem, you
can try to increase the number of reference box modes until the error disappears.

Using the Arbitrary Rectangular

The Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes and can view and edit the arbitrary shape using the Arbitrary Shape Editor.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Arbitrary Rectangular Waveguide.

The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.

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The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

Number of box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the
arbitrary cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be
autocomputed

A (mm): the reference box width.

B (mm): the reference box height.
L (mm): the waveguide length.
MESH File: file containing the arbitrary cross-section. The Edit button opens the Arbitrary Shape Editor
allowing the user to view/edit it.

The Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the
electromagnetic resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding rectangular or
arbitrary waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence
problems can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of
reference box modes in order to have enough precision is done.
If unexpected results are obtained, verify that the "x" in the arbitrary shape editor is within the region of
interest.

2.4.1.2.2 Coaxial waveguide

This section describes the Coaxial waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Coaxial waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a Coaxial waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Coaxial How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Coaxial waveguide is a uniform, coaxial waveguide with a circular inner conductor and either a circular or a
rectangular outer conductor.

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The Coaxial waveguide is a special case of the more general element Arbitrary Rectangular, and thus also uses the
concept of reference box: a fictitious rectangular waveguide which must completely include the cross section of the
real waveguide.
If the Coaxial waveguide outer conductor is circular, the inner and outer circular conductors must have the same axis.
If the Coaxial waveguide outer conductor is rectangular, it must coincide with the reference box.
The Coaxial waveguide supports TEM modes. Actually, it always has a single TEM mode.

Limitations
The Coaxial waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.
The accuracy vs speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The Coaxial waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.

Using the Coaxial

The Coaxial waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Coaxial waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

Number of box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the arbitrary
cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be autocomputed.
A of reference box (mm): reference box width.
B of reference box (mm): reference box height.
Outer Conductor Shape: either rectangular or circular
Inner Radius (mm): radius of the inner circular conductor.
L (mm): waveguide length.
Center X offset (mm): horizontal offset of the inner conductor center, relative to the reference box center.
Center Y offset (mm): vertical offset of the inner conductor center, relative to the reference box center.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.

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Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding rectangular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.

2.4.1.2.3 Cross waveguide

This section describes the cross waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The cross waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a cross waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the cross How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Cross waveguide is a uniform waveguide with two arms of a given width. The extremes of the arms can be
rounded. The following figure shows the element:

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The Cross waveguide is a special case of the more general element Arbitrary Rectangular, and thus also uses the
concept of reference box: a fictitious rectangular waveguide which must completely include the cross section of the
real waveguide.

Limitations
The Cross waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.
The accuracy vs speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The cross waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.

Using the Cross waveguide

The Cross waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element properties
using dialog boxes. It is also possible to view the arbitrary shape using the Arbitrary Shape Editor by clicking the plot
button located at the end of the Specific tab.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the cross waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

Number of box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the arbitrary
cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be autocomputed.
Abox reference box(mm): reference box width.
Bbox reference box(mm): reference box height.
A (if 0, A=Abox)(mm): length of horizntal arm.
B (if 0, B=Bbox)(mm): length of vertical arm.

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A1 (mm): width of horizontal arm.
L (mm): waveguide length.
B1 (mm): width of vertical arm.
R (mm): radius of the arm extreme corners.
Rint (mm): internal radius of the arm corners.
X0 Offset (mm): horizontal offset of the cross waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.
Y0 Offset (mm): vertical offset of the cross waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.
Alpha (degrees): rotation of the cross waveguide w.r.t the reference rectangular box.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding rectangular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.

2.4.1.2.4 Draft waveguide

This section describes the draft waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The draft waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a draft waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the draft How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Draft waveguide is a rectangular waveguide in which the lateral walls have a triangular shape due to
manufacturing processes. The following figure shows the element:

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The Draft waveguide is a special case of the more general element Arbitrary Rectangular, and thus also uses the
concept of reference box: a fictitious rectangular waveguide which must completely include the draft section of the
real waveguide.

Limitations
The Draft waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.
The accuracy vs speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The draft waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.

Using the Draft waveguide

The Draft waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element properties
using dialog boxes. It is also possible to view the arbitrary shape using the Arbitrary Shape Editor by clicking the plot
button located at the end of the Specific tab.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the draft waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

Number of box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the arbitrary
cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be autocomputed.
Abox reference box(mm): reference box width.
Bbox reference box(mm): reference box height.
A (if 0, A=Abox)(mm): width of draft waveguide.
B (if 0, B=Bbox)(mm): height of draft waveguide.

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L (mm): waveguide length.
R (mm): radius of the draft waveguide corners (see figure).
Beta (degrees): angle of the draft waveguide (see figure).
X0 Offset (mm): horizontal offset of the draft waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.
Y0 Offset (mm): vertical offset of the draft waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.
Alpha (degrees): rotation of the draft waveguide w.r.t the reference rectangular box.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding rectangular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.

2.4.1.2.5 Elliptic waveguide

This section describes the Elliptic waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Elliptic waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly an Elliptic waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Elliptic How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Elliptic waveguide is a uniform waveguide with elliptic cross-section as shown in the following legend.

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The Elliptic waveguide is a special case of the more general element Arbitrary Rectangular, and thus also uses the
concept of reference box: a fictitious rectangular waveguide which must completely include the cross section of the
real waveguide.

Limitations
The Elliptic waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.
The accuracy vs speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The Elliptic waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.

Using the Elliptic

The Elliptic waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element properties
using dialog boxes.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Elliptic waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

Number of box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the arbitrary
cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be autocomputed.
A of reference box (mm): reference box width.
B of reference box (mm): reference box height.
A, Major Axis (mm): ellipse major (horizontal) axis.
B, Minor Axis (mm): ellipse minor (vertical) axis.
L (mm): waveguide length.
Center X offset (mm): horizontal offset of the ellipse center, relative to the reference box center.
Center Y offset (mm): vertical offset of the ellipse center, relative to the reference box center.
Rotation (degrees): rotation angle of the ellipse, counterclockwise.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic

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resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding rectangular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.

2.4.1.2.6 Ridge waveguide

This section describes the Ridge waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The ridge waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a Ridge waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Ridge waveguide How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Ridge waveguide is a uniform rectangular waveguide with one or two (double ridge) rectangular metal insets in
the top and/or in the bottom of the rectangular housing. The following figure shows the element:

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The Ridge waveguide is a special case of the more general element Arbitrary Rectangular, and thus also uses the
concept of reference box: a fictitious rectangular waveguide which must completely include the cross section of the
real waveguide.

Limitations
The Ridge waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.
The accuracy vs speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The Ridge waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.

Using the Ridge waveguide

The Ridge waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element properties
using dialog boxes. It is also possible to view the arbitrary shape using the Arbitrary Shape Editor by clicking the plot
button located at the end of the Specific tab.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Ridge waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

Number of box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the arbitrary
cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be autocomputed.

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Abox reference box(mm): reference box width.
Bbox reference box(mm): reference box height.
A (if 0, A=Abox) (mm): width of the ridge waveguide.
B (if 0, B=Bbox) (mm): height of the ridge waveguide.
L (mm): waveguide length.
A1 (mm): width of the top ridge inset.
B1 (mm): height of the top ridge inset.
A2 (mm): width of the bottom ridge inset.
B2 (mm): height of the bottom ridge inset.
Rext (mm): radius of external corners
Rint (mm): radius of internal corners
X0 Offset (mm): horizontal offset of the ridge waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.
Y0 Offset (mm): vertical offset of the ridge waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding rectangular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.

2.4.1.2.7 Lateral coupling circular waveguide

This section describes the lateral coupling circular waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The lateral coupling circular waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a lateral coupling circular waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the ridge-gap How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The lateral coupling circular waveguide is a dumbbell-shaped element which allows a lateral rectangular coupling
between two circular cavities. The following figure shows the element:

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The lateral coupling circular waveguide is a special case of the more general element Arbitrary Rectangular, and thus
also uses the concept of reference box: a fictitious rectangular waveguide which must completely include the ridge-
gap section of the real waveguide.

Limitations
The lateral coupling circular waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.
The accuracy vs speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The lateral coupling circular waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.

Using the lateral coupling circular waveguide

The lateral coupling circular waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes. It is also possible to view the arbitrary shape using the Arbitrary Shape Editor
by clicking the plot button located at the end of the Specific tab.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the lateral coupling circular waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

Number of box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the arbitrary
cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be autocomputed.
Abox reference box (mm): reference box width.
Bbox reference box (mm): reference box height.
Radius (mm): radius of the connected cylindrical cavities.
Iris height (mm): Iris width/height.
Thickness (mm): distance between circular cavities (measured as seen in the legend).

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L (mm): waveguide length.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding rectangular or arbitrary
waveguides.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.

2.4.1.2.8 Ridge-gap waveguide

This section describes the ridge-gap waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The ridge-gap waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a ridge-gap waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the ridge-gap How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Ridge-gap waveguide is a uniform rectangular waveguide with rectangular metallic insertions in the top and/or
the bottom walls. Also called a multi-ridge waveguide. The following figure shows the element:

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The Ridge-gap waveguide is a special case of the more general element Arbitrary Rectangular, and thus also uses the
concept of reference box: a fictitious rectangular waveguide which must completely include the ridge-gap section of
the real waveguide.

Limitations
The Ridge-gap waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.
The accuracy vs speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The ridge-gap waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.

Using the Ridge-gap waveguide

The Ridge-gap waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes. It is also possible to view the arbitrary shape using the Arbitrary Shape Editor by
clicking the plot button located at the end of the Specific tab.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the ridge-gap waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

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Number of box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the arbitrary
cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be autocomputed.
Abox reference box (mm): reference box width.
Bbox reference box (mm): reference box height.

A (if 0, A=Abox)(mm): width of ridge-gap waveguide.

B (if 0, B=Bbox)(mm): height of ridge-gap waveguide.
L (mm): waveguide length.

N: number of teeth in the top ridge-gap section. It must be an even number.

Upper Teeth Width (mm): teeth width.
Upper Teeth Height (mm): teeth height.
Upper Main Separation (mm): distance from the center of the waveguide to the first teeth.

M: number of teeth in the bottom ridge-gap section. It must be an even number.

Lower Teeth Width (mm): teeth width.
Lower Teeth Height (mm): teeth height.
Lower Main Separation (mm): distance from the side teeth to the lateral wall. It can be zero.

X0 Offset (mm): horizontal offset of the ridge-gap waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.
Y0 Offset (mm): vertical offset of the ridge-gap waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding rectangular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.

2.4.1.2.9 Square coaxial waveguide

This section describes the Square coaxial waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Square coaxial waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly an Square coaxial waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Square coaxial How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

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Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Coaxial waveguide is a uniform, coaxial waveguide with both rectangular inner and outer conductors.
The Coaxial waveguide is a special case of the more general element Arbitrary Rectangular, and thus also uses the
concept of reference box: a fictitious rectangular waveguide which must completely include the cross section of the
real waveguide.
The Square coaxial waveguide supports TEM modes. Actually, it always has a single TEM mode.

Limitations
The Square coaxial waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.
The accuracy vs speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The Square coaxial waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.

Using the Square Coaxial

The Square coaxial waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Square Coaxial waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

Number of box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the arbitrary
cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be autocomputed.

Abox reference box (mm): reference box width.

Bbox reference box (mm): reference box height.

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A (if 0, A=Abox) (mm): width of the external conductor.
B (if 0, B=Bbox) (mm): height of the external conductor.
Offset X (mm): horizontal offset of the square coaxial waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.
Offset Y (mm): Vertical offset of the square coaxial waveguide with respect to the reference box.
L (mm): waveguide length.

Bar parameters:

A bar (mm): width of the inner conductor

B bar (mm): height of the inner conductor
Offset X bar (mm): horizontal offset of the inner conductor center, relative to the reference box center.
Offset Y bar (mm): vertical offset of the inner conductor center, relative to the reference box center.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding rectangular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.

2.4.1.2.10 Slot waveguide

This section describes the slot waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The slot waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a slot waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the slot How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Slot waveguide is a uniform rectangular waveguide with rounded corners. The following figure shows the
element:

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The Slot waveguide is a special case of the more general element Arbitrary Rectangular, and thus also uses the
concept of reference box: a fictitious rectangular waveguide which must completely include the cross section of the
real waveguide.

Limitations
The Slot waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.
The accuracy vs speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The slot waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.

Using the Slot waveguide

The Slot waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element properties
using dialog boxes. It is also possible to view the arbitrary shape using the Arbitrary Shape Editor by clicking the plot
button located at the end of the Specific tab.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the slot waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

Number of box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the arbitrary
cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be autocomputed.
Abox reference box(mm): reference box width.
Bbox reference box(mm): reference box height.
A (if 0, A=Abox)(mm): width of the slot waveguide.
B (if 0, B=Bbox)(mm): height of the slot waveguide.
R (mm): radius of the corners.

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L (mm): waveguide length.
X0 Offset (mm): horizontal offset of the slot waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.
Y0 Offset (mm): vertical offset of the slot waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.
Alpha (degrees): rotation of the slot waveguide w.r.t the reference rectangular box.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding rectangular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.

2.4.1.2.11 Truncated waveguide

This section describes the truncated waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The truncated waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a truncated waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the truncated How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Truncated waveguide is a uniform circular waveguide which has been truncated by an horizontal and/or vertical
rectangular segments. The following figure shows the element:

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The Truncated waveguide is a special case of the more general element Arbitrary Rectangular, and thus also uses the
concept of reference box: a fictitious rectangular waveguide which must completely include the cross section of the
real waveguide.

Limitations
The Truncated waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.
The accuracy vs speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The truncated waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.

Using the Truncated waveguide

The Truncated waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes. It is also possible to view the arbitrary shape using the Arbitrary Shape Editor by
clicking the plot button located at the end of the Specific tab.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the truncated waveguide.

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The EnableD/DisableD button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

Number of box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the arbitrary
cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be autocomputed.
Abox reference box(mm): reference box width.
Bbox reference box(mm): reference box height.
A (if 0, A=2R)(mm): width of the truncated waveguide.
B (mm): height of the truncated waveguide.
R (mm): radius of the circular waveguide.

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L (mm) the waveguide length.
X0 Offset (mm): horizontal offset of the truncated waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.
Y0 Offset (mm): vertical offset of the truncated waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.
Alpha (degrees): rotation of the truncated waveguide w.r.t the reference rectangular box.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding rectangular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.

2.4.1.2.12 Waffle waveguide

This section describes the waffle waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The waffle waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a waffle waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the waffle How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Waffle waveguide is a uniform rectangular waveguide with rectangular metallic insertions in the top and/or the
bottom walls. Also called a multi-ridge waveguide. The following figure shows the element:

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The Waffle waveguide is a special case of the more general element Arbitrary Rectangular, and thus also uses the
concept of reference box: a fictitious rectangular waveguide which must completely include the waffle section of the
real waveguide.

Limitations
The Waffle waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.
The accuracy vs speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The waffle waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Rectangular waveguide.

Using the Waffle waveguide

The Waffle waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element properties
using dialog boxes. It is also possible to view the arbitrary shape using the Arbitrary Shape Editor by clicking the plot
button located at the end of the Specific tab.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the waffle waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

Number of box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the arbitrary
cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be autocomputed.
Abox reference box (mm): reference box width.

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Bbox reference box (mm): reference box height.
A (if 0, A=Abox)(mm): width of waffle waveguide.
B (if 0, B=Bbox)(mm): height of waffle waveguide.
L (mm): waveguide length.

N: number of teeth in the top waffle section.

A1 (mm): distance from the side teeth to the lateral wall. It can be zero if you want teeth to be touching the
borders. It can be negative in order to achieve lateral teeth with smaller dimensions than the rest of the teeth.
B1 (mm): teeth height.
C1 (mm): teeth width.

M: number of teeth in the bottom waffle section.

A2 (mm): distance from the side teeth to the lateral wall. It can be zero if you want teeth to be touching the
borders. It can be negative in order to achieve lateral teeth with smaller dimensions than the rest of the teeth.
B2 (mm): teeth height.
C2 (mm): teeth width.

X0 Offset (mm): horizontal offset of the waffle waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.
Y0 Offset (mm): vertical offset of the waffle waveguide center, relative to the reference box center.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

NOTE: Using A1 or B1 < 0 leads to waffle waveguides like this example:

Hints
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding rectangular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.

2.4.1.3 Arbitrary Circular Waveguides

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2.4.1.3.1 Circular Arbitrary (ACW)

This section describes the Arbitrary Circular waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Arbitrary Circular waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly an Arbitrary Circular waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Arbitrary Circular How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Arbitrary Circular waveguide computes the modal chart of any waveguide with an arbitrary cross section defined
by a combination of linear, circular and elliptical arcs, which must be included in a fictitious, bigger circular waveguide
(reference cavity).
The reference cavity is a fictitious circular waveguide that surrounds the contour of the Arbitary Circular waveguide
and is needed by the mathematical theory used by this element (BI-RME Method).
The cross-section of this element can be composed by one or more contours, which define its geometry. Each
contour can be defined by means of straight, circular and elliptical arcs, as well as of any possible combination
between these three kinds of segments.
The user must define only the portions of the arbitrary contour that do not coincide with the surrounding circular
reference cavity. In the following pictures the contours divide the reference cavity into an internal area S, which is the
cross section of the arbitrary waveguide, and a complementary area. The cross section S is assumed to be embedded
entirely in the circular reference cavity.
The cross-section to be analyzed can have multiple inner contours, such as the ones shown in the following picture,
which defines the internal areas S,S1,S2,S3. In this case the user must be careful, since there are four regions (or areas)
that the program can use to perform the analysis. Only one region of interest (S1, S2, S3 or S) must be indicated for
modal analysis purposes.

Examples of possible geometries are shown below. The contours supported by the Arbitrary Circular waveguide can
be divided into four types:

1. closed over the cavity: a contour with two contact points placed on the external reference cavity, as in the

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following figure

2. closed: a closed contour not touching the external cavity, as the following figure shows

3. stripline: a stripline consists of a narrow metal strip placed between two metallic ground planes. This element
supports the modal analysis of encapsulated strip lines, as the one included in the following figure

4. finline: a finline is an encapsulated slotline. This element supports the analysis of finlines if the dielectric
substrate of the finline and the dielectric waveguide material are the same, as shown in the following figure
where eight finlines are used

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Important: The hollow section of the arbitrary waveguide is defined by the "X" point present in the mesh editor/file.

Limitations
The Arbitrary Circular waveguide has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

connections to other elements

The Arbitrary Circular waveguide can only be connected to Step or N-Step. It is possible to connect the
remaining ports of those Steps and N-Steps to Rectangular, Circular, Arbitrary Circular (and derived, such as
ACW with Screws, ACW with an Ellipse and ACW with a Cross) or Arbitrary Rectangular, (and derived, such as
Coaxial and Elliptic) waveguides. If the connected waveguides have the same reference box as this element and
their X,Y offsets and rotation are zero, a specialized routine is used to compute the coupling integral, which is
faster and more accurate than the general case.
invalid contours
A contour cannot exceed the circular reference cavity. Contours cannot touch or intersect one another but can
touch the external reference box. Contours cannot contain invalid parameters:
the radius of a circular portion must be grater than zero
the minor semiaxis of an elliptical portion must be lesser than the major semiaxis and greater than zero
only one offset, rotation and region of interest of the cross-section can be specified (this is handled
automatically by FEST3D)
If a contour defined by the user is invalid, the program generates a fatal error and stops the simulation.
tangent contours
Each contour can take any shape, and it can be therefore also tangent or incident to the external box as in the
pictures below. Some precautions should be taken in this case. If elliptical arc is tangent to the external circular
box in points different to the starting and ending points of the arc, this will not be detected by the program.
For this reason, the user must split or rearrange the arcs so that only the starting and/or ending points of the
arc are tangent to the circular box. Furthermore, in this case some errors may happen. Such errors must be
adequately treated as discussed in the LTM Matrix is not positive definite paragraph below.
very big or very small cross-section areas (>95% or <30% of the reference box area)
If the contour of the arbitrary structure nearly coincides with the circular surrounding waveguide, the program
may produce the error no points to test E.M. fields explained below.
In the opposite case, if the cross-section defines a very small area (<30%), the method will need a big number
of resonant modes to generate the same number of valid modes for the arbitrarily shaped waveguide. In such a
case, the user should use a smaller reference box, or an extremely high number of modes for the circular box
(the latter solution highly increases consumed memory and computational time of simulation. This case should
be avoided if possible.

The accuracy vs speed tradeoffs of this element are also treated in a subsection of Tutorial 3: Accuracy or Speed?

Errors
The Arbitrary Circular waveguide can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. Each error and their

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possible solutions or workarounds are explained as follows:

error: not enough arbitrary modes generated

This error message means that the algorithm could not compute enough modes in the waveguide of arbitrary
cross section. In this case, the number of modes of the reference circular box must be increased. The numerical
effort (used memory and computational time) increases with the previous number of modes, thus care must be
taken when increasing this parameter. Alternatively, the number of accessible modes in the waveguide may be
reduced.
error: no points to test the E.M. fields
This error may be produced if the contour of the arbitrary structure nearly coincides with the circular
surrounding box. In this case, you have to increase the number of modes or use a bigger circular box.
error: LTM Matrix is not positive definite.

This error can occur if the geometry is tricky, specially when there are tangent contours involved. You can take
several actions in order to solve this problem:

Increase the number of box modes: if the source of the problem is the numerical convergence of the
method, this action might solve it.
Change the dimension of the reference box: this action is specially useful if the structure is touching the
box, for instance, where tangent contours are involved. A slightly bigger box might be able to solve the
structure correctly.

Using the Arbitrary Circular

The Arbitrary Circular waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes and can view and edit the arbitrary shape using the Arbitrary Shape Editor.
The following figures show a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Arbitrary Circular Waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited in the Specific page:

Number circular box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the
arbitrary cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be
autocomputed.
Rbox (reference box)(mm): reference circular cavity radius.
L (mm): waveguide length.
MESH File: file containing the arbitrary cross-section. The Edit button opens the Arbitrary Shape Editor
allowing the user to view/edit it.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

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Hints
The length of this waveguide can be zero.
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding circular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.
If strange results are obtained, verify that the "x" in the arbitrary shape editor is within the region of interest.

2.4.1.3.2 ACW with an Ellipse

This section describes the Arbitrary Circular with an Ellipse waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The Arbitrary Circular with an Ellipse waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly an Arbitrary Circular with an Ellipse waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or

workarounds to them.

Using the Arbitrary Circular with an How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
Ellipse

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Arbitrary Circular with an Ellipse element is an elliptic waveguide. It is a special case of the more general element
Arbitrary Circular, where the arbitrary cross section is an ellipse, as shown in the following figure:

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The Arbitrary Circular with an Ellipse waveguide can only be connected to Step or N-Step discontinuities and there are
also limitations related to the connection of this element to those Step or N-Step. See the Arbitrary Circular
waveguide for further details.

Limitations
The Arbitrary Circular with an Ellipse waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Circular element
it is derived from.

Errors
The Arbitrary Circular with an Ellipse waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Circular waveguide. It
can also produce errors if an invalid geometry is specified.

Using the Arbitrary Circular with an Ellipse

The Arbitrary Circular with an Ellipse waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and
edit this element properties using dialog boxes.
The following figure shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Arbitrary Circular with an Ellipse waveguide:

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited in the Specific page:

Number circular box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the

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arbitrary cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be
autocomputed.
Rbox (reference box) (mm): reference circular cavity radius.
A, Major SemiAxis (mm): ellipse major semiaxis length.
B, Minor SemiAxis (mm): ellipse minor semiaxis length.
L (mm): waveguide length.
Center X offset (mm): ellipse horizontal offset from the center of the reference cavity.
Center Y offset (mm): ellipse vertical offset from the center of the reference cavity.
Rotation (degrees): ellipse rotation angle.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is recommended to use this element when the ellipse waveguide is connected to circular waveguides. If
connected to rectangular waveguides, it is better to use the ellipse waveguide done with the arbitrary
rectangular contour.
The length of this waveguide can be zero.
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding circular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.
If strange results are obtained, verify that the "x" in the arbitrary shape editor is within the region of interest.

2.4.1.3.3 ACW with a Cross

This section describes the Arbitrary Circular with a Cross waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The Arbitrary Circular with a Cross waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly an Arbitrary Circular with a Cross waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds
to them.

Using the Arbitrary Circular with a How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
Cross

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Arbitrary Circular with a Cross element is a cross-shaped waveguide. It is a special case of the more general
element Arbitrary Circular, where the arbitrary cross section is always a polygonally approximated cross, as shown in
the following figure:

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The Arbitrary Circular with a Cross waveguide can only be connected to Step or N-Step discontinuities and there are
also limitations related to the connection of this element to those Step or N-Step. See the Arbitrary Circular
waveguide for further details.

Limitations
The Arbitrary Circular with a Cross waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Circular element it
is derived from.

Errors
The Arbitrary Circular with a Cross waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Circular waveguide. It can
also produce errors if an invalid geometry is specified.

Using the Arbitrary Circular with a Cross

The Arbitrary Circular with a Cross waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit
this element properties using dialog boxes. It is also possible to view and edit the arbitrary shape, as shown in the
right figure below, using the Arbitrary Shape Editor by clicking the plot button located at the end of the Specific tab.
The following left figure shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Arbitrary Circular with a Cross
waveguide:

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited in the Specific page:

Number circular box modes: number of modes in the reference box, used to generate the modes of the
arbitrary section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be
autocomputed.
Rbox (reference box)(mm): reference circular cavity radius.

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A arm length (mm): length of the horizontal arm.
B arm length (mm): length of the vertical arm.
L (mm): waveguide length.
A1 arm thickness (mm): thickness of the vertical arm.
B1 arm thickness (mm): thickness of the horizontal arm.
R (mm): radius of the arm external corners.
Rint (mm): radius of the arm internal corners
X0 offset (mm): cross horizontal offset from the center of the reference cavity.
Y0 offset (mm): cross vertical offset from the center of the reference cavity.
Alpha (degrees): cross rotation angle.

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
It is recommended to use this element when the cross waveguide is connected to circular waveguides. If
connected to rectangular waveguides, it is better to use the cross waveguide done with the arbitrary
rectangular contour.
The length of this waveguide can be zero.
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding circular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.
If strange results are obtained, verify that the "x" in the arbitrary shape editor is within the region of interest.

2.4.1.3.4 ACW with Screws

This section describes the Arbitrary Circular with Screws waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The Arbitrary Circular with Screws waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly an Arbitrary Circular with Screws waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds
to them.

Using the Arbitrary Circular with How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
Screws

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Arbitrary Circular with Screws element is a ridged waveguide. It is a special case of the more general element
Arbitrary Circular, where the arbitrary cross section is a ridged waveguide, as shown in the following figure:

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The Arbitrary Circular with Screws waveguide can only be connected to Step or N-Step discontinuities and there are
also limitations related to the connection of this element to those Step or N-Step. See the Arbitrary Circular
waveguide for further details.

Limitations
The Arbitrary Circular with Screws waveguide has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary Circular element it
is derived from.

Errors
The Arbitrary Circular with Screws waveguide can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary Circular waveguide. It can
also produce errors if an invalid geometry is specified.

Using the Arbitrary Circular with Screws

The Arbitrary Circular with Screws waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit
this element properties using dialog boxes.
The following left figure shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Arbitrary Circular with Screws
waveguide, while the right figure shows the screws properties dialog box:

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited in the Specific page:

Number circular box modes: number of modes in the reference box used to generate the modes of the
arbitrary cross-section. By default the number of reference box modes is 0, which means that it will be
autocomputed.
Rbox (reference box) (mm): reference circular cavity radius.
L (mm): waveguide length. The Arbitrary Circular with Screws waveguide is a ridged waveguide, so L (mm) is

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also the depth of the screws.

The following parameters can be edited for each screw in the Screws page:

Phase of screw (deg): angular location of the screw, counterclockwise.

Length of screw: screw length (height).
Thickness of screw: screw thickness (width).

Material and EM Field tabs allow customizing, respectively, the physical material properties and the electromagnetic
resolution for the current waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties section.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.

Hints
The length of this waveguide can be zero.
It is always recommended to use a reference box of the same size as the surrounding circular or arbitrary
waveguides.
When connected to a waveguide with dimensions different from the box ones, some convergence problems
can arise: it is recommended to increase the precision of the computation.
If the number of reference box modes is set to "0", an attempt to calculate the required number of reference
box modes in order to have enough precision is done.
If strange results are obtained, verify that the "x" in the arbitrary shape editor is within the region of interest.

2.4.1.4 Other Waveguides

2.4.1.4.1 Curved waveguide

This section describes the Curved waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Curved waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a Curved waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Curved How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Curved waveguide is a non-uniform waveguide with rectangular cross section (in the X-Y plane) and curved either
left or right (in the Z direction), as shown in the following figure:

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The geometrical parameters shown in the above figure are:

A (mm): x-dimension of the rectangular transverse section of the curved waveguide (this direction defines the
plane of curvature).
B (mm): y-dimension of the rectangular transverse section of the curved waveguide.
Mean radius (mm): Mean curvature radius of the curved waveguide (range: R > A/2).
Curvature angle (degrees): Curvature angle (range: 0 < PHI < 360).
Curvature direction: Values can be left or right.

Furthermore, the analysis of a Curved waveguide requires the following numeric parameters:

Number of TE basis functions: Maximum value for the y-axis modal index for TE-to-Y modes (Typical value=25)
Number of TM basis functions: Maximum value for the y-axis modal index for TM-to-Y modes (Typical
value=25)
Max TE Y-direction Modal Index: Number of expansion basis functions in the v variable used to solve the TE-to-
Y modes (Typical value=25)
Max TM Y-direction Modal Index: Number of expansion basis functions in the v variable used to solve the TM-
to-Y modes (Typical value=25)

Limitations
The Curved waveguide has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

connections to other elements

The Curved waveguide can only be connected to Step. Furthermore, both X,Y offsets and rotation of those
Steps must be zero on all ports and can be connected to Rectangular waveguides whose cross section (A,B)
coincides with the cross section of this element.

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invalid parameters
The geometrical parameters of the Curved waveguide must satisfy the following constraints:
A>0
B>0
R < A/2
0° < PHI < 360°
The numerical parameters must satisfy the following constraints:
Number of Green function terms < NbfTM · NmaxTM + NbfTE · NmaxTE
low accuracy at extreme geometries (R -> A/2)
If a Curved waveguide has very small mean curvature radius (close to A/2), the results will be probably
inaccurate. Then you should increase the number of basis functions used to solve the TE and TM modes.
using as Input/Output port
Usually the curved waveguide will not be used as an I/O port. However if you use it as an I/O port you must
pay attention to the modes that are excited in it. This is due to the fact that in the Curved waveguide the
modes are frequency dependent and are sorted for each frequency point. In this way, the order of the modes
in the curved waveguide can change from one frequency point to the other.
up or down curvature direction
A single Curved waveguide can only turn left or right. It is anyway possible to get a Curved waveguide turning
up or down in the following way:
create a curved waveguide with right or left curvature connected to two rectangular waveguides.
rotate by 90 or -90 degrees a rectangular waveguide connected to the curved one for which we want to
obtain the up or down curvature.
This process can be observed in the following diagram: let's start with a structure with two curved waveguides
forming a U-configuration (i.e. curved in the same direction) as in the following figure

then edit the step [3] and set the rotation (phi) to 90 or -90 degrees.
In this way there is a 90 or -90 degrees rotation between the reference frame of the left half of the circuit and
the reference frame of the right half.
This means the second curved waveguide will become turned up or down in the global reference frame.
Of course, you must be careful with the geometry of the structure, so check that you are satisfying all
constraints.
In particular, A and B of all the waveguides in the left half must be equal to, respectively, B and A of all the
waveguides in the right half:
Aleft = Bright and Bleft = Aright

Errors
The Curved waveguide can produce errors only if invalid parameters are specified.

Using the Curved

The Curved waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Curved Waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm): cross-section width.

B (mm): cross-section height.
Mean radius (mm): mean curvature radius.
Curvature angle (degrees): curvature angle.
Curvature direction: Left or Right.
Number of TE basis functions: maximum value for the y-axis modal index for TE-to-Y modes (Typical
value=25)
Number of TM basis functions: maximum value for the y-axis modal index for TM-to-Y modes (Typical
value=25)
Max TE Y-direction Modal index: number of expansion basis functions in the v variable used to solve the TE-
to-Y modes (Typical value=25)
Max TM Y-direction Modal index: number of expansion basis functions in the v variable used to solve the
TM-to-Y modes (Typical value=25)

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Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.
Material tab allow customizing the physical material properties for the current waveguide, as described in the
Waveguides Common Properties section.

2.4.1.4.2 Circular-Elliptic Iris

This section describes the Circular Elliptic Iris waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Circular Elliptic Iris waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly an Circular Elliptic Iris waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the Circular Elliptic How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
Iris

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Circular Elliptic Iris waveguide is a uniform waveguide with elliptic cross-section.

Limitations
This element can be only used when inserted between two circular waveguides. The circular waveguides must be
larger than the elliptic iris.
The number of modes must accomplish a relation with respect to the number of green function terms:

4* Modes*Modes > Number of green function terms

Errors
No errors are reported.

Using the Circular Elliptic Iris

The Circular Elliptic Iris waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Circular Elliptic Iris waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option allows defining the waveguide subtype and related parameters, as described in the Waveguides
Common Properties section.
By clicking on the Use General Specifications button, each waveguide can be configured to use either the default
values for the modal parameters (stored in the General Specifications window) or the values specified by the user in
each waveguide.
The following parameters can be edited:

Elliptical basis functions: Number of basis functions (one dimension) to expand each elliptical mode.
A (mm): Major semiaxis.
B (mm): Minor semiaxis.
L (mm): waveguide length.

Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.
Material tab allow customizing the physical material properties for the current waveguide, as described in the
Waveguides Common Properties section.

Hints
In order to rotate this element, use the rotation property of the steps attached to it.
Normally, a value of 10-20 in the number of Elliptical basis functions should be enough for precision. A value
larger than 25 should be never required for convergence. The computational time of this element strongly
depends on this parameter.

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2.4.1.4.3 Radiating Array

This section describes the Radiating Array waveguide and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Radiating Array waveguide section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a Radiating Array waveguide.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Radiating Array How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Radiating Array waveguide simulates an infinite array of open-ended waveguides arranged in a doubly periodic
grid on a flat surface, as shown in the following figures:

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A Radiating Array is an infinite, periodic array of waveguides, i.e. the array elements are placed in a double periodic
lattice and they are fed with the same amplitude, but with a phase constant that will change progressively from one
element to the next one.
This linear phase taper will excite a radiated beam in the direction defined by the angles (θ, φ).
Under these periodic conditions, the original problem can be reduced to the characterization of only one period of
the structure, which is called the Unit Cell (see the figures above).
The Unit Cell consists of the rectangular or circular waveguide and a fictitious waveguide, named Phase Shift Wall
waveguide (PSWW).
The PSWW represents the free space under the periodic conditions dictated by the array.
The modes used in the Phase Shift Wall waveguide are derived using the periodicity of the array and applying
Floquet's theorem [1].
For an exhaustive theoretical discussion of the problem the reader can make reference to [1].
[1] N. Amitay, V. Galindo, C. Wu. Theory and Analysis of Phased Array Antennas. Wiley-Interscience, 1972.
The geometrical parameters shown in the figures above are:

Angle α of the grid (degrees): the waveguides are arranged on a periodic grid to form the infinite array.
Allowed range: 0° < α ≤ 90°.
The grid can be either rectangular (α=90°) or triangular (α < 90°).
Width A of the array periodic cell (mm): the horizontal distance between two consecutive periodic cells.
Height B of the array periodic cell (mm): the vertical distance between two consecutive periodic cells.
The area A · B should be greater or equal than the one of the single waveguides forming the array.
Scanning angle θ (degrees): angle that defines the direction of the main beam radiated by the array.
Allowed range: -90° ≤ θ ≤ 90°.
Scanning angle φ (degrees): angle that defines the direction of the main beam radiated by the array.
Allowed range: 0° ≤ φ ≤ 180°.

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Limitations
The Radiating Array waveguide has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of.

connections to other elements

The Radiating Array waveguide can only be connected to a Step. Furthermore, that Step must have zero X,Y
offsets and Rotation can be connected to Rectangular or Circular waveguides whose cross section (A,B) does
not exceed the cross section of this element.
feeding waveguide below cut-off frequency
if the waveguide connected to the radiating array is below cut-off frequency and has a length such that no
power propagates across it, the antenna does not work. The user should be aware of this and avoid this case.
low accuracy at extreme parameters values
if the elevation angle θ is chosen exactly equal to 90° or -90°, the program might have, in some cases,
instabilities. The problem can be fixed by simply taking θ smaller than 90° degrees by a few tens of degree (i.e.
89.9° or 89.8°). This has no impact on the simulation, considering that θ=±90 corresponds exactly to the plane
of the array (not important in most of the cases) and anyway the possibility to evaluate the S-parameters up to
89.9° is sufficient to compute the relevant response of the array.
spurious lobes in the radiation pattern
another aspect is the presence of grating lobes (spurious lobes in the radiation pattern) which depends on the
inter-element distance (unit cell dimension).
angular sweeps (θ, φ)
instead of the normal frequency sweep, the user can perform an angle (θ or φ) sweep. In this case, having fixed
the frequency, the S parameters will be given as a function of the direction of the radiated beam.

Errors
The Radiating Array waveguide can produce errors only in the case that invalid parameters are specified.

Using the Radiating Array

The Radiating Array waveguide is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Radiating Array waveguide.

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The Enabled/Disabled button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit
menu.
The SubType option is disabled in this element, since Radiating Arrays can only be Input/Output Ports.
Ports tab shows the discontinuities connected to this waveguide, as described in the Waveguides Common Properties
section.
Material tab allow customizing the physical material properties for the current waveguide, as described in the
Waveguides Common Properties section.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm): unit-cell width.

B (mm): unit-cell height.
Grid angle array (α, degrees): angle of the grid array.

The remaining properties, Scanning angle θ (degrees) and Scanning angle φ (degrees) are global circuit
parameters and can be edited in the General Specification Window.

Hints
No hints

2.4.2 Discontinuities
This section describes all the discontinuities supported by FEST3D, and how they can be used as building blocks to
compose a circuit.

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The discontinuities section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a FEST3D discontinuity, and how it can be used in a circuit.

Discontinuities List All discontinuities supported by FEST3D.

Definition
In FEST3D, a discontinuity is an element describing either a cavity or a surface where one or more waveguides can be
attached. Discontinuities often have non-uniform cross-section and non-trivial 3D geometries.
Discontinuities can be only connected to waveguides.

Coordinate System
In general, the coordinate system in a port of a discontinuity is predefined for each type of discontinuity. The
discontinuities enforce the coordinate systems of the adjacent waveguides. On the other hand, in some elements such
as Step, 2D Iris and so on, the position of the coordinate system in each port has a similar behavior as the one of its
counterpart defined in waveguides, that is, it is imposed by the previous waveguide. For these elements it is important
to distinguish the coordinate system defined to expand the electromagnetic field from the coordinate system used to
define the geometry of the device. This last coordinate system is always defined at port 1 pointing the x unitary vector
to the left when looking towards the element. Read the documentation of each type of discontinuity to recover
specific information.

Discontinuities List
Unless explicitly stated, each discontinuity can be connected to an unlimited number of waveguides.
FEST3D supports the following discontinuities:

BASIC DISCONTINUITIES

Step A zero-thickness surface connecting two waveguides (actually a particular

case of N-Step).

N-Step A zero-thickness surface connecting two or more waveguides.

N-Port User Defined An element of possibly unknown geometry, solely represented by its multi-
mode S, Z or Y matrix. FEST3D can produce S, Z, or Y matrices suitable to be
used for this element, but they can also be imported from or exported to
other E.M. simulation tools.

1-Port User Defined A monopole, solely represented by its multi-mode S, Z or Y matrix. FEST3D
can produce S, Z, or Y matrices suitable to be used for this element, but they
can also be imported from other E.M. simulation tools. It is used to evaluate
its incoming complex amplitudes (impressed modes)

Lumped element An element of possibly unknown geometry, where the user specifies the
multi-mode Z matrix. Used to create, among others, shunt elements and
transmission lines.

Coupling Matrix element An element of possibly unknown geometry, where the user specifies the
Coupling Matrix. It represents a N-order multicoupled network.

Touchstone element An element of possibly unknown geometry, solely represented by a

Touchstone file. It represents the Scattering parameters data of a N-port
network.

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Rounded corner iris 3D An iris with rounded corners in 3D.

JUNCTIONS

C-Junction A cubic (hence the name) or parallelepiped cavity. Each of the six surfaces can
be connected to zero, one or more Rectangular waveguides. Each connected
waveguide can have different x,y offsets and rotation.

T-Junction A cubic or parallelepiped cavity, connected to three Rectangular waveguides

and exactly corresponding to their T-shape intersection. T-Junction can be
either on the horizontal plane (H-plane) or on the vertical plane (E-plane). It is
based on the C-Junction.

Y-Junction A discontinuity with planar 'Y' shape. It is based on the Arbitrary shape
(constant width/height) and has the same configurations and limitations. It
Y-Junction (60º)
must be connected to three Rectangular waveguides.

