Application of the symplectic finite-difference time-domain scheme to electromagnetic simulation

An explicit fourth-order finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) scheme using the symplectic integrator is applied to electromagnetic simulation. A feasible numerical implementation of the symplectic FDTD (SFDTD) scheme is specified. In particular, new strategies for the air–dielectric interface treatment and the near-to-far-field (NFF) transformation are presented. By using the SFDTD scheme, both the radiation and the scattering of three-dimensional objects are computed. Furthermore, the energy-conserving characteristic hold for the SFDTD scheme is verified under long-term simulation. Numerical results suggest that the SFDTD scheme is more efficient than the traditional FDTD method and other highorder methods, and can save computational resources. 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.