Modelling metallic discontinuities with the non-orthogonal finite difference time domain method

Numerical electromagnetic models, such as the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, have many applications. The authors focus on the non-orthogonal FDTD method, which offers an improved geometric flexibility compared to other standard techniques. Results from numerical electromagnetic analysis methods, such as the FDTD method, are often degraded by an error known as numerical dispersion. For metallic structures this dispersion error is often higher than expected from theoretical considerations. The source of this additional error is due to the reciprocal field interpolation scheme used in the non-orthogonal FDTD algorithm. The error is illustrated by means of a microstrip waveguide and a microstrip antenna. Techniques for reducing this error are evaluated; careful construction of the mesh at the metallic boundary being the most reliable solution

Quantitative test of general theories of the intrinsic laser linewidth

We perform a first-principles calculation of the quantum-limited laser linewidth, testing the predictions of recently developed theories of the laser linewidth based on fluctuations about the known steady-state laser solutions against traditional forms of the Schawlow-Townes linewidth. The numerical study is based on finite-difference time-domain simulations of the semiclassical Maxwell-Bloch lasing equations, augmented with Langevin force terms, and thus includes the effects of dispersion, losses due to the open boundary of the laser cavity, and non-linear coupling between the amplitude and phase fluctuations ($\alpha$ factor). We find quantitative agreement between the numerical results and the predictions of the noisy steady-state ab initio laser theory (N-SALT), both in the variation of the linewidth with output power, as well as the emergence of side-peaks due to relaxation oscillations.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figure

A Novel Piecewise Linear Recursive Convolution Approach for Dispersive Media Using the Finite-Difference Time-Domain Method

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Adaptive transient solution of nonuniform multiconductor transmission lines using wavelets

Abstract—This paper presents a highly adaptive algorithm for the transient simulation of nonuniform interconnects loaded with arbitrary nonlinear and dynamic terminations. The discretization of the governing equations is obtained through a weak formula-tion using biorthogonal wavelet bases as trial and test functions. It is shown how the multiresolution properties of wavelets lead to very sparse approximations of the voltages and currents in typical transient analyzes. A simple yet effective time–space adaptive al-gorithm capable of selecting the minimal number of unknowns at each time iteration is described. Numerical results show the high degree of adaptivity of the proposed scheme. Index Terms—Electromagnetic (EM) transient analysis, multi-conductor transmission lines (TLs), wavelet transforms. I