Efficient modeling of microwave integrated-circuit geometries via a dynamically adaptive mesh Refinement-FDTD technique

The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is combined with an adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) technique, to achieve a fast, time-domain solver for Maxwell's equations (AMR-FDTD), based on a three-dimensional moving/rotating Cartesian mesh. This combination allows the proposed solver to adapt to the problem at hand, optimally distributing computational resources in a given domain as needed, by recursively refining a coarse grid in regions of large over time gradient of electromagnetic field energy. Several applications of the method to the analysis of microwave circuit geometries demonstrate its salient features and its outstanding efficiency as a microwave computer-aided design tool.