Acceleration of finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) using graphics processor units (GPU)

The Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method is used extensively in areas of microwave engineering and optics. However, FDTD runs too slow for some simulations to be practical, especially when run on standard desktop computers. The suitability of dedicated hardware for the acceleration of FDTD computations has been investigated. It is demonstrated that standard consumer Graphics Processor Units (GPUs) can be used to accelerate FDTD simulations by a factor of over seven, relative to an Intel CPU of similar technology generation. With OpenGL as the Application Programming Interface (API), a standard commercial graphics card has been programmed to solve a 2-D electromagnetic scattering problem.