A broadband multipole method for the scattering analysis of antenna arrays

The EM simulation of the effects of mutual coupling, or crosstalk, is crucial for the design of wideband phased arrays, such as those found in the Square Kilometer Array (SKA). In wideband systems like SKA-Low, operating from 50 to 350 MHz, strong coupling effects naturally occur due to the complex antenna structures supporting higher-order current modes. The EM simulations poses significant computational challenges, inherently resulting from the complexity of antenna geometries, typically modelled with thousands of mesh elements, the proximity between antennas [1], often a small fraction of the wavelength, and the large number of antennas, up to several thousand [2].