Using Large-Scale FDTD Method to Obtain Precise Numerical Estimation of Indoor Wireless Local Area Network Office Environment

SUMMARY The Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) technique is presented in this paper as an estimation method for radio propagation prediction in large and complex wireless local area network (WLAN) environments. Its validity is shown by comparing measurements and Ray-trace method with FDTD data. The 2GHz (802.lIb/g) and 5GHz (802.lIa) frequency bands are used in both the calculations and experiments. The electric field (E-field) strength distribution has been illustrated in the form of histograms and cumulative ratio graphs. By using the FDTD method to vary the number of human bodies in the environment, the effects on E-field distribution due to human body absorption are also observed for 5 GHz WLAN design. key words: finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) method, wireless local area network (WLAN), indoor propagation, histogram, human absorption