2D OMT The 2D OMT, based on the Arbitrary shape , represents an OMT among three
Rectangular waveguides. Additional posts (rectangular metal insertions and
screws) can be considered inside the OMT as well

2D compensated tee A discontinuity with planar 'T' shape with a metal insertion used to
compensation. It is based on the Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) and
has the same configurations and limitations. It must be connected to three
Rectangular waveguides.

BENDS

Stepped bend The Stepped Bend discontinuity is a special derivation of a common bend
shape between two rectangular waveguides, in which the non-shared corner
of the bend is substituted by steps. It is based on the Arbitrary shape
(constant width/height) and has the same configurations and limitations.

Mitered bend The Mitered Bend discontinuity is a special derivation of a common bend
shape between two rectangular waveguides (ports 1 and 2), in which the non-
shared corner of the bend is substituted by a mitered corner. It is based on
the Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) and has the same configurations
and limitations.

2D Curved The 2D Curved discontinuity based on the Arbitrary shape (constant

width/height) , represents a curved bend between two rectangular
waveguides

CONST WIDTH/HEIGHT

Arbitrary shape (constant A discontinuity with planar arbitrary shape. It can be used in two
width/height) configurations: constant height or constant width.

Waveguide step with N metal A discontinuity with a planar shape which represents a waveguide with N
insets metal inserts. It is based on the Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) and
has the same configurations and limitations. It must be connected to two
Rectangular waveguides.

Waveguide step with N screws A discontinuity with a planar shape that represents a waveguide with N
screws. It is based on the Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) and has the
same configurations and limitations. It must be connected to two Rectangular
waveguides.

Waveguide step with rounded A discontinuity with a planar shape which represents a step between two

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corners waveguides. It is based on the Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) and
has the same configurations and limitations. It must be connected to two
Rectangular waveguides.

Rounded corner iris The Rounded corner iris discontinuity, based on the Arbitrary shape element,
represents an iris in either constant width or height, like the one sketched in
the figure below.

2D Rounded short The 2D Rounded short, based on the Arbitrary shape , represents a one port
short waveguide.

COAXIAL CAVITY LIBRARY

Cavity with posts A cubic or parallelepiped cavity, containing one or more posts.

Straight feed cavity A cubic or parallelepiped cavity with a straight feed. It is based on the Cavity
with posts and has the same configurations and limitations.

Mushroom feed cavity A cubic or parallelepiped cavity with a mushroom feed. It is based on the
Cavity with posts and has the same configurations and limitations.

Straight contact feed cavity A cubic or parallelepiped cavity with a straight contact feed. It is based on the
Cavity with posts and has the same configurations and limitations.

S-Shape contact feed cavity A cubic or parallelepiped cavity with a S-shape contact feed. It is based on the
Cavity with posts and has the same configurations and limitations.

Loop feed cavity A discontinuity with a loop feed. It is based on the Cavity with posts and has
the same configurations and limitations.

Magnetic feed cavity A cubic or parallelepiped cavity with a magnetic feed. It is based on the Cavity
with posts and has the same configurations and limitations.

Top contact feed cavity A cubic or parallelepiped cavity with a top contact feed. It is based on the
Cavity with posts and has the same configurations and limitations.

General cavity A cubic or parallelepiped cavity which allows multiple coaxial and rectangular
excitations. It is based on the Cavity with posts and has the same
configurations and limitations.

HELICAL RESONATORS

Contact feed to helical resonator A cubic or parallelepiped cavity with a straight feed that contacts a helical
resonator. It is based on the Cavity with posts and has the same
configurations and limitations.

Helical resonator A cubic or parallelepiped cavity that contains one or more resonators of
helical shape. It is based on the Cavity with posts and has the same
configurations and limitations.

CST SOLVER LIBRARY

General rectangular cavity A cubic or parallelepiped cavity which allows multiple coaxial, circular and
rectangular excitations. It can contain different types of posts of PEC or
dielectric material.

General cylindrical cavity A cylindrical cavity which allows multiple coaxial, circular and rectangular
excitations. It can contain different types of posts of PEC or dielectric material.

Lateral couplings to cylindrical A cavity defined by two circular waveguides that is excited by lateral ports,
cavity which can be circular or rectangular.

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T-Junction circular to rectangular A cavity defined by two circular waveguides that is excited by a lateral port
which is a rectangular waveguide. It is based on the Lateral couplings to
cylindrical cavity and has the same configurations and limitations.

T-Junction circular to circular A cavity defined by two circular waveguides that is excited by a lateral port
which is also a circular waveguide. It is based on the Lateral couplings to
cylindrical cavity and has the same configurations and limitations.

2.4.2.1 Basic Discontinuities

2.4.2.1.1 Step
This section describes the Step discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Step discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly an Step discontinuity.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Step How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The Step discontinuity is a zero-thickness surface used to attach two waveguides. It has two ports, each one
representing a waveguide. It is a special case of the more general element N-Step.
One of the attached waveguides must be the big one i.e. its cross section must contain the cross section of the other
(small) waveguide. The coordinate system of Step discontinuity is right-handed and is located at port 1 as shown in
the picture below, where the waveguide represented by port 1 is highlighted in red.

The waveguide that is represented by port 2 can be rotated and traslated with respect to the waveguide represented
by port 1, as shown in the following figure (small waveguide is port 2 , and the big waveguide is port 1, the big
waveguide is in first plane and small waveguide is in second plane):

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Traslation is defined by offsets in x- and y-axis of Step discontinuity coordinate system, while rotation is defined by an
angle applied around z-axis in clockwise direction. In order to define the values for these parameters it is important to
know how FEST3D places circuit elements in their corresponding spatial position. When building a circuit, FEST3D
locates each element according to a global reference system which is right-handed and settled in the input port of the
circuit. To do so FEST3D concatenates traslations and rotations which are defined by the user in the local reference
system of certain elements. The user must be aware of transformations previously applied to a certain element in
order to properly define offsets and rotation angle in the local reference system of the current element. Depending on
previous movements, the local reference system of the element may be transformed with respect to the global
reference system.
For example, if there has been a rotation and/or a traslation before the current Step, the user must take into account
that the local reference system of the Step is rotated and/or traslated with respect to the global reference system.
Thus, when defining the values of offsets and rotation angle of the current Step, their definition must be done with
respect to the transformed local reference system.
The easiest way to properly define traslations and rotation of Step discontinuity is by connecting its port 1 to a
waveguide that whenever possible has not been previously moved. This way, the local reference system of the Step is
not transformed with respect the global coordinate system and the offsets and rotation angle will be easily defined.
The following example illustrates this fact.

How to define rotation and traslations through Step discontinuity

Consider a circuit with three waveguides connected by two Steps, where the input port of the circuit is located at
waveguide 1:

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We want to obtain a structure where:

waveguides 1 and 2 are aligned with z-axis of global coordinate system and
waveguide 3 is rotated 45º and traslated 2 mm in X and Y directions with respect to the global reference
system of the circuit.

To do so, Step 1 must rotate and traslate waveguide 3 with respect to waveguide 1 in order to locate it in the proper
spatial position and Step 2 must undo that transformation, so that waveguide 2 remains aligned with waveguide 1
(see the following images).

Option 1

The easiest way to define the values of offsets and rotation angle of Steps 1 and 2 is the following one:

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Steps 1 and 2 connect their port 1 to waveguides 1 and 2 respectively, which means that their local reference systems
are located in these waveguides. As waveguides 1 and 2 are not rotated nor traslated in x- and y-axis with respect to
the global reference system of the circuit, local reference systems of Step 1 and 2 are not transformed.

Values of X and Y offsets and rotation angle of Steps 1 and 2 locate waveguide 3 in the same spatial position,
although being defined in different coordinate systems, which are shown in the following pictures:

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Option 2

We consider now an alternative way of connecting circuit elements to obtain the same structure as before. We just
change the way Step 2 is connected: we connect port 1 of Step 2 to waveguide 3. Step 1 changes the position of
waveguide 3 and so the local coordinate system of Step 2, which is located in waveguide 3.
In the structure we want to obtain waveguides 1 and 2 are aligned, so we have to undo the transformation carried out
by Step 1 through Step 2. In order to define the offsets and rotation of Step 2, we must take into account that its local
coordinate system is also modified with respect the global coordinate system. In this case it is advisable to work
with matrix representation.
Traslations in x- and y-axis and rotations around z-axis can be defined by the following affine transformation matrix:

cos [α] -sin [α] 0 x

sin [α] cos [α] 0 y
0 0 10
0 0 01

For the particular transformations carried out by Step 1, the matrix takes the form:

A=
cos [45] -sin [45] 0 2
sin [45] cos [45] 0 2
0 0 10
0 0 01

In order to know the specific movements that undo these tranfomations, we must compute the inverse of matrix A:

A -1 =
0.707107 0.707107 0 -2.82843
-0.707107 0.707107 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1

which corresponds to a rotation of 45º around z-axis and a traslation of -2.82843 in x-axis. These values define Step 2
parameters:

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If we do not consider that the local reference system of Step 2 is transformed by the modifications done to
waveguide 3 and define offsets and rotation of Step 2 to undo the transformations introduced by Step 1 with the
following values:

we will obtain a structure which is not what we expected. As shown in the picture below, waveguides 1 and 2 are not
aligned with the z-axis.

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Please refer to the N-Step element for further details and examples, remembering that a Step is simply an N-Step with
exactly 1 small waveguide.

Errors
The Step discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error, the possible
solutions or workarounds are explained.

error: unsupported coupling integral

You connected an unsupported combination of waveguides to the Step. A possible solution is to include
between the two waveguides, a waveguide of zero length which coupling integrals with the two surrounding
waveguides are known. Of course, this can lead to convergence problems.

Using the Step

The Step discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes.
The following figure show a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Step discontinuity:

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
For the second port of the Step, the following port parameters can be edited:

X Offset (mm) the X coordinate of the port 2 waveguide center, relative to the port 1 waveguide.
Y Offset (mm) the Y coordinate of the port 2 waveguide center, relative to the port 1 waveguide.
Rotation (degrees) the rotation of the port 2 waveguide, relative to the port 1 waveguide.

2.4.2.1.2 N-Step
This section describes the N-Step discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The N-Step discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly an N-Step discontinuity.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the N-Step How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The N-Step discontinuity is a zero-thickness surface used to attach two or more waveguides.
One of the attached waveguides must be the big one i.e. its cross section must contain all the cross sections of the
other (small) waveguides.
The N-Step has as many ports as the number of attached waveguides. Ports are used to connect elements together.
In this case, each waveguide is attached to a different port of the N-Step.
The big waveguide must be attached to port 1 of the N-Step. The small waveguides must be attached to ports
number 2 and higher of the N-Step.
Each small waveguide can be rotated and translated with respect to the big waveguide, as shown in the following
figure, where the z axis is pointing outwards the screen:

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The coordinate system imposed at any port of the N-Step by the previous waveguide is rotated and translated to the
others ports.
The cross sections of the small waveguides must not intersect and must be completely contained in the cross section
of the big waveguide.
For example, the following figure shows an admissible combination:

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Errors
The N-Step discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error, the possible
solutions or workarounds are explained.

error: unsupported coupling integral

You connected an unsupported combination of waveguides to the N-Step. The only solution is to change the
circuit and avoid that combination.

Using the N-Step

The N-Step discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes.

The following figures show a typical Element Properties dialog box for the N-Step discontinuity:

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
For each port of the N-Step attached to a small waveguide (i.e. all ports except the first), the following port
parameters can be edited:

X Offset (mm) the X coordinate of the small waveguide center, relative to the big waveguide.
Y Offset (mm) the Y coordinate of the small waveguide center, relative to the big waveguide.
Rotation (degrees) the rotation of the small waveguide, relative to the big waveguide.

2.4.2.1.3 N-Port User Defined

This section describes the N-Port User Defined discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The N-Port User Defined discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a N-Port User Defined discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the N-Port User How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
Defined

Definition
The N-Port User Defined discontinuity is a general-purpose element, whose electromagnetic characteristics are
completely configurable by specifying its S, Z or Y matrices. The S, Z or Y matrices can be obtained using the Compute
Z Matrix feature of FEST3D on another circuit, or can be imported from any other software that can produce them.
This allows reducing a whole circuit to a single element, reusable in more complex circuits.
The N-Port User Defined element has many ports as specified in the S, Z or Y matrix. Each port must be connected to
a waveguide (also see Limitations below).

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Limitations
The N-Port User Defined discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of.

Frequency points
The same frequency points used for the computation of the exported matrix must be used by the circuit
containing an N-Port User Defined discontinuity.

Errors
The User Defined discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error, the
possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

Sorry, the element User Defined number n was defined with different symmetries from what is defined
in the circuit
You connected the User Defined in a circuit with different symmetries. Solution: use the same symmetries.
Sorry, in the element User Defined n the relative electric permittivity of port p does not match with the
relative electric permittivity of the circuit where it is connected to
You connected to the User Defined a waveguide filled with a different dielectric material from what is specified
in the S, Z or Y matrix file. Solution: use the same dielectric material for that port.
Sorry, in the element User Defined n the relative electric permeability of port p do not match with the
relative electric permeability of the circuit where it is connected to
You connected to the User Defined a waveguide filled with a different dielectric material from what is specified
in the S, Z or Y matrix file. Solution: use the same dielectric material for that port.
Sorry, in the element User Defined n the conductivity of port p do not match with the conductivity of
the circuit where it is connected to
You connected to the User Defined a waveguide with different conductivity from what is specified in the S, Z or
Y matrix file. Solution: use the same conductivity for that port.
Sorry, in the element User Defined the waveguide type of port does not match with the waveguide type
of circuit where it is connected to. In the element User Defined n geometrical dimensions i of port p do
not match with the circuit
You connected to the User Defined a waveguide with different dimensions from what is specified in the S, Z or
Y matrix file. Solution: use the same dimensions for that port.
In the element User Defined the number of frequency points in the input file mismatch the number of
frequency points in the circuit
Solution: use the same number of frequency points.
In the element User Defined n the frequency points in the input file mismatch the frequency points in
the circuit
Solution: use the same frequency points.
Sorry, in the element User Defined n the number of modes does not agree with the number of
accessible modes in wg. x
Solution: use the same number of modes.
Sorry, in the element User Defined the mode number k does not agree with its corresponding mode in
wg. x
Solution: use the same mode expansion.

Using the N-Port User Defined

The N-Port User Defined discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes.
The following figure shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the N-Port User Defined discontinuity:

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The name and path of the file can be either entered directly (hit the Enter key when done) or chosen with the help of
an Open File dialog. The frequency and parameters ranges contained in the file are automatically read and shown in
the dialog box.

2.4.2.1.4 1-Port User Defined

This section describes the 1-Port User Defined discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The 1-Port User Defined discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a 1-Port User Defined discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the 1-Port User How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
Defined

Interface with FEKO How to use to interact with FEKO Simulation Software.

Definition
The 1-Port User Defined discontinuity is a general-purpose element of one port, whose electromagnetic
characteristics are completely configurable by specifying its S, Z or Y matrices. The S, Z or Y matrices can be obtained
using the Compute Z Matrix feature of FEST3D on another one port circuit, or can be imported from any other
software that can produce them.

Limitations
The 1-Port User Defined discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of.

Frequency points
The same frequency points used for the computation of the exported matrix must be used by the circuit
containing an 1-Port User Defined discontinuity.

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Errors
The 1-Port User Defined discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error,
the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

Sorry, the element 1-Port User Defined number n was defined with different symmetries from what is
defined in the circuit
You connected the 1-Port User Defined in a circuit with different symmetries. Solution: use the same
symmetries.
Sorry, in the element 1-Port User Defined n the relative electric permittivity of port 1 do not match with
the relative electric permittivity of the circuit where it is connected to
You connected to the 1-Port User Defined a waveguide filled with a different dielectric material from what is
specified in the S, Z or Y matrix file. Solution: use the same dielectric material for that port.
Sorry, in the element 1-Port User Defined n the relative electric permeability of port 1 do not match
with the relative electric permeability of the circuit where it is connected to
You connected to the 1-Port User Defined a waveguide filled with a different dielectric material from what is
specified in the S, Z or Y matrix file. Solution: use the same dielectric material for that port.
Sorry, in the element 1-Port User Defined n the conductivity of port 1 do not match with the
conductivity of the circuit where it is connected to
You connected to the 1-Port User Defined a waveguide with different conductivity from what is specified in the
S, Z or Y matrix file. Solution: use the same conductivity for that port.
Sorry, in the element 1-Port User Defined the waveguide type of port does not match with the
waveguide type of circuit where it is connected to. In the element 1-Port User Defined n geometrical
dimensions i of port 1 does not match with the circuit
You connected to the 1-Port User Defined a waveguide with different dimensions from what is specified in the
S, Z or Y matrix file. Solution: use the same dimensions for that port.
In the element 1-Port User Defined the number of frequency points in the input file mismatch the
number of frequency points in the circuit
Solution: use the same number of frequency points.
In the element 1-Port User Defined n the frequency points in the input file mismatch the frequency
points in the circuit
Solution: use the same frequency points.
Sorry, in the element 1-Port User Defined n the number of modes does not agree with the number of
accessible modes in wg. x
Solution: use the same number of modes.
Sorry, in the element 1-Port User Defined the mode number k does not agree with its corresponding
mode in wg. x
Solution: use the same mode expansion.

Using the 1-Port User Defined

The 1-Port User Defined discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes.
The following figure shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the 1-Port User Defined discontinuity:

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The name and path of the file can be either entered directly (hit the Enter key when done) or chosen with the help of
an Open File dialog. The frequency and parameters ranges contained in the file are automatically read and shown in
the dialog box.

2.4.2.1.5 Lumped
This section describes the Lumped discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Lumped discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a Lumped discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Lumped How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The Lumped discontinuity is configured by specifying its Z matrix. The Z matrix can be completely specified by the
user, or some predefined parametrization can be used: currently supported cases are shunt elements, transmission
lines and lossless transmission lines.
The Lumped element must have exactly two ports, connected to two identical waveguides (except for their lengths).
It is even possible to Optimize the parameters used to specify the Z matrix of this element.

Limitations
The Lumped discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

no geometry and electromagnetic validation

It is up to the user to guarantee that this element is connected correctly. The Lumped element performs no
geometry or electromagnetic validation against the waveguides it is connected to. It only checks that the two
waveguides it is connected to are identical (possibly except for their lengths).
no em field can be computed on this element

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Errors
The Lumped discontinuity should not produce errors.

Using the Lumped

The Lumped discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes, as the one shown below:

The Element Properties dialog box for the Lumped discontinuity allows the user to create impedance matrices for the
following circuit-like components:

Inverter

Parallel impedance

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T configuration impedances

Π (Greek PI) configuration impedances

Each impedance can be defined as a parallel of one or more of the following basic circuit-like components:

a constant, real resistance (R)

a pure inductance (L)
a pure capacity (C)

If the value of a resistance, inductance or capacity is set to zero (respectively 0 Ohm, 0 nanoHenry or 0 nanoFarad to
be exact), then such component is assumed not to be present. This allows the following combinations of components
in parallel: RLC, RL, RC, LC, R, L, C.
The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.

2.4.2.1.6 Coupling Matrix

This section describes the Coupling Matrix discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Coupling Matrix discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a Coupling Matrix discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Coupling Matrix How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The Coupling Matrix (CM) discontinuity represents a generalized multicoupled network through an N x N matrix

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where N is the number of resonators (the degree or order) of the filter and the elements of the matrix are the
coupling between each of the resonators. Since the source and load terminations for the Coupling Matrix element are
nonzero, the value of the input/output couplings appears in the N x N matrix by adding an extra row top and bottom
and an extra column on left and right creating an N+2 x N+2 matrix. In addition, the center frequency and the
bandwidth of the bandpass are required.
The Coupling Matrix element has exactly two ports.
It is even possible to Optimize the Coupling Matrix elements in order to obtain the desired frequency response.

Limitations
The Coupling Matrix discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

no geometry and electromagnetic validation

It is up to the user to guarantee that this element is connected correctly. The Coupling Matrix element
performs no geometry or electromagnetic validation against the waveguides it is connected to. However,
despite the fact that there is no real geometry for the Coulpling Matrix element, it is depicted on the 3D
visualization as a box with a cross section corresponding to the connected waveguides and length lambda/4 (at
Coupling Matrix element center frequency).
no EM field can be computed on this element
use of the number of accessible modes
Since the Coupling Matrix element simulation is a circuit calculation, the element does not use internally the
number of modes to calculate the frequency response. This makes irrelevant how many accessible modes are
using the waveguides to which the element is connected (Please, note that the number of the accessible
modes of each waveguide connected to the Coupling Matrix element must be the same). In order to
denormalize the source and load impedances of the Coupling Matrix element, all the accessible modes used in
each of the waveguides to which Coupling Matrix element is connected are taking into account.

Errors
The Coupling Matrix discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances:

The factorization has been completed, but the factor U is exactly singular, so the solution could not be
computed. The coupling matrix set is singular, that is, the determinant of the matrix is zero.

Using the Coupling Matrix

The Coupling Matrix discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes, as the one shown below:

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The Element Properties dialog box for the Coupling Matrix discontinuity allows the user to create coupling matrices
with the following parameters:

Filter Order: number of resonators of the filter (max. 20).

Center frequency (GHz).
Bandwidth (GHz).
Matrix: table with the value of the couplings between resonators. Note that source and load terminations are
always included. Since the Coupling Matrix represents a passive and reciprocal network, the matrix is
symmetrical about its principal diagonal.
Import matrix: the coupling values of the matrix can be set by importing a TXT file.
Export matrix: the coupling values of the matrix can be exported to a TXT file.
Visualize: computes and visualizes the Scattering parameters from the Coupling Matrix, the center
frequency and the bandwidth. The terminations (source and load) are normalized to unity.
Export S-Param: the Scattering parametres are exported as a FEST3D .out file.

It is allowed visualizing the S-Parameters calculated from the Coupling Matrix element. The frequency response is
calculated independently of the waveguides connected to the element by normalizing the source and load

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terminations to unity impedance. Export S-Param button allows exporting the frequency response to a FEST3D .OUT
file.
Each coupling value of the Coupling Matrix can be optimized by doing a right click on the corresponding cell.
The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.

2.4.2.1.7 Touchstone
This section describes the Touchstone discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Touchstone discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a Touchstone discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Touchstone How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The Touchstone discontinuity is a general-purpose element, whose electromagnetic characteristics are
completely specified by loading a Touchstone® file (also known as SnP file), which is an ASCII text file used for
documenting a N-port network parameter data. The Touchstone discontinutiy only allows Version 1.0
Touchstone® files (".ts" Version 2.0 extension is not allowed).

Limitations
The Touchstone discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

no geometry and electromagnetic validation

It is up to the user to guarantee that this element is connected correctly. The Touchstone element performs no
geometry or electromagnetic validation against the waveguides it is connected to. However, despite the fact
that there is no real geometry for the Touchstone element, it is depicted on the 3D visualization:
2-port network: as a rectangular box with a cross section corresponding to the connected waveguides
and length lambda/4 (at Touchstone file first frequency).
N-port network (N>2): as a circular box where the ports are located around it at equidistant distance.
The size of the box depends on the number of ports of the network.
no EM field can be computed on this element
use of the number of accessible modes
Although the Touchstone discontinuity allows connections with waveguides with any number of accessible
modes, the characteristic impedances of the ports connected to the element only take into account the first
accessible mode to calculate the frequency response (Please, note that the number of the accessible modes
of each waveguide connected to the Touchstone element must be the same).
simulation frequency range
The simulation frequency range of the whole circuit must be contained within the frequency range specified in
the Touchstone element.
Noise parameters are not allowed
The noise data of linear active devices will be omitted if they exist in the Touchstone® file.

Errors
The Touchstone discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances related to the loading of
the Touchstone® file:

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Error loading the option line in touchstone file. The allowed values for the frequency units are: GHz, MHz, KHz
and Hz.
Error loading the option line in touchstone file. Only Scattering parameters (S) are allowed.
Error loading the option line in touchstone file. The allowed values for the format data are: RI for real-
imaginary, MA for magnitude-angle and DB for dB-angle (dB=20*log10|magnitude|).
Error loading the option line in touchstone file. The reference resistance to which the parameters are
normalized must be a positive number in Ohms. Zero value will consider the parameters as not renormalized.
Error loading the option line in touchstone file. The option line must be formatted as follows: # <frequency
unit> <parameter> <format> R <n>.
Error loading the option line in touchstone file. Option parameters not found in touchstone file.

Using the Touchstone

The Touchstone discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes, as the one shown below:
The following figure shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Touchstone discontinuity:

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The name and path of the file can be either entered directly (hit the Enter key when done) or chosen with the help of
an Open File dialog.

2.4.2.1.8 Rounded corner iris 3D

This section describes the Rounded corner iris 3D discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The Rounded corner iris 3D discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Rounded corner iris 3D discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the Rounded corner iris How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
3D

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Definition
The Rounded corner iris discontinuity represents an iris with rounded corners which are built in the H- or E-plane. Top
and side views for both planes are sketched in the figures below.

Basic geometrical scheme of side view for E-plane

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Basic geometrical scheme of side view for H-plane

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Basic geometrical scheme of top view for H-plane

Basic geometrical scheme of top view for E-plane

The Rounded corner iris 3D discontinuity is an extension of the rounded corner iris (2D), which allows geometries not
purely inductive or capacitive.

Limitations
This element has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:
High memory consumption using parallelization in circuits with many irises
If small values of mesh sizes are specified (for high accuracy or convergence tests), then very large meshes and
dense matrices are required in the simulation, consuming an important amount of RAM. Once the meshing of
the element is performed, the information window will show an estimation of the maximum total memory that
will be used during calculations. Besides, the software will automatically detect if the memory requirements are
greater than the RAM memory available in the system, and will stop the simulation if necessary. If there are
several different irises in the circuit, and multicore simulation is desired, it is important to take into
account that these RAM requirements are increased, and a slowdown in the computer performance might
be encountered. For those cases, it is recommended to employ a lower number of processors, which may allow
successfully completing a simulation that cannot be performed using more cores due to memory limitation
problems. If reducing the number of processors the memory problems still persist, it is advisable to increase
the mesh size values (reduce precision) of the posts or rounded corners in the cavity (explained in the
specifications section below) for performing the simulation.

Errors
The Rounded corner iris 3D discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error,

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the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

FATAL ERROR. Not even a single resonant mode can be obtained for this cavity. Please change the
cavity dimensions or increase the Maximum Frequency of the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG
The maximum frequency introduced is under the cut-off frequency of the cavity that contains the 3D iris, used
by the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG. Provided that the dimensions of the iris and the ports are correct, the solution is
to increase the value of this maximum frequency. It is recommended to set it to a value two or three times the
maximum frequency of the desired analysis band.

FATAL ERROR. No 3D mesh detected. Please re-check the geometry, or try to reduce the mesh size
If this error appears, it means that the meshing algorithm was able to create a 2D mesh, but not a 3D. This 3D
mesh is necessary to compute data employed for the EM fields calculations. For this reason, the simulation is
forbidden if the 3D mesh is not available. This situation may happen if a wrong geometry has been specified.

Error building mesh file

This error occurs when there is some problem building the mesh. This can occur if there are failures while
generating the geometry. It is advisable to check if the geometry can be visualized with the 3D viewer. If this is
the case, then the problem is related to the meshing algorithms, due to the same reasons explained for the
previous error related to failure of the 3D mesh.

FATAL ERROR, mesh file not found

This message will appear if the meshing needed by the internal routines is not found. This error is usually
related to the building mesh error explained before, and should not appear in the case of a correct mesh
generation.

LAPACK error: some error message

The admittance matrix is not invertible at the simulated frequency point. This can only happen during the
frequency loop. This error is very unusual and it can be produced if a simulated frequency point is too close to
a pole. In this case the problem can be solved by slightly changing the frequency points.

cmalloc() failed: Out of memory!:

This happens when too much memory is required to solve the system. It is recommended, in this case, to
reduce the Maximum Frequency value, and/or increase the mesh size values.

Simulation error (no further explanation):

This error is also related with memory limitations, and may occur if too much precision is demanded. Besides,
this problem can appear when performing simulations with several cores, due to the higher memory
requirements of this feature. Reducing the number of processors is necessary to successfully perform the
simulation.

Using the Rounded corner iris discontinuity

The Rounded corner iris discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes and can view it in the 3D viewer.
Connections to other elements This element must be connected to two Rectangular waveguides (one for each port).
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Rounded corner iris discontinuity.

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Specific properties of the Rounded corner iris 3D

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

R (mm/inches): Radius of the external corners.

Ai (mm/inches): Width dimension of the iris (X axis).
Bi (mm/inches): Height dimension of the iris (Y axis).
Li (mm/inches): The length of the iris (Z axis).
Iris offset X (mm/inches): The offset of the iris in the x-axis direction, relative to the reference box center.
Iris offset Y (mm/inches): The offset of the iris in the y-axis direction, relative to the reference box center.
Mesh size (mm/inches): This value specifies the size of the triangles which are used for meshing the geometry
of this element (iris walls and rounded corners) during the simulation. The user should change this mesh size
for each particular case, taking into account the maximum and minimum dimensions employed. The smaller
the mesh size, the finest the internal meshing, which will lead to more accurate results, but it will also slow

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down the simulation time. Also, very small values may produce memory allocation problems, due to large size
of matrices involved with the meshing.
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (air by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (air by default).
Select type of geometry (E-plane or H-plane): To select whether the round corners of the iris are build in the
E or the H plane (see the possibilities depicted in legend figures above) .
Maximum Frequency (GHz): This parameter is required for the BI-RME 3D Solver, and specifies the maximum
value of the frequencies of the resonant modes of the cavity to be computed during the analysis.

The particular geometry of this element is analyzed using the electromagnetic Solver BI-RME 3D RWG. This Solver
considers Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions for modelling the surface currents of the posts. This Solver
requires that the geometry is meshed with triangular patches onto which the RWG basis functions are defined.
Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figures below. This discontinuity always considers two ports. For each
port, a specification tab is shown. A waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be
filled with the connections already associated to this element. For the case of the second port tab, X and Y offsets
can be set. These offsets are defined with respect to the port 1 as depicted in the legend figures (parameters
p2_off_x and p2_off_y).

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Port 1 properties of the Rounded corner iris 3D

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Port 2 properties of the Rounded corner iris 3D

Important considerations about the ports

If two rectangular waveguides of the same section are used, the internal solver performs an analytical treatment to the
ports. In other cases, if one of the port sections is bigger than the other, an internal mesh of the smaller port
section is required by the BI-RME 3D RWG electromagnetic Solver. For this case, the optional parameter Mesh
size port must be set , which specifies the size of the triangles that are used for the port meshing.
It is important to remark that the correct choice of this parameter is critical for the accuracy of the electromagnetic

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analysis. The mesh density employed for the port must be increased for large numbers of accessible modes of the
rectangular waveguide, in order to maintain the accuracy of the method. As a consequence, a large number of
accessible modes in the waveguide port will require a higher computational cost.
In order to help the user to take into account these considerations, it is recommended to set this value to zero,
allowing this way FEST3D to automatically choose an adequate value as a default. The automatic criterion employed
obeys the following rules:

If 30 or less accessible modes are employed in the rectangular waveguide, the triangle size is chosen as 1/5 of
the minimum dimension (a,b) of the waveguide.
If the number of coaxial modes is between 30 and 45, the triangle size is chosen as 0.2 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the rectangular waveguide.
If 45 or more modes are employed for the coaxial, the triangle size is chosen as 0.1 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the rectangular waveguide.

If a large amount of accessible modes is desired for the smaller waveguide port, it is necessary to take into
account that very fine meshes will be created using the automatic criterion, slowing down the simulation time
and increasing the memory consumption. Thus, it is not recommended to employ a high number of accessible
modes unless it is mandatory. If this is the case, one way to deal with the mentioned drawback is to set
manually the mesh size value for those cases, using the value that is shown in the element information as a
reference. Tests with larger values can be performed in order to find a tradeoff between convergence,
accuracy and computational cost.

Finally, it is important to remind again that the Mesh size port value is only necessary for the cases of different
port sections connected to this element, and only applies to the smaller port section. Values set to the larger
port or to any of the ports if both sections are equal, will not take any effect during simulation.

The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

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Specific properties of the Rounded corner iris 3D EM Field

2.4.2.2 Junctions library

The Junctions library contains the following discontinuities:

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Cubic Junction
T-Junction
Y-Junction (60 deg)
Y-Junction general with N screws
2D OMT
2D Compensated Tee

2.4.2.2.1 Cubic Junction

This section describes the C-Junction discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The C-Junction discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a C-Junction discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the C-Junction How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The C-Junction discontinuity is a cubic or parellelepiped cavity. Each surface of the cavity can be connected to zero or
one rectangular waveguide.
The dimensions of the C-Junction are taken from the adjacent waveguides. As a maximum, the total number of
waveguides connected to the C-Junction is six.
This type of discontinuity enforces a fixed position of the coordinate system in each port. The next figure shows this
distribution.

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Limitations
The C-Junction can be connected only to rectangular waveguides. Two rectangular connected waveguides with
common sides must have the same dimensions on that sides.
The dimensions a, b and c of the C-Junction can not be left undefined so at least two rectangular waveguides
have to be connect to the discontinuity.
The waveguides located in opposite C-junction faces must have the same number of accessible modes.
EM Fields can not be computed on this element

Errors
The C-Junction discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error, the
possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

error: unsupported coupling integral

You connected a non-Rectangular waveguide to the C-Junction. The only solution is to change the circuit and
include a zero-length rectangular waveguide between the C-junction and the connected waveguide.
error: inconsistent geometry
You did not connected enough rectangular waveguide to the C-Junction in order to be able to extract the a, b
and c dimensions. Or you connected rectangular waveguides whose dimensions can not match in a C-Junction.
The first problem can be solved connecting 2 or more waveguides (depending on the position in the C-
Junction). The solution of the second problem is to change the circuit and include a zero-length rectangular
waveguide between the C-junction and the connected waveguide.

Using the C-Junction

The C-Junction discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes.
The following figures show a typical Element Properties dialog box for the C-Junction discontinuity:

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following C-Junction parameters can be edited:

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Modes Front-Back: number of modes used for Front-Back coupling.
Modes Left-Right: number of modes used for Left-Right coupling.
Modes Top-Bottom: number of modes used for Top-Bottom coupling.

These number of modes must be higher than the corresponding number of accessible modes of the adjacent
waveguides. Setting this value to 0 the number of modes taken will be equal to the corresponding number of
accessible modes.
In the lower part of the window, the number of ports are defined and the situation of each port in the C-junction is
given: front, back, right, left, top and bottom.

2.4.2.2.2 T-Junction
This section describes the T-Junction discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The T-Junction discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a T-Junction discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Using the T-Junction How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The T-Junction discontinuity is a parallelepiped cavity connected to three Rectangular waveguides, forming a T-like
shape. It is a special case of the more general element C-Junction. The dimensions of the parallelepiped cavity are
determined as the intersection of the connected Rectangular waveguides.
Please refer to the C-Junction element for further details and examples, remembering that a T-Junction is a special
case of it.

Limitations
The T-Junction discontinuity has the same limitations and caveats as the C-Junction.

Using the T-Junction

The T-Junction discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes.
The following figures show a typical Element Properties dialog box for the T-Junction discontinuity:

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
In the lower part of the window, the number of ports are defined and the situation of each port in the C-junction is
given: front, back, right, left, top and bottom.

2.4.2.2.3 Y-junction General with N screws

This section describes the General Y-junction with N screws discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The General Y-junction with N screws discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a General Y-junction with N screws discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Y-junction How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial features of the Y-junction.

Definition
The General Y-junction with N screws discontinuity, based on the Arbitrary shape , represents a generalized Y-junction
among three Rectangular waveguides. Additional posts (rectangular metal insertions and screws) can be considered
inside the Y-junction as well. This element is a template that lets you to specify the geometry of the circuit defining a
reduced number of parameters, without using the Arbitrary Shape Editor.

For these reasons many of the limitations and remarks of the Arbitrary shape element apply to this element as well.
The only difference comes from the definition of the coordinate system on each of the three ports.
The user can specify the geometry as shown in the following figure:

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The user must specify the lengths L12, L13, L2 and L3, and the angles 2 and 3 (in degrees). All lengths and widths must
be positive. Angles can be positive, negative or zero.
Examples:

A symmetric (120°) Y-junction requires α2 = α3 = 60°

A T-junction with port 1 and port 2 on the same waveguide requires α2 = 0°, α3 = 90°
A T-junction with port 2 and port 3 on the same waveguide requires α2 = α3 = 90°

Limitations
This element has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary shape it is derived from.
In addition to this, the user should be aware that only some of the most common errors (negative lengths or port
widths) are detected and suitable error messages are issued. In general, it is up to the user to ensure that the
geometry is valid.

Errors
The Y-junction discontinuity can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary shape it is derived from.

Using the Y-junction (general) with N screws

The Y-junction discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Rounded corner iris discontinuity.

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

L12: Distance from port 1 to the point where port 2 branch starts.
L13: Distance from port 1 to the point where port 3 branch starts.
L2: Length of port 2 branch.
L3: Length of port 3 branch.
Angle 2: Angle between port 2 and port 1.
Angle 3: Angle between port 3 and port 1.

Dielectric Permittivity: the relative dielectric permittivity of the homogeneous medium filling this element (1.0

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is vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability: the relative dielectric permeability of the homogeneous medium filling this element
(1.0 is vacuum).
Select type of geometry: Here the geometry can be specified to be Constant width or Constant height.
Maximum frequency (GHz): the highest frequency for the analysis of the component. By default, it is set
to 0.0, which means that this value is taken automatically as the double of the maximum frequency analyzed in
the circuit. A modification of the maximum simulated frequency can result in a change of the S parameters. It
could also slow down the simulation unnecessarily.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figure below. This discontinuity always considers three ports. For each
port, a specification tab is shown. A waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be
filled with the connections already associated to this element.

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Another part of the specifications of this element is the General posts tab, as shown in the figure below. Here,
additional posts (full constant width/height) can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add
button. Two post shapes can be selected:

Rectangular metal insertions. The parameters of these insertions are the same as the ones defined in the
Waveguide step with N metal inserts discontinuities.
Screws. The parameters of these insertions are the same as the ones described in the Waveguide step with N

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screws discontinuities.

The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the

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calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Hints
If the two angles of the arms are set to 90 degrees, a T junction is created.
The electromagnetic Solver will perform more efficient analysis for small values of lengths of the different
branches. Larger ports can be easily considered by increasing the length of the respective waveguides attached
to this element.

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2.4.2.2.4 Y-Junction (60 deg)

Definition
The Y-junction (60 degrees) discontinuity is based on the General Y-junction with N screws discontinuity, and has the
same characteristics and limitations. The only considerations to be taken is that the angles of the arms are fixed to
60 degrees and that no screws can be positioned inside of the Y-junction.

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Please refer to General Y-junction with N screws discontinuity to get more information.

2.4.2.2.5 2D OMT
This section describes the 2D OMT discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The 2D OMT section contains the following topics:

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Definition What is exactly a 2D OMT.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the 2D OMT How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial features of the 2D OMT.

Definition
The 2D OMT, based on the Arbitrary shape, represents an OMT among three Rectangular waveguides. Additional
posts (rectangular metal insertions and screws) can be considered inside the OMT as well. This element is a template
that lets you to specify the geometry of the circuit defining a reduced number of parameters, without using the
Arbitrary Shape Editor.

For these reasons many of the limitations and remarks of the Arbitrary shape element apply to this element as well.
The only difference comes from the definition of the coordinate system on each of the three ports.
The user can specify the geometry as shown in the following figure:

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The user must specify the lengths dn and ln for every step. Additionally port lengths lp1, lp2 and lp3 can be set.
A radius for every edge of steps can be set. Lp1, Lp2 and Lp3 and radius can be zero. Offset can be positive, negative
or zero. Rest of dimensions must be positive.

Limitations

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This element has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary shape it is derived from.
In addition to this, the user should be aware that only some of the most common errors (negative lengths or port
widths) are detected and suitable error messages are issued. In general, it is up to the user to ensure that the
geometry is valid.

Errors
The 2D OMT discontinuity can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary shape it is derived from.

Using the 2D OMT

The 2D OMT discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the 2D OMT.

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

Number of steps: (1 by default). For each step, a specific tab will appear, in which two parameters are set:
li (mm/inches): Distance l of each step (shown in the legend).
di (mm/inches): Distance d of each step (shown in the legend).
Lp1 (mm/inches): Distance from port 1 to the point where port 2 branch starts. It can be zero.
Lp2 (mm/inches): Distance from port 2 to the point where port 1 branch starts. It can be zero.
Lp3 (mm/inches): Distance from port 3 to the point where port 1 branch starts. It can be zero.
P3 Offset (mm/inches): Offset of the port 3 respect to the center of that wall.
R: Optional rounding radius used in the external corners (shown in the legend).

Dielectric Permittivity: the relative dielectric permittivity of the homogeneous medium filling this element (1.0
is vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability: the relative dielectric permeability of the homogeneous medium filling this element
(1.0 is vacuum).
Select type of geometry: Here the geometry can be specified to be Constant width or Constant height.
Maximum frequency (GHz): the highest frequency for the analysis of the component. By default, it is set
to 0.0, which means that this value is taken automatically as the double of the maximum frequency analyzed in
the circuit. A modification of the maximum simulated frequency can result in a change of the S parameters. It
could also slow down the simulation unnecessarily.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figure below. This discontinuity always considers three ports. For each
port, a specification tab is shown. A waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be
filled with the connections already associated to this element.

