Efficient finite element electromagnetic modeling of thin wires

A computationally efficient methodology is presented for the finite element modeling of thin conducting wires of diameter comparable with or smaller than the numerical grid size. The proposed model relies upon the insertion of lumped circuit elements at element edges along the wire axis and the proper compensation of the electric permittivity and magnetic permeability values for mesh elements in the immediate neighborhood of the wire to reproduce the electromagnetic attributes of the wire accurately. In this manner, the need for local mesh refinement along the wire is eliminated. The proposed model is useful for the computationally efficient finite element modeling of inhomogeneous structures with wire antennas attached to them and of electronic packaging structures for high-speed integrated circuits containing wire bonds and high-density vertical interconnects. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 350–354, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23060