Numerical methods in Electromagnetism:

Finite Difference Time Domain method,

Part I

Prof. Halim Boutayeb

[Link]@[Link]

October 2021 FDTD method 1

1994-1997
Diplôme Universitaire de Technologie (DUT et DUST)
IUT de Ville d’Avray, Iles de France 1997-2000
Diplôme d’Ingénieur, Institut d’Électronique de Rennes

1999-2000
Diplôme d’Études Approfondies (DEA)
Université de Rennes

2000-2003
Doctorat en Génie Électrique
Université de Rennes – France
2004-2006
Chercheur postdoctoral, bourse CRSNG
INRS – Montréal
2006-2011
Associé de Recherche et Coordonnateur du CREER
École Polytechnique de Montréal
2010-2011
Ingénieur senior (chauffage par micro-ondes)
SCP Science – Montréal

Sept. 2011-Jan. 2012

Ingénieur senior (UHF-VHF)
Comprod – Boucherville

Fév. 2012-Juin 2020

Ingénieur de recherche principal
Huawei Technologies – Ottawa
Depuis Juil. 2020
Professeur
Université du Québec en Outaouais - Gatineau
Huawei Ottawa (Kanata):
- 300 R&D Engineers

Huawei in the world:

- More than 180 000 employees;
- 122 billion dollars revenue in 2019;
- First in telecommunication equipment (before Ericsson);
- Second in smartphones (after Samsung).
2021-10-18
Université de
Rennes

Simulateur électromagnétique (FDTD) Station de base GSM-UMTS (2004) Analyse des structures périodiques

INRS
Réseaux d’antennes, filtres, systèmes

Écriture d’une demande (acceptée)

de projet CRSNG

École
Polytechnique de Ondes millimetriques
Montréal Écriture de plusieurs demandes
(acceptées) de projets CRSNG ou
FQRNT
Membre de projets FQRNT (3)
Radars anti-collision Detection des signaux vitaux
Research activities at Huawei

WI-FI access point SIW switch

Les yeux des mouches ont des milliers de récepteurs.

Ceux-ci permettent à la mouche d'avoir une vue presque à
Miilimmeter-wave agile antennas 360 degrés du monde. La mouche peut distinguer les
lumières polarisées (les humains ne le peuvent pas).

4G and 5G base stations

Others: OAM, ESPAR, UE, helical antennas, …

Page 8
 Outline

• Introduction

• Finite Difference

• Fundamentals of FDTD method

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 I. Introduction

❖ Examples of 3*D methods in computational Electromagnetics

➢ Moment method

➢ TLM

➢ FDTD

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 I. Introduction

❖ Historical background

1966 : K. Yee Algorithm

1975 : A. Taflove applies the Yee algorithm to an electromagnetic problem

Since this period the development of the FDTD method grew very fast.

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 I. Introduction

❖ Applications of FDTD method

Antenna/radiation problems

Microwave circuits

EM absorption in human tissues

Optics

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 I. Introduction

❖ Advantages of FDTD method

• It is conceptually simple.

• The algorithm does not require the formulation of integral equation, and relatively complex
scatters can be treated without inversion of large matrices.

• It is simple to implement for complicated, inhomogeneous conducting or dielectric structures

because constitutive parameters can be assigned to each lattice point.

• Its computer memory requirement is not prohibitive for many complex structures of interest.

• The algorithm make use of the memory in a simple sequential order.

• It is much easier to obtain frequency domain data from time domain results than the converse.
Thus, it is more convenient to obtain frequency domain results via time domain when many
frequencies are involved.

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 I. Introduction

❖ Disadvantages of FDTD method

• Its implementation necessitates modeling object as well as its surroundings. Thus, the
required program execution time may be excessive.

• Its accuracy is at least one order of magnitude worse than that of the method of moments, for
example.

• Since the computational meshes are rectangular in shape, they do not conform the scatterers
with curved surfaces, as is the case of the cylindrical or spherical boundary. Its computer memory
requirement is not prohibitive for many complex structures of interest.

• As in all finite difference algorithms, the field quantities are only known at grid nodes.

