Efficient finite-difference time-domain modeling of driven periodic structures

The paper proposes an efficient method to analyze the response of periodic structures to non-periodic excitations in the time domain, employing the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. To that end, the array-scanning method, which has been previously associated with frequency-domain, integral formulations of periodic structure problems, is translated into the context of FDTD. Hence, the application of periodic FDTD techniques, based on the simulation of a single unit cell, to problems involving non-periodic source excitations is enabled. While a validation case study involves a microstrip line on an electromagnetic band-gap substrate, the utilization of this approach to metamaterial structure modeling is envisaged.