Extension of FDTD absorbing boundary condition methods to lossy dielectrics for the modeling of microwave devices

Abstract

The finite difference time domain (FDTD) method has become a main stream analysis tool for engineers solving complex electromagnetic wave interaction problems. Its first principles approach affords it a wide range of applications from radar cross section (RCS) predictions of electrically large structures to molecular scale analysis of complex materials. This wide area of application may be attributed to the coupling of auxiliary differential equations with Maxwell's equations to describe the physical properties of a given problem. Previous extensions have included sub-cell models for describing lumped circuit elements within a single Yee cell, transformation of near-field information to the far-field for the analysis of antenna problems, dispersive material models and mesh truncation techniques. A review of these extensions is presented. What has not been previously developed is the ability to truncate lossy dielectric materials at the boundary of the simulation domain. Such outer boundary conditions (OBCs) are required in simulations dealing with ground penetrating radar, integrated circuits and many microwave devices such as stripline and microstrip structures. We have developed such an OBC by surrounding the exterior of the simulation domain with a lossy dispersive material based on a two time-derivative Lorentz model (L2TDLM). We present the development of the material as an absorber and ultimately as a full 3D OBC. Examples of microstrip, structures are presented to re-enforce the importance of modeling losses in dielectric structures. Finally, validation of the FDTD simulator and demonstration of the L2TDLM OBC's effectiveness is achieved by comparison with measured results from these microwave devices.