A numerical absorbing boundary condition for finite difference and finite element analysis of open periodic structures

In this paper we present a novel approach to deriving local boundary conditions, that can be employed in conjunction with the Finite Difference/Finite Element Methods (FD/FEM) to solve electromagnetic scattering and radiation problems involving periodic structures. The key step in this approach is to derive linear relationships that link the value of the field at a boundary grid point to those at the neighboring points. These linear relationships are identically satisfied not only by all of the propagating Floquet modes but by a few of the leading evanescent ones as well. They can thus be used in lieu of absorbing boundary conditions (ABCs) in place of the usual FD/FEM equations for the boundary points. Guidelines for selecting the orders of the evanescent Floquet modes to be absorbed are given in the paper. The present approach not only provides a simple way to derive an accurate boundary condition for mesh truncation, but also preserves the banded structure of the FD/FEM matrices. The accuracy of the proposed method is verified by using an internal check and by comparing the numerical results with the analytic solution for perfectly conducting strip gratings