  We demonstrate the interest of combining Finite Element calculations with the
Vector Partial Wave formulation (used in T-matrix and Mie theory) in order to
characterize the electromagnetic scattering properties of isolated individual
scatterers. This method consists of individually feeding the finite element
problem with incident Vector Partial Waves in order to numerically determine
the T-matrix elements of the scatterer. For a sphere and an ellipsoid, we
demonstrate that this method determines the scattering matrix to high accuracy.
Recurrence relations for a fast determination of the vector partial waves are
given explicitly, and an open-source code allowing the retrieval of the
presented numerical results is provided.
