Gaussian beam summation algorithm for ultra wide band indoor channel characterization

We present a software package INDOOR-GBS (Gaussian Beam Summation) designed to simulate indoor electro-magnetic field propagation in the ultra wideband (UWB) regime. The package is based on the GBS method where the field of the transmitting antenna is expanded into a superposition of GBs that emerge from the source in a discrete set of directions. Thereafter the beams are traced in the configuration through multiple reflections and transmissions at the walls/ceilings/floors and the field is calculated by summing the contributions of the beams that pass near the zone of interest. The algorithm consists mainly of two phases: a processing phase where the beams are traced through the medium, and a post-processing phase where the field and the channel parameters are calculated for the given source and receiver antennas. The processing phase utilizes a dyadic electromagnetic formulation so that the antennas' properties are used only in the post-processing phase, thus facilitating efficient post-processing calculations for antenna and channel optimization. The algorithm also employs a particular set of isodiffracting GBs (ID-GB), whose propagation characteristics are frequency independent and lead to efficient UWB calculations.