From a theoretical point of view, the radiation patterns of the transmit and receive antennas are independent of the propagation channel characteristics. For the given locations of the point transmitters and receivers, one can assume ideal isotropic radiators at these points and compute the polarimetric transfer function matrix of the propagation channel. This matrix relates the received electric field at each receiver location to the transmitted electric field at each transmitter location. In general, the vectorial electric field of each individual ray is expressed in the local standard spherical coordinate system at the transmitter and receiver locations. In other words, the polarimetric channel matrix expresses the '''E<sub>θ</sub>''' and '''E<sub>φ</sub>''' field components associated with each ray at the receiver location to its '''E<sub>θ</sub>''' and '''E<sub>φ</sub>''' field components at the transmitter location. Each ray has a delay and θ and φ angles of departure at the transmitter location and θ and φ angles of departure at the receiver location.
To perform a polarimatric channel characterization of your propagation scene, open EM.Terrano's Run Simulation dialog and select '''Channel Analyzer''' from the drop-down list labeled '''Select Solver or Simulation or Solver Type'''. At the end of the simulation, a large ray database is generated with two data files called "sbr_channel_matrix.DAT" and "sbr_ray_path.DAT". The former file contains the delay, angles of arrival and departure and complex-valued elements of the channel matrix for all the individual rays that leave each transmitter and arrive at each receiver. The latter file contains the geometric aspects of each ray such as hit point coordinates.
=== The "Almost Real-Time" Polarimatrix Solver ===
After EM.Terrano's channel analyzer generates a ray database that characterizes your propagation channel polarimetrically for all the combinations of transmitter and receiver locations, a ray tracing solution of the propagation problem can readily be found in almost real time by incorporating the effects of the radiation patterns of transmit and receive antennas. This is done using the '''Polarimatrix Solver''', which is the third option of the drop-down list labeled '''Select Solver or Simulation or Solver Type''' in EM.Terrano's Run Simulation dialog. The results of the Polarimatrix and 3D SBR solvers must be identical from a theoretical point of view. However, there might be small discrepancies between the two solutions due to roundoff errors.
Using the Polarimatrix solver can lead to a significant reduction of the total simulation time in sweep simulations that involve a large number of transmitters and receivers. Certain simulation modes of EM.Terrano are intended for the Polarimatrix solver only as will be described in the next section.