This monograph is a comprehensive presentation of state-of-the-art methodologies that can
dramatically enhance the efficiency of the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique the
most popular electromagnetic field solver of the time-domain form of Maxwell's equations. These
methodologies are aimed at optimally tailoring the computational resources needed for the
wideband simulation of microwave and optical structures to their geometry as well as the
nature of the field solutions they support. That is achieved by the development of robust
adaptive meshing approaches which amount to varying the total number of unknown field
quantities in the course of the simulation to adapt to temporally or spatially localized field
features. While mesh adaptation is an extremely desirable FDTD feature known to reduce
simulation times by orders of magnitude it is not always robust. The specific techniques
presented in this book are characterized by stability and robustness. Therefore they are
excellent computer analysis and design (CAD) tools. The book starts by introducing the FDTD
technique along with challenges related to its application to the analysis of real-life
microwave and optical structures. It then proceeds to developing an adaptive mesh refinement
method based on the use of multiresolution analysis and more specifically the Haar wavelet
basis. Furthermore a new method to embed a moving adaptive mesh in FDTD the dynamically
adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) FDTD technique is introduced and explained in detail. To
highlight the properties of the theoretical tools developed in the text a number of
applications are presented including: Microwave integrated circuits (microstrip filters
couplers spiral inductors cavities). Optical power splitters Y-junctions and couplers
Optical ring resonators Nonlinear optical waveguides. Building on first principles of
time-domain electromagnetic simulations this book presents advanced concepts and cutting-edge
modeling techniques in an intuitive way for programmers engineers and graduate students. It
is designed to provide a solid reference for highly efficient time-domain solvers employed in
a wide range of exciting applications in microwave millimeter-wave and optical engineering.
