An Algorithm for Efficient Solution of Finite-Difference Frequency-Domain (FDFD) Methods [EM Programmer's Notebook]

Finite-Difference Frequency-Domain methods (FDFD) require solution of large linear systems of equations. These large systems are represented by matrix equations including highly sparse coefficient matrices, and they can often only be solved by using iterative methods. This paper presents an algorithm in which the matrix-equation solution approach in an iterative method is replaced by a multi-step solution process. Instead of using a coefficient matrix, the coefficients in the FDFD formulations are kept as three-dimensional arrays, and they are treated as operators. The algorithm is used together with the Bi-Conjugate Gradients Stabilized (BICGSTAB) method. This is applied to a three-dimensional FDFD method to solve for scattering from dielectric objects. It is also applied to two other FDFD methods (a single-grid and a double-grid FDFD) to solve for scattering from chiral objects. It has been shown that the presented algorithm effectively reduces the solution time and memory requirements.