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Another part of the specifications of this element is the General posts tab, as shown in the figure below. Here,
additional posts (full constant width/height) can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add
button. Two post shapes can be selected:

Rectangular metal insertions. The parameters of these insertions are the same as the ones defined in the
Waveguide step with N metal inserts discontinuities.
Screws. The parameters of these insertions are the same as the ones described in the Waveguide step with N
screws discontinuities.

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab

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allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Hints

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The electromagnetic Solver will perform more efficient analysis for small values of lengths of the different
branches. Larger ports can be easily considered by increasing the length of the respective waveguides attached
to this element.

2.4.2.2.6 2D Compensated Tee

This section describes the 2D Compensated Tee discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The 2D compensated Tee section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a 2D Compensated Tee.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the 2D Compensated How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
tee

Hints Non-trivial features of the 2D Compensated Tee.

Definition
The 2D Compensated Tee, based on the Arbitrary shape, represents a T-junction among three Rectangular
waveguides. Additional posts (rectangular metal insertions and screws) can be considered inside the T-junction as
well. This element is a template that lets you to specify the geometry of the circuit defining a reduced number of
parameters, without using the Arbitrary Shape Editor.

For these reasons many of the limitations and remarks of the Arbitrary shapeelement apply to this element as well.
The only difference comes from the definition of the coordinate system on each of the three ports.
The user can specify the geometry as shown in the following figure:

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The user must specify the lengths Lp1, Lp2, Lp3 and the dimensions of the insertion Wi, Li, Ri, Re, Rp and its offset.
Lp1, Lp2 and Lp3 and radius can be zero. Offset can be positive, negative or zero. Rest of dimensions must be positive.

Limitations
This element has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary shapeit is derived from.
In addition to this, the user should be aware that only some of the most common errors (negative lengths or port
widths) are detected and suitable error messages are issued. In general, it is up to the user to ensure that the
geometry is valid.

Errors
The 2D Compensated Tee discontinuity can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary shapeit is derived from.

Using the 2D compensated Tee

The 2D Compensated Tee discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the 2D Compensated Tee discontinuity.

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

Lp1: Distance from port 1 to the point where port 2 branch starts. It can be zero.
Lp2: Distance from port 2 to the point where port 1 branch starts. It can be zero.
Lp3: Distance from port 3 to the point where port 1 branch starts. It can be zero.
Offset: Offset of the insert from the mid point of port 1.
Wi: Width of metal insert.

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Li: Length of metal insert.
Re: Base radius of the insert. It can be 0.
Ri: Top radius of the insert. It can be 0.
Rp: Radius of the port1. It can be 0.

Dielectric Permittivity: the relative dielectric permittivity of the homogeneous medium filling this element (1.0
is vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability: the relative dielectric permeability of the homogeneous medium filling this element
(1.0 is vacuum).
Select type of geometry: Here the geometry can be specified to be Constant width or Constant height.
Maximum frequency (GHz): the highest frequency for the analysis of the component. By default, it is set
to 0.0, which means that this value is taken automatically as the double of the maximum frequency analyzed in
the circuit. A modification of the maximum simulated frequency can result in a change of the S parameters. It
could also slow down the simulation unnecessarily.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figure below. This discontinuity always considers three ports. For each
port, a specification tab is shown. A waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be
filled with the connections already associated to this element.

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Another part of the specifications of this element is the General posts tab, as shown in the figure below. Here,
additional posts (full constant width/height) can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add
button. Two post shapes can be selected:

Rectangular metal insertions. The parameters of these insertions are the same as the ones defined in the
Waveguide step with N metal inserts discontinuities.
Screws. The parameters of these insertions are the same as the ones described in the Waveguide step with N
screws discontinuities.

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

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Hints
The electromagnetic Solver will perform more efficient analysis for small values of lengths of the different
branches. Larger ports can be easily considered by increasing the length of the respective waveguides attached
to this element.

2.4.2.3 Bends

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2.4.2.3.1 Stepped Bend

This section describes the Stepped Bend discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Stepped Bend discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Stepped Bend discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Stepped Bend How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The Stepped Bend discontinuity based on the Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) , represents a special bend
shape between two rectangular waveguides (ports 1 and 2), in which the non-shared corner of the bend is made out
of steps. An optional rounding radius can be considered for defining the stepped geometry, as shown in the figure
below.

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Using the Stepped Bend discontinuity

The Stepped Bend discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes and can view it in the 3D viewer.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Stepped Bend discontinuity.

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.

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The following parameters can be edited:

R (mm/inches): Optional rounding radius used in the external corners (shown in the legend).
Length port 1 (mm/inches): Piece of length of the port 1 (shown in the legend).
Length port 2 (mm/inches): Piece of length of the port 2 (shown in the legend).
Number of steps (1 by default). For each step, a specific tab will appear, in which two parameters are set:
li (mm/inches): Distance l of each step (shown in the legend).
di (mm/inches): Distance d of each step (shown in the legend).

Dielectric Permittivity: the relative dielectric permittivity of the homogeneous medium filling this element (1.0
is vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability: the relative dielectric permeability of the homogeneous medium filling this element
(1.0 is vacuum).
Bend direction: This direction of the turn of the bend from port 1. It can be set as "Right", "Left", ""Up" or
"Down". Depending on this parameter, the geometry will be automatically set as Constant width or Constant
height.

Max Frequency (0 = auto) (GHz): the highest frequency for the analysis of the component. In most cases
it can be set to “auto”, which means that this value is taken automatically as the double of the maximum
frequency analyzed in the circuit. A modification of the maximum simulated frequency can result in a change of
the S parameters. It could also slow down the simulation unnecessarily.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figure below. This discontinuity always considers two ports. For each
port, a specification tab is shown. A waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be
filled with the connections already associated to this element.

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the

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calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Limitations
This element has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary shape discontinuity.

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Errors
This element can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary shape.

Hints
Better convergence is achieved if non-zero values of Length of port 1 and 2 are used (typically 1/10 of the size
of each respective port).

2.4.2.3.2 Mitered Bend

This section describes the Mitered Bend discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Mitered Bend discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Mitered Bend discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Mitered Bend How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The Mitered Bend discontinuity based on the Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) , represents a special bend
shape between two rectangular waveguides (ports 1 and 2), in which the non-shared corner of the bend is a mitered
corner, which may have an additional intermediate point(depending on the parameters' values L1' and L2' given by
the user). An additional rounding radius can be also considered. Geometry examples are shown in the figure below.

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Using the Mitered Bend discontinuity

The Mitered Bend discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes and can view it in the 3D viewer.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Mitered Bend discontinuity.

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

L1 (mm/inches): Distance defined from port 2 to the mitered corner (shown in the legend).
L2 (mm/inches): Distance defined from port 1 to the mittered corner (shown in the legend).
L1' (mm/inches): Distance defined from L1 to the position of an optional intermediate point in the mitered
corner (shown in the legend).
L2 '(mm/inches): Distance defined from L2 to the position of an optional intermediate point in the mitered
corner (shown in the legend).
Length port 1 (mm/inches): Piece of length of the port 1 (shown in the legend).
Length port 2 (mm/inches): Piece of length of the port 21 (shown in the legend).
R (mm/inches): Optional rounding radius used in the external corners (shown in the legend).

Dielectric Permittivity: the relative dielectric permittivity of the homogeneous medium filling this element (1.0
is vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability: the relative dielectric permeability of the homogeneous medium filling this element
(1.0 is vacuum).
Bend direction: This direction of the turn of the bend from port 1. It can be set as "Right", "Left", ""Up" or
"Down". Depending on this parameter, the geometry will be automatically set as Constant width or Constant
height.

Max Frequency (0 = auto) (GHz): the highest frequency for the analysis of the component. In most cases
it can be set to “auto”, which means that this value is taken automatically as the double of the maximum
frequency analyzed in the circuit. A modification of the maximum simulated frequency can result in a change of
the S parameters. It could also slow down the simulation unnecessarily.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figure below. This discontinuity always considers two ports. For each
port, a specification tab is shown. A waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be
filled with the connections already associated to this element.

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended

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to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Limitations
This element has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary shape discontinuity.

Errors

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This element can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary shape.

Hints
Better convergence is achieved if non-zero values of Length of port 1 and 2 are used (typically 1/10 of the size
of each respective port).

2.4.2.3.3 2D Curved
This section describes the 2D Curved discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The 2D Curved discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a 2D Curved discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the 2D Curved How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The 2D Curved discontinuity based on the Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) , represents a curved bend shape
between two rectangular waveguides (ports 1 and 2). The user can specify the geometry as shown in the following
figure:

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Limitations
This element has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary shape it is derived from.
In addition to this, the user should be aware that only some of the most common errors (negative angle
or different port sizes) are detected and suitable error messages are issued. In general, it is up to the user to ensure
that the geometry is valid.

Errors
The 2D Curved discontinuity can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary shape it is derived from.

Using the 2D Curved discontinuity

The 2D Curved discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes and can view it in the 3D viewer.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the 2D Curved discontinuity.

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

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Angle (degrees): Curvature angle (range: 0 < angle< 360)

Mean radius (mm/inches): Mean radius of the curve

Curvature direction: This direction of the turn of the bend from port 1. It can be set as "Right", "Left", ""Up" or
"Down". Depending on this parameter, the geometry will be automatically set as Constant width or Constant
height.

Dielectric Permittivity: the relative dielectric permittivity of the homogeneous medium filling this element (1.0
is vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability: the relative dielectric permeability of the homogeneous medium filling this element
(1.0 is vacuum).
Select type of geometry: Here the geometry can be specified to be Constant width or Constant height.
Maximum frequency (GHz): the highest frequency for the analysis of the component. By default, it is set
to 0.0, which means that this value is taken automatically as the double of the maximum frequency analyzed in
the circuit. A modification of the maximum simulated frequency can result in a change of the S parameters. It
could also slow down the simulation unnecessarily.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figure below. This discontinuity always considers two ports. For each
port, a specification tab is shown. A waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be
filled with the connections already associated to this element.

Please note that input and output waveguides must have same dimensions when being connected through this
element.

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

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Hints
For Curvature Angle > 90 degrees, it is recommended to split the bend into multiple sub-bends (connected by
zero-length waveguides) to improve performance
For Mean Radius > A, it is recommended to split the bend into multiple sub-bends (connected by zero-length
waveguides) to improve performance.

2.4.2.4 Const width/height discontinuities

2.4.2.4.1 Arbitrary shape

This section describes the Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its
features and limitations. The Const width/height arbitrary shape discontinuity section contains the following topics:

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Definition What is exactly a Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or

workarounds to them.

Using the Arbitrary shape (constant How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
width/height)

Definition
The Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) discontinuity represents a microwave circuit that is constant along a
certain direction, but is otherwise arbitrary in the normal plane. It is employed to model rectangular waveguide
junctions where all the waveguides have the same width (parameter 'A') or height (parameter 'B'). In addition, the
centre of these waveguides must be contained in the same plane (perpendicular to the constant direction) as shown
in the following figures.

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In order to geometrically define a Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) discontinuity, one must describe the
arbitrary 2D contour of the component and the position of the ports. Additionally, the user must define whether the
2D contour is extruded in the direction of the width (A) or height (B) of the connected waveguides by choosing the
appropriate "Constant height" or "Constant width" radio button.

The contour of the Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) discontinuity is described in a .mesh file that can be
generated and modified using the Arbitrary Shape Editor integrated in FEST3D. It contains a collection of straight
segments, circular and/or elliptical arcs that define a closed path (open contours are not supported). Multiple
contours are allowed, representing elements that are multiply-connected (ie. having one or more "holes"). However,
this contours cannot intersect or be mutually tangent. Furthermore, an internal contour cannot be placed within
another internal contour (see figures).

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The ports of the structure can be defined as the interfaces between the discontinuity and each of the connected
Rectangular waveguides. There is no limit in the number of ports that an Arbitrary shape (constant width/height)
discontinuity can support. To define their position, the segments that define the intersection between the plane
containing the arbitrary section and the transversal plane of each connected waveguide must be marked as ports in
the Arbitrary Shape Editor.
Each port has its own fixed coordinate system, and the waveguide that is connected to such port adopts the same
coordinate system. In the previous figures, the two examples of the constant-height and constant-width components
included each port coordinate system as a reference. For other structures, the procedure to determine unambiguously
the orientation of the coordinate system for each port can be described as follows:

Starting from the 2D arbitrary contour, define the vectors tangent to the contour at the ports (t) in a
counter-clockwise sense and the normal vectors (n) pointing inwards.
From t and n, vector u can be found as u = t X n
The constant dimension of the ports will be aligned with u , meaning that for constant-height
discontinuities u = y and for constant-width discontinuities u = x.
Knowing one of the waveguide transversal components u, the other that remains unknown v (ie. v = x for
constant-height discontinuities and v = y for constant-width components), can be found following this
rule:

For port #1: v = t

which implies that the waveguide direction points inwards (ie. from the waveguide towards the
discontinuity).
Otherwise, v = -t
which implies that the waveguide direction points outwards (ie. from the discontinuity towards
the waveguide).

Regarding the parameters of the electromagnetic Solver based in the BI-RME 2D method that analyzes this
component, the user must fix a maximum frequency value as well. The maximum frequency value is related to the
higher resonant mode considered within the discontinuity when all the ports are short-circuited.
A material different from vacuum can be chosen to fill the discontinuity. In such a case, the dielectric properties
(relative dielectric permittivity and permeability) of this material must be specified.
Although this element typically represents an E-plane or H-plane component, the discontinuity accepts any
rectangular waveguide mode as excitation. Consequently, it can be regarded as a full-wave element. However, if this
element is indeed used within an E-plane or H-plane circuit, it is advised to select the general "All-capacitive" or "All-

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inductive" symmetry option in the specifications of the circuit. The use of the appropriate symmetry will speed up
considerably the analysis of the discontinuity since less modes are computed.

Limitations
The Const width/height discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of.

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Rectangular waveguides (one for each port). The width and height of
the ports of this element must be equal to the dimensions of the Rectangular waveguides attached to the
component.
No full check for valid geometry
The code performs only a limited (incomplete) geometry validation. It is the user's responsibility to ensure the
specified geometry is valid.
Invalid geometries
Examples of invalid contours are:
open contours
intersecting or tangent contours
contours internal to other internal contours
cross-section profile with <1 ports
ports defined on arcs rather than on segments
Low accuracy in some cases
Defining two adjacent segments as ports should be avoided (for instance, bends). Instead, it is advised to
include a portion of the access rectangular waveguide in the 2D section.

Some loss in accuracy should be expected if the contour includes very thin regions or internal contours very
close to the boundary or to other internal contours, as shown in the following figures.

If you cannot avoid these cases, you are recommended to set a high value of Max Frequency (see below).
Slow convergence in some cases
The simulation of some geometries, including the ones explained in low accuracy in some cases above, may
require some extra user effort to reach convergence. In particular, the default auto setting of Max Frequency
parameter explained below, may not be enough to reach convergence. In these cases, the Convergence Study
must be performed including the Max Frequency parameter with all other numeric accuracy parameters and
tuning all of them manually.

Errors
The Const width/height arbitrary shape discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances.
For each error, the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

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Invalid geometry
The geometry is invalid. The problem will be specified together with the probable causes. Usually it is sufficient
to adjust the profile definition using the Arbitrary Shape Editor to fix the problem.
LTM matrix is not positive definite
This error can occur if the geometry is tricky. For instance, if a small arc is employed. To solve the problem, you
can try to increase the Max Frequency until the error disappears.
Not enough arbitrary modes generated
If the number of generated modes is less than 3, the simulation pops up a message and it is stopped. To solve
this, the user must start a new simulation specifying a larger Max Frequency.

Using the Arbitrary shape (constant width/height)

The Arbitrary shape (constant width/height) discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create,
view and edit this element properties using dialog boxes and the Arbitrary Shape Editor.
The following pictures show a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Arbitrary shape (constant width/height):

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

MESH File: the file containing the arbitrary shape cross-section (profile) for this element
Edit button: The Edit button opens the Arbitrary Shape Editor allowing the user to view/edit the mesh file.

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Dielectric Permittivity: the relative dielectric permittivity of the homogeneous medium filling this element (1.0
is vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability: the relative dielectric permeability of the homogeneous medium filling this element
(1.0 is vacuum).
Select type of geometry: Here the geometry can be specified to be Constant width or Constant height.
Maximum frequency (GHz): the highest frequency for the analysis of the component. By default, it is set
to 0.0, which means that this value is taken automatically as the double of the maximum frequency analyzed in
the circuit. A modification of the maximum simulated frequency can result in a change of the S parameters. It
could also slow down the simulation unnecessarily.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figure below. The number of ports that have been defined in the
MESH file appear automatically in this tab. For each port, a specification tab is shown. A waveguide must be
selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this
element.

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended

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to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

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2.4.2.4.2 Waveguide step with N Metal inserts

This section describes the Waveguide step with N metal inserts discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features
and limitations.
The Waveguide step with N metal inserts section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a Waveguide step with N metal inserts.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or

workarounds to them.

Using the Waveguide step with N metal How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
inserts

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Waveguide step with N metal inserts, based on the Arbitrary shape element, represents a waveguide with N
rectangular metal inserts of rectangular shape like the one sketched in the figure below. This element must have
constant height or width.

Square case Non-square case

Limitations
This element has the same limitations as the Arbitrary shape element.

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Errors
This element has the same limitations as the Arbitrary shape element.

Using the Waveguide step with N metal inserts

The Waveguide step with N metal inserts is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes and can view it in the 3D viewer.
Connections to other elements: This element must be connected to two Rectangular waveguides (one for each
port). The width and height of step ports will be equal to the dimensions of the Rectangular waveguides attached to
the element.

The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Waveguide step with N metal inserts.

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.

Regarding the geometry of this element, there are some particular parameters to define depending on the geometry
of the contour (squared or non-squared):
SQUARE CASE

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L (mm/inches): The length of the waveguide with metal insert.

NON-SQUARE CASE

L1 (mm/inches): The length of the waveguide with metal inserts connected to port 1.
L2 (mm/inches): The length of the waveguide with metal inserts connected to port 2.
OFFSET (mm/inches): The offset between port 1 and port 2 is positive towards the right (when looking from
port 1).
Ri (mm/inches): Radius of the internal corners.
Re (mm/inches): Radius of the external corners.

Besides, the following general parameters can be also edited:

Dielectric Permittivity: the relative dielectric permittivity of the homogeneous medium filling this element (1.0
is vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability: the relative dielectric permeability of the homogeneous medium filling this element
(1.0 is vacuum).
Select type of geometry: Here the geometry can be specified to be Constant width or Constant height.
Maximum frequency (GHz): the highest frequency for the analysis of the component. By default, it is set
to 0.0, which means that this value is taken automatically as the double of the maximum frequency analyzed in
the circuit. A modification of the maximum simulated frequency can result in a change of the S parameters. It
could also slow down the simulation unnecessarily.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figure below. This discontinuity always considers two ports. For each
port, a specification tab is shown. A waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be
filled with the connections already associated to this element.

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Another part of the specifications of this element is the Metal inserts tab, as shown in the figure below.
Here, rectangular metal insertions (full constant width/height) can be set. One metal insertion is considered by default,
ready to be defined. Additional insertions can be included in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button.
For each metal insert, the following parameters can be edited:

Thickness (mm/inches): Width of the metal insert

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Length (mm/inches): Length of the metal insert
Offset (mm/inches): Offset in X or Y axis respect to the center of the geometry. In case of X offset, it has a
positive value if you move the metal insert to the right (as seen from port 1).
Displacement (mm/inches): Z displacement respect to the center of the geometry. Here, positive Z
displacement means to move the metal insert away from port 1.
Angle (degrees): A rotation angle that is defined counter-clockwise when looking from port 1.
Any of the particular metal insert can be removed by pressing the Delete post button.

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

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Hints
This element can be replaced by the N-step in many situations. Using the N-step with inductive/capacitive
symmetries in the circuit will speed up the simulation in the frequency-independent part but it may slow down
the simulation in the frequency-dependent part. Implementing a circuit with the metal insert element and with
the N-step can help to verify if the simulation result is accurate since these elements are based on completely
different numerical techniques.
The electromagnetic Solver will perform more efficient analysis for small values of L/L1/L2. Larger ports can be
easily achieved by increasing the length of the respective waveguides attached to this element.

2.4.2.4.3 Waveguide step with N Screws

This section describes the Waveguide step with N metal inserts Discontinuities and how to use it, as well as its features
and limitations.
The Waveguide step with N metal inserts section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a Waveguide step with N Screws.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds
to them.

Using the 2D Discontinuity with How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
screws

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Waveguide step with N metal inserts, based on the Arbitrary shape element, represents a waveguide with N metal
inserts of circular shape (screws) like the one sketched in the figure below. This element must have constant its height
or its width.

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Square case Non-square case

Limitations
This element has the same limitations as the Arbitrary shape element.

Errors
This element has the same limitations as the Arbitrary shape element.

Using the Waveguide step with N screws

The 2D Discontinuity with screws is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes and can view it in the 3D viewer.
Connections to other elements: This element must be connected to two Rectangular waveguides (one for each
port). The width and height of step ports will be equal to the dimensions of the Rectangular waveguides attached to
the element.

The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Waveguide step with N Screws.

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.

Regarding the geometry of this element, there are some particular parameters to define depending on the geometry
of the contour (squared or non-squared):
SQUARE CASE

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L (mm/inches): The length of the waveguide with metal insert.

NON-SQUARE CASE

L1 (mm/inches): The length of the waveguide with screws connected to port 1.

L2 (mm/inches): The length of the waveguide with screws connected to port 2.
OFFSET (mm/inches): The offset between port 1 and port 2 is positive towards the right (when looking from
port 1).
Ri (mm/inches): Radius of the internal corners.
Re (mm/inches): Radius of the external corners.

Besides, the following general parameters can be also edited:

Dielectric Permittivity: the relative dielectric permittivity of the homogeneous medium filling this element (1.0
is vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability: the relative dielectric permeability of the homogeneous medium filling this element
(1.0 is vacuum).
Select type of geometry: Here the geometry can be specified to be Constant width or Constant height.
Maximum frequency (GHz): the highest frequency for the analysis of the component. By default, it is set
to 0.0, which means that this value is taken automatically as the double of the maximum frequency analyzed in
the circuit. A modification of the maximum simulated frequency can result in a change of the S parameters. It
could also slow down the simulation unnecessarily.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figure below. This discontinuity always considers two ports. For each
port, a specification tab is shown. A waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be
filled with the connections already associated to this element.

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Another part of the specifications of this element is the Screws tab, as shown in the figure below. Here, circular metal
insertions (full constant width/height) can be set. One screw is considered by default, ready to be defined. Additional
screws can be included in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button.
For each screw, the following parameters can be edited:

Radius (mm/inches): Radius of the screw

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Offset (mm/inches): Offset in X or Y axis respect to the center of the geometry. In case of X offset, it has a
positive value if you move the screw to the right (as seen from port 1).
Z displacement (mm/inches): Z displacement respect to the center of the geometry. Here, positive Z
displacement means to move the post away from port 1.
Any screw can be removed by pressing the Delete post button.

The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab

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allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Hints

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The electromagnetic Solver will perform more efficient analysis for small values of L/L1/L2. Larger ports can be
easily achieved by increasing the length of the respective waveguides attached to this element.

2.4.2.4.4 Waveguide Step with rounded corners

This section describes the Waveguide step with rounded corners discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features
and limitations.
It contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a Waveguide step with rounded corners discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Half iris rounded How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

Definition
The Waveguide step with rounded corners discontinuity, based on the Arbitrary shape element, represents a transition
between two rectangular waveguides of different height or width (only one can be different at the same time)
including rounded corners.

The Waveguide step with rounded corners discontinuity is a special case of the more general element named
Arbitrary shape .

Limitations
This element has the same limitations as the Arbitrary shape element.

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Errors
This element has the same limitations as the Arbitrary shape element.

Using the waveguide step with rounded corners discontinuity

The Waveguide step with rounded corners discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create,
view and edit this element properties using dialog boxes and can view it in the 3D viewer.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Half iris rounded discontinuity.

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

L1 (mm/inches): The length of the waveguide piece connected to port 1.

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L2 (mm/inches): The length of the waveguide piece connected to port 2.
Li (mm/inches): The length of the iris.
Ai (mm/inches): Dimension of the iris. In the constant width case, it is the height and in the constant height
case it is the width.
Offset (mm/inches): The offset of the iris, from port 1 to port 2 is positive towards the right.
Ri (mm/inches): Radius of the internal corners.
Re (mm/inches): Radius of the external corners.

Dielectric Permittivity: the relative dielectric permittivity of the homogeneous medium filling this element (1.0
is vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability: the relative dielectric permeability of the homogeneous medium filling this element
(1.0 is vacuum).
Select type of geometry: Here the geometry can be specified to be Constant width or Constant height.
Maximum frequency (GHz): the highest frequency for the analysis of the component. By default, it is set
to 0.0, which means that this value is taken automatically as the double of the maximum frequency analyzed in
the circuit. A modification of the maximum simulated frequency can result in a change of the S parameters. It
could also slow down the simulation unnecessarily.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figure below. This discontinuity always considers two ports. For each
port, a specification tab is shown. A waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be
filled with the connections already associated to this element.

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

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2.4.2.4.5 Rounded corner iris

This section describes the Rounded corner iris discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Rounded corner iris discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a Rounded corner iris discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the Rounded corner How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
iris

Hints Non-trivial properties of this element.

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Definition
The Rounded corner iris discontinuity, based on the Arbitrary shape element, represents an iris in either constant
width or height, like the one sketched in the figure below.

The Rounded corner iris discontinuity is a special case of the more general element named Arbitrary shape .

Limitations
This element has the same limitations as the Arbitrary shape element.

Errors
This element has the same limitations as the Arbitrary shape element.

Using the Rounded corner iris discontinuity

The Rounded corner iris discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes and can view it in the 3D viewer.
Connections to other elements: This element must be connected to two Rectangular waveguides (one for each
port). The width and height dimensions of this element are equal to the dimensions of the Rectangular waveguides
attached to the component.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Rounded corner iris discontinuity.

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

L1 (mm/inches): The length of the waveguide piece connected to port 1.

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L2 (mm/inches): The length of the waveguide piece connected to port 2.
Li (mm/inches): The length of the iris.
Ai (mm/inches): Dimension of the iris. In the constant width case, it is the height and in the constant height
case it is the width.
Offset (mm/inches): The offset of the iris, from port 1 to port 2 is positive towards the right.
Ri (mm/inches): Radius of the internal corners.
Re (mm/inches): Radius of the external corners.

Dielectric Permittivity: the relative dielectric permittivity of the homogeneous medium filling this element (1.0
is vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability: the relative dielectric permeability of the homogeneous medium filling this element
(1.0 is vacuum).
Select type of geometry: Here the geometry can be specified to be Constant width or Constant height.
Maximum frequency (GHz): the highest frequency for the analysis of the component. By default, it is set
to 0.0, which means that this value is taken automatically as the double of the maximum frequency analyzed in
the circuit. A modification of the maximum simulated frequency can result in a change of the S parameters. It
could also slow down the simulation unnecessarily.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figure below. This discontinuity always considers two ports. For each
port, a specification tab is shown. A waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be
filled with the connections already associated to this element.

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

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2.4.2.4.6 2D Rounded short

This section describes the 2D Rounded short discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The 2D Rounded short section contains the following topics:

Definition What is exactly a 2D Rounded short.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the 2D Rounded How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
Short

Hints Non-trivial features of the 2D Rounded short.

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Definition
The 2D Rounded short, based on the Arbitrary shape , represents a one port short waveguide. This element is a
template that lets you to specify the geometry of the circuit defining a reduced number of parameters, without using
the Arbitrary Shape Editor.

For these reasons many of the limitations and remarks of the Arbitrary shape element apply to this element as well.
The user can specify the geometry as shown in the following figure:

The user must specify the length L and radius R. Neither R or L can be 0.

Limitations
This element has the same limitations and caveats as the Arbitrary shape it is derived from.

Errors
The 2D Rounded short discontinuity can produce the same errors as the Arbitrary shape it is derived from.

Using the 2D Rounded short

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The 2D Rounded short discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes.
The following picture shows a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Rounded corner iris discontinuity.

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

L: Length of the short.

R: Radius of the short.

Dielectric Permittivity: the relative dielectric permittivity of the homogeneous medium filling this element (1.0
is vacuum).
Dielectric Permeability: the relative dielectric permeability of the homogeneous medium filling this element
(1.0 is vacuum).
Select type of geometry: Here the geometry can be specified to be Constant width or Constant height.
Maximum frequency (GHz): the highest frequency for the analysis of the component. By default, it is set
to 0.0, which means that this value is taken automatically as the double of the maximum frequency analyzed in
the circuit. A modification of the maximum simulated frequency can result in a change of the S parameters. It
could also slow down the simulation unnecessarily.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the discontinuity are
configured in the Ports tab, as shown in the figure below. This discontinuity always considers one port. For that
port, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections
already associated to this element.

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the

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particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Hints
The electromagnetic Solver will perform more efficient analysis for small values of L. Larger ports can be
easily achieved by increasing the length of the respective waveguides attached to this element.

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2.4.2.5 Coaxial cavity library

The Coaxial cavity library contains the following discontinuities:

Cavity with posts

Straight feed cavity
Mushroom feed cavity
Straight contact feed cavity
S-Shape contact feed cavity
Loop feed cavity
Magnetic feed cavity
Top contact feed cavity
General cavity

2.4.2.5.1 Cavity with posts

This section describes the Cavity with posts discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Cavity with posts discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Cavity with posts discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Cavity with posts How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The Cavity with posts discontinuity represents a rectangular cavity with resonant posts and/or tuning screws of various
shapes, whose geometrical parameters and position are specified by the user. The posts can be positioned at any of
the 6 different surfaces of the rectangular cavity (see figure A below). Input/Output rectangular ports can also be
placed on the walls. For performing the analysis, two different electromagnetic Solver types based on the BI-RME 3D
method can be selected (see the main specifications below).

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Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

Regarding the geometrical specifications, several different shapes can be considered for the posts, which are shown in
figure B. By default, any post will be placed at the center of the bottom surface. The user can change this surface, and
specify an offset with respect to the center. For rectangular-shaped posts, a rotation angle can be also applied, taking
into account the main reference system defined in figure A (examples are depicted in figure C for the different
surfaces of the cavity).

Figure B: Different post types considered for this cavity

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Figure C: Offset conventions for posts

Limitations
The Cavity with posts discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:
Connections to other elements
This element can only be connected to Rectangular waveguides.

Port does not match capacitive posts

If the Solver BI-RME 3D Cylindrical is selected for analysis (see the specifications below), this element can not
be used for capacitive or inductive posts. The height of the post has to be always smaller than the cavity width
or height. Nevertheless, if the design requires the presence of purely inductive or capacitive posts without
approximations, it is also possible to perform the analysis by changing the Solver to BI-RME 3D RWG (further
information addressed at the element specifications), despite a slow-down in the simulation time.
As another alternative, if you plan to simulate a purely capacitive or inductive structure with posts, it is a better
idea to use the Constant width/height arbitrary shape discontinuity element inside FEST3D.

Maximum number of posts

There is no theoretical limit to the number of posts. Anyway, using a large number of posts in a single element
may significantly slow down the simulation.
If you want to design a circuit with several posts (combline filter, for example), in theory you have two options:
a long cavity with a lot of posts
many cascaded cavities
In general, the most efficient approach is to use a segmentation strategy to divide the cavity into small blocks

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connected by plain waveguide sections. In any case, also the “single cavity" analysis works fine (but may require
higher computational time), provided that the limitations in posts dimensions are fulfilled. Take into account
that if the same cavity with post/s is repeated in the circuit, the static part is solved only once thanks to the
internal arrangement of FEST3D in those cases.

Collisions between ports and/or posts

The electromagnetic Solvers based on the BI-RME 3D method do not support intersection between
ports, or geometrical collisions between ports and posts. The software will detect this kind of situations and
return an error message. On the other hand, the detection of collision between posts is handled differently
depending on the Solver. For the case of BI-RME 3D Cylindrical, post collision is not supported, and the
software will consider it as an error. On the contrary, for the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG, post collision is
allowed and the software will alert of this situation as a warning.

High memory consumption using parallelization in circuits with many cavities using the Solver BI-RME
3D RWG
If the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected and small values of mesh sizes are specified (for high accuracy or
convergence tests), then very large meshes and dense matrices are required in the simulation, consuming an
important amount of RAM. Once the meshing of the element is performed, the information window will show
an estimation of the maximum total memory that will be used during calculations. Besides, the software will
automatically detect if the memory requirements are greater than the RAM memory available in the system,
and will stop the simulation if necessary. If there are several different cavities in the circuit, and multicore
simulation is desired, it is important to take into account that these RAM requirements are increased,
and a slowdown in the computer performance might be encountered. For those cases, it is recommended to
employ a lower number of processors, which may allow successfully completing a simulation that cannot be
performed using more cores due to memory limitation problems. If reducing the number of processors the
memory problems still persist, it is advisable to increase the mesh size values (reduce precision) of the posts or
rounded corners in the cavity (explained in the specifications section below) for performing the simulation.

Errors
The Cavity with posts discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error, the
possible solutions or workarounds are explained.
FATAL ERROR. Not even a single resonant mode can be obtained for this cavity. Please change the
cavity dimensions or increase the Maximum Frequency of the Solver (Solver Name)
The maximum frequency introduced is under the cut-off frequency of the cavity delimited by the specified
dimensions (see the specifications of the dialog box below). Provided that these dimensions are correct, the
solution is to increase the value of this maximum frequency. It is recommended to set it to a value two or three
times the maximum frequency of the desired analysis band.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. (Error of some kind). Re-check the geometry, or try to
reduce mesh size(s) value(s)
The eigenvalue problem can not be solved due to problems with the building of the matrices. This error can be
produced by an illegal position of the posts not detected by FEST3D. Another source for errors in the
eigenvalue problem is that the meshing of some of the post surfaces is not accurate enough. If the positions of
the posts are correct, the mesh sizes should be reduced, specially if the dimensions of radii or lengths are small.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. Error while building mesh. Please try to reduce mesh size
value(s)
This error occurs when there is a problem building the internal meshing of the posts needed by this element,
when the Solver BI-RME 3D Cylindrical is selected. This problem usually appears when using posts of
mushroom or hollow type, if the mesh size value specified by the user is not adequate for the dimensions of
the post. The values used for mesh size must be reduced in order to avoid this error.

FATAL ERROR. No 3D mesh detected. Please re-check the geometry, or try to reduce mesh size of the
post(s)

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If the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is chosen, this element requires to create a 3D mesh for the whole cavity
together with the posts, from which the surface meshing of metallic objects is extracted. If this error appears, it
means that the meshing algorithm was able to create a 2D mesh, but not a 3D. This 3D mesh is necessary to
compute data employed for the EM fields calculations. For this reason, the simulation is forbidden if the 3D
mesh is not available. This situation may happen if a wrong geometry has been specified (e.g., posts colliding
with each other). The dimensions and offsets of the posts should be revised, and verified with the 3D viewer in
order to detect any possible geometrical problems. If the geometry is correct, another source for this error is
that very small air gaps are present in the cavity, which can not be dealt by the 3D meshing algorithm for the
given mesh sizes. Reducing their values might be the solution for a correct 3D mesh generation. If the problem
persists, the user can ask for support on his specific geometry.

Error building mesh file

This error occurs when there is some problem building the mesh when the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected.
This can occur if there are failures while generating the geometry of the cavity. It is advisable to check if the
geometry can be visualized with the 3D viewer. If this is the case, then the problem is related to the meshing
algorithms, due to the same reasons explained for the previous error related to failure of the 3D mesh.

FATAL ERROR, mesh file not found

This message will appear if the meshing needed by the internal routines is not found. This error is usually
related to the building mesh error explained before, and should not appear in the case of a correct mesh
generation.

LAPACK error: some error message

The admittance matrix is not invertible at the simulated frequency point. This can only happen during the
frequency loop. This error is very unusual and it can be produced if a simulated frequency point is too close to
a pole. In this case the problem can be solved by slightly changing the frequency points.
cmalloc() failed: Out of memory!:
This happens when too much memory is required to solve the system. It is recommended, in this case, to
reduce the Maximum Frequency value, and/or increase the mesh size values.

Simulation error (no further explanation):

This error is also related with memory limitations, and may occur if too much precision is demanded, specially
if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected. Besides, this problem can appear when performing simulations
with several cores, due to the higher memory requirements of this feature. Reducing the number of
processors is necessary to successfully perform the simulation.

Using the Cavity with posts

The Cavity with posts discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Cavity with posts:

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Figure D: Specific properties of the Cavity with posts

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm/inches): The cavity width (see figure A).

B (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
L (mm/inches): The cavity length (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Cavity corner radius. Optional rounded corners can be set for building the cavity. The user can choose

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between not using rounded corners (by default), or selecting one of the three different configurations defined
in the legend included in the tab. For any of these cases, the values of the 4 different radii can be edited (it is
worth mentioning that some of the radii values can be zero allowing the user to build half-rounded cavities), as
well as the value of the mesh size used for meshing these rounded corners inside the electromagnetic solver. If
the value is set to zero, an automatic value depending on the cavity dimensions and the radii values will be
used. The information screen will show during simulation the value employed for this mesh, which can be
controlled here in order to demand more accuracy if desired. Finally, it is important to bear in mind that for
performing simulation with rounded corner cavities, it is necessary to use the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG.
Solver type. The geometry of this element can be analyzed by selecting one of two available Solvers based in
the BI-RME 3D method implemented inside FEST3D:
BI-RME 3D Cylindrical: This Solver considers specialized high order cylindrical basis functions for
modelling the surface currents of the posts. It is selected by default, since the posts are generally of
cylindrical shape in most cases. The functions of this Solver offer a very fast performance, but have some
limitations, as they cannot be used for analysis of purely inductive posts (as mentioned above in the
limitations section), electromagnetic field computation or analysis of cavities with rounded corners
and/or non-cylindrical shapes.
BI-RME 3D RWG: This Solver considers Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions for modelling the
surface currents of the posts. This Solver requires that the geometry is meshed with triangular patches
onto which the RWG basis functions are defined. Thus, this Solver is more general and can be employed
to analyze any kind of geometrical problem, although as a drawback it requires a higher computational
cost in order to properly model the behaviour of rounded shapes.
Maximum Frequency (GHz): This parameter is required for any of the two BI-RME 3D Solvers, and specifies
the maximum value of the frequencies of the resonant modes of the cavity to be computed during the analysis.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity. For performing this analysis, it is necessary to choose the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG
for the simulation. Otherwise, a warning message will be shown to the user.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.
The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element.

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Figure E: Port properties of the Cavity with posts

Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and C, conventions are:
Surface Front: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to 0)
Surface Back: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to C)
Surface Right: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to A/2)

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Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to B/2)
Surface Left: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to -A/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -B/2)
Mesh size port (mm/inches): The mesh size of each port of the element can be edited. This value is the typical
size of the triangles used for meshing the geometry of the port. It is important to remark that the correct
choice of the mesh size of the port is critical for the accuracy of the electromagnetic analysis. There are
some particularities to bear in mind regarding this parameter, as detailed below.
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.

The offsets and the mesh size of the port only make sense if a rectangular waveguide smaller than the cavity
surface dimensions is considered. The mesh density employed for the port must be increased for large numbers of
accessible modes of the rectangular waveguide, in order to maintain the accuracy of the method. As a consequence, a
large number of accessible modes in the waveguide port will require a higher computational cost.
In order to help the user to take into account these considerations, it is recommended to set this value to zero,
allowing this way FEST3D to automatically choose an adequate value as a default. The automatic criterion employed
obeys the following rules:

If 30 or less accessible modes are employed in the rectangular waveguide, the triangle size is chosen as 1/5 of
the minimum dimension (a,b) of the waveguide.
If the number of coaxial modes is between 30 and 45, the triangle size is chosen as 0.2 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the rectangular waveguide.
If 45 or more modes are employed for the coaxial, the triangle size is chosen as 0.1 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the rectangular waveguide.

Nevertheless, in a common usage of this element, the rectangular ports will have the same dimensions as the
corresponding cavity surfaces delimited by the cavity dimensions A,B,L specified. In those cases, these
parameters (offsets and mesh size) have no meaning, and the internal electromagnetic Solver employs
analytical expressions for dealing with these ports, which require much less computational effort.
For this reason, it is recommended to build a circuit using waveguides with the same dimensions as the
cavities wherever it is possible, employing Step discontinuities if different size of waveguides is desired
between cavities. A warning message will appear in order to alert the user to have this situation in mind if
smaller ports are selected. Nevertheless, there might be some cases in which the connection of smaller
rectangular ports will be mandatory, such as when rounded corners are used in the cavity.

As a final comment, the information window will show, for each discontinuity of this kind, the exact value of the mesh
size that is being employed for the mesh discretization of the rectangular port. The user can take this value as
reference in order to manually increase it for speeding up calculations, or decreasing it if more precision is desired,
taking into account the memory limitations.

Another important part of the specifications of this element is the General Posts tab. Here, the different posts/tuning
screws desired for the geometry are defined. By default, a Cylindrical post is already considered, ready to be defined.
More posts can be inserted by selecting the post shape from the available list and pressing the Add button. It is
important to mention that if draft angle, rectangular or helical shapes are selected, simulation is only allowed
if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected.

