A connection machine (CM-2) implementation of a three-dimensional parallel finite difference time-domain code for electromagnetic field simulation
✍ Scribed by David B. Davidson; Richard W. Ziolkowski
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1995
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 963 KB
- Volume
- 8
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0894-3370
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✦ Synopsis
This paper describes a parallel three-dimensional finite difference time-domain (FDTD) code for electromagnetic field simulation that has been developed for the Connection Machine (CM-2). The CM-2 is briefly discussed. Then the FDTD method is reviewed using a one-dimensional example, and the extensions required for the 3-D case are outlined. The parallelization of the FDTD method is considered, and a simple analytical timing model is derived. This model predicts the efficiency of the parallelized algorithm as a function of grain size. Some specific points relating to the implementation of the parallel FDTD algorithm in Fortran-90 on the CM-2 are discussed. Timing data for the parallel 3-D FDTD code measured on a CM-2 is presented and compared qualitatively with the theoretical model. These results are then put into perspective for a particular computational electromagnetics problem, viz. the development of software tools for full-wave modelling of 3-D optical devices. Finally, we draw some conclusions about this work.