Some practical issues in the treatment of electromagnetic boundaries in FDTD-PIC

Electromagnetic (EM) boundary treatments have been investigated using the Magic 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) code. The historic conventional free space approach to absorbing boundary layers and the convolutional perfectly matched layer (CPML) are investigated. A comparison of the utility of such approaches in various practical applications is provided with some of the liabilities associated. The CPML method gives vast improvement for evanescent wave problems, but benefits are modest for a 3D waveguide in the radiation zone based on present modeling capabilities.