Higher-order finite-difference schemes with reduced dispersion errors for accurate time-domain electromagnetic simulations

✍ Scribed by Theodoros T. Zygiridis; Theodoros D. Tsiboukis

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 386 KB
• Volume: 17
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0894-3370
• DOI: 10.1002/jnm.551

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The potential for developing higher‐order finite‐difference time‐domain (FDTD) schemes with reduced phase errors is investigated in the present paper. Using the classic (2,4) FDTD method as the basis of this study, electromagnetic wave propagation is accurately reproduced in the discretized space by replacing isotropic materials with modified, anisotropic in general, ones. The use of such artificial materials improves the simulation's precision significantly around a specific frequency, yet the overall error remains small at a considerably wide bandwidth; therefore, this algorithm can be useful for wideband problems as well. Additionally, it is shown that an even better single‐frequency performance can be attained, when the modified materials are combined with systematically calculated spatial operators. Pursuing a more wideband enhancement of the (2,4) technique, a version realizing more accurate results at almost all frequencies that can be coupled in a staggered grid is derived. Furthermore, novel spatial operators are introduced, with the distinct feature of using extended stencils in more than one directions. It turns out that when such operators are incorporated, a scheme that combines the aforementioned features can be obtained. The theoretical findings of this investigation are verified in a sequence of numerical tests, involving free‐space and guided‐wave propagation, as well as the determination of a cavity's resonant frequencies. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.