BEST: a ®nite dierence simulator for time electromagnetics 1 Gaetano Marrocco, Fernando Bardati * Dipartimento di Informatica, Sistemi e Produzione, Tor Vergata University of Rome, via di Tor Vergata 110, 00133 Rome, Italy Received 18 June 1998; received in revised form 28 January 1999 Abstract A simulator based on the FDTD algorithm has been devised for full-wave electromagnetic computation inside domains having an arbitrarily complex shape, inhomogeneous materials and in the presence of general ®eld sources. The simulator is designed in such a way that new applications can be dealt with by simple addition of pertinent models and functions. A simulation of human tissue heating by a microwave source in view of application to hyperther- mia anticancer treatment planning is reported as an example. Ó 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: FDTD; Electromagnetic simulator 1. Introduction Many modern devices and systems are based on, or are aected by, electromag- netic ®eld propagation and interactions. Examples range from telecommunications, remote sensing and space research to electromagnetic compatibility as well as scien- ti®c, medical and industrial applications of microwaves. Microwave equipment design and practice can take advantage from accurate elec- tromagnetic ®eld analysis. To work properly, a microwave solver should be able to model the physical and geometrical properties of complex structures, as well as boundary conditions and ®eld sources. A microwave solver can be based on the ®nite dierence time domain (FDTD) algorithm. Available FDTD simulators [1,2] oer a collection of models, easy-to-use graphical interfaces and modules for sophisticated www.elsevier.nl/locate/simpra Simulation Practice and Theory 7 (1999) 279±293 * Corresponding author. Fax: +39 06 7259 7460; e-mail: bardati@disp.uniroma2.it 1 This is a revised and extended version of the paper presented to the ISCS'96 Conference ± Rome, December 18±19, 1996. 0928-4869/99/$ ± see front matter Ó 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 9 2 8 - 4 8 6 9 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 0 6 - 3