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Figure F: General Posts properties of the Cavity with posts

For each post, the user can edit the specifications for the position, dimensions, mesh size and offsets of the post.
Any of the posts can be discarded by pressing the Delete post button on each tab. Depending on the shape of the
post, a specific legend with the definition of the geometrical parameters is automatically shown at the right side of the
window. Legends with the offset definitions and the other types of post shapes are also displayed for reference.
Additionally, most of the post shapes admit the definition of roundings of the cap (and the base as well for the case
of rectangular shapes). By pressing the Round the post cap/base button, a new window will appear on which the
different types of roundings available for the particular post shape can be set. The post will indicate if any cap or
base rounding has been previously activated.

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Figure G: Additional window for definition of roundings on a post.

The mesh size parameter indicates the density of the mesh of the associated geometry, employed by
the electromagnetic Solver. The user should change this mesh size for each particular case, taking into account the
maximum and minimum dimensions employed. The smaller the mesh size, the finest the internal meshing, which will
lead to more accurate results, but it will also slow down the simulation time. Also, very small values may produce
memory allocation problems, due to large size of the matrices involved.
The definition of this value depends on the basis functions of the selected Solver type:

For the high order cylindrical basis functions of the BI-RME 3D Cylindrical Solver, indicates the size of the
linear segments used for surface discretization.
For the triangular RWG basis functions of the BI-RME 3D RWG Solver, indicates the size of the 2D triangles
used for the surface meshing.

The user has to bear in mind that the convergence speed of the two types of basis functions is different, and
the use of the same value of mesh size might not be adequate for the both types of Solvers at the same time.
Generally, convergent results are achieved faster with the BI-RME 3D Cylindrical Solver, and smaller values will
be required for the BI-RME 3D RWG for obtaining similar accuracy. On the other hand, if very small values are
already used in the cylindrical function case, the change to RWG basis functions must be done with care, since
very large mesh densities might be produced.

The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. With this purpose, The EM Field tab

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allows to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of the
air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can be
chosen the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the particular
element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.
For performing EM fields computations, it is mandatory to use the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG in the simulation.

Figure H: EM Field properties of the Cavity with posts

For general field visualizations, the mesh size value specified for the cavity will produce a uniform mesh density along

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the whole air volume inside the cavity. Nevertheless, for performing High Power analysis inside cavities with cylindrical
posts, it is important to employ a detailed resolution around the areas with maximum field values, in order to ensure
convergent results in the Corona and Multipactor algorithms for breakdown power detection. If a uniform mesh
criteria is employed for the whole volume air region inside the cavity, very dense meshes are created in order to
preserve a high resolution in the desired areas, which may require a remarkable time for mesh generation and
specially for calculations. Also, memory overflows may occur in the Corona algorithm if a very large amount of
tetrahedra is considered.
In order to help avoiding these problems, FEST3D performs an automatic refinement procedure around the areas of
maximum field, which are the surroundings of the metallic posts. Thus, field details are taken into account without
forcing a high resolution in the empty air regions (which may occupy most part of the cavity).

Taking as reference value the mesh size specified for the High Power algorithm (Corona or Multipactor), the
refinement procedure is applied following the scheme shown in Figure I. Considering a general cylindrical post (it can
be any of the defined shapes in Figure B), a General Refinement Area is defined around the geometrical center of the
post, consisting in a fictitious box defined in terms of the post radius. Inside this General Area, the original mesh size is
reduced by a factor 2. This means that the resolution of the fields computed inside the region is exactly the double of
the one employed in the air far from the post, according to the original value specified.
As the strongest field variations in the posts are always located at the cap of the cylindrical shape, a Cap Refinement
Area is also defined using a second box centered in the middle of the cylinder tape. The box width and height are the
same as the defined for the box of the General Area. Inside this Cap Area, the original mesh size is reduced in a factor
8. Besides, the height of this Area is also defined in terms of the mesh size specified. This definition ensures that,
independently of the value of the mesh size for the rest of the cavity, the Cap Region will always consider a higher
resolution for the field computations in this critical area, with at least 2 triangles defined around the tape in the
direction of the cylinder axis.

As final comments, the simplified scheme of Figure I only shows the case of a cylinder whose base is placed on the
bottom wall of the cavity, but the procedure is equally applied to all the posts that appear in the cavity, independently
of their orientation. Finally, this refinement procedure is also applied to the Export Fields to Spark 3D option, since the
goal of this exportation is to perform a High Power analysis as well. For this case, the mesh size associated to this tab
of the properties will be the one used for the refinement reference.

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Figure I. Scheme of the automatic refinement applied to the air meshing for field computations using High Power
analysis. MS is the mesh size specified by the user for Corona, Multipactor, or general field exportation.

2.4.2.5.2 Straight feed cavity

This section describes the Straight feed cavity discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Straight feed cavity discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Straight feed cavity discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the Straight feed How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
cavity

Definition
The Straight feed cavity discontinuity consists in a rectangular cavity which is excited using a straight coaxial probe.
The cavity dimensions, the local reference system, and the different surface names are depicted in figure A, and are
the same as in the Cavity with posts. The geometrical parameters and positions of the probe are shown in figure B and
can be specified by the user. Besides this main excitation block, rectangular ports and additional
resonant posts/tuning screws can be considered at any of the cavity walls. For performing the analysis, two different
electromagnetic Solver types based on the BI-RME 3D method can be selected (see the main specifications below).

Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

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Regarding the geometrical specifications of the excitation probe, a schematic picture of a common practical case is
shown in figure B, including the names of the relevant dimensions to be specified by the user.

Figure B: Basic geometrical scheme of the excitation block

Limitations
The Straight feed cavity discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Rectangular or Coaxial waveguides.

Analysis of inductive or capacitive posts

If the Solver BI-RME 3D Cylindrical is selected for analysis (see the specifications below), this element can not
be used for capacitive or inductive posts. The height of the post has to be always smaller than the cavity width
or height. Nevertheless, if the design requires the presence of purely inductive or capacitive posts, it is a better
idea to use the Constant width/height arbitrary shape discontinuity element inside FEST3D.

Maximum number of posts

There is no theoretical limit to the number of posts. Anyway, using a large number of posts in a single element
may significantly slow down the simulation.
If you want to design a circuit with several posts (combline filter, for example), in theory you have two options:
a long cavity with a lot of posts
many cascaded cavities
In general, the most efficient approach is to use a segmentation strategy to divide the cavity into small blocks
connected by plain waveguide sections. In any case, also the “single cavity" analysis works fine (but may require
higher computational time), provided that the limitations in posts dimensions are fulfilled. Take into account
that if the same cavity with post/s is repeated in the circuit, the static part is solved only once thanks to the
internal arrangement of FEST3D in those cases.

Collisions between ports and/or posts

The electromagnetic Solvers based on the BI-RME 3D method do not support intersection between
ports, or geometrical collisions between ports and posts. The software will detect this kind of situations and
return an error message. On the other hand, the detection of collision between posts is handled differently
depending on the Solver. For the case of BI-RME 3D Cylindrical, post collision is not supported, and the
software will consider it as an error. On the contrary, for the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG, post collision is

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allowed and the software will alert of this situation as a warning.

High memory consumption using parallelization in circuits with many cavities using the Solver BI-RME
3D RWG
If the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected and small values of mesh sizes are specified (for high accuracy or
convergence tests), then very large meshes and dense matrices are required in the simulation, consuming an
important amount of RAM. Once the meshing of the element is performed, the information window will show
an estimation of the maximum total memory that will be used during calculations. Besides, the software will
automatically detect if the memory requirements are greater than the RAM memory available in the system,
and will stop the simulation if necessary. If there are several different cavities in the circuit, and multicore
simulation is desired, it is important to take into account that these RAM requirements are increased,
and a slowdown in the computer performance might be encountered. For those cases, it is recommended to
employ a lower number of processors, which may allow successfully completing a simulation that cannot be
performed using more cores due to memory limitation problems. If reducing the number of processors the
memory problems still persist, it is advisable to increase the mesh size values (reduce precision) of the posts or
rounded corners in the cavity (explained in the specifications section below) for performing the simulation.

Use of probe radius larger than the inner radius of the coaxial.
The electromagnetic BI-RME 3D Solver used by this element does not directly allow modeling an excitation
probe contacting a coaxial port with a smaller inner radius. Anyway, it is possible to simulate this kind of
structures, by employing the strategy shown in the schematic below (figure C). By means of a Step
discontinuity, an additional auxiliary coaxial with zero length can be inserted between the real coaxial
waveguide and the Straight probe discontinuity, in which the radius desired for the probe can be set. This
auxiliary coaxial can be connected to the Straight probe and solved by the inner kernel. The Step will take into
account the differences between the two coaxials by computing the appropiate coupling integrals. On the
other hand, it is important to bear in mind that if a radius value smaller than the inner of coaxial is required for
the probe, there is no need to employ this strategy since this situation is directly supported by the Solver.

Figure C: Schematic example for using a probe with a radius larger the inner radius of the coaxial waveguide port.

Errors
The Straight feed cavity discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error, the

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possible solutions or workarounds are explained.
FATAL ERROR. Not even a single resonant mode can be obtained for this cavity. Please change the
cavity dimensions or increase the Maximum Frequency of the Solver (Solver Name)
The maximum frequency introduced is under the cut-off frequency of the cavity delimited by the specified
dimensions (see the specifications of the dialog box below). Provided that these dimensions are correct, the
solution is to increase the value of this maximum frequency. It is recommended to set it to a value two or three
times the maximum frequency of the desired analysis band.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. (Error of some kind). Re-check the geometry, or try to
reduce mesh size(s) value(s)
The eigenvalue problem can not be solved due to problems with the building of the matrices. This error can be
produced by an illegal position of the posts not detected by FEST3D. Another source for errors in the
eigenvalue problem is that the meshing of some of the post surfaces is not accurate enough. If the positions of
the posts are correct, the mesh sizes should be reduced, specially if the dimensions of radii or lengths are small.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. Error while building mesh. Please try to reduce mesh size
value(s)
This error occurs when there is a problem building the internal meshing of the posts needed by this element,
when the Solver BI-RME 3D Cylindrical is selected. This problem usually appears when using posts of
mushroom or hollow type, if the mesh size value specified by the user is not adequate for the dimensions of
the post. The values used for mesh size must be reduced in order to avoid this error.

FATAL ERROR. No 3D mesh detected. Please re-check the geometry, or try to reduce mesh size of the
post(s)
If the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is chosen, this element requires to create a 3D mesh for the whole cavity
together with the posts, from which the surface meshing of metallic objects is extracted. If this error appears, it
means that the meshing algorithm was able to create a 2D mesh, but not a 3D. This 3D mesh is necessary to
compute data employed for the EM fields calculations. For this reason, the simulation is forbidden if the 3D
mesh is not available. This situation may happen if a wrong geometry has been specified (e.g., posts colliding
with each other). The dimensions and offsets of the posts should be revised, and verified with the 3D viewer in
order to detect any possible geometrical problems. If the geometry is correct, another source for this error is
that very small air gaps are present in the cavity, which can not be dealt by the 3D meshing algorithm for the
given mesh sizes. Reducing their values might be the solution for a correct 3D mesh generation. If the problem
persists, the user can ask for support on his specific geometry.

Error building mesh file

This error occurs when there is some problem building the mesh when the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected.
This can occur if there are failures while generating the geometry of the cavity. It is advisable to check if the
geometry can be visualized with the 3D viewer. If this is the case, then the problem is related to the meshing
algorithms, due to the same reasons explained for the previous error related to failure of the 3D mesh.

FATAL ERROR, mesh file not found

This message will appear if the meshing needed by the internal routines is not found. This error is usually
related to the building mesh error explained before, and should not appear in the case of a correct mesh
generation.

LAPACK error: some error message

The admittance matrix is not invertible at the simulated frequency point. This can only happen during the
frequency loop. This error is very unusual and it can be produced if a simulated frequency point is too close to
a pole. In this case the problem can be solved by slightly changing the frequency points.
cmalloc() failed: Out of memory!:
This happens when too much memory is required to solve the system. It is recommended, in this case, to
reduce the Maximum Frequency value, and/or increase the mesh size values.

Simulation error (no further explanation):

This error is also related with memory limitations, and may occur if too much precision is demanded, specially

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if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected. Besides, this problem can appear when performing simulations
with several cores, due to the higher memory requirements of this feature. Reducing the number of
processors is necessary to successfully perform the simulation.

Using the Straight feed cavity

The Straight feed cavity discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Magnetic Feed:

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Figure D: Specific properties of the General cavity

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm/inches): The cavity width (see figure A).

B (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
L (mm/inches): The cavity length (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Cavity corner radius. Optional rounded corners can be set for building the cavity. The user can choose
between not using rounded corners (by default), or selecting one of the three different configurations defined
in the legend included in the tab. For any of these cases, the values of the 4 different radii can be edited (it is
worth mentioning that some of the radii values can be zero allowing the user to build half-rounded cavities), as
well as the value of the mesh size used for meshing these rounded corners inside the electromagnetic solver. If
the value is set to zero, an automatic value depending on the cavity dimensions and the radii values will be
used. The information screen will show during simulation the value employed for this mesh, which can be
controlled here in order to demand more accuracy if desired. Finally, it is important to bear in mind that for
performing simulation with rounded corner cavities, it is necessary to use the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG.
Solver type. The geometry of this element can be analyzed by selecting one of two available Solvers based in
the BI-RME 3D method implemented inside FEST3D:
BI-RME 3D Cylindrical: This Solver considers specialized high order cylindrical basis functions for
modelling the surface currents of the posts. It is selected by default, since the posts are generally of
cylindrical shape in most cases. The functions of this Solver offer a very fast performance, but have some
limitations, as they cannot be used for analysis of purely inductive posts (as mentioned above in the
limitations section), electromagnetic field computation or analysis of cavities with rounded corners
and/or non-cylindrical shapes.
BI-RME 3D RWG: This Solver considers Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions for modelling the
surface currents of the posts. This Solver requires that the geometry is meshed with triangular patches
onto which the RWG basis functions are defined. Thus, this Solver is more general and can be employed
to analyze any kind of geometrical problem, although as a drawback it requires a higher computational
cost in order to properly model the behaviour of rounded shapes.
Maximum Frequency (GHz): This parameter is required for any of the two BI-RME 3D Solvers, and specifies
the maximum value of the frequencies of the resonant modes of the cavity to be computed during the analysis.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity. For performing this analysis, it is necessary to choose the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG
for the simulation. Otherwise, a warning message will be shown to the user.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.
The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

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For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element. If the waveguide is of
Coaxial type, a probe must selected from the Type of probe list. For this element, only the Magnetic probe is allowed.
By default, the first port tab will be already assigned to the Coaxial waveguide that is required before opening the
specifications window, as shown in Figure E. Also the probe will be automatically displayed and ready to be
configured. The rest of the ports will be configured rectangular waveguides (Figure F). Nevertheless, it is possible to
define a different order for the ports, so that the Coaxial port is not the first one.
Regarding the specific parameters of the Straight probe, the following parameters can be edited:

Lprobe (mm/inches): The length of the probe (see figure B).

Rprobe (mm/inches): The radius of the probe (see figure B). If it is set to zero, the default value of the
inner conductor of the coaxial waveguide used as the port will be considered. The electromagnetic Solver
does not directly support values larger than this inner radius, but smaller values are also allowed for
simulations. Nevertheless, it is possible to perform simulations with larger radius for the probe, by applying the
strategy described in the limitations section.
Mesh size probe (mm/inches): Controls the value of the mesh size for this probe.

The mesh size parameter indicates the density of the mesh of the associated geometry, employed by
the electromagnetic Solver. The user should change this mesh size for each particular case, taking into account the
maximum and minimum dimensions employed. The smaller the mesh size, the finest the internal meshing, which will
lead to more accurate results, but it will also slow down the simulation time. Also, very small values may produce
memory allocation problems, due to large size of the matrices involved.
The definition of this value depends on the basis functions of the selected Solver type:

For the high order cylindrical basis functions of the BI-RME 3D Cylindrical Solver, indicates the size of the
linear segments used for surface discretization.
For the triangular RWG basis functions of the BI-RME 3D RWG Solver, indicates the size of the 2D triangles
used for the surface meshing.

The user has to bear in mind that the convergence speed of the two types of basis functions is different, and
the use of the same value of mesh size might not be adequate for the both types of Solvers at the same time.
Generally, convergent results are achieved faster with the BI-RME 3D Cylindrical Solver, and smaller values will
be required for the BI-RME 3D RWG for obtaining similar accuracy. On the other hand, if very small values are
already used in the cylindrical function case, the change to RWG basis functions must be done with care, since
very large mesh densities might be produced.

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Figure E: Port properties of the Straight feed cavity, case of a coaxial port

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Figure F: Port properties of the Straight feed cavity, case of a rectangular port

Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and C, conventions are:
Surface Front: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to 0)
Surface Back: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to C)

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Surface Right: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to A/2)
Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to B/2)
Surface Left: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to -A/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -B/2)
Mesh size port (mm/inches): The mesh size of each port of the element can be edited. This value is the typical
size of the triangles used for meshing the geometry of the port. It is important to remark that the correct
choice of the mesh size of the port is critical for the accuracy of the electromagnetic analysis. There are
some particularities to bear in mind regarding this parameter, as detailed below.
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.
Considerations for coaxial ports
When considering a Coaxial waveguide as a port, the mesh density must be increased for large numbers of
accessible modes of the coaxial waveguide in order to maintain the accuracy of the method. As a consequence,
a large number of accessible modes in the coaxial waveguide will require a higher computational cost. This
drawback might be avoided in most of the practical situations, since a large number of modes is not necessary
for a coaxial waveguide in common applications (generally, less than 20 modes will suffice).
Thus, in order to help the user to take into account these considerations, it is recommended to set this value to zero,
allowing FEST3D to automatically choose an adequate value as a default. The automatic criterion employed obeys the
following rules:

If 30 or less accessible modes are employed in the coaxial waveguide, the triangle size is chosen as 1/5 of the
difference between the external and internal radius of the coaxial.
If the number of coaxial modes is between 30 and 45, the triangle size is chosen as 0.2 times the cut-
off wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.
If 45 or more modes are employed for the coaxial, the triangle size is chosen as 0.1 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.

Considerations for rectangular ports

On the other hand, when the waveguide port is chosen to be a Rectangular waveguide, the offsets and the
mesh size of the port only make sense if the waveguide port is smaller than the dimensions of the
corresponding cavity surface. For this case, the port will be discretized in a similar way as the coaxial port,
requiring a meshing which can be controlled by the mesh size port parameter or be let to zero and use the
automatic criterion depending on modes explained above. The only difference regarding this mesh criteria
with respect to the coaxial port case is that the geometrical criterion employed for 30 or less modes considers
1/5 of the minimum of the dimensions (a,b) of the rectangular waveguide.
Nevertheless, in a common usage of this element, the rectangular ports will have the same dimensions as the
corresponding cavity surfaces delimited by the cavity dimensions A,B,L specified. In those cases, these
parameters (offsets and characteristic length) have no meaning, and the internal electromagnetic solver
employs analytical expressions for dealing with these ports, which require much less computational effort.
For this reason, it is recommended to build a circuit using waveguides with the same dimensions as the
cavities wherever it is possible, employing Step discontinuities if different size of waveguides is desired
between cavities. A warning message will appear in order to alert the user to have this situation in mind if
smaller ports are selected. Nevertheless, there might be some cases in which the connection of smaller
rectangular ports will be mandatory, such as when rounded corners are used in the cavity.

As a final comment, the information window will show, for each discontinuity of this kind, the exact value of the mesh
size that is being employed for each port that requires meshing, as well as the number of triangles generated. The
user can take this mesh size value as reference in order to manually increase it for speeding up calculations (for very
small number of modes, the automatic criterion based on the port geometry can be relaxed without remarkable loss
of accuracy), or decreasing it if more precision is desired, taking into account the memory limitations.

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Another part of the specifications of this element is the General posts tab. Here, additional resonant posts/tuning
screws can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button. The post parameters and the
different shapes allowed are the same as explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

Figure G: General Posts properties of the Straight feed cavity

The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. With this purpose, The EM Field tab

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allows to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of the
air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can be
chosen the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the particular
element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.
For performing EM fields computations, it is mandatory to use the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG in the simulation.

Figure H: EM Field properties of the Straight feed cavity

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In addition, it is also important to mention that, for performing High Power analysis, FEST3D performs an
automatic refinement procedure, which is the same as the one explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

2.4.2.5.3 Mushroom feed cavity

This section describes the Mushroom feed cavity discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Mushroom feed cavity discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Mushroom feed cavity discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the Mushroom feed How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
cavity

Definition
The Mushroom feed cavity discontinuity consists in a rectangular cavity which is excited using a coaxial probe with
two cylindrical sections (mushroom shape). The cavity dimensions, the local reference system, and the different
surface names are depicted in figure A, and are the same as in the Cavity with posts. The geometrical parameters and
positions of the probe are shown in figure B and can be specified by the user. Besides this main excitation block,
rectangular ports and additional resonant posts/tuning screws can be considered at any of the cavity walls. For
performing the analysis, two different electromagnetic Solver types based on the BI-RME 3D method can be selected
(see the main specifications below).

Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

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Regarding the geometrical specifications, a schematic picture of a common practical case is shown in figure B,
including the names of the relevant dimensions to be specified by the user.

Figure B: Basic geometrical scheme of the excitation block

Limitations
The Mushroom feed cavity discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Rectangular or Coaxial waveguides.

Analysis of inductive or capacitive posts

If the Solver BI-RME 3D Cylindrical is selected for analysis (see the specifications below), this element can not
be used for capacitive or inductive posts. The height of the post has to be always smaller than the cavity width
or height. Nevertheless, if the design requires the presence of purely inductive or capacitive posts, it is a better
idea to use the Constant width/height arbitrary shape discontinuity element inside FEST3D.

Maximum number of posts

There is no theoretical limit to the number of posts. Anyway, using a large number of posts in a single element
may significantly slow down the simulation.
If you want to design a circuit with several posts (combline filter, for example), in theory you have two options:
a long cavity with a lot of posts
many cascaded cavities
In general, the most efficient approach is to use a segmentation strategy to divide the cavity into small blocks
connected by plain waveguide sections. In any case, also the “single cavity" analysis works fine (but may require
higher computational time), provided that the limitations in posts dimensions are fulfilled. Take into account
that if the same cavity with post/s is repeated in the circuit, the static part is solved only once thanks to the
internal arrangement of FEST3D in those cases.

Collisions between ports and/or posts

The electromagnetic Solvers based on the BI-RME 3D method do not support intersection between
ports, or geometrical collisions between ports and posts. The software will detect this kind of situations and

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return an error message. On the other hand, the detection of collision between posts is handled differently
depending on the Solver. For the case of BI-RME 3D Cylindrical, post collision is not supported, and the
software will consider it as an error. On the contrary, for the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG, post collision is
allowed and the software will alert of this situation as a warning.

High memory consumption using parallelization in circuits with many cavities using the Solver BI-RME
3D RWG
If the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected and small values of mesh sizes are specified (for high accuracy or
convergence tests), then very large meshes and dense matrices are required in the simulation, consuming an
important amount of RAM. Once the meshing of the element is performed, the information window will show
an estimation of the maximum total memory that will be used during calculations. Besides, the software will
automatically detect if the memory requirements are greater than the RAM memory available in the system,
and will stop the simulation if necessary. If there are several different cavities in the circuit, and multicore
simulation is desired, it is important to take into account that these RAM requirements are increased,
and a slowdown in the computer performance might be encountered. For those cases, it is recommended to
employ a lower number of processors, which may allow successfully completing a simulation that cannot be
performed using more cores due to memory limitation problems. If reducing the number of processors the
memory problems still persist, it is advisable to increase the mesh size values (reduce precision) of the posts or
rounded corners in the cavity (explained in the specifications section below) for performing the simulation.

Use of probe radius larger than the inner radius of the coaxial.
The electromagnetic BI-RME 3D Solver used by this element does not directly allow modeling an excitation
probe contacting a coaxial port with a smaller inner radius. Anyway, it is possible to simulate this kind of
structures, by employing the strategy shown in the schematic below (figure C). By means of a Step
discontinuity, an additional auxiliary coaxial with zero length can be inserted between the real coaxial
waveguide and the Straight probe discontinuity, in which the radius desired for the probe can be set. This
auxiliary coaxial can be connected to the Straight probe and solved by the inner kernel. The Step will take into
account the differences between the two coaxials by computing the appropiate coupling integrals. On the
other hand, it is important to bear in mind that if a radius value smaller than the inner of coaxial is required for
the probe, there is no need to employ this strategy since this situation is directly supported by the Solver.

Figure C: Schematic example for using a probe with a radius larger the inner radius of the coaxial waveguide port.

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Errors
The Mushroom feed cavity discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error,
the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.
FATAL ERROR. Not even a single resonant mode can be obtained for this cavity. Please change the
cavity dimensions or increase the Maximum Frequency of the Solver (Solver Name)
The maximum frequency introduced is under the cut-off frequency of the cavity delimited by the specified
dimensions (see the specifications of the dialog box below). Provided that these dimensions are correct, the
solution is to increase the value of this maximum frequency. It is recommended to set it to a value two or three
times the maximum frequency of the desired analysis band.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. (Error of some kind). Re-check the geometry, or try to
reduce mesh size(s) value(s)
The eigenvalue problem can not be solved due to problems with the building of the matrices. This error can be
produced by an illegal position of the posts not detected by FEST3D. Another source for errors in the
eigenvalue problem is that the meshing of some of the post surfaces is not accurate enough. If the positions of
the posts are correct, the mesh sizes should be reduced, specially if the dimensions of radii or lengths are small.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. Error while building mesh. Please try to reduce mesh size
value(s)
This error occurs when there is a problem building the internal meshing of the posts needed by this element,
when the Solver BI-RME 3D Cylindrical is selected. This problem usually appears when using posts of
mushroom or hollow type, if the mesh size value specified by the user is not adequate for the dimensions of
the post. The values used for mesh size must be reduced in order to avoid this error.

FATAL ERROR. No 3D mesh detected. Please re-check the geometry, or try to reduce mesh size of the
post(s)
If the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is chosen, this element requires to create a 3D mesh for the whole cavity
together with the posts, from which the surface meshing of metallic objects is extracted. If this error appears, it
means that the meshing algorithm was able to create a 2D mesh, but not a 3D. This 3D mesh is necessary to
compute data employed for the EM fields calculations. For this reason, the simulation is forbidden if the 3D
mesh is not available. This situation may happen if a wrong geometry has been specified (e.g., posts colliding
with each other). The dimensions and offsets of the posts should be revised, and verified with the 3D viewer in
order to detect any possible geometrical problems. If the geometry is correct, another source for this error is
that very small air gaps are present in the cavity, which can not be dealt by the 3D meshing algorithm for the
given mesh sizes. Reducing their values might be the solution for a correct 3D mesh generation. If the problem
persists, the user can ask for support on his specific geometry.

Error building mesh file

This error occurs when there is some problem building the mesh when the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected.
This can occur if there are failures while generating the geometry of the cavity. It is advisable to check if the
geometry can be visualized with the 3D viewer. If this is the case, then the problem is related to the meshing
algorithms, due to the same reasons explained for the previous error related to failure of the 3D mesh.

FATAL ERROR, mesh file not found

This message will appear if the meshing needed by the internal routines is not found. This error is usually
related to the building mesh error explained before, and should not appear in the case of a correct mesh
generation.

LAPACK error: some error message

The admittance matrix is not invertible at the simulated frequency point. This can only happen during the
frequency loop. This error is very unusual and it can be produced if a simulated frequency point is too close to
a pole. In this case the problem can be solved by slightly changing the frequency points.
cmalloc() failed: Out of memory!:
This happens when too much memory is required to solve the system. It is recommended, in this case, to

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reduce the Maximum Frequency value, and/or increase the mesh size values.

Simulation error (no further explanation):

This error is also related with memory limitations, and may occur if too much precision is demanded, specially
if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected. Besides, this problem can appear when performing simulations
with several cores, due to the higher memory requirements of this feature. Reducing the number of
processors is necessary to successfully perform the simulation.

Using the Mushroom feed cavity

The Mushroom feed cavity discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Magnetic Feed:

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Figure D: Specific properties of the General cavity

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm/inches): The cavity width (see figure A).

B (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
L (mm/inches): The cavity length (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).

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Cavity corner radius. Optional rounded corners can be set for building the cavity. The user can choose
between not using rounded corners (by default), or selecting one of the three different configurations defined
in the legend included in the tab. For any of these cases, the values of the 4 different radii can be edited (it is
worth mentioning that some of the radii values can be zero allowing the user to build half-rounded cavities), as
well as the value of the mesh size used for meshing these rounded corners inside the electromagnetic solver. If
the value is set to zero, an automatic value depending on the cavity dimensions and the radii values will be
used. The information screen will show during simulation the value employed for this mesh, which can be
controlled here in order to demand more accuracy if desired. Finally, it is important to bear in mind that for
performing simulation with rounded corner cavities, it is necessary to use the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG.
Solver type. The geometry of this element can be analyzed by selecting one of two available Solvers based in
the BI-RME 3D method implemented inside FEST3D:
BI-RME 3D Cylindrical: This Solver considers specialized high order cylindrical basis functions for
modelling the surface currents of the posts. It is selected by default, since the posts are generally of
cylindrical shape in most cases. The functions of this Solver offer a very fast performance, but have some
limitations, as they cannot be used for analysis of purely inductive posts (as mentioned above in the
limitations section), electromagnetic field computation or analysis of cavities with rounded corners
and/or non-cylindrical shapes.
BI-RME 3D RWG: This Solver considers Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions for modelling the
surface currents of the posts. This Solver requires that the geometry is meshed with triangular patches
onto which the RWG basis functions are defined. Thus, this Solver is more general and can be employed
to analyze any kind of geometrical problem, although as a drawback it requires a higher computational
cost in order to properly model the behaviour of rounded shapes.
Maximum Frequency (GHz): This parameter is required for any of the two BI-RME 3D Solvers, and specifies
the maximum value of the frequencies of the resonant modes of the cavity to be computed during the analysis.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity. For performing this analysis, it is necessary to choose the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG
for the simulation. Otherwise, a warning message will be shown to the user.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.
The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element. If the waveguide is of
Coaxial type, a probe must selected from the Type of probe list. For this element, only the Magnetic probe is allowed.
By default, the first port tab will be already assigned to the Coaxial waveguide that is required before opening the
specifications window, as shown in Figure E. Also the probe will be automatically displayed and ready to be
configured. The rest of the ports will be configured rectangular waveguides (Figure F). Nevertheless, it is possible to
define a different order for the ports, so that the Coaxial port is not the first one.
Regarding the specific parameters of the Mushroom probe, the following parameters can be edited:

L1 (mm/inches): Length of the first cylindrical section of the probe (see figure B).
R probe (mm/inches): The radius of the first cylindrical section of the probe (see figure B). If it is set to zero,
the default value of the inner conductor of the coaxial waveguide used as the port will be

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considered. The electromagnetic Solver does not directly support values larger than this inner radius, but
smaller values are also allowed for simulations. Nevertheless, it is possible to perform simulations with larger
radius for the probe, by applying the strategy described in the limitations section.
L2 (mm/inches): Length of the second cylindrical section of the probe (see figure B).
R2 (mm/inches): Radius of the second cylindrical section of the probe (see figure B).
Mesh size probe (mm/inches): Controls the value of the mesh size for this probe.

The mesh size parameter indicates the density of the mesh of the associated geometry, employed by
the electromagnetic Solver. The user should change this mesh size for each particular case, taking into account the
maximum and minimum dimensions employed. The smaller the mesh size, the finest the internal meshing, which will
lead to more accurate results, but it will also slow down the simulation time. Also, very small values may produce
memory allocation problems, due to large size of the matrices involved.
The definition of this value depends on the basis functions of the selected Solver type:

For the high order cylindrical basis functions of the BI-RME 3D Cylindrical Solver, indicates the size of the
linear segments used for surface discretization.
For the triangular RWG basis functions of the BI-RME 3D RWG Solver, indicates the size of the 2D triangles
used for the surface meshing.

The user has to bear in mind that the convergence speed of the two types of basis functions is different, and
the use of the same value of mesh size might not be adequate for the both types of Solvers at the same time.
Generally, convergent results are achieved faster with the BI-RME 3D Cylindrical Solver, and smaller values will
be required for the BI-RME 3D RWG for obtaining similar accuracy. On the other hand, if very small values are
already used in the cylindrical function case, the change to RWG basis functions must be done with care, since
very large mesh densities might be produced.

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Figure E: Port properties of the Mushroom feed cavity, case of a coaxial port

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Figure F: Port properties of the Mushroom feed cavity, case of a rectangular port

Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and C, conventions are:
Surface Front: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to 0)
Surface Back: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to C)
Surface Right: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to A/2)

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Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to B/2)
Surface Left: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to -A/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -B/2)
Mesh size port (mm/inches): The mesh size of each port of the element can be edited. This value is the typical
size of the triangles used for meshing the geometry of the port. It is important to remark that the correct
choice of the mesh size of the port is critical for the accuracy of the electromagnetic analysis. There are
some particularities to bear in mind regarding this parameter, as detailed below.
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.
Considerations for coaxial ports
When considering a Coaxial waveguide as a port, the mesh density must be increased for large numbers of
accessible modes of the coaxial waveguide in order to maintain the accuracy of the method. As a consequence,
a large number of accessible modes in the coaxial waveguide will require a higher computational cost. This
drawback might be avoided in most of the practical situations, since a large number of modes is not necessary
for a coaxial waveguide in common applications (generally, less than 20 modes will suffice).
Thus, in order to help the user to take into account these considerations, it is recommended to set this value to zero,
allowing FEST3D to automatically choose an adequate value as a default. The automatic criterion employed obeys the
following rules:

If 30 or less accessible modes are employed in the coaxial waveguide, the triangle size is chosen as 1/5 of the
difference between the external and internal radius of the coaxial.
If the number of coaxial modes is between 30 and 45, the triangle size is chosen as 0.2 times the cut-
off wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.
If 45 or more modes are employed for the coaxial, the triangle size is chosen as 0.1 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.

Considerations for rectangular ports

On the other hand, when the waveguide port is chosen to be a Rectangular waveguide, the offsets and the
mesh size of the port only make sense if the waveguide port is smaller than the dimensions of the
corresponding cavity surface. For this case, the port will be discretized in a similar way as the coaxial port,
requiring a meshing which can be controlled by the mesh size port parameter or be let to zero and use the
automatic criterion depending on modes explained above. The only difference regarding this mesh criteria
with respect to the coaxial port case is that the geometrical criterion employed for 30 or less modes considers
1/5 of the minimum of the dimensions (a,b) of the rectangular waveguide.
Nevertheless, in a common usage of this element, the rectangular ports will have the same dimensions as the
corresponding cavity surfaces delimited by the cavity dimensions A,B,L specified. In those cases, these
parameters (offsets and characteristic length) have no meaning, and the internal electromagnetic solver
employs analytical expressions for dealing with these ports, which require much less computational effort.
For this reason, it is recommended to build a circuit using waveguides with the same dimensions as the
cavities wherever it is possible, employing Step discontinuities if different size of waveguides is desired
between cavities. A warning message will appear in order to alert the user to have this situation in mind if
smaller ports are selected. Nevertheless, there might be some cases in which the connection of smaller
rectangular ports will be mandatory, such as when rounded corners are used in the cavity.

As a final comment, the information window will show, for each discontinuity of this kind, the exact value of the mesh
size that is being employed for each port that requires meshing, as well as the number of triangles generated. The
user can take this mesh size value as reference in order to manually increase it for speeding up calculations (for very
small number of modes, the automatic criterion based on the port geometry can be relaxed without remarkable loss
of accuracy), or decreasing it if more precision is desired, taking into account the memory limitations.

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Another part of the specifications of this element is the General posts tab. Here, additional resonant posts/tuning
screws can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button. The post parameters and the
different shapes allowed are the same as explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

Figure G: General Posts properties of the Mushroom feed cavity

The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. With this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of the
air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can be

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chosen the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the particular
element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.
For performing EM fields computations, it is mandatory to use the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG in the simulation.

Figure H: EM Field properties of the Mushroom feed cavity

In addition, it is also important to mention that, for performing High Power analysis, FEST3D performs an
automatic refinement procedure, which is the same as the one explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

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2.4.2.5.4 Straight contact feed cavity

This section describes the Straight contact feed cavity discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The Straight contact feed cavity discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Straight contact feed cavity discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds
to them.

Using the Straight contact feed How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
cavity

Definition
The Straight contact feed cavity discontinuity consists in a rectangular waveguide section which is excited using a
straight coaxial probe which feeds a post that is attached to any of the cavity walls orthogonal to the coaxial. The
cavity dimensions, the local reference system, and the different surface names are depicted in figure A, and are the
same as in the Cavity with Posts. The geometrical parameters and positions of the probe and the contact post are
shown in figure B and can be specified by the user. Besides this main excitation block (probe together with contact
post), rectangular ports and additional resonant posts/tuning screws can be considered at any of the cavity walls. For
performing the analysis, an electromagnetic Solver based on the BI-RME 3D method with RWG basis functions is
employed.

Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

Regarding the geometrical specifications of the excitation probe, a schematic picture of a common practical case with
the contact post attached to the bottom surface is shown in figure B, including the names of the relevant dimensions

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to be specified by the user.

Figure B: Basic geometrical scheme of the straight contact probe

Limitations
The Straight contact feed cavity discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Rectangular or Coaxial waveguides. Although there is no limitation in
the number of rectangular ports, only one coaxial port is allowed per cavity. For a more general design
including different coaxial waveguides as excitations of a single cavity, the General cavity element can be used
instead.
Maximum number of posts
There is no theoretical limit to the number of posts. Anyway, using a large number of posts in a single element
may significantly slow down the simulation.
If you want to design a circuit with several posts (combline filter, for example), in theory you have two options:
a long cavity with a lot of posts
many cascaded cavities
In general, the most efficient approach is to use a segmentation strategy to divide the cavity into small blocks
connected by plain waveguide sections. In any case, also the “single cavity" analysis works fine (but may require
higher computational time), provided that the limitations in posts dimensions are fulfilled. Take into account
that if the same cavity with post/s is repeated in the circuit, the static part is solved only once thanks to the
internal arrangement of FEST3D in those cases.

High memory consumption using parallelization in circuits with many cavities

If small values of mesh sizes are specified (for high accuracy or convergence tests), then very large meshes and

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dense matrices are required in the simulation, consuming an important amount of RAM. Once the meshing of
the element is performed, the information window will show an estimation of the maximum total memory that
will be used during calculations. Besides, the software will automatically detect if the memory requirements are
greater than the RAM memory available in the system, and will stop the simulation if necessary. If there are
several different cavities in the circuit, and multicore simulation is desired, it is important to take into
account that these RAM requirements are increased, and a slowdown in the computer performance might
be encountered. For those cases, it is recommended to employ a lower number of processors, which may allow
successfully completing a simulation that cannot be performed using more cores due to memory limitation
problems. If reducing the number of processors the memory problems still persist, it is advisable to increase
the mesh size values (reduce precision) of the posts or rounded corners in the cavity (explained in the
specifications section below) for performing the simulation.

Use of probe radius larger than the inner radius of the coaxial.
The electromagnetic BI-RME 3D Solver used by this element does not directly allow modeling an excitation
probe contacting a coaxial port with a smaller inner radius. Anyway, it is possible to simulate this kind of
structures, by employing the strategy shown in the schematic below (figure C). By means of a Step
discontinuity, an additional auxiliary coaxial with zero length can be inserted between the real coaxial
waveguide and the Straight probe discontinuity, in which the radius desired for the probe can be set. This
auxiliary coaxial can be connected to the Straight probe and solved by the inner kernel. The Step will take into
account the differences between the two coaxials by computing the appropiate coupling integrals. On the
other hand, it is important to bear in mind that if a radius value smaller than the inner of coaxial is required for
the probe, there is no need to employ this strategy since this situation is directly supported by the Solver.

Figure C: Schematic example for using a probe with a radius larger the inner radius of the coaxial waveguide port.

Errors
The Straight contact feed cavity discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each
error, the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

FATAL ERROR. Not even a single resonant mode can be obtained for this cavity. Please change the
cavity dimensions or increase the Maximum Frequency of the Solver (Solver Name)
The maximum frequency introduced is under the cut-off frequency of the cavity delimited by the specified
dimensions (see the specifications of the dialog box below). Provided that these dimensions are correct, the

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solution is to increase the value of this maximum frequency. It is recommended to set it to a value two or three
times the maximum frequency of the desired analysis band.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. (Error of some kind). Re-check the geometry, or try to
reduce mesh size(s) value(s)
The eigenvalue problem can not be solved due to problems with the building of the matrices. This error can be
produced by an illegal position of the posts not detected by FEST3D. Another source for errors in the
eigenvalue problem is that the meshing of some of the post surfaces is not accurate enough. If the positions of
the posts are correct, the mesh sizes should be reduced, specially if the dimensions of radii or lengths are small.

FATAL ERROR. No 3D mesh detected. Please re-check the geometry, or try to reduce mesh size of the
post(s)
If this error appears, it means that the meshing algorithm was able to create a 2D mesh, but not a 3D. This 3D
mesh is necessary to compute data employed for the EM fields calculations. For this reason, the simulation is
forbidden if the 3D mesh is not available. This situation may happen if a wrong geometry has been specified
(e.g., posts colliding with each other). The dimensions and offsets of the posts should be revised, and verified
with the 3D viewer in order to detect any possible geometrical problems. If the geometry is correct, another
source for this error is that very small air gaps are present in the cavity, which can not be dealt by the 3D
meshing algorithm for the given mesh sizes. Reducing their values might be the solution for a correct 3D mesh
generation. If the problem persists, the user can ask for support on his specific geometry.

