Simulation-Assisted Efficient Computation of the Dispersion Diagram of Periodic Structures: A comprehensive overview with applications to filters, leaky-wave antennas and metasurfaces

A hybrid method that combines the results of a commercial simulator with analytical postprocessing is discussed and used to compute the dispersion diagrams of periodic structures. The method takes advantage of the ability of commercial simulators to deal with arbitrary geometries and materials and overcomes some of their limitations to compute the attenuation constant. The frequency behavior of the attenuation constant is very valuable for microwave and antenna design because it provides key information on the isolation/rejection in stopbands and the radiation losses in periodic leaky-wave antennas (LWAs). A comprehensive overview of different theoretical and practical issues regarding the computation of dispersion diagrams is first carried out. Important considerations and main assumptions concerning the practical implementation of the method and its interaction with the commercial simulator are thoroughly discussed.