Iterative physical-optics formulation for analyzing large waveguides with lossy walls

A generalization of the iterative physical-optics (IPO) method is presented here in order to extend its scope of application to cavities with nonperfectly conducting walls. The behavior of the method is illustrated for the problem of a parallel-plate waveguide. A pictorial display of the energy flow inside the waveguide is obtained, allowing us to attempt a deep understanding of the method, illustrating its behavior with the number of iterations, and demonstrating its great accuracy by comparison with ray-based and modal reference solutions.