Full-Custom PCB Implementation of the FDTD/FIT Dedicated Computer

• Published in: IEEE transactions on magnetics Vol. 45; no. 3; pp. 1100 - 1103
• Main Authors: Fujita, Y., Kawaguchi, H.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.03.2009; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Computation; Computational modeling; Computer architecture; Computer simulation; Concrete; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Dedicated computers; Exact sciences and technology; FDTD methods; field-programmable gate array (FPGA); Finite difference method; Finite difference methods; Finite difference time domain method; Hardware; Logic; Magnetism; Materials science; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Memory architecture; microwave propagation; Microwave theory and techniques; Microwaves; Other topics in materials science; Physics; printed-circuit boards (PCBs); Time domain analysis; printed-circuit boards (PCBs); FDTD methods; Printed circuits; Microwave radiation; Dedicated computers; Electronics; Printed circuit board; Application; field-programmable gate array (FPGA); microwave propagation; Magnetic properties
• ISSN: 0018-9464; 1941-0069
• DOI: 10.1109/TMAG.2009.2012633

As one of the possibilities of high-performance computing technologies for electromagnetic-field computation, the authors have been working in the design and development of a dedicated computer of the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method or the finite integration technique (FIT) for microwave simulations. So far, to minimize memory-access overhead, a parallel memory-access architecture was proposed, and the validity of the machine operation was confirmed by VHDL logic simulation. However, to implement the FDTD/FIT dedicated computer on any real hardware, it is essential to consider concrete hardware construction in detail. This paper presents implementation of the FDTD/FIT dedicated computer on a custom printed-circuit board.