This video is taken from the FDTD Learning Track on Ansys Innovation Courses.
Transcript
When setting up a new simulation, the standard workflow is to first create the materials
needed in the simulation, if the material data isn’t already available from the default
material database.
Once the materials are defined, the structures and the FDTD simulation region are setups.
The simulation region is where the boundary conditions, mesh, and simulation time are
set.
Next, sources are added to inject fields into the simulation region, and monitors are added
to record data.
Before running the simulation, checks can be done to make sure the material properties
are simulated accurately and that the computer has sufficient memory to run the simulation.
After running, data can be collected from monitors, and the results can be analyzed
by plotting the data or by performing additional post processing using scripts.
In the process of designing a device, the geometry of the device will usually be modified
many times, meaning that this process is repeated until the optimal design parameters are found.
The built-in parameter sweep and optimization tool can also be used to help automate this
process.
Convergence testing is a final step done to obtain high accuracy results.
Convergence testing involves running the simulation while varying key simulation settings to quantify
the amount of numerical error in the simulation.
More information on each workflow step will be provided in later sections of the course.
In this section, we will focus on the specific example of the nanohole array as an introduction.
Before starting on setting up the simulation, it’s useful to familiarize yourself with
FDTD Solutions graphical layout editor, which will be covered next.