A second-order accurate method to a time domain analysis of wave propagation in an irregular mesh

An implementation of a 2nd-order accurate technique to the general time-domain finite-element algorithm is presented for the analysis of microwave propagation. The 2nd-order accurate method can be easily obtained by using Taylor series expansion to the time derivative and added to a general mesh leap-frog scheme without additional computing efforts. Test results reveal that this algorithm is effective in reducing the dispersive errors of the irregular meshes. The TE/sub 10/ mode step pulse, propagating in a rectangular waveguide is analyzed on a regular mesh.