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 Outline

• Introduction

• Finite Difference

• Fundamentals of FDTD method

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 II. Finite Difference

❖ Taylor’s series

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 II. Finite Difference

Eror
❖ Taylor’s series

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 II. Finite Difference

❖ Exercice : Finite differencing 1-D scalar wave equation (with error of order 2)

 
2
 
2
1-D wave equation c 2
=
x 2 t 2

x = ix, t = jt ,
Discretization
i, j = 0, 1, 2, ...

Resolve (i, j + 1) = ?

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 II. Finite Difference

❖ Exercice : Finite differencing 1-D scalar wave equation (with error of order 2)

Solution

(i + 1, j) − 2(i, j) + (i − 1, j) (i, j + 1) − 2(i, j) + (i, j − 1)

c2 =
(x )2 (t )2
2
 ct 
r= 
 x 

(i, j + 1) = 2(1 − r )(i, j) + r[(i + 1, j) + (i − 1, j)] − (i, j − 1)

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 II. Finite Difference

❖ Exercice : Finite differencing 1-D scalar wave equation (with error of order 2)

(i, j + 1) = 2(1 − r )(i, j) + r[(i + 1, j) + (i − 1, j)] − (i, j − 1)

Computational molecule

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 II. Finite Difference

❖ Example of validation
 2  2
1-D scalar wave equation c 2
= c = 1, 0  x  1
x 2 t 2
Boundary conditions (0, t ) = (1, t ) = 0, t  0

Initial conditions ( x,0) = sin(x ), 0  x 1

d( x,0)
= 0, 0  x 1
dt
Spatial and time meshes x = t

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 II. Finite Difference

❖ Example of validation

Finite difference

(i, j + 1) = (i − 1, j) + (i + 1, j) − (i, j − 1), j 1

φ(i,1) = φ(i − 1,0) + φ(i + 1,0)
1
2
Analytical solution

( x, t ) = sin(x ) cos(t )
Space mesh

x = t = 0.1

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 II. Finite Difference

❖ Example of validation FD result

1 1
t=0:0.1:1;x=0:0.1:1;
0.9 0.8
yFD(1:11,1:11)=0;
0.8
yFD(1:11,1)=sin(pi.*x(1:11)); 0.6

yFD(2:10,2)=0.5*(yFD(1:9,1)+yFD(3:11,1)); 0.7 0.4

for j=2:10; 0.6 0.2

yFD(1,j)=0;yFD(11,j)=0; 0.5 0

x
for i=2:10; 0.4 -0.2

yFD(i,j+1)=yFD(i-1,j)+yFD(i+1,j)-yFD(i,j-1); 0.3 -0.4

end; 0.2 -0.6

end; 0.1 -0.8

figure;grid on;pcolor(x,t,y); 0 -1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
shading interp;colorbar; t

Matlab file Result

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 II. Finite Difference

❖ Example of validation Exact solution 1 1

0.9 0.8

0.8 0.6

t=0:0.1:1;x=0:0.1:1; 0.7 0.4

for i=1:11;for j=1:11; 0.6 0.2

y(i,j)=sin(pi.*x(i)).*cos(pi.*t(j)); 0.5 0

x
end;end; 0.4 -0.2

figure;grid on; 0.3 -0.4

0.2 -0.6
pcolor(x,t,y);shading interp;colorbar;
0.1 -0.8

0 -1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t

Matlab file Result

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 II. Finite Difference

❖ Example of validation x 10
-16

1
3
Comparison Analytical/Numerical (FD) results 0.9

0.8 2

0.7
1

figure;grid on; 0.6

0.5 0

x
pcolor(x,t,y-yFD); 0.4
-1
shading interp;colorbar 0.3

0.2 -2

0.1
-3
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t

Error (analytical solution-numerical solution)<4.10-16

The accuracy of the FD solution can be increased by decreasing x and t.

