Parallel implementation of the finite-difference time-domain method on local area network using the message passing interface

In this paper, new parallel algorithm, based on the conventional FDTD algorithm, is presented for solving the Maxwell's curl equations on a local area network using the MPI system. The performance of the proposed parallel algorithm is studied by using a line current source radiating in a two-dimensional domain. It is observed that, for large computational domains, the new parallel algorithm provides a significant reduction in the simulation time as compared with the sequential solution. On the other hand, when partitioning the computational domains over many processors, especially for the small domains, the efficiency of the parallelization reaches a limitation. This is because of the computation time required to update the fields will be reduced to a point where it has the same order as the communication time needed to exchange the fields between the processors.