Accurate computation of the radiation from simple antennas using the finite-difference time-domain method

The analysis of a group of three simple antennas is used to illustrate the accuracy of the FDTD (finite-difference time-domain) method and to show that various geometrical features are handled correctly by the method. Each antenna is a well-posed electromagnetic boundary value problem that corresponds to a realizable experimental model. The three antennas considered are of increasing complexity: an open-ended parallel plate waveguide, a cylindrical monopole, and a conical monopole. The FDTD calculations for these antennas were compared with analytical results (open-ended parallel plate waveguide) and accurate measurements in the time and frequency domains (cylindrical and conical monopoles). In all cases the agreement was excellent.<>