Time-domain version of the physical theory of diffraction

Abstract

A time-domain version of the equivalent edge current (EEC) formulation of the physical theory of diffraction is derived. The time-domain EECs (TD-EECs) apply to the far-field analysis of diffraction by edges of perfectly conducting three dimensional (3-D) structures with planar faces illuminated by a time-domain plane wave. By adding the field predicted by the TD-EECs to the time-domain physical optics (TD-PO) field, a significant improvement is obtained compared to what can be achieved by using TD-PO alone. The TD-EECs are expressed as the integral of the time-domain fringe wave current (the exact current minus the TD-PO current) on the canonical wedge along truncated incremental strips. Closed-form expressions for the TD-EECs are obtained in the half-plane case by analytically carrying out the integration along the truncated incremental strip directly in the time domain. In the general wedge case, closed-form expressions for the TD-EECs are obtained by transforming the corresponding frequency-domain EECs to the time-domain. The TD-EECs are tested numerically on the triangular cylinder and the results are compared with those obtained using the method of moments in combination with the inverse fast Fourier transform.