Hardware Podcasts

E&M Reality Emerges with Robert Fennis

The Amp Hour · 19 Aug 2026 · 1h 22m · Episode 731

What this episode covers

Robert Fennis, creator of the open-source Python-based 3D electromagnetic solver EMerge, explains how to democratize RF simulation by providing an accessible alternative to expensive proprietary tools like HFSS and Ansys. He details the technical differences between Finite Element Method (FEM), Method of Moments, and FDTD solvers, emphasizing that FEM solves for electric fields in the space around conductors rather than just currents. Fennis shares practical advice for hardware developers, such as starting with simple antenna geometries, understanding that silk screen and right-angle traces can detune high-frequency designs, and leveraging LLMs to generate simulation scripts. He outlines a workflow for designing integrated Bluetooth antennas, stressing that 'good enough' matching is often sufficient for consumer applications due to the large dynamic range of receivers.

Most relevant to

founders before launch

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Ansys, Synopsys
Products
EMerge, CST Microwave Studios
Tools
HFSS, GMSH
Also
Python, NumPy, LLM

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