The synthesis of a nonuniform antenna array with as few elements as possible has considerable practical applications. This paper introduces a new non-iterative method for linear array synthesis based on the matrix pencil method (MPM). The method can synthesize a nonuniform linear array with a reduced number of elements, and can be also used to reduce the number of elements for linear arrays designed by other synthesis techniques. In the proposed method, the desired radiation pattern is first sampled to form a discrete pattern data set. Then we organize the discrete data set in a form of Hankel matrix and perform the singular value decomposition (SVD) of the matrix. By discarding the non-principal singular values, we obtain an optimal lower-rank approximation of the Hankel matrix. The lower-rank matrix actually corresponds to fewer antenna elements. The matrix pencil method is then utilized to reconstruct the excitation and location distributions from the approximated matrix. Numerical examples show the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed synthesis method.

The perfectly matched layer (PML) was first introduced by Berenger as a material absorbing boundary condition (ABC) for electromagnetic waves. It was first proven by Chew and Liu that a fictitious elastic PML half-space also exists in solids, which completely absorbs elastic waves, in spite of the coupling between compressional and shear waves. The PML absorbing boundary condition provides much higher absorption than other previous ABCs in finite-difference methods. In this work, a method is presented to extend the perfectly matched layer to simulating acoustic wave propagation in absorptive media. This nonphysical material is used at the computational edge of a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm as an ABC to truncate unbounded media. Two aspects of the acoustic PML are distinct: (a) For a perfectly matched layer in an intrinsically absorptive medium, an additional term involving the time-integrated pressure field has to be introduced to account for the coupling between the loss from the PML and the normal absorptive loss; (b) In contrast to the full elastodynamic problem, the acoustic PML requires a splitting only on the pressure field, but not on the particle velocity field. The FDTD algorithm is validated by analytical solutions and other numerical results for two- and three-dimensional problems. Unlike the previous ABCs, the PML ABC effectively absorbs outgoing waves at the computational edge even when a dipping interface intersects the outer boundary.

Enhancement and manipulation of light absorption in graphene is a significant issue for applications of graphene-based optoelectronic devices. In order to achieve this purpose in the visible region, we demonstrate a design of a graphene optical absorber inspired by metal-dielectric-metal metamaterial for perfect absorption of electromagnetic waves. The optical absorbance ratios of single and three atomic layer graphene are enhanced up to 37.5% and 64.8%, respectively. The graphene absorber shows polarization-dependence and tolerates a wide range of incident angles. Furthermore, the peak position and bandwidth of graphene absorption spectra are tunable in a wide wavelength range through a specific structural configuration. These results imply that graphene in combination with plasmonic perfect absorbers have a promising potential for developing advanced nanophotonic devices.

The perfectly matched layer (PML) was first introduced by Berenger as a material absorbing boundary condition (ABC) for electromagnetic waves. In this paper, a method is developed to extend the perfectly matched layer to simulating seismic wave propagation in poroelastic media. This nonphysical material is used at the computational edge of a finite-difference algorithm as an ABC to truncate unbounded media. The incorporation of PML in Biot's equations is different from other PML applications in that an additional term involving convolution between displacement and a loss coefficient in the PML region is required. Numerical results show that the PML ABC attenuates the outgoing waves effectively.