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 Outline

• Introduction

• Finite Difference

• Fundamentals of FDTD method

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ In an isotropic medium, Maxwell’s equations can be written as

H E
  E = −   H = E + 
t t
Faraday’s equation Ampere’s Law
❖ In rectangular coordinate system :

 Six scalar equations

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Yee algorithm
Discretization in space and time
(i, j, k ) = (ix, jy, kz)
F n (i, j, k ) = (ix, jy, kz, nt )
Finite differencing approximation for space and time derivatives

F (i, j, k) F (i + 1/ 2, j, k) − F (i − 1/ 2, j, k)
n n n
= + O(x )
2

x x
n +1/2 n −1/2
F (i, j, k) F
n
(i, j, k) − F (i, j, k)
= + O(t )
2

t t

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Yee algorithm

z
z

x
Ny cells
x
Computational volume Positions of the field components in
a unit cell of the Yee’s lattice

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Update of Hx

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Update of Hy

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Update of Hz

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Update of Ex

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Update of Ey

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Update of Ez

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Yee algorithm
Definitions of spatial meshing and
time step

Initialization

Iteration n

Calculation of En from Hn-1/2 and En-1

Calculation of Hn+1/2 from En and Hn-1/2

n=n+1
N=Nbiteration
End

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Programming aspects

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Programming aspects

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Programming aspects

Ey(i+1,j,k)

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Programming aspects

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Dispersion relation

 2
k = kx + k y + kz =
In free space (ideal) 2 2 2 2
2
c
In FDTD computation (numerical)
~ 2
 1 ~
 k x x 
2
  k y     ~
  
2
    
2
 sin   +  sin  y  +  sin  z  = 
1 1 k z 1
sin 
t

 x  2   
 y  2   
 z  2   ct  2 
 

( )
2
 1 ~ 
2 2
2  1 ~    k y    ~
  
u =  sin  x  +  sin   +  sin  z 
k x 1 k z
v pnum = ~ = ~ Arc sin ct u
y

 x  2   y  2   z  2 
k kt   

The numerical medium is dispersive : the propagation of the wave varies with frequency and
angle

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Dispersion relation

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Accuracy and stability

Accuracy    / 10
1 
Stability t  t max = t  t max =
1 1 1 c 3
c + + 2
x 2
y 2
z
1
2D: t 
1 1
c +
x 2 y 2

1D: t  Physically, this condition means that the time step
c should be smaller than the time for the wave to
propagate from one cell to the neighbor one

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Boundary conditions

Why we need boundary conditions?

Outside the
calculation volume

Inside the
calculation volume

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Boundary conditions

• Perfect Electric Conductor

E components tangential to
the PEC are set to 0.

Hx
Ez For a PEC in zoy plane:
Ey
PEC Ez=Ey=0

z y

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Boundary conditions

• Perfect Magnetic Conductor H components tangential to

the PMC are set to 0.

For a PMC in zoy plane: Hz=Hy=0

Example of problems involving the PMC

Hz boundary conditions:
Hy

Plane of symmetry
PMC Ex

z y

x
Microstrip line Coplanar line

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Boundary conditions

• Open region: Absorbing Boundary Conditions

Mur’s ABC :

This method is based on the FD of the “one

way wave equation”, at first-order:
Hx
Ez u 1 u
Ey − =0
x c t
ABC
E ny,+z1 (0, j, k ) = E ny, z (1, j, k ) +

 
z y ct − x n +1
E y, z (1, j, k ) − E ny, z (0, j, k )
x ct + x

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Interface between two media

For E components at the interface

Medium 1: 1 , 1
 + 2
 interface = 1
2
1 +  2
 interface =
2 Medium 2: 2 , 2

For H components at the interface

1 2
 interface =
1 +  2

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Metallic objects

Tangential electric field components = 0 at the surface of the metallic object

Real metal surface

Equivalent FDTD
surface

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Metallic objects

Tangential electric field components = 0

at the surface of the metallic object

Example of a metallic object: circular patch

antenna excited by a coaxial line

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 III. Fundamentals of FDTD method

❖ Other FDTD algorithms

• Finite difference with error of higher order

• Non Cartesian grids (cylindrical, spherical, etc.)

• Non uniform grids

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