BEM, FEM or FDTD: Choose the right tool for your application

Since 1984, INTEGRATED has been the industry leader in Boundary Element Method (BEM). BEM not only provides the most accurate numerical field solutions, but is also the method of choice for problems involving the modeling of space around the device: that is what we call “large open regions”.

However, Finite Element Method (FEM) very often provides sufficient accuracy for engineering purposes, and many problems are by their nature inherently closed region. Recognizing this, INTEGRATED incorporated FEM solvers to provide users the choice of both methods.

A significant side benefit of having both BEM and FEM solvers is the ability to check the validity of solutions using two completely different analysis methods.

In the high frequency field, INTEGRATED presents as well the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) solver. Among the many advantages, designers can achieve time domain solutions for a wide variety of radio frequency (RF) and antenna problems, without storage in time nor matrix inversion.

Why should you use BEM?

Over 25 years ago, INTEGRATED pioneered the creation of the Boundary Element Method (BEM). Year after year, we dedicated our best efforts to improve this robust field solver, refining it into the sophisticated, reliable field solver our customers trust.

The level of maturity of our BEM solver is hard to be replicated by other FEM-based companies. Many man years of development has produced a sophisticated boundary element code.

Thanks to BEM, only “active” regions require discretization. Fields can be calculated anywhere else in the “world”. Utilization of BEM also allows for the modeling of true geometric curvature rather than straight line approximations required by other models.

• Models with thin layers and extreme aspect ratios are handled more easily
• Fields are calculated by integration, effectively smoothing out discretization and round-off error

Most electromagnetic problems involve open region problems, where the free space around the device needs to be considered as part of the analysis. If this is your challenge, we invite you to experience the advantages of the Boundary Element Method. You won’t look back.