Error building mesh file

This error occurs when there is some problem building the mesh. This can occur if there are failures while
generating the geometry of the cavity. It is advisable to check if the geometry can be visualized with the 3D
viewer. If this is the case, then the problem is related to the meshing algorithms, due to the same reasons
explained for the previous error related to failure of the 3D mesh.

FATAL ERROR, mesh file not found

This message will appear if the meshing needed by the internal routines is not found. This error is usually
related to the building mesh error explained before, and should not appear in the case of a correct mesh
generation.

LAPACK error: some error message

The admittance matrix is not invertible at the simulated frequency point. This can only happen during the
frequency loop. This error is very unusual and it can be produced if a simulated frequency point is too close to
a pole. In this case the problem can be solved by slightly changing the frequency points.
cmalloc() failed: Out of memory!:
This happens when too much memory is required to solve the system. It is recommended, in this case, to
reduce the Maximum Frequency value, and/or increase the mesh size values.

Simulation error (no further explanation):

This error is also related with memory limitations, and may occur if too much precision is demanded, specially
if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected. Besides, this problem can appear when performing simulations
with several cores, due to the higher memory requirements of this feature. Reducing the number of
processors is necessary to successfully perform the simulation.

Using the Straight contact feed cavity

The Straight contact feed cavity discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit
this element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Magnetic Feed:

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Figure D: Specific properties of the Straight contact feed cavity

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm/inches): The cavity width (see figure A).

B (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
L (mm/inches): The cavity length (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).

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Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Cavity corner radius. Optional rounded corners can be set for building the cavity. The user can choose
between not using rounded corners (by default), or selecting one of the three different configurations defined
in the legend included in the tab. For any of these cases, the values of the 4 different radii can be edited (it is
worth mentioning that some of the radii values can be zero allowing the user to build half-rounded cavities), as
well as the value of the mesh size used for meshing these rounded corners inside the electromagnetic solver. If
the value is set to zero, an automatic value depending on the cavity dimensions and the radii values will be
used. The information screen will show during simulation the value employed for this mesh, which can be
controlled here in order to demand more accuracy if desired.
Solver type. The particular geometry of this element can only be analyzed using the electromagnetic Solver
BI-RME 3D RWG. This Solver considers Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions for modelling the surface
currents of the posts. This Solver requires that the geometry is meshed with triangular patches onto which the
RWG basis functions are defined.
Maximum Frequency (GHz): This parameter is required for the BI-RME 3D Solver, and specifies the maximum
value of the frequencies of the resonant modes of the cavity to be computed during the analysis.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.
The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element. If the waveguide is of
Coaxial type, a probe must selected from the Type of probe list. For this element, only the Straight contact probe is
allowed. For this probe, the shape of the required contact post can be chosen as well from the Type of contact post
list (a view of the different allowed contact posts is also shown at the right side of the window). By default, the first
port tab will be already assigned to the Coaxial waveguide that is required before opening the specifications window,
as shown in Figure E. Also the probe will be automatically displayed and ready to be configured. The rest of the ports
will be configured rectangular waveguides (Figure F). Nevertheless, it is possible to define a different order for the
ports, so that the coaxial port is not the first one.
Regarding the specific parameters of the Straight contact probe, the following parameters can be edited:

L post (mm/inches): The distance between the contact post and the coaxial port (see figure B).
R probe (mm/inches): The radius of the probe (see figure B). If it is set to zero, the default value of the
inner conductor of the coaxial waveguide used as the port will be considered. The electromagnetic Solver
does not directly support values larger than this inner radius, but smaller values are also allowed for
simulations. Nevertheless, it is possible to perform simulations with larger radius for the probe, by applying the
strategy described in the limitations section.
Mesh size probe (mm/inches): This parameter indicates the typical length that will be used for the triangular
mesh employed by this discontinuity for modeling the coaxial probe.

Below these probe parameters, the contact post parameters are also displayed. Depending on the shape of the post
selected, the legend at the right will show the geometrical parameters that can be edited for the particular geometry
(see figure E).

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Figure E: Port properties of the Straight contact feed cavity, case of a coaxial port

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Figure F: Port properties of the Straight contact feed cavity, case of a rectangular port

Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and C, conventions are:
Surface Front: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to 0)

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Surface Back: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to C)
Surface Right: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to A/2)
Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to B/2)
Surface Left: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to -A/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -B/2)
Mesh size port (mm/inches): The mesh size of each port of the element can be edited. This value is the typical
size of the triangles used for meshing the geometry of the port. It is important to remark that the correct
choice of the mesh size of the port is critical for the accuracy of the electromagnetic analysis. There are
some particularities to bear in mind regarding this parameter, as detailed below.
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.
Considerations for coaxial ports
When considering a Coaxial waveguide as a port, the mesh density must be increased for large numbers of
accessible modes of the coaxial waveguide in order to maintain the accuracy of the method. As a consequence,
a large number of accessible modes in the coaxial waveguide will require a higher computational cost. This
drawback might be avoided in most of the practical situations, since a large number of modes is not necessary
for a coaxial waveguide in common applications (generally, less than 20 modes will suffice).
Thus, in order to help the user to take into account these considerations, it is recommended to set this value to zero,
allowing FEST3D to automatically choose an adequate value as a default. The automatic criterion employed obeys the
following rules:

If 30 or less accessible modes are employed in the coaxial waveguide, the triangle size is chosen as 1/5 of the
difference between the external and internal radius of the coaxial.
If the number of coaxial modes is between 30 and 45, the triangle size is chosen as 0.2 times the cut-
off wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.
If 45 or more modes are employed for the coaxial, the triangle size is chosen as 0.1 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.

Considerations for rectangular ports

On the other hand, when the waveguide port is chosen to be a Rectangular waveguide, the offsets and the
mesh size of the port only make sense if the waveguide port is smaller than the dimensions of the
corresponding cavity surface. For this case, the port will be discretized in a similar way as the coaxial port,
requiring a meshing which can be controlled by the mesh size port parameter or be let to zero and use the
automatic criterion depending on modes explained above. The only difference regarding this mesh criteria
with respect to the coaxial port case is that the geometrical criterion employed for 30 or less modes considers
1/5 of the minimum of the dimensions (a,b) of the rectangular waveguide.
Nevertheless, in a common usage of this element, the rectangular ports will have the same dimensions as the
corresponding cavity surfaces delimited by the cavity dimensions A,B,L specified. In those cases, these
parameters (offsets and characteristic length) have no meaning, and the internal electromagnetic solver
employs analytical expressions for dealing with these ports, which require much less computational effort.
For this reason, it is recommended to build a circuit using waveguides with the same dimensions as the
cavities wherever it is possible, employing Step discontinuities if different size of waveguides is desired
between cavities. A warning message will appear in order to alert the user to have this situation in mind if
smaller ports are selected. Nevertheless, there might be some cases in which the connection of smaller
rectangular ports will be mandatory, such as when rounded corners are used in the cavity.

As a final comment, the information window will show, for each discontinuity of this kind, the exact value of the mesh
size that is being employed for each port that requires meshing, as well as the number of triangles generated. The
user can take this mesh size value as reference in order to manually increase it for speeding up calculations (for very
small number of modes, the automatic criterion based on the port geometry can be relaxed without remarkable loss
of accuracy), or decreasing it if more precision is desired, taking into account the memory limitations.

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Another part of the specifications of this element is the General posts tab. Here, additional resonant posts/tuning
screws can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button. The post parameters and the
different shapes allowed are the same as explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

Figure G: General Posts properties of the Straight contact feed cavity

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Figure H: EM Field properties of the Straight contact feed cavity

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In addition, it is also important to mention that, for performing High Power analysis, FEST3D performs an
automatic refinement procedure, which is the same as the one explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

2.4.2.5.5 S-Shape contact feed cavity

This section describes the S-Shape contact feed cavity discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The S-Shape contact feed cavity discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a S-Shape contact feed cavity discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds
to them.

Using the S-Shape contact feed How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
cavity

Definition
The S-Shape contact feed cavity discontinuity consists in a rectangular cavity which is excited using a S-shaped coaxial
probe which feeds a post that is attached to any of the cavity walls orthogonal to the coaxial. The cavity dimensions,
the local reference system, and the different surface names are depicted in figure A, and are the same as in the Cavity
with Posts. The geometrical parameters and positions of the probe and the contact post are shown in figure B and can
be specified by the user. Besides this main excitation block (probe together with contact post), rectangular ports and
additional resonant posts/tuning screws can be considered at any of the cavity walls. For performing the analysis, an
electromagnetic Solver based on the BI-RME 3D method with RWG basis functions is employed.

Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

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Regarding the geometrical specifications, a schematic picture of a common practical case with the contact post
attached to the bottom surface is shown in figure B, including the names of the relevant dimensions to be specified by
the user. The rest of the geometrical parameters needed for building the probe are auto calculated.

Figure B: Basic geometrical scheme of the excitation block

Limitations
The S-Shape contact feed cavity discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Rectangular or Coaxial waveguides. Although there is no limitation in
the number of rectangular ports, only one coaxial port is allowed per cavity. For a more general design
including different coaxial waveguides as excitations of a single cavity, the General cavity element can be used
instead.
Maximum number of posts
There is no theoretical limit to the number of posts. Anyway, using a large number of posts in a single element
may significantly slow down the simulation.
If you want to design a circuit with several posts (combline filter, for example), in theory you have two options:
a long cavity with a lot of posts
many cascaded cavities
In general, the most efficient approach is to use a segmentation strategy to divide the cavity into small blocks
connected by plain waveguide sections. In any case, also the “single cavity" analysis works fine (but may require
higher computational time), provided that the limitations in posts dimensions are fulfilled. Take into account
that if the same cavity with post/s is repeated in the circuit, the static part is solved only once thanks to the
internal arrangement of FEST3D in those cases.

High memory consumption using parallelization in circuits with many cavities

If small values of mesh sizes are specified (for high accuracy or convergence tests), then very large meshes and

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dense matrices are required in the simulation, consuming an important amount of RAM. Once the meshing of
the element is performed, the information window will show an estimation of the maximum total memory that
will be used during calculations. Besides, the software will automatically detect if the memory requirements are
greater than the RAM memory available in the system, and will stop the simulation if necessary. If there are
several different cavities in the circuit, and multicore simulation is desired, it is important to take into
account that these RAM requirements are increased, and a slowdown in the computer performance might
be encountered. For those cases, it is recommended to employ a lower number of processors, which may allow
successfully completing a simulation that cannot be performed using more cores due to memory limitation
problems. If reducing the number of processors the memory problems still persist, it is advisable to increase
the mesh size values (reduce precision) of the posts or rounded corners in the cavity (explained in the
specifications section below) for performing the simulation.

Use of probe radius larger than the inner radius of the coaxial.
The electromagnetic BI-RME 3D Solver used by this element does not directly allow modeling an excitation
probe contacting a coaxial port with a smaller inner radius. Anyway, it is possible to simulate this kind of
structures, by employing the strategy shown in the schematic below (figure C). By means of a Step
discontinuity, an additional auxiliary coaxial with zero length can be inserted between the real coaxial
waveguide and the Straight probe discontinuity, in which the radius desired for the probe can be set. This
auxiliary coaxial can be connected to the Straight probe and solved by the inner kernel. The Step will take into
account the differences between the two coaxials by computing the appropiate coupling integrals. On the
other hand, it is important to bear in mind that if a radius value smaller than the inner of coaxial is required for
the probe, there is no need to employ this strategy since this situation is directly supported by the Solver.

Figure C: Schematic example for using a probe with a radius larger the inner radius of the coaxial waveguide port.

Errors
The S-Shape contact feed cavity discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each
error, the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

FATAL ERROR. Not even a single resonant mode can be obtained for this cavity. Please change the
cavity dimensions or increase the Maximum Frequency of the Solver (Solver Name)
The maximum frequency introduced is under the cut-off frequency of the cavity delimited by the specified
dimensions (see the specifications of the dialog box below). Provided that these dimensions are correct, the

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solution is to increase the value of this maximum frequency. It is recommended to set it to a value two or three
times the maximum frequency of the desired analysis band.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. (Error of some kind). Re-check the geometry, or try to
reduce mesh size(s) value(s)
The eigenvalue problem can not be solved due to problems with the building of the matrices. This error can be
produced by an illegal position of the posts not detected by FEST3D. Another source for errors in the
eigenvalue problem is that the meshing of some of the post surfaces is not accurate enough. If the positions of
the posts are correct, the mesh sizes should be reduced, specially if the dimensions of radii or lengths are small.

FATAL ERROR. No 3D mesh detected. Please re-check the geometry, or try to reduce mesh size of the
post(s)
If this error appears, it means that the meshing algorithm was able to create a 2D mesh, but not a 3D. This 3D
mesh is necessary to compute data employed for the EM fields calculations. For this reason, the simulation is
forbidden if the 3D mesh is not available. This situation may happen if a wrong geometry has been specified
(e.g., posts colliding with each other). The dimensions and offsets of the posts should be revised, and verified
with the 3D viewer in order to detect any possible geometrical problems. If the geometry is correct, another
source for this error is that very small air gaps are present in the cavity, which can not be dealt by the 3D
meshing algorithm for the given mesh sizes. Reducing their values might be the solution for a correct 3D mesh
generation. If the problem persists, the user can ask for support on his specific geometry.

Error building mesh file

This error occurs when there is some problem building the mesh. This can occur if there are failures while
generating the geometry of the cavity. It is advisable to check if the geometry can be visualized with the 3D
viewer. If this is the case, then the problem is related to the meshing algorithms, due to the same reasons
explained for the previous error related to failure of the 3D mesh.

FATAL ERROR, mesh file not found

This message will appear if the meshing needed by the internal routines is not found. This error is usually
related to the building mesh error explained before, and should not appear in the case of a correct mesh
generation.

LAPACK error: some error message

The admittance matrix is not invertible at the simulated frequency point. This can only happen during the
frequency loop. This error is very unusual and it can be produced if a simulated frequency point is too close to
a pole. In this case the problem can be solved by slightly changing the frequency points.
cmalloc() failed: Out of memory!:
This happens when too much memory is required to solve the system. It is recommended, in this case, to
reduce the Maximum Frequency value, and/or increase the mesh size values.

Simulation error (no further explanation):

This error is also related with memory limitations, and may occur if too much precision is demanded, specially
if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected. Besides, this problem can appear when performing simulations
with several cores, due to the higher memory requirements of this feature. Reducing the number of
processors is necessary to successfully perform the simulation.

Using the S-Shape contact feed cavity

The S-Shape contact feed cavity discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit
this element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Magnetic Feed:

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Figure D: Specific properties of the S-Shape contact feed cavity

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm/inches): The cavity width (see figure A).

B (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
L (mm/inches): The cavity length (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).

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Cavity corner radius. Optional rounded corners can be set for building the cavity. The user can choose
between not using rounded corners (by default), or selecting one of the three different configurations defined
in the legend included in the tab. For any of these cases, the values of the 4 different radii can be edited (it is
worth mentioning that some of the radii values can be zero allowing the user to build half-rounded cavities), as
well as the value of the mesh size used for meshing these rounded corners inside the electromagnetic solver. If
the value is set to zero, an automatic value depending on the cavity dimensions and the radii values will be
used. The information screen will show during simulation the value employed for this mesh, which can be
controlled here in order to demand more accuracy if desired.
Solver type. The particular geometry of this element can only be analyzed using the electromagnetic Solver
BI-RME 3D RWG. This Solver considers Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions for modelling the surface
currents of the posts. This Solver requires that the geometry is meshed with triangular patches onto which the
RWG basis functions are defined.
Maximum Frequency (GHz): This parameter is required for the BI-RME 3D Solver, and specifies the maximum
value of the frequencies of the resonant modes of the cavity to be computed during the analysis.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.
The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element. If the waveguide is of
Coaxial type, a probe must selected from the Type of probe list. For this element, only the Straight contact probe is
allowed. For this probe, the shape of the required contact post can be chosen as well from the Type of contact post
list (a view of the different allowed contact posts is also shown at the right side of the window). By default, the first
port tab will be already assigned to the Coaxial waveguide that is required before opening the specifications window,
as shown in Figure E. Also the probe will be automatically displayed and ready to be configured. The rest of the ports
will be configured rectangular waveguides (Figure F). Nevertheless, it is possible to define a different order for the
ports, so that the coaxial port is not the first one.
Regarding the specific parameters of the Top contact probe, the following parameters can be edited:

L post (mm/inches): The distance between the contact post and the coaxial port (see figure B).
L1 (mm/inches): The length of the straight part of the S shape that starts from the coaxial port (see figure B).
L2 (mm/inches): The length of the straight part of the S shape that contacts the post (see figure B).
R probe (mm/inches): The radius of the probe (see figure B). If it is set to zero, the default value of the
inner conductor of the coaxial waveguide used as the port will be considered. The electromagnetic Solver
does not directly support values larger than this inner radius, but smaller values are also allowed for
simulations. Nevertheless, it is possible to perform simulations with larger radius for the probe, by applying the
strategy described in the limitations section.
H contact (mm/inches): The height at which the probe contacts the post (see figure B).
Mesh size probe (mm/inches): This parameter indicates the typical length that will be used for the triangular
mesh employed by this discontinuity for modeling the coaxial probe.

Below these probe parameters, the contact post parameters are also displayed. Depending on the shape of the post

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selected, the legend at the right will show the geometrical parameters that can be edited for the particular geometry
(see figure E).

Figure E: Port properties of the S-Shape contact feed cavity, case of a coaxial port

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Figure F: Port properties of the S-Shape contact feed cavity, case of a rectangular port

Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and C, conventions are:
Surface Front: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to 0)

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Surface Back: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to C)
Surface Right: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to A/2)
Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to B/2)
Surface Left: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to -A/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -B/2)
Mesh size port (mm/inches): The mesh size of each port of the element can be edited. This value is the typical
size of the triangles used for meshing the geometry of the port. It is important to remark that the correct
choice of the mesh size of the port is critical for the accuracy of the electromagnetic analysis. There are
some particularities to bear in mind regarding this parameter, as detailed below.
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.
Considerations for coaxial ports
When considering a Coaxial waveguide as a port, the mesh density must be increased for large numbers of
accessible modes of the coaxial waveguide in order to maintain the accuracy of the method. As a consequence,
a large number of accessible modes in the coaxial waveguide will require a higher computational cost. This
drawback might be avoided in most of the practical situations, since a large number of modes is not necessary
for a coaxial waveguide in common applications (generally, less than 20 modes will suffice).
Thus, in order to help the user to take into account these considerations, it is recommended to set this value to zero,
allowing FEST3D to automatically choose an adequate value as a default. The automatic criterion employed obeys the
following rules:

If 30 or less accessible modes are employed in the coaxial waveguide, the triangle size is chosen as 1/5 of the
difference between the external and internal radius of the coaxial.
If the number of coaxial modes is between 30 and 45, the triangle size is chosen as 0.2 times the cut-
off wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.
If 45 or more modes are employed for the coaxial, the triangle size is chosen as 0.1 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.

Considerations for rectangular ports

On the other hand, when the waveguide port is chosen to be a Rectangular waveguide, the offsets and the
mesh size of the port only make sense if the waveguide port is smaller than the dimensions of the
corresponding cavity surface. For this case, the port will be discretized in a similar way as the coaxial port,
requiring a meshing which can be controlled by the mesh size port parameter or be let to zero and use the
automatic criterion depending on modes explained above. The only difference regarding this mesh criteria
with respect to the coaxial port case is that the geometrical criterion employed for 30 or less modes considers
1/5 of the minimum of the dimensions (a,b) of the rectangular waveguide.
Nevertheless, in a common usage of this element, the rectangular ports will have the same dimensions as the
corresponding cavity surfaces delimited by the cavity dimensions A,B,L specified. In those cases, these
parameters (offsets and characteristic length) have no meaning, and the internal electromagnetic solver
employs analytical expressions for dealing with these ports, which require much less computational effort.
For this reason, it is recommended to build a circuit using waveguides with the same dimensions as the
cavities wherever it is possible, employing Step discontinuities if different size of waveguides is desired
between cavities. A warning message will appear in order to alert the user to have this situation in mind if
smaller ports are selected. Nevertheless, there might be some cases in which the connection of smaller
rectangular ports will be mandatory, such as when rounded corners are used in the cavity.

As a final comment, the information window will show, for each discontinuity of this kind, the exact value of the mesh
size that is being employed for each port that requires meshing, as well as the number of triangles generated. The
user can take this mesh size value as reference in order to manually increase it for speeding up calculations (for very
small number of modes, the automatic criterion based on the port geometry can be relaxed without remarkable loss
of accuracy), or decreasing it if more precision is desired, taking into account the memory limitations.

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Another part of the specifications of this element is the General posts tab. Here, additional resonant posts/tuning
screws can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button. The post parameters and the
different shapes allowed are the same as explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

Figure G: General Posts properties of the S-Shape contact feed cavity

The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab

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allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Figure H: EM Field properties of the S-Shape contact feed cavity

In addition, it is also important to mention that, for performing High Power analysis, FEST3D performs an

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automatic refinement procedure, which is the same as the one explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

2.4.2.5.6 Loop feed cavity

This section describes the Loop feed cavity discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Loop feed cavity discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Loop feed cavity discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Loop feed cavity How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The Loop feed cavity consists in a rectangular cavity which is excited using a loop coaxial probe. The cavity
dimensions, the local reference system, and the different surface names are depicted in figure A, and are the same as
in the Cavity with posts. The geometrical parameters and positions of the probe are shown in figure B and can be
specified by the user. Besides this main excitation block, rectangular ports and additional resonant posts/tuning
screws can be considered at any of the cavity walls. For performing the analysis, an electromagnetic Solver based on
the BI-RME 3D method with RWG basis functions is employed.

Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

Regarding the geometrical specifications of the excitation probe, a schematic picture of a common practical case is
shown in figure B, including the names of the relevant dimensions to be specified by the user. The rest of the
geometrical parameters needed to build the probe are auto calculated. A rotation angle for the loop is also
considered, whose definitions depending on the surface of the probe are also shown in the figure.

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Figure B: Basic geometrical scheme of the maneic loop probe

Limitations
The Loop feed cavity discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Rectangular or Coaxial waveguides. Although there is no limitation in
the number of rectangular ports, only one coaxial port is allowed per cavity. For a more general design
including different coaxial waveguides as excitations of a single cavity, the General cavity element can be used
instead.
Maximum number of posts
There is no theoretical limit to the number of posts. Anyway, using a large number of posts in a single element
may significantly slow down the simulation.
If you want to design a circuit with several posts (combline filter, for example), in theory you have two options:
a long cavity with a lot of posts

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many cascaded cavities
In general, the most efficient approach is to use a segmentation strategy to divide the cavity into small blocks
connected by plain waveguide sections. In any case, also the “single cavity" analysis works fine (but may require
higher computational time), provided that the limitations in posts dimensions are fulfilled. Take into account
that if the same cavity with post/s is repeated in the circuit, the static part is solved only once thanks to the
internal arrangement of FEST3D in those cases.

High memory consumption using parallelization in circuits with many cavities

If small values of mesh sizes are specified (for high accuracy or convergence tests), then very large meshes and
dense matrices are required in the simulation, consuming an important amount of RAM. Once the meshing of
the element is performed, the information window will show an estimation of the maximum total memory that
will be used during calculations. Besides, the software will automatically detect if the memory requirements are
greater than the RAM memory available in the system, and will stop the simulation if necessary. If there are
several different cavities in the circuit, and multicore simulation is desired, it is important to take into
account that these RAM requirements are increased, and a slowdown in the computer performance might
be encountered. For those cases, it is recommended to employ a lower number of processors, which may allow
successfully completing a simulation that cannot be performed using more cores due to memory limitation
problems. If reducing the number of processors the memory problems still persist, it is advisable to increase
the mesh size values (reduce precision) of the posts or rounded corners in the cavity (explained in the
specifications section below) for performing the simulation.

Use of probe radius larger than the inner radius of the coaxial.
The electromagnetic BI-RME 3D Solver used by this element does not directly allow modeling an excitation
probe contacting a coaxial port with a smaller inner radius. Anyway, it is possible to simulate this kind of
structures, by employing the strategy shown in the schematic below (figure C). By means of a Step
discontinuity, an additional auxiliary coaxial with zero length can be inserted between the real coaxial
waveguide and the Straight probe discontinuity, in which the radius desired for the probe can be set. This
auxiliary coaxial can be connected to the Straight probe and solved by the inner kernel. The Step will take into
account the differences between the two coaxials by computing the appropiate coupling integrals. On the
other hand, it is important to bear in mind that if a radius value smaller than the inner of coaxial is required for
the probe, there is no need to employ this strategy since this situation is directly supported by the Solver.

Figure C: Schematic example for using a probe with a radius larger the inner radius of the coaxial waveguide port.

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Errors
The Loop feed cavity discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error, the
possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

FATAL ERROR. Not even a single resonant mode can be obtained for this cavity. Please change the
cavity dimensions or increase the Maximum Frequency of the Solver (Solver Name)
The maximum frequency introduced is under the cut-off frequency of the cavity delimited by the specified
dimensions (see the specifications of the dialog box below). Provided that these dimensions are correct, the
solution is to increase the value of this maximum frequency. It is recommended to set it to a value two or three
times the maximum frequency of the desired analysis band.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. (Error of some kind). Re-check the geometry, or try to
reduce mesh size(s) value(s)
The eigenvalue problem can not be solved due to problems with the building of the matrices. This error can be
produced by an illegal position of the posts not detected by FEST3D. Another source for errors in the
eigenvalue problem is that the meshing of some of the post surfaces is not accurate enough. If the positions of
the posts are correct, the mesh sizes should be reduced, specially if the dimensions of radii or lengths are small.

FATAL ERROR. No 3D mesh detected. Please re-check the geometry, or try to reduce mesh size of the
post(s)
If this error appears, it means that the meshing algorithm was able to create a 2D mesh, but not a 3D. This 3D
mesh is necessary to compute data employed for the EM fields calculations. For this reason, the simulation is
forbidden if the 3D mesh is not available. This situation may happen if a wrong geometry has been specified
(e.g., posts colliding with each other). The dimensions and offsets of the posts should be revised, and verified
with the 3D viewer in order to detect any possible geometrical problems. If the geometry is correct, another
source for this error is that very small air gaps are present in the cavity, which can not be dealt by the 3D
meshing algorithm for the given mesh sizes. Reducing their values might be the solution for a correct 3D mesh
generation. If the problem persists, the user can ask for support on his specific geometry.

Error building mesh file

This error occurs when there is some problem building the mesh. This can occur if there are failures while
generating the geometry of the cavity. It is advisable to check if the geometry can be visualized with the 3D
viewer. If this is the case, then the problem is related to the meshing algorithms, due to the same reasons
explained for the previous error related to failure of the 3D mesh.

FATAL ERROR, mesh file not found

This message will appear if the meshing needed by the internal routines is not found. This error is usually
related to the building mesh error explained before, and should not appear in the case of a correct mesh
generation.

LAPACK error: some error message

The admittance matrix is not invertible at the simulated frequency point. This can only happen during the
frequency loop. This error is very unusual and it can be produced if a simulated frequency point is too close to
a pole. In this case the problem can be solved by slightly changing the frequency points.
cmalloc() failed: Out of memory!:
This happens when too much memory is required to solve the system. It is recommended, in this case, to
reduce the Maximum Frequency value, and/or increase the mesh size values.

Simulation error (no further explanation):

This error is also related with memory limitations, and may occur if too much precision is demanded, specially
if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected. Besides, this problem can appear when performing simulations
with several cores, due to the higher memory requirements of this feature. Reducing the number of
processors is necessary to successfully perform the simulation.

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Using the Loop feed cavity

The Loop feed cavity discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Magnetic Feed:

Figure D: Specific properties of the General cavity

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The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm/inches): The cavity width (see figure A).

B (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
L (mm/inches): The cavity length (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Cavity corner radius. Optional rounded corners can be set for building the cavity. The user can choose
between not using rounded corners (by default), or selecting one of the three different configurations defined
in the legend included in the tab. For any of these cases, the values of the 4 different radii can be edited (it is
worth mentioning that some of the radii values can be zero allowing the user to build half-rounded cavities), as
well as the value of the mesh size used for meshing these rounded corners inside the electromagnetic solver. If
the value is set to zero, an automatic value depending on the cavity dimensions and the radii values will be
used. The information screen will show during simulation the value employed for this mesh, which can be
controlled here in order to demand more accuracy if desired.
Solver type. The particular geometry of this element can only be analyzed using the electromagnetic Solver
BI-RME 3D RWG. This Solver considers Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions for modelling the surface
currents of the posts. This Solver requires that the geometry is meshed with triangular patches onto which the
RWG basis functions are defined.
Maximum Frequency (GHz): This parameter is required for the BI-RME 3D Solver, and specifies the maximum
value of the frequencies of the resonant modes of the cavity to be computed during the analysis.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.
The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element. If the waveguide is of
Coaxial type, a probe must selected from the Type of probe list. For this element, only the Magnetic probe is allowed.
By default, the first port tab will be already assigned to the Coaxial waveguide that is required before opening the
specifications window, as shown in Figure E. Also the probe will be automatically displayed and ready to be
configured. The rest of the ports will be configured rectangular waveguides (Figure F). Nevertheless, it is possible to
define a different order for the ports, so that the Coaxial port is not the first one.
Regarding the specific parameters of the Magnetic loop probe, the following parameters can be edited:

Lloop (mm/inches): Penetration length of the loop inside the cavity (see figure B).
Dloop (mm/inches): Distance between input and output of the loop in the corresponding surface wall (see
figure B).
Rprobe (mm/inches): The radius of the probe (see figure B). If it is set to zero, the default value of the
inner conductor of the coaxial waveguide used as the port will be considered. The electromagnetic Solver
does not directly support values larger than this inner radius, but smaller values are also allowed for

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simulations. Nevertheless, it is possible to perform simulations with larger radius for the probe, by applying the
strategy described in the limitations section.
L1 (mm/inches): The length of the input straight segment of the probe (see figure B).
L2 (mm/inches): The length of output straight segment of the probe (see figure B).
Angle (degrees): Loop rotation angle (see figure B).
Mesh size probe (mm/inches): This parameter indicates the typical length that will be used for the triangular
mesh employed by this discontinuity for modeling the coaxial probe.

Figure E: Port properties of the Loop feed cavity, case of a coaxial port

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Figure F: Port properties of the Loop feed cavity, case of a rectangular port

Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and C, conventions are:

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Surface Front: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to 0)
Surface Back: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to C)
Surface Right: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to A/2)
Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to B/2)
Surface Left: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to -A/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -B/2)
Mesh size port (mm/inches): The mesh size of each port of the element can be edited. This value is the typical
size of the triangles used for meshing the geometry of the port. It is important to remark that the correct
choice of the mesh size of the port is critical for the accuracy of the electromagnetic analysis. There are
some particularities to bear in mind regarding this parameter, as detailed below.
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.
Considerations for coaxial ports
When considering a Coaxial waveguide as a port, the mesh density must be increased for large numbers of
accessible modes of the coaxial waveguide in order to maintain the accuracy of the method. As a consequence,
a large number of accessible modes in the coaxial waveguide will require a higher computational cost. This
drawback might be avoided in most of the practical situations, since a large number of modes is not necessary
for a coaxial waveguide in common applications (generally, less than 20 modes will suffice).
Thus, in order to help the user to take into account these considerations, it is recommended to set this value to zero,
allowing FEST3D to automatically choose an adequate value as a default. The automatic criterion employed obeys the
following rules:

If 30 or less accessible modes are employed in the coaxial waveguide, the triangle size is chosen as 1/5 of the
difference between the external and internal radius of the coaxial.
If the number of coaxial modes is between 30 and 45, the triangle size is chosen as 0.2 times the cut-
off wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.
If 45 or more modes are employed for the coaxial, the triangle size is chosen as 0.1 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.

Considerations for rectangular ports

On the other hand, when the waveguide port is chosen to be a Rectangular waveguide, the offsets and the
mesh size of the port only make sense if the waveguide port is smaller than the dimensions of the
corresponding cavity surface. For this case, the port will be discretized in a similar way as the coaxial port,
requiring a meshing which can be controlled by the mesh size port parameter or be let to zero and use the
automatic criterion depending on modes explained above. The only difference regarding this mesh criteria
with respect to the coaxial port case is that the geometrical criterion employed for 30 or less modes considers
1/5 of the minimum of the dimensions (a,b) of the rectangular waveguide.
Nevertheless, in a common usage of this element, the rectangular ports will have the same dimensions as the
corresponding cavity surfaces delimited by the cavity dimensions A,B,L specified. In those cases, these
parameters (offsets and characteristic length) have no meaning, and the internal electromagnetic solver
employs analytical expressions for dealing with these ports, which require much less computational effort.
For this reason, it is recommended to build a circuit using waveguides with the same dimensions as the
cavities wherever it is possible, employing Step discontinuities if different size of waveguides is desired
between cavities. A warning message will appear in order to alert the user to have this situation in mind if
smaller ports are selected. Nevertheless, there might be some cases in which the connection of smaller
rectangular ports will be mandatory, such as when rounded corners are used in the cavity.

As a final comment, the information window will show, for each discontinuity of this kind, the exact value of the mesh
size that is being employed for each port that requires meshing, as well as the number of triangles generated. The
user can take this mesh size value as reference in order to manually increase it for speeding up calculations (for very
small number of modes, the automatic criterion based on the port geometry can be relaxed without remarkable loss
of accuracy), or decreasing it if more precision is desired, taking into account the memory limitations.

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Another part of the specifications of this element is the General posts tab. Here, additional resonant posts/tuning
screws can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button. The post parameters and the
different shapes allowed are the same as explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

Figure G: General Posts properties of the Loop feed cavity

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Figure H: EM Field properties of the Loop feed cavity

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In addition, it is also important to mention that, for performing High Power analysis, FEST3D performs an
automatic refinement procedure, which is the same as the one explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

2.4.2.5.7 Magnetic feed cavity

This section describes the Magnetic Feed discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Magnetic feed cavity discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Magnetic Feed discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the Magnetic feed How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
cavity

Definition
The Magnetic feed cavity discontinuity consists in a rectangular cavity which is excited using a coaxial
probe that contacts one of the four neighbor surfaces of the input surface. The cavity dimensions, the local reference
system, and the different surface names are depicted in figure A, and are the same as in the Cavity with posts. The
geometrical parameters and positions of the probe are shown in figure B and can be specified by the user. Besides
this main excitation block, rectangular ports and additional resonant posts/tuning screws can be considered at any of
the cavity walls. For performing the analysis, an electromagnetic Solver based on the BI-RME 3D method with RWG
basis functions is employed.

Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

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Regarding the geometrical specifications of the excitation probe, a schematic picture of a common practical case is
shown in figure B, including the names of the relevant dimensions to be specified by the user. The rest of the
geometrical parameters needed for building the probe are auto calculated.

Figure B: Basic geometrical scheme of the magnetic probe

Limitations
The Magnetic feed cavity discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Rectangular or Coaxial waveguides. Although there is no limitation in
the number of rectangular ports, only one coaxial port is allowed per cavity. For a more general design
including different coaxial waveguides as excitations of a single cavity, the General cavity element can be used
instead.
Maximum number of posts
There is no theoretical limit to the number of posts. Anyway, using a large number of posts in a single element
may significantly slow down the simulation.
If you want to design a circuit with several posts (combline filter, for example), in theory you have two options:
a long cavity with a lot of posts
many cascaded cavities
In general, the most efficient approach is to use a segmentation strategy to divide the cavity into small blocks
connected by plain waveguide sections. In any case, also the “single cavity" analysis works fine (but may require
higher computational time), provided that the limitations in posts dimensions are fulfilled. Take into account
that if the same cavity with post/s is repeated in the circuit, the static part is solved only once thanks to the
internal arrangement of FEST3D in those cases.

High memory consumption using parallelization in circuits with many cavities

If small values of mesh sizes are specified (for high accuracy or convergence tests), then very large meshes and
dense matrices are required in the simulation, consuming an important amount of RAM. Once the meshing of
the element is performed, the information window will show an estimation of the maximum total memory that
will be used during calculations. Besides, the software will automatically detect if the memory requirements are

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greater than the RAM memory available in the system, and will stop the simulation if necessary. If there are
several different cavities in the circuit, and multicore simulation is desired, it is important to take into
account that these RAM requirements are increased, and a slowdown in the computer performance might
be encountered. For those cases, it is recommended to employ a lower number of processors, which may allow
successfully completing a simulation that cannot be performed using more cores due to memory limitation
problems. If reducing the number of processors the memory problems still persist, it is advisable to increase
the mesh size values (reduce precision) of the posts or rounded corners in the cavity (explained in the
specifications section below) for performing the simulation.

Use of probe radius larger than the inner radius of the coaxial.
The electromagnetic BI-RME 3D Solver used by this element does not directly allow modeling an excitation
probe contacting a coaxial port with a smaller inner radius. Anyway, it is possible to simulate this kind of
structures, by employing the strategy shown in the schematic below (figure C). By means of a Step
discontinuity, an additional auxiliary coaxial with zero length can be inserted between the real coaxial
waveguide and the Straight probe discontinuity, in which the radius desired for the probe can be set. This
auxiliary coaxial can be connected to the Straight probe and solved by the inner kernel. The Step will take into
account the differences between the two coaxials by computing the appropiate coupling integrals. On the
other hand, it is important to bear in mind that if a radius value smaller than the inner of coaxial is required for
the probe, there is no need to employ this strategy since this situation is directly supported by the Solver.

Figure C: Schematic example for using a probe with a radius larger the inner radius of the coaxial waveguide port.

Errors
The Magnetic feed cavity discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error,
the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

FATAL ERROR. Not even a single resonant mode can be obtained for this cavity. Please change the
cavity dimensions or increase the Maximum Frequency of the Solver (Solver Name)
The maximum frequency introduced is under the cut-off frequency of the cavity delimited by the specified
dimensions (see the specifications of the dialog box below). Provided that these dimensions are correct, the
solution is to increase the value of this maximum frequency. It is recommended to set it to a value two or three
times the maximum frequency of the desired analysis band.

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FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. (Error of some kind). Re-check the geometry, or try to
reduce mesh size(s) value(s)
The eigenvalue problem can not be solved due to problems with the building of the matrices. This error can be
produced by an illegal position of the posts not detected by FEST3D. Another source for errors in the
eigenvalue problem is that the meshing of some of the post surfaces is not accurate enough. If the positions of
the posts are correct, the mesh sizes should be reduced, specially if the dimensions of radii or lengths are small.

FATAL ERROR. No 3D mesh detected. Please re-check the geometry, or try to reduce mesh size of the
post(s)
If this error appears, it means that the meshing algorithm was able to create a 2D mesh, but not a 3D. This 3D
mesh is necessary to compute data employed for the EM fields calculations. For this reason, the simulation is
forbidden if the 3D mesh is not available. This situation may happen if a wrong geometry has been specified
(e.g., posts colliding with each other). The dimensions and offsets of the posts should be revised, and verified
with the 3D viewer in order to detect any possible geometrical problems. If the geometry is correct, another
source for this error is that very small air gaps are present in the cavity, which can not be dealt by the 3D
meshing algorithm for the given mesh sizes. Reducing their values might be the solution for a correct 3D mesh
generation. If the problem persists, the user can ask for support on his specific geometry.

Error building mesh file

This error occurs when there is some problem building the mesh. This can occur if there are failures while
generating the geometry of the cavity. It is advisable to check if the geometry can be visualized with the 3D
viewer. If this is the case, then the problem is related to the meshing algorithms, due to the same reasons
explained for the previous error related to failure of the 3D mesh.

FATAL ERROR, mesh file not found

This message will appear if the meshing needed by the internal routines is not found. This error is usually
related to the building mesh error explained before, and should not appear in the case of a correct mesh
generation.

LAPACK error: some error message

The admittance matrix is not invertible at the simulated frequency point. This can only happen during the
frequency loop. This error is very unusual and it can be produced if a simulated frequency point is too close to
a pole. In this case the problem can be solved by slightly changing the frequency points.
cmalloc() failed: Out of memory!:
This happens when too much memory is required to solve the system. It is recommended, in this case, to
reduce the Maximum Frequency value, and/or increase the mesh size values.

Simulation error (no further explanation):

This error is also related with memory limitations, and may occur if too much precision is demanded, specially
if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected. Besides, this problem can appear when performing simulations
with several cores, due to the higher memory requirements of this feature. Reducing the number of
processors is necessary to successfully perform the simulation.

Using the Magnetic feed cavity

The Magnetic feed cavity discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Magnetic Feed:

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Figure D: Specific properties of the General cavity

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm/inches): The cavity width (see figure A).

B (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
L (mm/inches): The cavity length (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).

