In this paper a high-order finite element method with curvilinear elements is proposed for the simulation of plasmonic structures. Most finite element packages use low order basis functions and non-curved elements, which is very costly for demanding problems such as the simulation of nano-antennas. To enhance the performance of finite elements, we use curvilinear quadrilateral elements to calculate the near-field from an impinging plane wave with
second order absorbing boundary conditions. The magnetic field amplitude on the surface of one object is compared with a computation based on a multiple multipole expansion. Moreover, the convergence behavior of p-FEM with absorbing boundary conditions motivate an adaptive strategy of polynomial degree enhancement and enlargement of the domain.
In this paper, we introduce a high order finite element (FEM) implementation using perfectly matched layer (PML) for the scattering by plasmonic structures inside layered media. The PML is proven to be very accurate and efficient by a comparative analysis with a commercial FEM software and the Multiple Multipole Program (MMP). A convergence analysis using hp-adaptive refinement inside the PML layer
shows that adaptive mesh refinement inside the PML layer is most efficient. Based on this convergence analysis an hp-strategy is proposed, which shows a remarkable error reduction for small additional computational costs.