Fourth-order Finite-difference Time-domain Method Research Articles

Finite-difference-time-domain analysis of finite-number-of-periods holographic and surface-relief gratings

The total-field-scattered-field formulation of the finite-difference time-domain method (FDTD) is used to analyze the diffraction of finite incident beams by finite-number-of-periods holographic and surface-relief gratings. Both second-order and fourth-order FDTD formulations are used with various averaging schemes to treat permittivity discontinuities and a comparative study is made with alternative numerical methods. The diffraction efficiencies for gratings of several periods and various beam sizes, for both TE and TM polarization cases, are calculated and the FDTD results are compared with the finite-difference frequency-domain (FDFD) method results in the case of holographic gratings, and with the boundary element method results in the case of surface-relief gratings. Furthermore, the convergence of the FDTD results to the rigorous coupled-wave analysis results is investigated as the number of grating periods and the incident beam size increase.

Accurate modeling of dielectric interfaces by the effective permittivities for the fourth-order symplectic finite-difference time-domain method

The fourth-order finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method using a symplectic integrator propagator can calculate the propagation of the electromagnetic waves with very low dispersion error in the region of a constant or smoothly varying index profile. An additional technique is required for the problem with the discontinuous dielectric interfaces. We derived the third-order effective permittivities at dielectric interfaces for the fourth-order FDTD method in the case of 2D TE polarization. As the required accuracy level is increased, the memory resources used by the fourth-order FDTD method with the effective permittivities are reduced severalfold or more compared with the standard FDTD method. The accurate performance of the proposed method is demonstrated through numerical examples.

Application of the symplectic finite-difference time-domain scheme to electromagnetic simulation

An explicit fourth-order finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) scheme using the symplectic integrator is applied to electromagnetic simulation. A feasible numerical implementation of the symplectic FDTD (SFDTD) scheme is specified. In particular, new strategies for the air–dielectric interface treatment and the near-to-far-field (NFF) transformation are presented. By using the SFDTD scheme, both the radiation and the scattering of three-dimensional objects are computed. Furthermore, the energy-conserving characteristic hold for the SFDTD scheme is verified under long-term simulation. Numerical results suggest that the SFDTD scheme is more efficient than the traditional FDTD method and other high-order methods, and can save computational resources.

A stable fourth-order FDTD method for modeling electrically long dielectric waveguides

Accurate time-domain modeling of electrically long structures such as dielectric waveguides in integrated optics often demands prohibitive computational cost. In this paper, an efficient fourth-order finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is investigated in a two-dimensional (2-D) transverse electric (TE) case. The method is a combination of fourth-order staggered backward-differentiation time integrator and fourth-order staggered spatial discretization. A rigorous stability and dispersion analysis is conducted to show its useful numerical characteristics. Fourth-order convergence of the numerical scheme is demonstrated by monitoring numerical errors in the L/sub 2/ norm in 2-D cavities. Numerical efficiency of the fourth-order method is validated through its applications for full-wave time-domain simulations of long 2-D optical waveguide structures.

A three-dimensional fourth-order finite-difference time-domain scheme using a symplectic integrator propagator

A new explicit fourth-order finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) scheme for three-dimensional electromagnetic field simulation is proposed in this paper. A symplectic integrator propagator, which is also known as a decomposition of the exponential operator or a general propagation technique, is directly applied to Maxwell's equations in the scheme. The scheme is nondissipative and saves memory. The Courant stability limit of the scheme is 30% larger than that of the standard FDTD method. The perfectly matched layer absorbing boundary condition is applicable to the scheme. A specific eigenmode of a waveguide is successfully excited in the scheme. Stable and accurate performance is demonstrated by numerical examples.

A modified FDTD (2, 4) scheme for modeling electrically large structures with high-phase accuracy

A new fourth-order finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) scheme has been developed that exhibits extremely low-phase errors at low-grid resolutions compared to the conventional FDTD scheme. Moreover, this new scheme is capable of combining with the standard Yee (1966) scheme to produce a stable hybrid algorithm. The problem of wave propagation through a building is simulated using this new hybrid algorithm to demonstrate the large savings in computing resources it could afford. With this new development, the FDTD method can now be used to successfully model structures that are thousands of wavelengths large, using the present day computer technology.