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Cavity corner radius. Optional rounded corners can be set for building the cavity. The user can choose
between not using rounded corners (by default), or selecting one of the three different configurations defined
in the legend included in the tab. For any of these cases, the values of the 4 different radii can be edited (it is
worth mentioning that some of the radii values can be zero allowing the user to build half-rounded cavities), as
well as the value of the mesh size used for meshing these rounded corners inside the electromagnetic solver. If
the value is set to zero, an automatic value depending on the cavity dimensions and the radii values will be
used. The information screen will show during simulation the value employed for this mesh, which can be
controlled here in order to demand more accuracy if desired.
Solver type. The particular geometry of this element can only be analyzed using the electromagnetic Solver
BI-RME 3D RWG. This Solver considers Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions for modelling the surface
currents of the posts. This Solver requires that the geometry is meshed with triangular patches onto which the
RWG basis functions are defined.
Maximum Frequency (GHz): This parameter is required for the BI-RME 3D Solver, and specifies the maximum
value of the frequencies of the resonant modes of the cavity to be computed during the analysis.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.
The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element. If the waveguide is of
Coaxial type, a probe must selected from the Type of probe list. For this element, only the Magnetic probe is allowed.
By default, the first port tab will be already assigned to the Coaxial waveguide that is required before opening the
specifications window, as shown in Figure E. Also the probe will be automatically displayed and ready to be
configured. The rest of the ports will be configured rectangular waveguides (Figure F). Nevertheless, it is possible to
define a different order for the ports, so that the Coaxial port is not the first one.
Regarding the specific parameters of the Magnetic probe, the following parameters can be edited:

Lcontact (mm/inches): Distance from the excitation surface to the contact point of the Contact surface.
Lprobe (mm/inches): Length of the straight segment of the probe (see figure B).
Rprobe (mm/inches): The radius of the probe (see figure B). If it is set to zero, the default value of the
inner conductor of the coaxial waveguide used as the port will be considered. The electromagnetic Solver
does not directly support values larger than this inner radius, but smaller values are also allowed for
simulations. Nevertheless, it is possible to perform simulations with larger radius for the probe, by applying the
strategy described in the limitations section.
Alpha (degrees): Probe rotation angle (see figure B). By default this angle is 90 degrees, but smaller and larger
angles can also be employed. The software will automatically validate if the selected angle is appropriate for
building this kind of geometry for the rest of parameters specified.
Contact surface: Surface contacted by the probe (figure B).
Mesh size probe (mm/inches): This parameter indicates the typical length that will be used for the triangular
mesh employed by this discontinuity for modeling the coaxial probe.

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Figure E: Port properties of the Magnetic feed cavity, case of a coaxial port

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Figure F: Port properties of the Magnetic feed cavity, case of a rectangular port

Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and C, conventions are:
Surface Front: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to 0)

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Surface Back: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to C)
Surface Right: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to A/2)
Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to B/2)
Surface Left: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to -A/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -B/2)
Mesh size port (mm/inches): The mesh size of each port of the element can be edited. This value is the typical
size of the triangles used for meshing the geometry of the port. It is important to remark that the correct
choice of the mesh size of the port is critical for the accuracy of the electromagnetic analysis. There are
some particularities to bear in mind regarding this parameter, as detailed below.
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.
Considerations for coaxial ports
When considering a Coaxial waveguide as a port, the mesh density must be increased for large numbers of
accessible modes of the coaxial waveguide in order to maintain the accuracy of the method. As a consequence,
a large number of accessible modes in the coaxial waveguide will require a higher computational cost. This
drawback might be avoided in most of the practical situations, since a large number of modes is not necessary
for a coaxial waveguide in common applications (generally, less than 20 modes will suffice).
Thus, in order to help the user to take into account these considerations, it is recommended to set this value to zero,
allowing FEST3D to automatically choose an adequate value as a default. The automatic criterion employed obeys the
following rules:

If 30 or less accessible modes are employed in the coaxial waveguide, the triangle size is chosen as 1/5 of the
difference between the external and internal radius of the coaxial.
If the number of coaxial modes is between 30 and 45, the triangle size is chosen as 0.2 times the cut-
off wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.
If 45 or more modes are employed for the coaxial, the triangle size is chosen as 0.1 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.

Considerations for rectangular ports

On the other hand, when the waveguide port is chosen to be a Rectangular waveguide, the offsets and the
mesh size of the port only make sense if the waveguide port is smaller than the dimensions of the
corresponding cavity surface. For this case, the port will be discretized in a similar way as the coaxial port,
requiring a meshing which can be controlled by the mesh size port parameter or be let to zero and use the
automatic criterion depending on modes explained above. The only difference regarding this mesh criteria
with respect to the coaxial port case is that the geometrical criterion employed for 30 or less modes considers
1/5 of the minimum of the dimensions (a,b) of the rectangular waveguide.
Nevertheless, in a common usage of this element, the rectangular ports will have the same dimensions as the
corresponding cavity surfaces delimited by the cavity dimensions A,B,L specified. In those cases, these
parameters (offsets and characteristic length) have no meaning, and the internal electromagnetic solver
employs analytical expressions for dealing with these ports, which require much less computational effort.
For this reason, it is recommended to build a circuit using waveguides with the same dimensions as the
cavities wherever it is possible, employing Step discontinuities if different size of waveguides is desired
between cavities. A warning message will appear in order to alert the user to have this situation in mind if
smaller ports are selected. Nevertheless, there might be some cases in which the connection of smaller
rectangular ports will be mandatory, such as when rounded corners are used in the cavity.

As a final comment, the information window will show, for each discontinuity of this kind, the exact value of the mesh
size that is being employed for each port that requires meshing, as well as the number of triangles generated. The
user can take this mesh size value as reference in order to manually increase it for speeding up calculations (for very
small number of modes, the automatic criterion based on the port geometry can be relaxed without remarkable loss
of accuracy), or decreasing it if more precision is desired, taking into account the memory limitations.

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Another part of the specifications of this element is the General posts tab. Here, additional resonant posts/tuning
screws can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button. The post parameters and the
different shapes allowed are the same as explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

Figure G: General Posts properties of the Magnetic feed cavity

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Figure H: EM Field properties of the Magnetic feed cavity

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In addition, it is also important to mention that, for performing High Power analysis, FEST3D performs an
automatic refinement procedure, which is the same as the one explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

2.4.2.5.8 Top contact feed cavity

This section describes the Top contact feed cavity discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The Top contact feed cavity discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Top contact feed cavity discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the Top contact feed How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
cavity

Definition
The Top contact feed cavity discontinuity consists in a rectangular cavity which is excited using a coaxial probe that
feeds a cylindrical post, which is contacted from its top. The cavity dimensions, the local reference system, and the
different surface names are depicted in figure A, and are the same as in the Cavity with posts. The geometrical
parameters and positions of the probe are shown in figure B and can be specified by the user. Besides this main
excitation block (probe together with contact post), rectangular ports and additional resonant posts/tuning screws can
be considered at any of the cavity walls. For performing the analysis, an electromagnetic Solver based on the BI-RME
3D method with RWG basis functions is employed.

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Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

Regarding the geometrical specifications, a schematic picture of a common practical case is shown in figure B,
including the names of the relevant dimensions to be specified by the user. The rest of the geometrical parameters
needed for building the probe are auto calculated.

Figure B: Basic geometrical scheme of the excitation block

Limitations
The Top contact feed cavity discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Rectangular or Coaxial waveguides. Although there is no limitation in
the number of rectangular ports, only one coaxial port is allowed per cavity. For a more general design
including different coaxial waveguides as excitations of a single cavity, the General cavity element can be used
instead.
Maximum number of posts
There is no theoretical limit to the number of posts. Anyway, using a large number of posts in a single element
may significantly slow down the simulation.
If you want to design a circuit with several posts (combline filter, for example), in theory you have two options:
a long cavity with a lot of posts
many cascaded cavities
In general, the most efficient approach is to use a segmentation strategy to divide the cavity into small blocks
connected by plain waveguide sections. In any case, also the “single cavity" analysis works fine (but may require
higher computational time), provided that the limitations in posts dimensions are fulfilled. Take into account
that if the same cavity with post/s is repeated in the circuit, the static part is solved only once thanks to the
internal arrangement of FEST3D in those cases.

High memory consumption using parallelization in circuits with many cavities

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If small values of mesh sizes are specified (for high accuracy or convergence tests), then very large meshes and
dense matrices are required in the simulation, consuming an important amount of RAM. Once the meshing of
the element is performed, the information window will show an estimation of the maximum total memory that
will be used during calculations. Besides, the software will automatically detect if the memory requirements are
greater than the RAM memory available in the system, and will stop the simulation if necessary. If there are
several different cavities in the circuit, and multicore simulation is desired, it is important to take into
account that these RAM requirements are increased, and a slowdown in the computer performance might
be encountered. For those cases, it is recommended to employ a lower number of processors, which may allow
successfully completing a simulation that cannot be performed using more cores due to memory limitation
problems. If reducing the number of processors the memory problems still persist, it is advisable to increase
the mesh size values (reduce precision) of the posts or rounded corners in the cavity (explained in the
specifications section below) for performing the simulation.

Use of probe radius larger than the inner radius of the coaxial.
The electromagnetic BI-RME 3D Solver used by this element does not directly allow modeling an excitation
probe contacting a coaxial port with a smaller inner radius. Anyway, it is possible to simulate this kind of
structures, by employing the strategy shown in the schematic below (figure C). By means of a Step
discontinuity, an additional auxiliary coaxial with zero length can be inserted between the real coaxial
waveguide and the Straight probe discontinuity, in which the radius desired for the probe can be set. This
auxiliary coaxial can be connected to the Straight probe and solved by the inner kernel. The Step will take into
account the differences between the two coaxials by computing the appropiate coupling integrals. On the
other hand, it is important to bear in mind that if a radius value smaller than the inner of coaxial is required for
the probe, there is no need to employ this strategy since this situation is directly supported by the Solver.

Figure C: Schematic example for using a probe with a radius larger the inner radius of the coaxial waveguide port.

Errors
The Top contact feed cavity discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each
error, the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

FATAL ERROR. Not even a single resonant mode can be obtained for this cavity. Please change the
cavity dimensions or increase the Maximum Frequency of the Solver (Solver Name)
The maximum frequency introduced is under the cut-off frequency of the cavity delimited by the specified

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dimensions (see the specifications of the dialog box below). Provided that these dimensions are correct, the
solution is to increase the value of this maximum frequency. It is recommended to set it to a value two or three
times the maximum frequency of the desired analysis band.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. (Error of some kind). Re-check the geometry, or try to
reduce mesh size(s) value(s)
The eigenvalue problem can not be solved due to problems with the building of the matrices. This error can be
produced by an illegal position of the posts not detected by FEST3D. Another source for errors in the
eigenvalue problem is that the meshing of some of the post surfaces is not accurate enough. If the positions of
the posts are correct, the mesh sizes should be reduced, specially if the dimensions of radii or lengths are small.

FATAL ERROR. No 3D mesh detected. Please re-check the geometry, or try to reduce mesh size of the
post(s)
If this error appears, it means that the meshing algorithm was able to create a 2D mesh, but not a 3D. This 3D
mesh is necessary to compute data employed for the EM fields calculations. For this reason, the simulation is
forbidden if the 3D mesh is not available. This situation may happen if a wrong geometry has been specified
(e.g., posts colliding with each other). The dimensions and offsets of the posts should be revised, and verified
with the 3D viewer in order to detect any possible geometrical problems. If the geometry is correct, another
source for this error is that very small air gaps are present in the cavity, which can not be dealt by the 3D
meshing algorithm for the given mesh sizes. Reducing their values might be the solution for a correct 3D mesh
generation. If the problem persists, the user can ask for support on his specific geometry.

Error building mesh file

This error occurs when there is some problem building the mesh. This can occur if there are failures while
generating the geometry of the cavity. It is advisable to check if the geometry can be visualized with the 3D
viewer. If this is the case, then the problem is related to the meshing algorithms, due to the same reasons
explained for the previous error related to failure of the 3D mesh.

FATAL ERROR, mesh file not found

This message will appear if the meshing needed by the internal routines is not found. This error is usually
related to the building mesh error explained before, and should not appear in the case of a correct mesh
generation.

LAPACK error: some error message

The admittance matrix is not invertible at the simulated frequency point. This can only happen during the
frequency loop. This error is very unusual and it can be produced if a simulated frequency point is too close to
a pole. In this case the problem can be solved by slightly changing the frequency points.
cmalloc() failed: Out of memory!:
This happens when too much memory is required to solve the system. It is recommended, in this case, to
reduce the Maximum Frequency value, and/or increase the mesh size values.

Simulation error (no further explanation):

This error is also related with memory limitations, and may occur if too much precision is demanded, specially
if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected. Besides, this problem can appear when performing simulations
with several cores, due to the higher memory requirements of this feature. Reducing the number of
processors is necessary to successfully perform the simulation.

Using the Top contact feed cavity

The Top contact feed cavity discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Magnetic Feed:

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Figure D: Specific properties of the Top contact feed cavity

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm/inches): The cavity width (see figure A).

B (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
L (mm/inches): The cavity length (see figure A).

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Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Cavity corner radius. Optional rounded corners can be set for building the cavity. The user can choose
between not using rounded corners (by default), or selecting one of the three different configurations defined
in the legend included in the tab. For any of these cases, the values of the 4 different radii can be edited (it is
worth mentioning that some of the radii values can be zero allowing the user to build half-rounded cavities), as
well as the value of the mesh size used for meshing these rounded corners inside the electromagnetic solver. If
the value is set to zero, an automatic value depending on the cavity dimensions and the radii values will be
used. The information screen will show during simulation the value employed for this mesh, which can be
controlled here in order to demand more accuracy if desired.
Solver type. The particular geometry of this element can only be analyzed using the electromagnetic Solver
BI-RME 3D RWG. This Solver considers Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions for modelling the surface
currents of the posts. This Solver requires that the geometry is meshed with triangular patches onto which the
RWG basis functions are defined.
Maximum Frequency (GHz): This parameter is required for the BI-RME 3D Solver, and specifies the maximum
value of the frequencies of the resonant modes of the cavity to be computed during the analysis.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.
The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element. If the waveguide is of
Coaxial type, a probe must selected from the Type of probe list. For this element, only the Straight contact probe is
allowed. For this probe, the shape of the required contact post can be chosen as well from the Type of contact post
list (a view of the different allowed contact posts is also shown at the right side of the window). By default, the first
port tab will be already assigned to the Coaxial waveguide that is required before opening the specifications window,
as shown in Figure E. Also the probe will be automatically displayed and ready to be configured. The rest of the ports
will be configured rectangular waveguides (Figure F). Nevertheless, it is possible to define a different order for the
ports, so that the coaxial port is not the first one.
Regarding the specific parameters of the Top contact probe, the following parameters can be edited:

R probe (mm/inches): The radius of the probe (see figure B). If it is set to zero, the default value of the
inner conductor of the coaxial waveguide used as the port will be considered. The electromagnetic Solver
does not directly support values larger than this inner radius, but smaller values are also allowed for
simulations. Nevertheless, it is possible to perform simulations with larger radius for the probe, by applying the
strategy described in the limitations section.
Mesh size probe (mm/inches): This parameter indicates the typical length that will be used for the triangular
mesh employed by this discontinuity for modeling the coaxial probe.

Below these probe parameters, the contact post parameters are also displayed. Depending on the shape of the post
selected, the legend at the right will show the geometrical parameters that can be edited for the particular geometry
(see figure E).

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Figure E: Port properties of the Top contact feed cavity, case of a coaxial port

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Figure F: Port properties of the Top contact feed cavity, case of a rectangular port

Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and C, conventions are:
Surface Front: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to 0)

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Surface Back: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to C)
Surface Right: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to A/2)
Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to B/2)
Surface Left: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to -A/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -B/2)
Mesh size port (mm/inches): The mesh size of each port of the element can be edited. This value is the typical
size of the triangles used for meshing the geometry of the port. It is important to remark that the correct
choice of the mesh size of the port is critical for the accuracy of the electromagnetic analysis. There are
some particularities to bear in mind regarding this parameter, as detailed below.
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.
Considerations for coaxial ports
When considering a Coaxial waveguide as a port, the mesh density must be increased for large numbers of
accessible modes of the coaxial waveguide in order to maintain the accuracy of the method. As a consequence,
a large number of accessible modes in the coaxial waveguide will require a higher computational cost. This
drawback might be avoided in most of the practical situations, since a large number of modes is not necessary
for a coaxial waveguide in common applications (generally, less than 20 modes will suffice).
Thus, in order to help the user to take into account these considerations, it is recommended to set this value to zero,
allowing FEST3D to automatically choose an adequate value as a default. The automatic criterion employed obeys the
following rules:

If 30 or less accessible modes are employed in the coaxial waveguide, the triangle size is chosen as 1/5 of the
difference between the external and internal radius of the coaxial.
If the number of coaxial modes is between 30 and 45, the triangle size is chosen as 0.2 times the cut-
off wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.
If 45 or more modes are employed for the coaxial, the triangle size is chosen as 0.1 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.

Considerations for rectangular ports

On the other hand, when the waveguide port is chosen to be a Rectangular waveguide, the offsets and the
mesh size of the port only make sense if the waveguide port is smaller than the dimensions of the
corresponding cavity surface. For this case, the port will be discretized in a similar way as the coaxial port,
requiring a meshing which can be controlled by the mesh size port parameter or be let to zero and use the
automatic criterion depending on modes explained above. The only difference regarding this mesh criteria
with respect to the coaxial port case is that the geometrical criterion employed for 30 or less modes considers
1/5 of the minimum of the dimensions (a,b) of the rectangular waveguide.
Nevertheless, in a common usage of this element, the rectangular ports will have the same dimensions as the
corresponding cavity surfaces delimited by the cavity dimensions A,B,L specified. In those cases, these
parameters (offsets and characteristic length) have no meaning, and the internal electromagnetic solver
employs analytical expressions for dealing with these ports, which require much less computational effort.
For this reason, it is recommended to build a circuit using waveguides with the same dimensions as the
cavities wherever it is possible, employing Step discontinuities if different size of waveguides is desired
between cavities. A warning message will appear in order to alert the user to have this situation in mind if
smaller ports are selected. Nevertheless, there might be some cases in which the connection of smaller
rectangular ports will be mandatory, such as when rounded corners are used in the cavity.

As a final comment, the information window will show, for each discontinuity of this kind, the exact value of the mesh
size that is being employed for each port that requires meshing, as well as the number of triangles generated. The
user can take this mesh size value as reference in order to manually increase it for speeding up calculations (for very
small number of modes, the automatic criterion based on the port geometry can be relaxed without remarkable loss
of accuracy), or decreasing it if more precision is desired, taking into account the memory limitations.

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Another part of the specifications of this element is the General posts tab. Here, additional resonant posts/tuning
screws can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button. The post parameters and the
different shapes allowed are the same as explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

Figure G: General Posts properties of the Top contact feed cavity

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The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Figure H: EM Field properties of the Top contact feed cavity

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In addition, it is also important to mention that, for performing High Power analysis, FEST3D performs an
automatic refinement procedure, which is the same as the one explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

2.4.2.5.9 General cavity

This section describes the General cavity discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The General cavity discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a General Cavity discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the General cavity How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The General cavity consists in a rectangular cavity which supports multiple coaxial and rectangular excitation ports
placed at any of its six surface walls, as well as additional resonant posts/tuning screws. The cavity dimensions, the
local reference system, and the different surface names are depicted in figure A.
For performing the analysis, two different electromagnetic Solver types based on the BI-RME 3D method can be
selected (see the main specifications below).

Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

When considering a coaxial port, different types of probe geometries can be selected by the user. All the possible
probe types are included in figure B. For more details on the parameters of each probe, the different specific elements
of the Coaxial library can be consulted.

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Figure B: Different types of probes that can be used in this element with a coaxial waveguide port.

Limitations
The Straight Probe discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Rectangular or Coaxial waveguides.

Analysis of inductive or capacitive posts

If the Solver BI-RME 3D Cylindrical is selected for analysis (see the specifications below), this element can not
be used for capacitive or inductive posts. The height of the post has to be always smaller than the cavity width
or height. Nevertheless, if the design requires the presence of purely inductive or capacitive posts, it is a better
idea to use the Constant width/height arbitrary shape discontinuity element inside FEST3D.

Maximum number of posts

There is no theoretical limit to the number of posts. Anyway, using a large number of posts in a single element
may significantly slow down the simulation.
If you want to design a circuit with several posts (combline filter, for example), in theory you have two options:
a long cavity with a lot of posts
many cascaded cavities
In general, the most efficient approach is to use a segmentation strategy to divide the cavity into small blocks
connected by plain waveguide sections. In any case, also the “single cavity" analysis works fine (but may require
higher computational time), provided that the limitations in posts dimensions are fulfilled. Take into account
that if the same cavity with post/s is repeated in the circuit, the static part is solved only once thanks to the
internal arrangement of FEST3D in those cases.

Collisions between ports and/or posts

The electromagnetic Solvers based on the BI-RME 3D method do not support intersection between
ports, or geometrical collisions between ports and posts. The software will detect this kind of situations and
return an error message. On the other hand, the detection of collision between posts is handled differently

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depending on the Solver. For the case of BI-RME 3D Cylindrical, post collision is not supported, and the
software will consider it as an error. On the contrary, for the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG, post collision is
allowed and the software will alert of this situation as a warning.

High memory consumption using parallelization in circuits with many cavities using the Solver BI-RME
3D RWG
If the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected and small values of mesh sizes are specified (for high accuracy or
convergence tests), then very large meshes and dense matrices are required in the simulation, consuming an
important amount of RAM. Once the meshing of the element is performed, the information window will show
an estimation of the maximum total memory that will be used during calculations. Besides, the software will
automatically detect if the memory requirements are greater than the RAM memory available in the system,
and will stop the simulation if necessary. If there are several different cavities in the circuit, and multicore
simulation is desired, it is important to take into account that these RAM requirements are increased,
and a slowdown in the computer performance might be encountered. For those cases, it is recommended to
employ a lower number of processors, which may allow successfully completing a simulation that cannot be
performed using more cores due to memory limitation problems. If reducing the number of processors the
memory problems still persist, it is advisable to increase the mesh size values (reduce precision) of the posts or
rounded corners in the cavity (explained in the specifications section below) for performing the simulation.

Use of probe radius larger than the inner radius of the coaxial.
The electromagnetic BI-RME 3D Solver used by this element does not directly allow modeling an excitation
probe contacting a coaxial port with a smaller inner radius. Anyway, it is possible to simulate this kind of
structures, by employing the strategy shown in the schematic below (figure C). By means of a Step
discontinuity, an additional auxiliary coaxial with zero length can be inserted between the real coaxial
waveguide and the Straight probe discontinuity, in which the radius desired for the probe can be set. This
auxiliary coaxial can be connected to the Straight probe and solved by the inner kernel. The Step will take into
account the differences between the two coaxials by computing the appropiate coupling integrals. On the
other hand, it is important to bear in mind that if a radius value smaller than the inner of coaxial is required for
the probe, there is no need to employ this strategy since this situation is directly supported by the Solver.

Figure C: Schematic example for using a probe with a radius larger the inner radius of the coaxial waveguide port.

Errors

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The Straight probe discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error, the
possible solutions or workarounds are explained.
FATAL ERROR. Not even a single resonant mode can be obtained for this cavity. Please change the
cavity dimensions or increase the Maximum Frequency of the Solver (Solver Name)
The maximum frequency introduced is under the cut-off frequency of the cavity delimited by the specified
dimensions (see the specifications of the dialog box below). Provided that these dimensions are correct, the
solution is to increase the value of this maximum frequency. It is recommended to set it to a value two or three
times the maximum frequency of the desired analysis band.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. (Error of some kind). Re-check the geometry, or try to
reduce mesh size(s) value(s)
The eigenvalue problem can not be solved due to problems with the building of the matrices. This error can be
produced by an illegal position of the posts not detected by FEST3D. Another source for errors in the
eigenvalue problem is that the meshing of some of the post surfaces is not accurate enough. If the positions of
the posts are correct, the mesh sizes should be reduced, specially if the dimensions of radii or lengths are small.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. Error while building mesh. Please try to reduce mesh size
value(s)
This error occurs when there is a problem building the internal meshing of the posts needed by this element,
when the Solver BI-RME 3D Cylindrical is selected. This problem usually appears when using posts of
mushroom or hollow type, if the mesh size value specified by the user is not adequate for the dimensions of
the post. The values used for mesh size must be reduced in order to avoid this error.

FATAL ERROR. No 3D mesh detected. Please re-check the geometry, or try to reduce mesh size of the
post(s)
If the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is chosen, this element requires to create a 3D mesh for the whole cavity
together with the posts, from which the surface meshing of metallic objects is extracted. If this error appears, it
means that the meshing algorithm was able to create a 2D mesh, but not a 3D. This 3D mesh is necessary to
compute data employed for the EM fields calculations. For this reason, the simulation is forbidden if the 3D
mesh is not available. This situation may happen if a wrong geometry has been specified (e.g., posts colliding
with each other). The dimensions and offsets of the posts should be revised, and verified with the 3D viewer in
order to detect any possible geometrical problems. If the geometry is correct, another source for this error is
that very small air gaps are present in the cavity, which can not be dealt by the 3D meshing algorithm for the
given mesh sizes. Reducing their values might be the solution for a correct 3D mesh generation. If the problem
persists, the user can ask for support on his specific geometry.

Error building mesh file

This error occurs when there is some problem building the mesh when the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected.
This can occur if there are failures while generating the geometry of the cavity. It is advisable to check if the
geometry can be visualized with the 3D viewer. If this is the case, then the problem is related to the meshing
algorithms, due to the same reasons explained for the previous error related to failure of the 3D mesh.

FATAL ERROR, mesh file not found

This message will appear if the meshing needed by the internal routines is not found. This error is usually
related to the building mesh error explained before, and should not appear in the case of a correct mesh
generation.

LAPACK error: some error message

The admittance matrix is not invertible at the simulated frequency point. This can only happen during the
frequency loop. This error is very unusual and it can be produced if a simulated frequency point is too close to
a pole. In this case the problem can be solved by slightly changing the frequency points.
cmalloc() failed: Out of memory!:
This happens when too much memory is required to solve the system. It is recommended, in this case, to
reduce the Maximum Frequency value, and/or increase the mesh size values.

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Simulation error (no further explanation):
This error is also related with memory limitations, and may occur if too much precision is demanded, specially
if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected. Besides, this problem can appear when performing simulations
with several cores, due to the higher memory requirements of this feature. Reducing the number of
processors is necessary to successfully perform the simulation.

Using the General cavity

The General cavity discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this element
properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the General Cavity:

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Figure D: Specific properties of the General cavity

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm/inches): The cavity width (see figure A).

B (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
L (mm/inches): The cavity length (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).

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Cavity corner radius. Optional rounded corners can be set for building the cavity. The user can choose
between not using rounded corners (by default), or selecting one of the three different configurations defined
in the legend included in the tab. For any of these cases, the values of the 4 different radii can be edited (it is
worth mentioning that some of the radii values can be zero allowing the user to build half-rounded cavities), as
well as the value of the mesh size used for meshing these rounded corners inside the electromagnetic solver. If
the value is set to zero, an automatic value depending on the cavity dimensions and the radii values will be
used. The information screen will show during simulation the value employed for this mesh, which can be
controlled here in order to demand more accuracy if desired. Finally, it is important to bear in mind that for
performing simulation with rounded corner cavities, it is necessary to use the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG.
Solver type. The geometry of this element can be analyzed by selecting one of two available Solvers based in
the BI-RME 3D method implemented inside FEST3D:
BI-RME 3D Cylindrical: This Solver considers specialized high order cylindrical basis functions for
modelling the surface currents of the posts. It is selected by default, since the posts are generally of
cylindrical shape in most cases. The functions of this Solver offer a very fast performance, but have some
limitations, as they cannot be used for analysis of purely inductive posts (as mentioned above in the
limitations section), electromagnetic field computation or analysis of cavities with rounded corners
and/or non-cylindrical shapes.
BI-RME 3D RWG: This Solver considers Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions for modelling the
surface currents of the posts. This Solver requires that the geometry is meshed with triangular patches
onto which the RWG basis functions are defined. Thus, this Solver is more general and can be employed
to analyze any kind of geometrical problem, although as a drawback it requires a higher computational
cost in order to properly model the behaviour of rounded shapes.
Maximum Frequency (GHz): This parameter is required for any of the two BI-RME 3D Solvers, and specifies
the maximum value of the frequencies of the resonant modes of the cavity to be computed during the analysis.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity. For performing this analysis, it is necessary to choose the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG
for the simulation. Otherwise, a warning message will be shown to the user.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.
The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element. If the waveguide is of
Coaxial type, a probe must selected from the Type of probe list. The types of available probes are shown in the right
side of the window, as depicted in Figure E. Once selected, the geometrical parameters of the specific probe as well as
the contact post (if required for the chosen geometry) can be also edited. For detailed description of each probe
parameter, please consult the different particular elements of the Coaxial library. A example of specific probe is
included as a second Coaxial port in Figure F. Another example case of port chosen as a Rectangular waveguide is also
included in figure G.

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Figure E: Port properties of the General cavity, case of a coaxial port

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Figure F: Port properties of the General cavity, case of a second coaxial port with a Mushroom probe

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Figure G: Port properties of the General cavity, case of a rectangular port

Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and C, conventions are:
Surface Front: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to 0)
Surface Back: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to C)
Surface Right: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to A/2)
Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to B/2)
Surface Left: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to -A/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -B/2)

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Mesh size port (mm/inches): The mesh size of each port of the element can be edited. This value is the typical
size of the triangles used for meshing the geometry of the port. It is important to remark that the correct
choice of the mesh size of the port is critical for the accuracy of the electromagnetic analysis. There are
some particularities to bear in mind regarding this parameter, as detailed below.
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.
Considerations for coaxial ports
When considering a Coaxial waveguide as a port, the mesh density must be increased for large numbers of
accessible modes of the coaxial waveguide in order to maintain the accuracy of the method. As a consequence,
a large number of accessible modes in the coaxial waveguide will require a higher computational cost. This
drawback might be avoided in most of the practical situations, since a large number of modes is not necessary
for a coaxial waveguide in common applications (generally, less than 20 modes will suffice).
Thus, in order to help the user to take into account these considerations, it is recommended to set this value to zero,
allowing FEST3D to automatically choose an adequate value as a default. The automatic criterion employed obeys the
following rules:

If 30 or less accessible modes are employed in the coaxial waveguide, the triangle size is chosen as 1/5 of the
difference between the external and internal radius of the coaxial.
If the number of coaxial modes is between 30 and 45, the triangle size is chosen as 0.2 times the cut-
off wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.
If 45 or more modes are employed for the coaxial, the triangle size is chosen as 0.1 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.

Considerations for rectangular ports

On the other hand, when the waveguide port is chosen to be a Rectangular waveguide, the offsets and the
mesh size of the port only make sense if the waveguide port is smaller than the dimensions of the
corresponding cavity surface. For this case, the port will be discretized in a similar way as the coaxial port,
requiring a meshing which can be controlled by the mesh size port parameter or be let to zero and use the
automatic criterion depending on modes explained above. The only difference regarding this mesh criteria
with respect to the coaxial port case is that the geometrical criterion employed for 30 or less modes considers
1/5 of the minimum of the dimensions (a,b) of the rectangular waveguide.
Nevertheless, in a common usage of this element, the rectangular ports will have the same dimensions as the
corresponding cavity surfaces delimited by the cavity dimensions A,B,L specified. In those cases, these
parameters (offsets and characteristic length) have no meaning, and the internal electromagnetic solver
employs analytical expressions for dealing with these ports, which require much less computational effort.
For this reason, it is recommended to build a circuit using waveguides with the same dimensions as the
cavities wherever it is possible, employing Step discontinuities if different size of waveguides is desired
between cavities. A warning message will appear in order to alert the user to have this situation in mind if
smaller ports are selected. Nevertheless, there might be some cases in which the connection of smaller
rectangular ports will be mandatory, such as when rounded corners are used in the cavity.

As a final comment, the information window will show, for each discontinuity of this kind, the exact value of the mesh
size that is being employed for each port that requires meshing, as well as the number of triangles generated. The
user can take this mesh size value as reference in order to manually increase it for speeding up calculations (for very
small number of modes, the automatic criterion based on the port geometry can be relaxed without remarkable loss
of accuracy), or decreasing it if more precision is desired, taking into account the memory limitations.

Another part of the specifications of this element is the General Posts tab. Here, additional resonant posts/tuning
screws can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button. It is important to mention that if

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draft angle, rectangular or helical shapes are selected, simulation is only allowed if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG
is selected. The post parameters and the different shapes allowed are the same as explained in the Cavity with posts
discontinuity.

Figure H: General Posts properties of the General cavity

The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. With this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of the
air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can be
chosen the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the particular
element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the
calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.
For performing EM fields computations, it is mandatory to use the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG in the simulation.

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Figure I: EM Field properties of the General cavity

In addition, it is also important to mention that, for performing High Power analysis, FEST3D performs an
automatic refinement procedure, which is the same as the one explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

2.4.2.6 Helical resonators library

The Helical resonators library contains the following discontinuities:

Helical resonator

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Contact feed to helical resonator

2.4.2.6.1 Helical resonator

This section describes the Helical resonator discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and limitations.
The Helical resonator discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Helical resonator discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the Helical resonator How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The Helical resonator discontinuity represents a rectangular cavity with a resonator of helical shape that can
be positioned at any of the 6 different surfaces of the rectangular cavity (see figure A below). Together with the main
resonator, more helices as well as other types of resonant posts/tuning screws can be included in the cavity. Besides,
input/output rectangular ports can also be placed on the walls. For performing the analysis, an electromagnetic Solver
based on the BI-RME 3D method with RWG basis functions is employed.

Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

Regarding the geometrical specifications, the parameters of the helical shape are shown in figure B. By default, the
helix and the rest of additional posts will be placed at the center of the bottom surface. The user can change this
surface, and specify an offset between the center of the surface and the center of the helix. Examples of offsets for
different post shapes are depicted in figure C for the different surfaces of the cavity, taking into account the main
reference system defined in figure A.

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Figure B: Definition of the parameters that describe the helical resonator

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Figure C: Offset conventions for posts

Limitations
The Helical resonator discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Rectangular waveguides.
Maximum number of posts
There is no theoretical limit to the number of posts. Anyway, using a large number of posts in a single element
may significantly slow down the simulation.
If you want to design a circuit with several posts (combline filter, for example), in theory you have two options:
a long cavity with a lot of posts
many cascaded cavities
In general, the most efficient approach is to use a segmentation strategy to divide the cavity into small blocks
connected by plain waveguide sections. In any case, also the “single cavity" analysis works fine (but may require
higher computational time), provided that the limitations in posts dimensions are fulfilled. Take into account
that if the same cavity with post/s is repeated in the circuit, the static part is solved only once thanks to the
internal arrangement of FEST3D in those cases.

High memory consumption using parallelization in circuits with many cavities

If small values of mesh sizes are specified (for high accuracy or convergence tests), then very large meshes and
dense matrices are required in the simulation, consuming an important amount of RAM. Once the meshing of
the element is performed, the information window will show an estimation of the maximum total memory that
will be used during calculations. Besides, the software will automatically detect if the memory requirements are

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greater than the RAM memory available in the system, and will stop the simulation if necessary. If there are
several different cavities in the circuit, and multicore simulation is desired, it is important to take into
account that these RAM requirements are increased, and a slowdown in the computer performance might
be encountered. For those cases, it is recommended to employ a lower number of processors, which may allow
successfully completing a simulation that cannot be performed using more cores due to memory limitation
problems. If reducing the number of processors the memory problems still persist, it is advisable to increase
the mesh size values (reduce precision) of the posts or rounded corners in the cavity (explained in the
specifications section below) for performing the simulation.

Errors
The Helical resonator discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each error, the
possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

FATAL ERROR. Not even a single resonant mode can be obtained for this cavity. Please change the
cavity dimensions or increase the Maximum Frequency of the Solver (Solver Name)
The maximum frequency introduced is under the cut-off frequency of the cavity delimited by the specified
dimensions (see the specifications of the dialog box below). Provided that these dimensions are correct, the
solution is to increase the value of this maximum frequency. It is recommended to set it to a value two or three
times the maximum frequency of the desired analysis band.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. (Error of some kind). Re-check the geometry, or try to
reduce mesh size(s) value(s)
The eigenvalue problem can not be solved due to problems with the building of the matrices. This error can be
produced by an illegal position of the posts not detected by FEST3D. Another source for errors in the
eigenvalue problem is that the meshing of some of the post surfaces is not accurate enough. If the positions of
the posts are correct, the mesh sizes should be reduced, specially if the dimensions of radii or lengths are small.

FATAL ERROR. No 3D mesh detected. Please re-check the geometry, or try to reduce mesh size of the
post(s)
If this error appears, it means that the meshing algorithm was able to create a 2D mesh, but not a 3D. This 3D
mesh is necessary to compute data employed for the EM fields calculations. For this reason, the simulation is
forbidden if the 3D mesh is not available. This situation may happen if a wrong geometry has been specified
(e.g., posts colliding with each other). The dimensions and offsets of the posts should be revised, and verified
with the 3D viewer in order to detect any possible geometrical problems. If the geometry is correct, another
source for this error is that very small air gaps are present in the cavity, which can not be dealt by the 3D
meshing algorithm for the given mesh sizes. Reducing their values might be the solution for a correct 3D mesh
generation. If the problem persists, the user can ask for support on his specific geometry.

Error building mesh file

This error occurs when there is some problem building the mesh. This can occur if there are failures while
generating the geometry of the cavity. It is advisable to check if the geometry can be visualized with the 3D
viewer. If this is the case, then the problem is related to the meshing algorithms, due to the same reasons
explained for the previous error related to failure of the 3D mesh.

FATAL ERROR, mesh file not found

This message will appear if the meshing needed by the internal routines is not found. This error is usually
related to the building mesh error explained before, and should not appear in the case of a correct mesh
generation.

LAPACK error: some error message

The admittance matrix is not invertible at the simulated frequency point. This can only happen during the
frequency loop. This error is very unusual and it can be produced if a simulated frequency point is too close to
a pole. In this case the problem can be solved by slightly changing the frequency points.
cmalloc() failed: Out of memory!:
This happens when too much memory is required to solve the system. It is recommended, in this case, to

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reduce the Maximum Frequency value, and/or increase the mesh size values.

Simulation error (no further explanation):

This error is also related with memory limitations, and may occur if too much precision is demanded, specially
if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected. Besides, this problem can appear when performing simulations
with several cores, due to the higher memory requirements of this feature. Reducing the number of
processors is necessary to successfully perform the simulation.

Using the Helical resonator

The Helical resonator discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit this
element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Helical resonator:

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Figure D: Specific properties of the Helical resonator

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm/inches): The cavity width (see figure A).

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B (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
L (mm/inches): The cavity length (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Cavity corner radius. Optional rounded corners can be set for building the cavity. The user can choose
between not using rounded corners (by default), or selecting one of the three different configurations defined
in the legend included in the tab. For any of these cases, the values of the 4 different radii can be edited (it is
worth mentioning that some of the radii values can be zero allowing the user to build half-rounded cavities), as
well as the value of the mesh size used for meshing these rounded corners inside the electromagnetic solver. If
the value is set to zero, an automatic value depending on the cavity dimensions and the radii values will be
used. The information screen will show during simulation the value employed for this mesh, which can be
controlled here in order to demand more accuracy if desired.
Solver type. The particular geometry of this element can only be analyzed using the electromagnetic Solver
BI-RME 3D RWG. This Solver considers Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions for modelling the surface
currents of the posts. This Solver requires that the geometry is meshed with triangular patches onto which the
RWG basis functions are defined.
Maximum Frequency (GHz): This parameter is required for the BI-RME 3D Solver, and specifies the maximum
value of the frequencies of the resonant modes of the cavity to be computed during the analysis.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.
The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element.

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Figure E: Port properties of the Helical resonator

Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and C, conventions are:
Surface Front: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to 0)
Surface Back: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to C)

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Surface Right: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to A/2)
Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to B/2)
Surface Left: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to -A/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -B/2)
Mesh size port (mm/inches): The mesh size of each port of the element can be edited. This value is the typical
size of the triangles used for meshing the geometry of the port. It is important to remark that the correct
choice of the mesh size of the port is critical for the accuracy of the electromagnetic analysis. There are
some particularities to bear in mind regarding this parameter, as detailed below.
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.

The offsets and the mesh size of the port only make sense if a rectangular waveguide smaller than the cavity
surface dimensions is considered. The mesh density employed for the port must be increased for large numbers of
accessible modes of the rectangular waveguide, in order to maintain the accuracy of the method. As a consequence, a
large number of accessible modes in the waveguide port will require a higher computational cost.
In order to help the user to take into account these considerations, it is recommended to set this value to zero,
allowing this way FEST3D to automatically choose an adequate value as a default. The automatic criterion employed
obeys the following rules:

If 30 or less accessible modes are employed in the rectangular waveguide, the triangle size is chosen as 1/5 of
the minimum dimension (a,b) of the waveguide.
If the number of coaxial modes is between 30 and 45, the triangle size is chosen as 0.2 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the rectangular waveguide.
If 45 or more modes are employed for the coaxial, the triangle size is chosen as 0.1 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the rectangular waveguide.

Nevertheless, in a common usage of this element, the rectangular ports will have the same dimensions as the
corresponding cavity surfaces delimited by the cavity dimensions A,B,L specified. In those cases, these
parameters (offsets and mesh size) have no meaning, and the internal electromagnetic Solver employs
analytical expressions for dealing with these ports, which require much less computational effort.
For this reason, it is recommended to build a circuit using waveguides with the same dimensions as the
cavities wherever it is possible, employing Step discontinuities if different size of waveguides is desired
between cavities. A warning message will appear in order to alert the user to have this situation in mind if
smaller ports are selected. Nevertheless, there might be some cases in which the connection of smaller
rectangular ports will be mandatory, such as when rounded corners are used in the cavity.

