An efficient multi-domain spectral algorithm for the simulation of dispersive metallic structures in the time domain

In this article, we present a multi-domain formulation of the spectral time domain algorithm for the simulation of dispersive materials. We propose a leap-frog time-stepping scheme similar to the finite-difference time domain method in order to minimize memory usage. Dispersive material behavior is modelled in the frequency domain and used in our time-domain algorithm by introducing auxiliary differential equations for the macroscopic polarization. Absorbing boundary conditions are presented that can be used with dispersive materials. The numerical investigation of structures with material parameters fitted to experimental data shows excellent agreement with theoretical calculations.