Hybrid FDTD/AUTOCAD® method for the analysis of BOR horns and reflectors

Horns and reflector antennas, which are bodies of revolution (BORs), find widespread use in the areas of communication and radar systems. In this work, we present a highly efficient, BOR finite‐difference time‐domain (BOR/FDTD) technique for the analysis of these antennas. This approach allows us to employ a 2D finite‐difference lattice that projects a 3D Yee cell in the cylindrical coordinates (ρ, ϕ, z ) onto the (ρ, z ) plane, and substantially reduces the computational burden in the process. To analyze arbitrary BOR geometries, we develop a mesh generator that uses the commercial design tool AutoCAD® to systematically generate the geometrical and material input files for the BOR/FDTD solver. We also apply a near‐to‐far‐field transformation, based on a line integral along a contour of equivalent electric and magnetic currents, to evaluate the radiation patterns of these antennas in a highly efficient manner. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 37: 236–243, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10881