As a final comment, the information window will show, for each discontinuity of this kind, the exact value of the mesh
size that is being employed for the mesh discretization of the rectangular port. The user can take this value as
reference in order to manually increase it for speeding up calculations, or decreasing it if more precision is desired,
taking into account the memory limitations.

Another important part of the specifications of this element is the General Posts tab. By default, a helical resonator
post is already considered, ready to be defined (see figure F). The legend with the different parameters of the
resonator is also included at the right side of the window for reference. Additionally, more posts/tuning screws can be
inserted by selecting the post shape from the available list and pressing the Add button. The post parameters and
the different shapes allowed are the same as explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

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Figure F: General Posts properties of the Helical resonator

The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the

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calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Figure G: EM Field properties of the Helical resonator

In addition, it is also important to mention that, for performing High Power analysis, FEST3D performs an
automatic refinement procedure for the additional posts different from the helical shapes, which is the same
as the one explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

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2.4.2.6.2 Contact feed to helical resonator

This section describes the Contact feed to helical resonator discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The Contact feed to helical resonator discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Contact feed to helical resonator discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or

workarounds to them.

Using the Contact feed to helical How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
resonator

Definition
The Contact feed to helical resonator discontinuity consists in a rectangular waveguide section which is excited using
a straight coaxial probe which feeds a helical resonator that is attached to any of the cavity walls orthogonal to the
coaxial. The cavity dimensions, the local reference system, and the different surface names are depicted in figure A,
and are the same as in the Cavity with Posts. The geometrical parameters and positions of the probe and the contact
post are shown in figure B and can be specified by the user. Besides this main excitation block (probe together with
contact helix), rectangular ports and additional resonant posts/tuning screws can be considered at any of the cavity
walls. For performing the analysis, an electromagnetic Solver based on the BI-RME 3D method with RWG basis
functions is employed.

Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

Regarding the geometrical specifications of the excitation probe, a schematic picture of a common practical case with
the contact helix attached to the bottom surface is shown in figure B, including the names of the relevant dimensions

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to be specified by the user.

Figure B: Basic geometrical scheme of the straight contact probe

Limitations
The Contact feed to helical resonator discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Rectangular or Coaxial waveguides. Although there is no limitation in
the number of rectangular ports, only one coaxial port is allowed per cavity. For a more general design
including different coaxial waveguides as excitations of a single cavity, the General cavity element can be used
instead.
Maximum number of posts
There is no theoretical limit to the number of posts. Anyway, using a large number of posts in a single element
may significantly slow down the simulation.
If you want to design a circuit with several posts (combline filter, for example), in theory you have two options:
a long cavity with a lot of posts
many cascaded cavities
In general, the most efficient approach is to use a segmentation strategy to divide the cavity into small blocks
connected by plain waveguide sections. In any case, also the “single cavity" analysis works fine (but may require
higher computational time), provided that the limitations in posts dimensions are fulfilled. Take into account
that if the same cavity with post/s is repeated in the circuit, the static part is solved only once thanks to the
internal arrangement of FEST3D in those cases.

High memory consumption using parallelization in circuits with many cavities

If small values of mesh sizes are specified (for high accuracy or convergence tests), then very large meshes and
dense matrices are required in the simulation, consuming an important amount of RAM. Once the meshing of
the element is performed, the information window will show an estimation of the maximum total memory that
will be used during calculations. Besides, the software will automatically detect if the memory requirements are
greater than the RAM memory available in the system, and will stop the simulation if necessary. If there are
several different cavities in the circuit, and multicore simulation is desired, it is important to take into
account that these RAM requirements are increased, and a slowdown in the computer performance might
be encountered. For those cases, it is recommended to employ a lower number of processors, which may allow
successfully completing a simulation that cannot be performed using more cores due to memory limitation
problems. If reducing the number of processors the memory problems still persist, it is advisable to increase
the mesh size values (reduce precision) of the posts or rounded corners in the cavity (explained in the
specifications section below) for performing the simulation.

Use of probe radius larger than the inner radius of the coaxial.
The electromagnetic BI-RME 3D Solver used by this element does not directly allow modeling an excitation
probe contacting a coaxial port with a smaller inner radius. Anyway, it is possible to simulate this kind of
structures, by employing the strategy shown in the schematic below (figure C). By means of a Step
discontinuity, an additional auxiliary coaxial with zero length can be inserted between the real coaxial
waveguide and the Straight probe discontinuity, in which the radius desired for the probe can be set. This
auxiliary coaxial can be connected to the Straight probe and solved by the inner kernel. The Step will take into
account the differences between the two coaxials by computing the appropiate coupling integrals. On the

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other hand, it is important to bear in mind that if a radius value smaller than the inner of coaxial is required for
the probe, there is no need to employ this strategy since this situation is directly supported by the Solver.

Figure C: Schematic example for using a probe with a radius larger the inner radius of the coaxial waveguide port.

Errors
The Contact feed to helical resonator discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For
each error, the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.

FATAL ERROR. Not even a single resonant mode can be obtained for this cavity. Please change the
cavity dimensions or increase the Maximum Frequency of the Solver (Solver Name)
The maximum frequency introduced is under the cut-off frequency of the cavity delimited by the specified
dimensions (see the specifications of the dialog box below). Provided that these dimensions are correct, the
solution is to increase the value of this maximum frequency. It is recommended to set it to a value two or three
times the maximum frequency of the desired analysis band.

FATAL ERROR while performing simulation. (Error of some kind). Re-check the geometry, or try to
reduce mesh size(s) value(s)
The eigenvalue problem can not be solved due to problems with the building of the matrices. This error can be
produced by an illegal position of the posts not detected by FEST3D. Another source for errors in the
eigenvalue problem is that the meshing of some of the post surfaces is not accurate enough. If the positions of
the posts are correct, the mesh sizes should be reduced, specially if the dimensions of radii or lengths are small.

FATAL ERROR. No 3D mesh detected. Please re-check the geometry, or try to reduce mesh size of the
post(s)
If this error appears, it means that the meshing algorithm was able to create a 2D mesh, but not a 3D. This 3D
mesh is necessary to compute data employed for the EM fields calculations. For this reason, the simulation is
forbidden if the 3D mesh is not available. This situation may happen if a wrong geometry has been specified
(e.g., posts colliding with each other). The dimensions and offsets of the posts should be revised, and verified
with the 3D viewer in order to detect any possible geometrical problems. If the geometry is correct, another
source for this error is that very small air gaps are present in the cavity, which can not be dealt by the 3D
meshing algorithm for the given mesh sizes. Reducing their values might be the solution for a correct 3D mesh
generation. If the problem persists, the user can ask for support on his specific geometry.

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Error building mesh file
This error occurs when there is some problem building the mesh. This can occur if there are failures while
generating the geometry of the cavity. It is advisable to check if the geometry can be visualized with the 3D
viewer. If this is the case, then the problem is related to the meshing algorithms, due to the same reasons
explained for the previous error related to failure of the 3D mesh.

FATAL ERROR, mesh file not found

This message will appear if the meshing needed by the internal routines is not found. This error is usually
related to the building mesh error explained before, and should not appear in the case of a correct mesh
generation.

LAPACK error: some error message

The admittance matrix is not invertible at the simulated frequency point. This can only happen during the
frequency loop. This error is very unusual and it can be produced if a simulated frequency point is too close to
a pole. In this case the problem can be solved by slightly changing the frequency points.
cmalloc() failed: Out of memory!:
This happens when too much memory is required to solve the system. It is recommended, in this case, to
reduce the Maximum Frequency value, and/or increase the mesh size values.

Simulation error (no further explanation):

This error is also related with memory limitations, and may occur if too much precision is demanded, specially
if the Solver BI-RME 3D RWG is selected. Besides, this problem can appear when performing simulations
with several cores, due to the higher memory requirements of this feature. Reducing the number of
processors is necessary to successfully perform the simulation.

Using the Contact feed to helical resonator

The Contact feed to helical resonator discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and
edit this element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Contact feed to helical
resonator:

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Figure D: Specific properties of the Contact feed to helical resonator

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

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A (mm/inches): The cavity width (see figure A).
B (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
L (mm/inches): The cavity length (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Cavity corner radius. Optional rounded corners can be set for building the cavity. The user can choose
between not using rounded corners (by default), or selecting one of the three different configurations defined
in the legend included in the tab. For any of these cases, the values of the 4 different radii can be edited (it is
worth mentioning that some of the radii values can be zero allowing the user to build half-rounded cavities), as
well as the value of the mesh size used for meshing these rounded corners inside the electromagnetic solver. If
the value is set to zero, an automatic value depending on the cavity dimensions and the radii values will be
used. The information screen will show during simulation the value employed for this mesh, which can be
controlled here in order to demand more accuracy if desired.
Solver type. The particular geometry of this element can only be analyzed using the electromagnetic Solver
BI-RME 3D RWG. This Solver considers Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions for modelling the surface
currents of the posts. This Solver requires that the geometry is meshed with triangular patches onto which the
RWG basis functions are defined.
Maximum Frequency (GHz): This parameter is required for the BI-RME 3D Solver, and specifies the maximum
value of the frequencies of the resonant modes of the cavity to be computed during the analysis.

To conclude with the specific properties tab, two checkboxes allow the user to perform Multipactor and Corona
analysis of this discontinuity.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.
The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element. If the waveguide is of
Coaxial type, a probe must selected from the Type of probe list. For this element, only the Straight contact
helix probe is allowed. For this probe, the shape of the required contact post can be chosen as well from the Type of
contact post list (a view of the different allowed contact posts is also shown at the right side of the window). By
default, the first port tab will be already assigned to the Coaxial waveguide that is required before opening the
specifications window, as shown in Figure E. Also the probe will be automatically displayed and ready to be
configured. The rest of the ports will be configured rectangular waveguides (Figure F). Nevertheless, it is possible to
define a different order for the ports, so that the coaxial port is not the first one.
Regarding the specific parameters of the Straight contact helix probe, the following parameters can be edited:

Num. turn contact: The number of the helix turn at which the contact with the coaxial probe is performed.
This value will determine automatically the height of the coaxial port.
R probe (mm/inches): The radius of the probe (see figure B). If it is set to zero, the default value of the
inner conductor of the coaxial waveguide used as the port will be considered. The electromagnetic Solver
does not directly support values larger than this inner radius, but smaller values are also allowed for
simulations. Nevertheless, it is possible to perform simulations with larger radius for the probe, by applying the
strategy described in the limitations section.
L Helix(mm/inches): The distance between the contact helix and the coaxial port (see figure B).
Angle from base(degrees): The angle from the base of the helix to the straight probe (see figure B). This

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parameter can vary between 0 and 360 degrees for the specified turn of the helix at which the contact is
performed.
Mesh size probe (mm/inches): This parameter indicates the typical length that will be used for the triangular
mesh employed by this discontinuity for modeling the coaxial probe.

Below these probe parameters, the parameters of the contact helix are also displayed. These parameters are also
defined in figure B included in the legend at the right of the window.

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Figure E: Port properties of the Contact feed to helical resonator, case of a coaxial port

Figure F: Port properties of the Contact feed to helical resonator, case of a rectangular port

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Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and C, conventions are:
Surface Front: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to 0)
Surface Back: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to C)
Surface Right: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to A/2)
Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to B/2)
Surface Left: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to -A/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -B/2)
Mesh size port (mm/inches): The mesh size of each port of the element can be edited. This value is the typical
size of the triangles used for meshing the geometry of the port. It is important to remark that the correct
choice of the mesh size of the port is critical for the accuracy of the electromagnetic analysis. There are
some particularities to bear in mind regarding this parameter, as detailed below.
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.
Considerations for coaxial ports
When considering a Coaxial waveguide as a port, the mesh density must be increased for large numbers of
accessible modes of the coaxial waveguide in order to maintain the accuracy of the method. As a consequence,
a large number of accessible modes in the coaxial waveguide will require a higher computational cost. This
drawback might be avoided in most of the practical situations, since a large number of modes is not necessary
for a coaxial waveguide in common applications (generally, less than 20 modes will suffice).
Thus, in order to help the user to take into account these considerations, it is recommended to set this value to zero,
allowing FEST3D to automatically choose an adequate value as a default. The automatic criterion employed obeys the
following rules:

If 30 or less accessible modes are employed in the coaxial waveguide, the triangle size is chosen as 1/5 of the
difference between the external and internal radius of the coaxial.
If the number of coaxial modes is between 30 and 45, the triangle size is chosen as 0.2 times the cut-
off wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.
If 45 or more modes are employed for the coaxial, the triangle size is chosen as 0.1 times the cut-off
wavelength associated to the largest mode number desired in the coaxial.

Considerations for rectangular ports

On the other hand, when the waveguide port is chosen to be a Rectangular waveguide, the offsets and the
mesh size of the port only make sense if the waveguide port is smaller than the dimensions of the
corresponding cavity surface. For this case, the port will be discretized in a similar way as the coaxial port,
requiring a meshing which can be controlled by the mesh size port parameter or be let to zero and use the
automatic criterion depending on modes explained above. The only difference regarding this mesh criteria
with respect to the coaxial port case is that the geometrical criterion employed for 30 or less modes considers
1/5 of the minimum of the dimensions (a,b) of the rectangular waveguide.
Nevertheless, in a common usage of this element, the rectangular ports will have the same dimensions as the
corresponding cavity surfaces delimited by the cavity dimensions A,B,L specified. In those cases, these
parameters (offsets and characteristic length) have no meaning, and the internal electromagnetic solver
employs analytical expressions for dealing with these ports, which require much less computational effort.
For this reason, it is recommended to build a circuit using waveguides with the same dimensions as the
cavities wherever it is possible, employing Step discontinuities if different size of waveguides is desired
between cavities. A warning message will appear in order to alert the user to have this situation in mind if
smaller ports are selected. Nevertheless, there might be some cases in which the connection of smaller
rectangular ports will be mandatory, such as when rounded corners are used in the cavity.

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As a final comment, the information window will show, for each discontinuity of this kind, the exact value of the mesh
size that is being employed for each port that requires meshing, as well as the number of triangles generated. The
user can take this mesh size value as reference in order to manually increase it for speeding up calculations (for very
small number of modes, the automatic criterion based on the port geometry can be relaxed without remarkable loss
of accuracy), or decreasing it if more precision is desired, taking into account the memory limitations.

Another part of the specifications of this element is the General posts tab. Here, additional resonant posts/tuning
screws can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button. The post parameters and the
different shapes allowed are the same as explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

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Figure G: General Posts properties of the Contact feed to helical resonator

The electromagnetic fields of this discontinuity can be computed and visualized. For this purpose, The EM Field tab
allows one to specify a mesh size value associated to the maximum size of the tetrahedra employed in the meshing of
the air volume region inside the cavity. An explanation figure of the parameter is also shown in the tab. This value can
be chosen as the same as specified in the general properties of the field computation, or can be specified for the
particular element. A small value will give a more detailed resolution of the fields, but will require a longer time for the

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calculations. On the other hand, very large values will lead to a poor resolution in the visualization. It is recommended
to manually set a tradeoff value taking into account the dimensions of the cavity under consideration.

Figure H: EM Field properties of the Contact feed to helical resonator

In addition, it is also important to mention that, for performing High Power analysis, FEST3D performs an
automatic refinement procedure, which is the same as the one explained in the Cavity with posts discontinuity.

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2.4.2.7 CST solver library

The CST solver library contains the following discontinuities:

General rectangular cavity

General cylindrical cavity
Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity
T-junction circular to rectangular
T-junction circular to circular

2.4.2.7.1 General rectangular cavity

This section describes the General rectangular cavity discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The General rectangular cavity discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a General rectangular cavity discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the General rectangular How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
cavity

Definition
The General rectangular cavity consists in a rectangular cavity which supports multiple coaxial, rectangular and
circular excitation ports, as well as additional resonant posts/tuning screws, which can be configured to be Perfect
Electric Conductor (PEC), or dielectric. The cavity dimensions, the local reference system, and the different surface
names are depicted in figure A.

For performing the analysis, a Finite Element Method (FEM) Solver is employed in order to compute the General
Admittance Matrix (GAM) of the discontinuity. More specifically, this FEM Solver works in Frequency Domain using a
Reduced Order Model (MOR). This Solver is provided by the CST Studio Suite® software package. Therefore the
installation of CST Studio Suite® is required in order to use this element.

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Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

For positioning the ports and the posts in the cavity, the user can select any of the six surface walls on which the
geometry will be placed, and specify offset values which will translate the local reference system of each post or
port with respect to the wall center. Additionaly, rotation angles can also be applied around the local axes (u, v,
w) defined for each post or port. The definitions of the local systems and the sign conventions for each case are
shown in figure B.

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Figure B: Offset conventions for ports and posts placed on the cavity walls

On the other hand, for the posts there is also the possibility of selecting surface "None", which means that the
base of the post will not be attached to any of the surface walls, and can be freely positioned with respect to the
local reference system defined at the center of the cavity as shown in figure C. The offset values will modify the
position of the reference system (u, v, w) defined at the center of the base of each post. Rotation angles can also
be applied around each one of the 3 post's local axes (u, v, w), in order to modify the default orientation if desired.

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Figure C: Free positioning of the post with respect to the local reference system of the cavity

When considering a coaxial port, different types of probe geometries can be selected by the user. All the possible
probe types are included in figure D. When selected in the Ports tab, a specific legend will be shown with the
definition of the geometrical parameters of each probe.

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Figure D: Different types of probes that can be used in this element with a coaxial waveguide port.

Regarding the posts, several different shapes can be considered, which are shown in figure E. By default, any post will
be automatically placed at the center of the bottom surface.

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Figure E: Different post types considered for this cavity

Limitations
The General rectangular cavity discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Coaxial, Circular or Rectangular waveguides.

External software requirements

This element requires CST Studio Suite® software to be installed in the machine. Once installed, the
following details must be taken into account:
CST Studio Suite® versions lower than 2020 will not work with FEST3D.
It is recommended to launch the CST Studio Suite at least once in order to check that the corresponding
license file works correctly.
For Windows systems: The Graphical Interface of FEST3D will automatically detect if CST Studio
Suite® is installed in the system, provided that its version number matches the current version of
FEST3D. In case that a different version of CST Studio Suite® is installed in the machine, the installation
path can be manually specified in the Graphical Interface of FEST3D (Options->Edit Preferences).
Nevertheless, when the installation path of CST Studio Suite® is chosen manually it is very
important to take into account that compatibility can not be 100% ensured for version numbers
different from the current FEST3D version.
For Linux Systems: The installation path of CST Studio Suite® must be specified in the Graphical
Interface of FEST3D (Options->Edit Preferences). The considerations regarding the version number
of CST Studio Suite® are the same as explained for the Windows Systems.
Definition of frequency points for the Solver
The particular FEM Solver employed for analysis in CST Studio Suite® requires a single range of frequencies
and a number of samples that will be uniformly distributed within the range. In order to provide these data,

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FEST3D will consider the actual frequency points of all the active frequency sweeps defined for analysis,
as well as the sweeps defined for optimization (according to the Frequency Specifications). The maximum
and minimum values will be the limits of the range used by the FEM Solver, and the minimum frequency
step considering the frequencies of all sweeps will be the one used for obtaining the number of samples
of an equivalent uniform distribution. After computations, the results for the actual frequency points defined
in FEST3D will be obtained by linear interpolation (the commited error is assumed to be small enough for
practical applications).
Nevertheless, depending on the different frequency ranges defined for a FEST3D circuit, it may occur that the
number of points obtained for the equivalent uniform distribution is very large. Since this number affects
the computational effort of the Solver, a maximum value has been considered. If this maximum value has
been reached, a warning message will be shown, indicating the limitation in the number of frequency
samples and the maximum error (frequency deviation) that will be commited. The user should decide is
this error is acceptable for the particular application, and modify the Frequency Specifications (reduce the
number of sweeps, change the frequency points) in order to solve the problem.
Partial parallelization features
If several discontinuities of this type are present in the same circuit, their respective simulations will be
performed one by one regardless of the number of cores specified by the user for the FEST3D simulation.
Nevertheless, multi-core capabilities can be used internally by the FEM Solver in each one of the elements. The
performance of the FEM Solver computations will depend on the maximum number of allowed cores,
according to the specific license agreement for the CST Studio Suite® software installed in the machine.

Collisions between ports and/or posts

The electromagnetic Solver does not support intersection between ports, or geometrical collisions
between ports and posts. The software will detect this kind of situations and return an error message.

On the other hand, collision between posts is possible. Depending on the type of material used for the posts,
the situation will be handled differently:
If all posts are of PEC material, they will be fused and considered as one object.
If there is volume intersection between posts of PEC and dielectric materials, the metallic part of
the intersection will prevail (the intersection volume inside the dielectric will be filled with PEC).
If there is collision between two posts of dielectric materials, one of the two geometries will
prevail over the other in the intersection volume. The criterion for choosing the prevailing geometry
will be the largest value of the product of the relative permittivity and permeability parameters of
the material associated to each post.

Errors
The General rectangular cavity discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each
error, the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.
Invalid installation path for CST Studio Suite. Please check that CST Studio Suite software is installed,
and that a valid installation path has been provided in the Graphical Interface (Options->Edit
Preferences): The user must ensure that a valid version of the CST Studio Suite® software is correctly installed
in the system, and provide the installation path as explained in the error message. More details about the CST
Studio Suite software requirements can be consulted in the limitations section.
License error while starting CST Studio Suite: A valid license file could not be detected for CST Studio
Suite® software. Please contact support in order to get a valid license file for the software.

Error(s) while running CST solver: This message appears if one or more errors have been detected during
simulation of the CST Solver. The different error descriptions give details of each particular problem. In most
cases, the errors will be related to inconsistencies found in the computation of the port modes or in the mesh
generation. Another source of errors might be lack of memory in the system if very dense meshes are used.
Modifying the number of accessible modes for the ports and/or the mesh parameters (for ports and for the
solver) might solve the problems.

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Error while exporting matrix results of CST solver: This error appears if there were problems in the
exportation process of data. This might happen for example if the disk runs out of physical space. The user
must bear in mind that the simulations of the FEM solver might require a large amount of disk space, specially
if very dense meshes are used (e.g. several GBytes). Make sure that the disk in which the FEST3D input file is
located has enough free space and re-run the simulation.

Error while exporting modal fields results of CST solver: This error appears if there were problems in the
exportation process of data related to port modal fields. This might happen for example if the disk runs out of
physical space. The user must bear in mind that the simulations of the FEM solver might require a large amount
of disk space, specially if very dense meshes are used (e.g. several GBytes). Make sure that the disk in which the
FEST3D input file is located has enough free space and re-run the simulation.

Using the General rectangular cavity

The General rectangular cavity discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit
this element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the General rectangular
cavity:

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Figure F: Specific properties of the General rectangular cavity

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

A (mm/inches): The cavity width (see figure A).

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B (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
L (mm/inches): The cavity length (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Cavity corner radius. Optional rounded corners can be set for building the cavity. The user can choose
between not using rounded corners (by default), or selecting one of the three different configurations defined
in the legend included in the tab. For any of these cases, the values of the 4 different radii can be edited (it is
worth mentioning that some of the radii values can be zero allowing the user to build half-rounded cavities.

Besides, the tetrahedral meshing employed by the FEM Solver can be controlled by means of 3 parameters defined in
the same way as done in the CST Studio Suite® software:

Cells per wavelength: This parameter controls the upper limit to the cell size with respect to the smallest
wavelength used in the analysis range (which corresponds to the maximum frequency value set in the
Frequency Specifications for the FEST3D circuit). Increasing this number leads to a higher accuracy, but also
increases the total computation time. The default value is 10, providing a good compromise between the
calculation time and the achievable accuracy for most practical cases.
Smooth mesh with equilibrate ratio: This option controls the mesh smoothing in order to improve quality of
the generated mesh. It represents the maximum ratio between the lengths of two adjacent edges. The closer to
1, the smoother the resulting mesh will be. The default value is 1.2.
Normal tolerance (Deg): This parameter controls the discretization of curved edges and surfaces. Normal
tolerance is the angle in degrees between model edge or face normals at two adjacent mesh vertices. The
default value is 22.5, which forces to use approximately 16 points along circular contours. Lower values of
normal tolerance will lead to smoother discretization of curved surfaces.

Additionally, this element allows to apply mesh refinements in order to speed up the convergence when the cavity
contains cylindrical-shaped excitation probes or posts of PEC material. These refinements consists in the addition of a
virtual box that covers a volume zone surrounding the cap of each post or probe. A generic 2D scheme with the
definition of the refinement box is shown in figure G.

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Figure G: Definition of the virtual refinement box applied to cylindrical probes and PEC posts inside the cavity

The mesh volume inside this box is controlled by means of the input refinement factor value. The mesh size
used inside the box is selected as the most restrictive value of the two following criteria:

Criterion 1: mesh size = (smallest wavelength used in the analysis / cells per wavelength) / refinement factor
Criterion 2: mesh size = (maximum perimeter * normal tolerance / 360) / refinement factor

The use of these refinement boxes can be enabled (by default) or disabled by clicking on the Enable refinements
checkbox. In most practical cases it is recommended to enable the use of refinements. Otherwise, the general mesh
parameters (specially normal tolerance and cells per wavelength) must be adjusted to be more restrictive in order
for the Solver to obtain good accuracy for the EM-fields inside the cavity and/or the resonant frequencies of the posts.
This will produce a denser mesh for the volume of the whole element, and higher computational times as a
consequence.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.

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The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element. If the waveguide is of
Coaxial type, a probe must be selected from the Type of probe list. The types of available probes are shown in the
right side of the window, as depicted in Figure H. Once selected, the geometrical parameters of the selected probe
can be also edited. A legend will be shown indicating the definition of the specific parameters of the probe. A example
of specific probe is included as a second Coaxial port in Figure I. Another example case of port chosen as a
Rectangular waveguide is also included in figure J.

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Figure H: Port properties of the General rectangular cavity, case of a coaxial port

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Figure I: Port properties of the General rectangular cavity, case of a second coaxial port with a Mushroom probe

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Figure J: Port properties of the General rectangular cavity, case of a rectangular port

Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.

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Port length (mm/inches): Indicates a separation distance value from the cross section of the waveguide to the
cavity. It is recommended to use values greater than zero whenever is possible, in order to reduce the
number of accessible modes required to obtain convergent results. Besides, it is also important to take into
account that when there are non-zero values for rotation angles in the port, the definition of the port
length will change. Examples of different cases are shown in figure K.
Blend radius (mm/inches): Specifies an optional value of a radius used for blending the edges of the cross
section of the waveguide port which are in contact with the rectangular cavity (see figure K).
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and B, conventions are:
Surface Front: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to 0)
Surface Back: Only X and Y offsets can be edited (Z offset will be fixed to C)
Surface Right: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to A/2)
Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to B/2)
Surface Left: Only Y and Z offsets can be edited (X offset will be fixed to -A/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -B/2)
Rotation angles: These angles will rotate around each one of the local axes of the reference system defined at
the center of the cross section of the port:
Rotation around W axis: This will be the rotation angle around the axis oriented in the propagation
direction of the port (orthogonal to axis U and V)
Rotation around V axis: This will be the rotation angle around the vertical axis of the port's cross
section. Before applying rotations, this axis will be coincident with one of the local axes defined on each
cavity wall:
For surfaces Front, Back, Right and Left: V axis will be coincident with the local Y axis of the
wall (see figure B)
For surfaces Top and Bottom: V axis will be coincident with the local Z axis of the wall (see
figure B)
Rotation around U axis: This will be the rotation angle around the horizontal axis of the port's cross
section. Before applying rotations, this axis will be coincident with one of the local axes defined on each
cavity wall:
For surfaces Front, Back, Top and Bottom: U axis will be coincident with the local X axis of
the wall (see figure B)
For surfaces Right and Left: U axis will be coincident with the local Z axis of the wall (see
figure B)
Cells per min. mode wavelength: This parameter controls the cell size with respect to the minimum
wavelength considering all the accessible modes used in the waveguide associated to the port. The choice of
this parameter is very important in order to ensure acceptable convergence for the solution of all the
port modes. Small values may lead to simulation warnings and/or errors and unstable results depending
on the number of accessible modes. The default value is 5, which offers a good compromise between
simulation time and good discretization for solving all the accessible modes of the port. Larger values of
this parameter will force to use finer discretization of the port surface, increasing the overall meshing of the 3D
structure and the simulation time as a consequence. It is also worth mentioning that this parameter may take
no effect in the overall meshing for the cases where the general mesh parameters used for the FEM Solver are
restrictive enough for the structure under analysis (this will depend on the values of the mesh parameters, the
geometry dimensions and the frequency range used in the simulation)
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.

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Figure K: Definitions for port length and blend radius parameters

Considerations for the ports

It is important to take into account that the computational effort of the FEM Solver increases with the number of
accessible modes of the waveguide ports for a fixed mesh. Besides, the discretization of the port surfaces will
adapt to the number of accessible modes depending on the value of the parameter Cells per min. mode
wavelength chosen for each port (see the port specifications explained above), which means that the overall 3D mesh
used by the FEM Solver will be more dense and the computational effort will also increase again as well. Therefore in
order to avoid very large simulation times IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED not to use large numbers of
accessible modes in the ports of this discontinuity unless they are indeed mandatory for the convergence of
the structure.

Another part of the specifications of this element is the General Posts tab. Here, additional resonant posts/tuning
screws can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button.

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Figure L: General Posts properties of the General rectangular cavity

For each post, the user can edit the specifications for the dimensions of the post. Regarding the positioning, the
surface wall of the cavity, offsets and rotation angles can be edited in the same way as done with the Ports tab,
following the conventions of figures B and C. Depending on the shape of the post, a specific legend with the
definition of the geometrical parameters is automatically shown at the right side of the window. Legends with the
offset definitions and the other types of post shapes are also displayed for reference.

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Additionally, most of the post shapes admit the definition of roundings of the cap (and the base as well for the case
of rectangular shapes). By pressing the Round the post cap/base button, a new window will appear on which the
different types of roundings available for the particular post shape can be set. The post will indicate if any cap or
base rounding has been previously activated.

Figure M: Additional window for definition of roundings on a post.

The Material of the post can be also selected. The user can choose between PEC and Lossless dielectric for each one
of the post. In case of selecting lossless dielectric material, the corresponding relative permittivity and permeability
parameters can be edited.
Finally, any of the posts can be discarded by pressing the Delete post button on each tab.

2.4.2.7.2 General cylindrical cavity

This section describes the General cylindrical cavity discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The General cylindrical cavity discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a General cylindrical cavity discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

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Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to
them.

Using the General cylindrical How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
cavity

Definition
The General cylindrical cavity consists in a cylindrical cavity which supports multiple coaxial, rectangular and
circular excitation ports, as well as additional resonant posts/tuning screws, which can be configured to be Perfect
Electric Conductor (PEC), or dielectric. The cavity dimensions, the local reference system, and the different surface
names are depicted in figure A.

For performing the analysis, a Finite Element Method (FEM) Solver is employed in order to compute the General
Admittance Matrix (GAM) of the discontinuity. More specifically, this FEM Solver works in Frequency Domain using a
Reduced Order Model (MOR). This Solver is provided by the CST Studio Suite® software package. Therefore the
installation of CST Studio Suite® is required in order to use this element.

Figure A: Cavity dimensions, surface names and the local reference coordinate system employed

For positioning the ports and the posts in the cavity, the user can select any of the surface walls on which the

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geometry will be placed, and specify offset values which will translate the local reference system of each post or
port with respect to the wall center. Additionaly, rotation angles can also be applied around the local axes (u, v,
w) defined for each post or port. The definitions of the local systems and the sign conventions for each case are
shown in figure B.

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Figure B: Offset conventions for ports and posts placed on the cavity walls

On the other hand, for the posts there is also the possibility of selecting surface "None", which means that the
base of the post will not be attached to any of the surface walls, and can be freely positioned with respect to the
local reference system defined at the center of the cavity as shown in figure C. The offset values will modify the
position of the reference system (u, v, w) defined at the center of the base of each post. Rotation angles can also
be applied around each one of the 3 post's local axes (u, v, w), in order to modify the default orientation if desired.

Figure C: Free positioning of the post with respect to the local reference system of the cavity

When considering a coaxial port, different types of probe geometries can be selected by the user. All the possible
probe types are included in figure D. When selected in the Ports tab, a specific legend will be shown with the
definition of the geometrical parameters of each probe.

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Figure D: Different types of probes that can be used in this element with a coaxial waveguide port.

Regarding the posts, several different shapes can be considered, which are shown in figure E. By default, any post will
be automatically placed at the center of the bottom surface.

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Figure E: Different post types considered for this cavity

Limitations
The General cylindrical cavity discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Coaxial, Circular or Rectangular waveguides.

External software requirements

This element requires CST Studio Suite® software to be installed in the machine. Once installed, the
following details must be taken into account:
CST Studio Suite® versions lower than 2020 will not work with FEST3D.
It is recommended to launch the CST Studio Suite at least once in order to check that the corresponding
license file works correctly.
For Windows systems: The Graphical Interface of FEST3D will automatically detect if CST Studio
Suite® is installed in the system, provided that its version number matches the current version of
FEST3D. In case that a different version of CST Studio Suite® is installed in the machine, the installation
path can be manually specified in the Graphical Interface of FEST3D (Options->Edit Preferences).
Nevertheless, when the installation path of CST Studio Suite® is chosen manually it is very
important to take into account that compatibility can not be 100% ensured for version numbers
different from the current FEST3D version.
For Linux Systems: The installation path of CST Studio Suite® must be specified in the Graphical
Interface of FEST3D (Options->Edit Preferences). The considerations regarding the version number
of CST Studio Suite® are the same as explained for the Windows Systems.
Definition of frequency points for the Solver
The particular FEM Solver employed for analysis in CST Studio Suite® requires a single range of frequencies
and a number of samples that will be uniformly distributed within the range. In order to provide these data,

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FEST3D will consider the actual frequency points of all the active frequency sweeps defined for analysis,
as well as the sweeps defined for optimization (according to the Frequency Specifications). The maximum
and minimum values will be the limits of the range used by the FEM Solver, and the minimum frequency
step considering the frequencies of all sweeps will be the one used for obtaining the number of samples
of an equivalent uniform distribution. After computations, the results for the actual frequency points defined
in FEST3D will be obtained by linear interpolation (the commited error is assumed to be small enough for
practical applications).
Nevertheless, depending on the different frequency ranges defined for a FEST3D circuit, it may occur that the
number of points obtained for the equivalent uniform distribution is very large. Since this number affects
the computational effort of the Solver, a maximum value has been considered. If this maximum value has
been reached, a warning message will be shown, indicating the limitation in the number of frequency
samples and the maximum error (frequency deviation) that will be commited. The user should decide is
this error is acceptable for the particular application, and modify the Frequency Specifications (reduce the
number of sweeps, change the frequency points) in order to solve the problem.
Partial parallelization features
If several discontinuities of this type are present in the same circuit, their respective simulations will be
performed one by one regardless of the number of cores specified by the user for the FEST3D simulation.
Nevertheless, multi-core capabilities can be used internally by the FEM Solver in each one of the elements. The
performance of the FEM Solver computations will depend on the maximum number of allowed cores,
according to the specific license agreement for the CST Studio Suite® software installed in the machine.

Collisions between ports and/or posts

The electromagnetic Solver does not support intersection between ports, or geometrical collisions
between ports and posts. The software will detect this kind of situations and return an error message.

On the other hand, collision between posts is possible. Depending on the type of material used for the posts,
the situation will be handled differently:
If all posts are of PEC material, they will be fused and considered as one object.
If there is volume intersection between posts of PEC and dielectric materials, the metallic part of
the intersection will prevail (the intersection volume inside the dielectric will be filled with PEC).
If there is collision between two posts of dielectric materials, one of the two geometries will
prevail over the other in the intersection volume. The criterion for choosing the prevailing geometry
will be the largest value of the product of the relative permittivity and permeability parameters of
the material associated to each post.

Errors
The General cylindrical cavity discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each
error, the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.
Invalid installation path for CST Studio Suite. Please check that CST Studio Suite software is installed,
and that a valid installation path has been provided in the Graphical Interface (Options->Edit
Preferences): The user must ensure that a valid version of the CST Studio Suite® software is correctly installed
in the system, and provide the installation path as explained in the error message. More details about the CST
Studio Suite software requirements can be consulted in the limitations section.
License error while starting CST Studio Suite: A valid license file could not be detected for CST Studio
Suite® software. Please contact support in order to get a valid license file for the software.

Error(s) while running CST solver: This message appears if one or more errors have been detected during
simulation of the CST Solver. The different error descriptions give details of each particular problem. In most
cases, the errors will be related to inconsistencies found in the computation of the port modes or in the mesh
generation. Another source of errors might be lack of memory in the system if very dense meshes are used.
Modifying the number of accessible modes for the ports and/or the mesh parameters (for ports and for the
solver) might solve the problems.

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Error while exporting matrix results of CST solver: This error appears if there were problems in the
exportation process of data. This might happen for example if the disk runs out of physical space. The user
must bear in mind that the simulations of the FEM solver might require a large amount of disk space, specially
if very dense meshes are used (e.g. several GBytes). Make sure that the disk in which the FEST3D input file is
located has enough free space and re-run the simulation.

Error while exporting modal fields results of CST solver: This error appears if there were problems in the
exportation process of data related to port modal fields. This might happen for example if the disk runs out of
physical space. The user must bear in mind that the simulations of the FEM solver might require a large amount
of disk space, specially if very dense meshes are used (e.g. several GBytes). Make sure that the disk in which the
FEST3D input file is located has enough free space and re-run the simulation.

Using the General cylindrical cavity

The General cylindrical cavity discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and edit
this element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the General cylindrical
cavity:

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Figure F: Specific properties of the General cylindrical cavity

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

Radius (mm/inches): The cavity radius(see figure A).

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Height (mm/inches): The cavity height (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).

Besides, the tetrahedral meshing employed by the FEM Solver can be controlled by means of 3 parameters defined in
the same way as done in the CST Studio Suite® software:

Cells per wavelength: This parameter controls the upper limit to the cell size with respect to the smallest
wavelength used in the analysis range (which corresponds to the maximum frequency value set in the
Frequency Specifications for the FEST3D circuit). Increasing this number leads to a higher accuracy, but also
increases the total computation time. The default value is 10, providing a good compromise between the
calculation time and the achievable accuracy for most practical cases.
Smooth mesh with equilibrate ratio: This option controls the mesh smoothing in order to improve quality of
the generated mesh. It represents the maximum ratio between the lengths of two adjacent edges. The closer to
1, the smoother the resulting mesh will be. The default value is 1.2.
Normal tolerance (Deg): This parameter controls the discretization of curved edges and surfaces. Normal
tolerance is the angle in degrees between model edge or face normals at two adjacent mesh vertices. The
default value is 22.5, which forces to use approximately 16 points along circular contours. Lower values of
normal tolerance will lead to smoother discretization of curved surfaces.

Additionally, this element allows to apply mesh refinements in order to speed up the convergence when the cavity
contains cylindrical-shaped excitation probes or posts of PEC material. These refinements consists in the addition of a
virtual box that covers a volume zone surrounding the cap of each post or probe. A generic 2D scheme with the
definition of the refinement box is shown in figure G.

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Figure G: Definition of the virtual refinement box applied to cylindrical probes and PEC posts inside the cavity

The mesh volume inside this box is controlled by means of the input refinement factor value. The mesh size
used inside the box is selected as the most restrictive value of the two following criteria:

Criterion 1: mesh size = (smallest wavelength used in the analysis / cells per wavelength) / refinement factor
Criterion 2: mesh size = (maximum perimeter * normal tolerance / 360) / refinement factor

The use of these refinement boxes can be enabled (by default) or disabled by clicking on the Enable refinements
checkbox. In most practical cases it is recommended to enable the use of refinements. Otherwise, the general mesh
parameters (specially normal tolerance and cells per wavelength) must be adjusted to be more restrictive in order
for the Solver to obtain good accuracy for the EM-fields inside the cavity and/or the resonant frequencies of the posts.
This will produce a denser mesh for the volume of the whole element, and higher computational times as a
consequence.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.

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The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

For each port, a specification tab will appear. In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached
waveguide list, which will be filled with the connections already associated to this element. If the waveguide is of
Coaxial type, a probe must be selected from the Type of probe list. The types of available probes are shown in the
right side of the window, as depicted in Figure H. Once selected, the geometrical parameters of the selected probe
can be also edited. A legend will be shown indicating the definition of the specific parameters of the probe. A example
of specific probe is included as a second Coaxial port in Figure I. Another example case of port chosen as a Circular
waveguide is also included in figure J.

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Figure H: Port properties of the General cylindrical cavity, case of a coaxial port

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Figure I: Port properties of the General cylindrical cavity, case of a second coaxial port with a S probe

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Figure J: Port properties of the General cylindrical cavity, case of a circular port

Additionally, for each port tab the following general information can be edited:

Surface: Specifies the surface of the cavity that is assigned to the port. This surface can be chosen in a menu
that obeys the names shown in figure A.

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Port length (mm/inches): Indicates a separation distance value from the cross section of the waveguide to the
cavity. It is recommended to use values greater than zero whenever is possible, in order to reduce the
number of accessible modes required to obtain convergent results. Besides, it is also important to take into
account that when there are non-zero values for rotation angles in the port, the definition of the port
length will change. Examples of different cases are shown in figure K.
Blend radius (mm/inches): Specifies an optional value of a radius used for blending the edges of the cross
section of the waveguide port which are in contact with the cylindrical cavity (see figure K).
Offsets: Depending on the cavity surface chosen for placing the port, the coherent directions for offsets will be
displayed for each case. Following figures A and B, conventions are:
Surface Top: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to Height/2)
Surface Bottom: Only X and Z offsets can be edited (Y offset will be fixed to -Height/2)
Surface Lateral: Only Y offset can be edited.
Position angle (degrees): Specifies an angle value for rotating the lateral port around the height axis of the
local reference system of the cavity (Y axis), measured from the positive Z axis of this reference system (see
figure B). This value applies only for the cases in which surface Lateral is selected.
Rotation angles: These angles will rotate around each one of the local axes which are used to place the port
on each cavity wall:
Rotation around W axis (degrees): This will be the rotation angle around the axis oriented in the
propagation direction of the port (orthogonal to axis U and V)
Rotation around V axis (degrees): This will be the rotation angle around the vertical axis of the port's
cross section. Before applying rotations, this axis will be coincident with one of the local axes defined on
each cavity wall:
For surface Lateral, V axis will be the local Y axis of the cavity (see figure B)
For surfaces Top and Bottom, V axis will be the local Z axis of the wall (see figure B)
Rotation around U axis (degrees): This will be the rotation angle around the horizontal axis of the
port's cross section. Before applying rotations, this axis will be coincident with one of the local axes
defined on each cavity wall:
For surface Lateral, U axis will be the local X axis of the cavity (see figure B)
For surfaces Top and Bottom, U axis be the local X axis of the wall (see figure B)
Cells per min. mode wavelength: This parameter controls the cell size with respect to the minimum
wavelength considering all the accessible modes used in the waveguide associated to the port. The choice of
this parameter is very important in order to ensure acceptable convergence for the solution of all the
port modes. Small values may lead to simulation warnings and/or errors and unstable results depending
on the number of accessible modes. The default value is 5, which offers a good compromise between
simulation time and good discretization for solving all the accessible modes of the port. Larger values of
this parameter will force to use finer discretization of the port surface, increasing the overall meshing of the 3D
structure and the simulation time as a consequence. It is also worth mentioning that this parameter may take
no effect in the overall meshing for the cases where the general mesh parameters used for the FEM Solver are
restrictive enough for the structure under analysis (this will depend on the values of the mesh parameters, the
geometry dimensions and the frequency range used in the simulation)
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.

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Figure K: Definitions for port length and blend radius parameters

Considerations for the ports

It is important to take into account that the computational effort of the FEM Solver increases with the number of
accessible modes of the waveguide ports for a fixed mesh. Besides, the discretization of the port surfaces will
adapt to the number of accessible modes depending on the value of the parameter Cells per min. mode
wavelength chosen for each port (see the port specifications explained above), which means that the overall 3D mesh
used by the FEM Solver will be more dense and the computational effort will also increase again as well. Therefore in
order to avoid very large simulation times IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED not to use large numbers of
accessible modes in the ports of this discontinuity unless they are indeed mandatory for the convergence of
the structure.

Another part of the specifications of this element is the General Posts tab. Here, additional resonant posts/tuning
screws can be inserted in the geometry if desired, by pressing the Add button.

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Figure L: General Posts properties of the General cylindrical cavity

For each post, the user can edit the specifications for the dimensions of the post. Regarding the positioning, the
surface wall of the cavity, offsets and rotation angles can be edited in the same way as done with the Ports tab,
following the conventions of figures B and C. Depending on the shape of the post, a specific legend with the
definition of the geometrical parameters is automatically shown at the right side of the window. Legends with the
offset definitions and the other types of post shapes are also displayed for reference.

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Additionally, most of the post shapes admit the definition of roundings of the cap (and the base as well for the case
of rectangular shapes). By pressing the Round the post cap/base button, a new window will appear on which the
different types of roundings available for the particular post shape can be set. The post will indicate if any cap or
base rounding has been previously activated.

Figure M: Additional window for definition of roundings on a post.

The Material of the post can be also selected. The user can choose between PEC and Lossless dielectric for each one
of the post. In case of selecting lossless dielectric material, the corresponding relative permittivity and permeability
parameters can be edited.
Finally, any of the posts can be discarded by pressing the Delete post button on each tab.

2.4.2.7.3 Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity

This section describes the Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features
and limitations.
The Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

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FEST3D User Manual 573
Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or
workarounds to them.

Using the Lateral couplings to How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.
cylindrical cavity

Definition
The Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity discontinuity consists in a cylindrical cavity whose radius is defined by two
circular ports (namely ports 1 and 2). The length of the cavity is provided by the user. Additionally, lateral ports can
access the cavity (at least one). The cavity dimensions, the local reference system and the definition of the geometrical
parameters of the ports are shown in figures A and B.

For performing the analysis, a Finite Element Method (FEM) Solver is employed in order to compute the General
Admittance Matrix (GAM) of the discontinuity. More specifically, this FEM Solver works in Frequency Domain using a
Reduced Order Model (MOR). This Solver is provided by the CST Studio Suite® software package. Therefore the
installation of this software is required in order to use this element.

Figure A: Cavity dimensions and local reference coordinate system employed

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FEST3D User Manual 574

Figure B: Definitions and geometrical parameters used for the ports

Limitations
The Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Circular or Rectangular waveguides.

External software requirements

This element requires CST Studio Suite® software to be installed in the machine. Once installed, the
following details must be taken into account:
CST Studio Suite® versions lower than 2020 will not work with FEST3D.
It is recommended to launch the CST Studio Suite at least once in order to check that the corresponding
license file works correctly.
For Windows systems: The Graphical Interface of FEST3D will automatically detect if CST Studio
Suite® is installed in the system, provided that its version number matches the current version of

Copyright 2009-2019 Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH.

FEST3D User Manual 575
FEST3D. In case that a different version of CST Studio Suite® is installed in the machine, the installation
path can be manually specified in the Graphical Interface of FEST3D (Options->Edit Preferences).
Nevertheless, when the installation path of CST Studio Suite® is chosen manually it is very
important to take into account that compatibility can not be 100% ensured for version numbers
different from the current FEST3D version.
For Linux Systems: The installation path of CST Studio Suite® must be specified in the Graphical
Interface of FEST3D (Options->Edit Preferences). The considerations regarding the version number
of CST Studio Suite® are the same as explained for the Windows Systems.
Definition of frequency points for the Solver
The particular FEM Solver employed for analysis in CST Studio Suite® requires a single range of frequencies
and a number of samples that will be uniformly distributed within the range. In order to provide these data,
FEST3D will consider the actual frequency points of all the active frequency sweeps defined for analysis,
as well as the sweeps defined for optimization (according to the Frequency Specifications). The maximum
and minimum values will be the limits of the range used by the FEM Solver, and the minimum frequency
step considering the frequencies of all sweeps will be the one used for obtaining the number of samples
of an equivalent uniform distribution. After computations, the results for the actual frequency points defined
in FEST3D will be obtained by linear interpolation (the commited error is assumed to be small enough for
practical applications).
Nevertheless, depending on the different frequency ranges defined for a FEST3D circuit, it may occur that the
number of points obtained for the equivalent uniform distribution is very large. Since this number affects
the computational effort of the Solver, a maximum value has been considered. If this maximum value has
been reached, a warning message will be shown, indicating the limitation in the number of frequency
samples and the maximum error (frequency deviation) that will be commited. The user should decide is
this error is acceptable for the particular application, and modify the Frequency Specifications (reduce the
number of sweeps, change the frequency points) in order to solve the problem.
Partial parallelization features
If several discontinuities of this type are present in the same circuit, their respective simulations will be
performed one by one regardless of the number of cores specified by the user for the FEST3D simulation.
Nevertheless, multi-core capabilities can be used internally by the FEM Solver in each one of the elements. The
performance of the FEM Solver computations will depend on the maximum number of allowed cores,
according to the specific license agreement for the CST Studio Suite® software installed in the machine.

Errors
The Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances.
For each error, the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.
Invalid installation path for CST Studio Suite. Please check that CST Studio Suite software is installed,
and that a valid installation path has been provided in the Graphical Interface (Options->Edit
Preferences): The user must ensure that a valid version of the CST Studio Suite® software is correctly installed
in the system, and provide the installation path as explained in the error message. More details about the CST
Studio Suite software requirements can be consulted in the limitations section.
License error while starting CST Studio Suite: A valid license file could not be detected for CST Studio
Suite® software. Please contact support in order to get a valid license file for the software.

Error(s) while running CST solver: This message appears if one or more errors have been detected during
simulation of the CST Solver. The different error descriptions give details of each particular problem. In most
cases, the errors will be related to inconsistencies found in the computation of the port modes or in the mesh
generation. Another source of errors might be lack of memory in the system if very dense meshes are used.
Modifying the number of accessible modes for the ports and/or the mesh parameters (for ports and for the
solver) might solve the problems.

Error while exporting matrix results of CST solver: This error appears if there were problems in the
exportation process of data. This might happen for example if the disk runs out of physical space. The user

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FEST3D User Manual 576
must bear in mind that the simulations of the FEM solver might require a large amount of disk space, specially
if very dense meshes are used (e.g. several GBytes). Make sure that the disk in which the FEST3D input file is
located has enough free space and re-run the simulation.

Error while exporting modal fields results of CST solver: This error appears if there were problems in the
exportation process of data related to port modal fields. This might happen for example if the disk runs out of
physical space. The user must bear in mind that the simulations of the FEM solver might require a large amount
of disk space, specially if very dense meshes are used (e.g. several GBytes). Make sure that the disk in which the
FEST3D input file is located has enough free space and re-run the simulation.

Using the Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity

The Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view
and edit this element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Lateral couplings to
cylindrical cavity:

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FEST3D User Manual 577

Figure C: Specific properties of the Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

Length (mm/inches): The length of the circular cavity (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).

Besides, the tetrahedral meshing employed by the FEM Solver can be controlled by means of 3 parameters defined in
the same way as done in the CST Studio Suite® software:

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FEST3D User Manual 578
Cells per wavelength: This parameter controls the upper limit to the cell size with respect to the smallest
wavelength used in the analysis range (which corresponds to the maximum frequency value set in the
Frequency Specifications for the FEST3D circuit). Increasing this number leads to a higher accuracy, but also
increases the total computation time. The default value is 10, providing a good compromise between the
calculation time and the achievable accuracy for most practical cases.
Smooth mesh with equilibrate ratio: This option controls the mesh smoothing in order to improve quality of
the generated mesh. It represents the maximum ratio between the lengths of two adjacent edges. The closer to
1, the smoother the resulting mesh will be. The default value is 1.2.
Normal tolerance (Deg): This parameter controls the discretization of curved edges and surfaces. Normal
tolerance is the angle in degrees between model edge or face normals at two adjacent mesh vertices. The
default value is 22.5, which forces to use approximately 16 points along circular contours. Lower values of
normal tolerance will lead to smoother discretization of curved surfaces.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.
The ports of this element can be inserted in two ways:
By performing connections with waveguides before opening the element properties. These connections will be
automatically detected as new ports.
By pressing the Add port button (a connection with a waveguide will be required later before completing the
circuit).

The first two ports are expected to be Circular waveguides which are used to define the cavity radius according to
figure A. The rest of the ports tabs belong to lateral exitations.
For each port, a specification tab will appear. There are two basic fields which can be edited for any of the ports:

In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be filled with the
connections already associated to this element.
Cells per min. mode wavelength: This parameter controls the cell size with respect to the minimum
wavelength considering all the accessible modes used in the waveguide associated to the port. The choice of
this parameter is very important in order to ensure acceptable convergence for the solution of all the
port modes. Small values may lead to simulation warnings and/or errors and unstable results depending
on the number of accessible modes. The default value is 5, which offers a good compromise between
simulation time and good discretization for solving all the accessible modes of the port. Larger values of
this parameter will force to use finer discretization of the port surface, increasing the overall meshing of the 3D
structure and the simulation time as a consequence. It is also worth mentioning that this parameter may take
no effect in the overall meshing for the cases where the general mesh parameters used for the FEM Solver are
restrictive enough for the structure under analysis (this will depend on the values of the mesh parameters, the
geometry dimensions and the frequency range used in the simulation)

Besides, for each one of the lateral port tabs the following information can be edited:

Position angle (Degrees): Specifies an angle value for rotating the lateral port along the propagation direction
(Z axis) when observing the cavity from the perspective of Port 1 (see figure B).
Rotation angle (Degrees): Specifies an angle value for rotating the lateral port along X axis when observing
the cavity in side view (see figure B). This parameter is only editable for the case of Rectangular waveguide
ports.
Offset Z (mm/inches): Indicates an optional displacement value in the propagation direction (Z axis) with
respect the center of the cavity (see figure B).
Port length (mm/inches): Indicates a separation distance value measured from the cross section of the
waveguide port to the circular cavity (see figure B). It is recommended to use values greater than zero in
order to obtain more stable and convergent results.
Blend radius (mm/inches): Specifies an optional value of a radius used for blending the edges of the cross

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FEST3D User Manual 579
section of the waveguide port which are in contact with the circular cavity (see figure B).
The particular port tab is removed by pressing the Delete port button.

Figure D: Port properties of the Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity, case of one of the fixed ports (1 and 2)

Copyright 2009-2019 Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH.

FEST3D User Manual 580

Figure E: Port properties of the Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity, case of a lateral port

Considerations for the ports

The first two ports are always forced to be two Circular waveguides with equal radius, and each lateral ports can
be either a Circular or a Rectangular waveguide. The dimensions of the cross section of each port will be taken from
the specifications of the corresponding waveguide element, and will be checked together with the geometric
specifications of this discontinuity in order to alert the user if any inconsistency is found (for example, lateral port
greater than the cavity length, etc).
It is important to take into account that the computational effort of the FEM Solver increases with the number of
accessible modes for a fixed mesh. Besides, the discretization of the port surfaces will adapt to the number of

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FEST3D User Manual 581
accessible modes depending on the value of the parameter Cells per min. mode wavelength chosen for each port
(see the port specifications explained above), which means that the overall 3D mesh used by the FEM Solver will be
more dense and the computational effort will also increase again as well. Therefore in order to avoid very large
simulation times IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED not to use large numbers of accessible modes in the ports of
this discontinuity unless they are indeed mandatory for the convergence of the structure.

2.4.2.7.4 T-Junction circular to rectangular

This section describes the T-Junction circular to rectangular discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The T-Junction circular to rectangular discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a T-Junction circular to rectangular discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the General cavity How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The T-Junction circular to rectangular discontinuity consists in a cylindrical cavity whose radius is defined by two
circular ports (namely ports 1 and 2) which is accesed by a lateral port of rectangular shape (port 3). The length of the
cavity is provided by the user. The cavity dimensions, the local reference system and the definition of the geometrical
parameters of the ports are shown in figures A and B.

For performing the analysis, a Finite Element Method (FEM) Solver is employed in order to compute the General
Admittance Matrix (GAM) of the discontinuity. More specifically, this FEM Solver works in Frequency Domain using a
Reduced Order Model (MOR). This Solver is provided by the CST Studio Suite® software package. Therefore the
installation of this software is required in order to use this element.

Copyright 2009-2019 Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH.

FEST3D User Manual 582

Figure A: Cavity dimensions and local reference coordinate system employed

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FEST3D User Manual 583

Figure B: Definitions and geometrical parameters used for the ports

Limitations
The T-Junction circular to rectangular discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:

Connections to other elements

This element can only be connected to Circular or Rectangular waveguides.

External software requirements

This element requires CST Studio Suite® software to be installed in the machine. Once installed, the
following details must be taken into account:
CST Studio Suite® versions lower than 2020 will not work with FEST3D.
It is recommended to launch the CST Studio Suite at least once in order to check that the corresponding
license file works correctly.
For Windows systems: The Graphical Interface of FEST3D will automatically detect if CST Studio
Suite® is installed in the system, provided that its version number matches the current version of

Copyright 2009-2019 Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH.

FEST3D User Manual 584
FEST3D. In case that a different version of CST Studio Suite® is installed in the machine, the installation
path can be manually specified in the Graphical Interface of FEST3D (Options->Edit Preferences).
Nevertheless, when the installation path of CST Studio Suite® is chosen manually it is very
important to take into account that compatibility can not be 100% ensured for version numbers
different from the current FEST3D version.
For Linux Systems: The installation path of CST Studio Suite® must be specified in the Graphical
Interface of FEST3D (Options->Edit Preferences). The considerations regarding the version number
of CST Studio Suite® are the same as explained for the Windows Systems.
Definition of frequency points for the Solver
The particular FEM Solver employed for analysis in CST Studio Suite® requires a single range of frequencies
and a number of samples that will be uniformly distributed within the range. In order to provide these data,
FEST3D will consider the actual frequency points of all the active frequency sweeps defined for analysis,
as well as the sweeps defined for optimization (according to the Frequency Specifications). The maximum
and minimum values will be the limits of the range used by the FEM Solver, and the minimum frequency
step considering the frequencies of all sweeps will be the one used for obtaining the number of samples
of an equivalent uniform distribution. After computations, the results for the actual frequency points defined
in FEST3D will be obtained by linear interpolation (the commited error is assumed to be small enough for
practical applications).
Nevertheless, depending on the different frequency ranges defined for a FEST3D circuit, it may occur that the
number of points obtained for the equivalent uniform distribution is very large. Since this number affects
the computational effort of the Solver, a maximum value has been considered. If this maximum value has
been reached, a warning message will be shown, indicating the limitation in the number of frequency
samples and the maximum error (frequency deviation) that will be commited. The user should decide is
this error is acceptable for the particular application, and modify the Frequency Specifications (reduce the
number of sweeps, change the frequency points) in order to solve the problem.
Partial parallelization features
If several discontinuities of this type are present in the same circuit, their respective simulations will be
performed one by one regardless of the number of cores specified by the user for the FEST3D simulation.
Nevertheless, multi-core capabilities can be used internally by the FEM Solver in each one of the elements. The
performance of the FEM Solver computations will depend on the maximum number of allowed cores,
according to the specific license agreement for the CST Studio Suite® software installed in the machine.

Errors
The T-Junction circular to rectangular discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For
each error, the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.
Invalid installation path for CST Studio Suite. Please check that CST Studio Suite software is installed,
and that a valid installation path has been provided in the Graphical Interface (Options->Edit
Preferences): The user must ensure that a valid version of the CST Studio Suite® software is correctly installed
in the system, and provide the installation path as explained in the error message. More details about the CST
Studio Suite software requirements can be consulted in the limitations section.
License error while starting CST Studio Suite: A valid license file could not be detected for CST Studio
Suite® software. Please contact support in order to get a valid license file for the software.

Error(s) while running CST solver: This message appears if one or more errors have been detected during
simulation of the CST Solver. The different error descriptions give details of each particular problem. In most
cases, the errors will be related to inconsistencies found in the computation of the port modes or in the mesh
generation. Another source of errors might be lack of memory in the system if very dense meshes are used.
Modifying the number of accessible modes for the ports and/or the mesh parameters (for ports and for the
solver) might solve the problems.

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FEST3D User Manual 585
Error while exporting matrix results of CST solver: This error appears if there were problems in the
exportation process of data. This might happen for example if the disk runs out of physical space. The user
must bear in mind that the simulations of the FEM solver might require a large amount of disk space, specially
if very dense meshes are used (e.g. several GBytes). Make sure that the disk in which the FEST3D input file is
located has enough free space and re-run the simulation.

Error while exporting modal fields results of CST solver: This error appears if there were problems in the
exportation process of data related to port modal fields. This might happen for example if the disk runs out of
physical space. The user must bear in mind that the simulations of the FEM solver might require a large amount
of disk space, specially if very dense meshes are used (e.g. several GBytes). Make sure that the disk in which the
FEST3D input file is located has enough free space and re-run the simulation.

Using the T-Junction circular to rectangular

The T-Junction circular to rectangular discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view
and edit this element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Lateral couplings to
cylindrical cavity:

Copyright 2009-2019 Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH.

FEST3D User Manual 586

Figure C: Specific properties of the T-Junction circular to rectangular

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

Length (mm/inches): The length of the circular cavity (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).

Besides, the tetrahedral meshing employed by the FEM Solver can be controlled by means of 3 parameters defined in
the same way as done in the CST Studio Suite® software:

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FEST3D User Manual 587
Cells per wavelength: This parameter controls the upper limit to the cell size with respect to the smallest
wavelength used in the analysis range (which corresponds to the maximum frequency value set in the
Frequency Specifications for the FEST3D circuit). Increasing this number leads to a higher accuracy, but also
increases the total computation time. The default value is 10, providing a good compromise between the
calculation time and the achievable accuracy for most practical cases.
Smooth mesh with equilibrate ratio: This option controls the mesh smoothing in order to improve quality of
the generated mesh. It represents the maximum ratio between the lengths of two adjacent edges. The closer to
1, the smoother the resulting mesh will be. The default value is 1.2.
Normal tolerance (Deg): This parameter controls the discretization of curved edges and surfaces. Normal
tolerance is the angle in degrees between model edge or face normals at two adjacent mesh vertices. The
default value is 22.5, which forces to use approximately 16 points along circular contours. Lower values of
normal tolerance will lead to smoother discretization of curved surfaces.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.

The first two ports are expected to be Circular waveguides which are used to define the cavity radius according to
figure A. The rest of the ports tabs belong to lateral exitations.
For each port, a specification tab will appear. There are two basic fields which can be edited for any of the ports:

In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be filled with the
connections already associated to this element.
Cells per min. mode wavelength: This parameter controls the cell size with respect to the minimum
wavelength considering all the accessible modes used in the waveguide associated to the port. The choice of
this parameter is very important in order to ensure acceptable convergence for the solution of all the
port modes. Small values may lead to simulation warnings and/or errors and unstable results depending
on the number of accessible modes. The default value is 5, which offers a good compromise between
simulation time and good discretization for solving all the accessible modes of the port. Larger values of
this parameter will force to use finer discretization of the port surface, increasing the overall meshing of the 3D
structure and the simulation time as a consequence. It is also worth mentioning that this parameter may take
no effect in the overall meshing for the cases where the general mesh parameters used for the FEM Solver are
restrictive enough for the structure under analysis (this will depend on the values of the mesh parameters, the
geometry dimensions and the frequency range used in the simulation)

Besides, for the third port tab the following information can be edited:
Position angle (Degrees): Specifies an angle value for rotating the lateral port along the propagation direction
(Z axis) when observing the cavity from the perspective of Port 1 (see figure B).
Rotation angle (Degrees): Specifies an angle value for rotating the lateral port along X axis when observing
the cavity in side view (see figure B).
Offset Z (mm/inches): Indicates an optional displacement value in the propagation direction (Z axis) with
respect the center of the cavity (see figure B).
Port length (mm/inches): Indicates a separation distance value measured from the cross section of the
waveguide port to the circular cavity (see figure B). It is recommended to use values greater than zero in
order to obtain more stable and convergent results.
Blend radius (mm/inches): Specifies an optional value of a radius used for blending the edges of the cross
section of the waveguide port which are in contact with the circular cavity (see figure B).

Copyright 2009-2019 Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH.

FEST3D User Manual 588

Figure D: Port properties of the T-Junction circular to rectangular, case of one of the fixed ports (1 and 2)

Copyright 2009-2019 Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH.

FEST3D User Manual 589

Figure E: Port properties of the T-Junction circular to rectangular, case of third port

Considerations for the ports

The first two ports are always forced to be two Circular waveguides with equal radius The dimensions of the
cross section of each port will be taken from the specifications of the corresponding waveguide element, and will be
checked together with the geometric specifications of this discontinuity in order to alert the user if any inconsistency
is found (for example, lateral port greater than the cavity length, etc).
It is important to take into account that the computational effort of the FEM Solver increases with the number of
accessible modes for a fixed mesh. Besides, the discretization of the port surfaces will adapt to the number of
accessible modes depending on the value of the parameter Cells per min. mode wavelength chosen for each port

Copyright 2009-2019 Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH.

FEST3D User Manual 590
(see the port specifications explained above), which means that the overall 3D mesh used by the FEM Solver will be
more dense and the computational effort will also increase again as well. Therefore in order to avoid very large
simulation times IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED not to use large numbers of accessible modes in the ports of
this discontinuity unless they are indeed mandatory for the convergence of the structure.

2.4.2.7.5 T-Junction circular to circular

This section describes the T-Junction circular to circular discontinuity and how to use it, as well as its features and
limitations.
The T-Junction circular to circular discontinuity section contains the following topics:

Definition What exactly is a T-Junction circular to circular discontinuity.

Limitations What are the limitations you should be aware of.

Errors The possible errors produced by this element, and solutions or workarounds to them.

Using the General cavity How to create, edit and use this element from FEST3D.

Definition
The T-Junction circular to circular discontinuity consists in a cylindrical cavity whose radius is defined by two circular
ports (namely ports 1 and 2) which is accesed by a lateral port of circular shape (port 3). The length of the cavity is
provided by the user. The cavity dimensions, the local reference system and the definition of the geometrical
parameters of the ports are shown in figures A and B.

For performing the analysis, a Finite Element Method (FEM) Solver is employed in order to compute the General
Admittance Matrix (GAM) of the discontinuity. More specifically, this FEM Solver works in Frequency Domain using a
Reduced Order Model (MOR). This Solver is provided by the CST Studio Suite® software package. Therefore the
installation of this software is required in order to use this element.

Copyright 2009-2019 Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH.

FEST3D User Manual 591

Figure A: Cavity dimensions and local reference coordinate system employed

Copyright 2009-2019 Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH.

FEST3D User Manual 592

Figure B: Definitions and geometrical parameters used for the ports

Limitations
The T-Junction circular to circular discontinuity has some limitations and caveats you should be aware of:
Connections to other elements
This element can only be connected to Circular waveguides.

External software requirements

This element requires CST Studio Suite® software to be installed in the machine. Once installed, the
following details must be taken into account:
CST Studio Suite® versions lower than 2020 will not work with FEST3D.
It is recommended to launch the CST Studio Suite at least once in order to check that the corresponding
license file works correctly.
For Windows systems: The Graphical Interface of FEST3D will automatically detect if CST Studio
Suite® is installed in the system, provided that its version number matches the current version of

Copyright 2009-2019 Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH.

FEST3D User Manual 593
FEST3D. In case that a different version of CST Studio Suite® is installed in the machine, the installation
path can be manually specified in the Graphical Interface of FEST3D (Options->Edit Preferences).
Nevertheless, when the installation path of CST Studio Suite® is chosen manually it is very
important to take into account that compatibility can not be 100% ensured for version numbers
different from the current FEST3D version.
For Linux Systems: The installation path of CST Studio Suite® must be specified in the Graphical
Interface of FEST3D (Options->Edit Preferences). The considerations regarding the version number
of CST Studio Suite® are the same as explained for the Windows Systems.
Definition of frequency points for the Solver
The particular FEM Solver employed for analysis in CST Studio Suite® requires a single range of frequencies
and a number of samples that will be uniformly distributed within the range. In order to provide these data,
FEST3D will consider the actual frequency points of all the active frequency sweeps defined for analysis,
as well as the sweeps defined for optimization (according to the Frequency Specifications). The maximum
and minimum values will be the limits of the range used by the FEM Solver, and the minimum frequency
step considering the frequencies of all sweeps will be the one used for obtaining the number of samples
of an equivalent uniform distribution. After computations, the results for the actual frequency points defined
in FEST3D will be obtained by linear interpolation (the commited error is assumed to be small enough for
practical applications).
Nevertheless, depending on the different frequency ranges defined for a FEST3D circuit, it may occur that the
number of points obtained for the equivalent uniform distribution is very large. Since this number affects
the computational effort of the Solver, a maximum value has been considered. If this maximum value has
been reached, a warning message will be shown, indicating the limitation in the number of frequency
samples and the maximum error (frequency deviation) that will be commited. The user should decide is
this error is acceptable for the particular application, and modify the Frequency Specifications (reduce the
number of sweeps, change the frequency points) in order to solve the problem.
Partial parallelization features
If several discontinuities of this type are present in the same circuit, their respective simulations will be
performed one by one regardless of the number of cores specified by the user for the FEST3D simulation.
Nevertheless, multi-core capabilities can be used internally by the FEM Solver in each one of the elements. The
performance of the FEM Solver computations will depend on the maximum number of allowed cores,
according to the specific license agreement for the CST Studio Suite® software installed in the machine.

Errors
The T-Junction circular to circular discontinuity can produce the following errors under certain circumstances. For each
error, the possible solutions or workarounds are explained.
Invalid installation path for CST Studio Suite. Please check that CST Studio Suite software is installed,
and that a valid installation path has been provided in the Graphical Interface (Options->Edit
Preferences): The user must ensure that a valid version of the CST Studio Suite® software is correctly installed
in the system, and provide the installation path as explained in the error message. More details about the CST
Studio Suite software requirements can be consulted in the limitations section.
License error while starting CST Studio Suite: A valid license file could not be detected for CST Studio
Suite® software. Please contact support in order to get a valid license file for the software.

Error(s) while running CST solver: This message appears if one or more errors have been detected during
simulation of the CST Solver. The different error descriptions give details of each particular problem. In most
cases, the errors will be related to inconsistencies found in the computation of the port modes or in the mesh
generation. Another source of errors might be lack of memory in the system if very dense meshes are used.
Modifying the number of accessible modes for the ports and/or the mesh parameters (for ports and for the
solver) might solve the problems.

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Error while exporting matrix results of CST solver: This error appears if there were problems in the
exportation process of data. This might happen for example if the disk runs out of physical space. The user
must bear in mind that the simulations of the FEM solver might require a large amount of disk space, specially
if very dense meshes are used (e.g. several GBytes). Make sure that the disk in which the FEST3D input file is
located has enough free space and re-run the simulation.

Error while exporting modal fields results of CST solver: This error appears if there were problems in the
exportation process of data related to port modal fields. This might happen for example if the disk runs out of
physical space. The user must bear in mind that the simulations of the FEM solver might require a large amount
of disk space, specially if very dense meshes are used (e.g. several GBytes). Make sure that the disk in which the
FEST3D input file is located has enough free space and re-run the simulation.

Using the T-Junction circular to circular

The T-Junction circular to circular discontinuity is completely integrated into FEST3D. The user can create, view and
edit this element properties using dialog boxes.
The following pictures show the Specific tab of a typical Element Properties dialog box for the Lateral couplings to
cylindrical cavity:

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Figure C: Specific properties of the T-Junction circular to circular

The Enable/Disable button allows enabling and disabling this element, as described in the Main Window Edit menu.
The following parameters can be edited:

Length (mm/inches): The length of the circular cavity (see figure A).
Dielectric permittivity (relative) : Relative permittivity of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).
Dielectric permeability (relative) : Relative permeability of the medium inside the cavity (vacuum by default).

Besides, the tetrahedral meshing employed by the FEM Solver can be controlled by means of 3 parameters defined in
the same way as done in the CST Studio Suite® software:

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Cells per wavelength: This parameter controls the upper limit to the cell size with respect to the smallest
wavelength used in the analysis range (which corresponds to the maximum frequency value set in the
Frequency Specifications for the FEST3D circuit). Increasing this number leads to a higher accuracy, but also
increases the total computation time. The default value is 10, providing a good compromise between the
calculation time and the achievable accuracy for most practical cases.
Smooth mesh with equilibrate ratio: This option controls the mesh smoothing in order to improve quality of
the generated mesh. It represents the maximum ratio between the lengths of two adjacent edges. The closer to
1, the smoother the resulting mesh will be. The default value is 1.2.
Normal tolerance (Deg): This parameter controls the discretization of curved edges and surfaces. Normal
tolerance is the angle in degrees between model edge or face normals at two adjacent mesh vertices. The
default value is 22.5, which forces to use approximately 16 points along circular contours. Lower values of
normal tolerance will lead to smoother discretization of curved surfaces.

Continuing with the description of the Element Properties, the different excitation ports of the cavity are defined in
the Ports tab.

The first two ports are expected to be Circular waveguides which are used to define the cavity radius according to
figure A. The rest of the ports tabs belong to lateral exitations.
For each port, a specification tab will appear. There are two basic fields which can be edited for any of the ports:

In first place, a waveguide must be selected from the Attached waveguide list, which will be filled with the
connections already associated to this element.
Cells per min. mode wavelength: This parameter controls the cell size with respect to the minimum
wavelength considering all the accessible modes used in the waveguide associated to the port. The choice of
this parameter is very important in order to ensure acceptable convergence for the solution of all the
port modes. Small values may lead to simulation warnings and/or errors and unstable results depending
on the number of accessible modes. The default value is 5, which offers a good compromise between
simulation time and good discretization for solving all the accessible modes of the port. Larger values of
this parameter will force to use finer discretization of the port surface, increasing the overall meshing of the 3D
structure and the simulation time as a consequence. It is also worth mentioning that this parameter may take
no effect in the overall meshing for the cases where the general mesh parameters used for the FEM Solver are
restrictive enough for the structure under analysis (this will depend on the values of the mesh parameters, the
geometry dimensions and the frequency range used in the simulation)

Besides, for the third port tab the following information can be edited:
Position angle (Degrees): Specifies an angle value for rotating the lateral port along the propagation direction
(Z axis) when observing the cavity from the perspective of Port 1 (see figure B).
Offset Z (mm/inches): Indicates an optional displacement value in the propagation direction (Z axis) with
respect the center of the cavity (see figure B).
Port length (mm/inches): Indicates a separation distance value measured from the cross section of the
waveguide port to the circular cavity (see figure B). It is recommended to use values greater than zero in
order to obtain more stable and convergent results.
Blend radius (mm/inches): Specifies an optional value of a radius used for blending the edges of the cross
section of the waveguide port which are in contact with the circular cavity (see figure B).

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Figure D: Port properties of the T-Junction circular to circular, case of one of the fixed ports (1 and 2)

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Figure E: Port properties of the T-Junction circular to circular, case of third port

Considerations for the ports

The first two ports are always forced to be two Circular waveguides with equal radius The dimensions of the
cross section of each port will be taken from the specifications of the corresponding waveguide element, and will be
checked together with the geometric specifications of this discontinuity in order to alert the user if any inconsistency
is found (for example, lateral port greater than the cavity length, etc).
It is important to take into account that the computational effort of the FEM Solver increases with the number of
accessible modes for a fixed mesh. Besides, the discretization of the port surfaces will adapt to the number of
accessible modes depending on the value of the parameter Cells per min. mode wavelength chosen for each port

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(see the port specifications explained above), which means that the overall 3D mesh used by the FEM Solver will be
more dense and the computational effort will also increase again as well. Therefore in order to avoid very large
simulation times IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED not to use large numbers of accessible modes in the ports of
this discontinuity unless they are indeed mandatory for the convergence of the structure.

2.4.3 Allowed Symmetries

Global symmetries can be configured from the general specifications window. An element can implement a
symmetry or allow a symmetry without implementing it. The second case means that a circuit containing the
element can activate such a symmetry, but the element itself does not incorporate the symmetries in its calculations.
The symmetries are specified for the entire circuit, but in order to be valid, all elements in the circuit must implement
or allow such a symmetry.

Allowed Symmetries
The following table lists the symmetries allowed by the various elements within the circuit. This does not necessarily
mean that the symmetries are taken into account in the element, but just that the circuit formed by those elements
support such symmetries. In case that more than one symmetry is specified simultaneously in a circuit, the elements
must allow them all.

All-
All-Inductive All-Capacitive X symmetry Y symmetry TEM
Cylindrical
Rectangular yes yes yes yes no no

Circular no no yes yes yes yes

Coaxial no no no no no yes

Arbitrary Rectangular, no no yes yes no no

Coaxial, Elliptic, Ridge, Slot,
Truncated, Waffle, Cross,
Draft, Coaxial square, Lateral
coupling circ wg, Ridge-gap

Circular Arbitrary, no no no no no no
Arbitrary Circular with an Ellipse,
Arbitrary Circular with a Cross,
Arbitrary Circular with Screws ,
Circular Elliptic iris

Radiating Array no no no no no no

Curved yes no no yes no no

Step yes yes yes yes yes yes

N-Step (if N-Step has only yes yes yes yes no no

2 ports, use the Step row above)

C-Junction (if C-Junction is no no no no no no

planar, use T-Junction row
below)

T-Junction yes yes yes yes no no

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All-
All-Inductive All-Capacitive X symmetry Y symmetry TEM
Cylindrical
Rounded corner iris 3D no no yes yes no no

Bends library yes yes no no no no

Coaxial library yes yes yes yes no no

Helical resonator library yes yes yes yes no no

Constant width/height library yes yes yes yes no no

Implemented Symmetries
The following table lists the implemented symmetries by the various kind of elements. This means that these elements
exploit such symmetries.

All- All-
X symmetry Y symmetry All-Cylindrical TEM
Inductive Capacitive
Rectangular yes yes yes yes no no

Circular no no yes yes yes yes

Coaxial no no no no no yes

Arbitrary Rectangular, no no yes yes no no

Coaxial, Elliptic, Ridge, Slot,
Truncated, Waffle, Cross, Draft

Arbitrary Circular, no no no no no no
Arbitrary Circular with an Ellipse,
Arbitrary Circular with a Cross,
Arbitrary Circular with Screws,
Circular Elliptic iris

Radiating Array no no no no no no

Curved yes no no yes no no

Step yes yes yes yes yes yes

N-Step (if N-Step has only yes yes yes yes no no

2 ports, use the Step row above)

C-Junction (if C-Junction is no no no no no no

planar,
use T-Junction row below)

T-Junction no no no no no no

Rounded corner iris 3D no no no no no no

Bends library yes yes no no no no

Coaxial library no no no no no no

Helical resonator library no no no no no no

Constant width/height library yes yes yes yes no no

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3 Index
1-Port User Defined, 306-308
2D Compensated Tee, 345-351
2D Curved, 363-368
2D OMT, 336-345
2D Rounded short, 401-406
3D Viewer, 99-103
ACW with a Cross, 274-277
ACW with an Ellipse, 271-274
ACW with Screws, 277-281
Adaptive Frequency Sampling Method, 110-114
Allowed Symmetries, 599-600
Analysis, 108
Arbitrary Rectangular (ARW), 228-232
Arbitrary shape, 368-377
Cavity with posts, 407-420
Circular Arbitrary (ACW), 265-271
Circular Waveguide, 224-226
Circular-Elliptic Iris, 285-286
CLI, 212-216
Coaxial cavity library, 407
Coaxial waveguide, 226-228 , 232-235
Compare Results tool, 106-108
Contact feed to helical resonator, 524-536
Convergence Study, 132-133
Corona Discharge Analysis, 182-193
Coupling Matrix, 310-313
Cross waveguide, 235-238
CST solver library, 536
Cubic Junction, 325-327
Curved waveguide, 281-285
Design, 136
Discontinuities, 290-294
Draft waveguide, 238-241
ElectroMagnetic Computational Engine (EMCE), 108-110
Elements bar, 93
Elements Database, 216
Elliptic waveguide, 241-244

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EM Field Analysis, 129-132
Engineering tools, 115-129
Export tools, 211-212
FEST3D Introduction, 5-8
FEST3D Manual, 86-87
FEST3D Online Help, 5
FEST3D Parallelization, 133-136
FEST3D Tutorial, 8
FEST3D User Manual, 0
Frequency Specifications, 93-96
General cavity, 500-512
General cylindrical cavity, 554-572
General rectangular cavity, 536-554
Graphical User Interface (GUI), 87-88
Helical resonator, 513-524
Helical resonators library, 512-513
High Power Analysis: Multipactor and Corona., 182
Junctions library, 324-325
Lateral coupling circular waveguide, 247-250
Lateral couplings to cylindrical cavity, 572-581
Loop feed cavity, 467-478
Lumped, 308-310
Magnetic feed cavity, 478-489
Mitered Bend, 357-363
Multipactor Analysis, 193-209
Multipactor Practical Considerations, 209-211
Mushroom feed cavity, 432-445
N-Port User Defined, 304-306
N-Step, 301-304
Optimizer (OPT), 136-144
Parameters configuration, 104-106
Radiating Array, 286-290
Rectangular Waveguide, 221-224
Requirements, 87
Ridge waveguide, 244-247
Ridge-gap waveguide, 250-253
Rounded corner iris, 396-401
Rounded corner iris 3D, 314-324
Slot waveguide, 256-259

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Square coaxial waveguide, 253-256
S-Shape contact feed cavity, 456-467
Step, 294-301
Stepped Bend, 352-357
Straight contact feed cavity, 445-456
Straight feed cavity, 420-432
Synthesis Tools, 147
Synthesis Tools: Band-Pass Filter, 155-166
Synthesis Tools: Dual-Mode Filter, 166-178
Synthesis Tools: Impedance Transformer, 178-182
Synthesis Tools: Low-Pass Filter, 147-155
The General Specifications Window, 96-99
The Main Window, 88-93
The Preferences Window, 103-104
T-Junction, 327-328
T-Junction circular to circular, 590-599
T-Junction circular to rectangular, 581-590
Tolerance Analysis (TOL), 144-147
Top contact feed cavity, 489-500
Touchstone, 313-314
Truncated waveguide, 259-262
Tutorial 1: The First Circuit, 8-14
Tutorial 2. Running the Simulation, 14-18
Tutorial 3. Accuracy or speed?, 18-21
Tutorial 4. Arbitrary Shape Editor, 21-27
Tutorial 5. Optimizer, 27
Tutorial 5.1. Optimizer: setup, 27-37
Tutorial 5.2. Optimizer: run, 37-40
Tutorial 6: Electromagnetic field Analysis, 40-49
Tutorial 7: Multipactor Analysis (multi-carrier case), 63-71
Tutorial 7: Multipactor Analysis (single-carrier case), 49-63
Tutorial 8: Corona Analysis, 71-86
Waffle waveguide, 262-265
Waveguide step with N Metal inserts, 377-385
Waveguide step with N Screws, 385-392
Waveguide Step with rounded corners, 392-396
Waveguides, 216-221
Y-Junction (60 deg), 335-336

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Y-junction General with N screws, 328-334

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