Bi-FDTD: A new technique for modeling electromagnetic wave interaction with bi-isotropic media

A novel FDTD scheme that can be used to effectively model the interaction o f electromagnetic waves with bi-isotropic (BI) media is developed. This new technique exploits the fact that the electromagnetic fields in a BI medium may be decomposed into a set of two uncoupled waves, each of which may be viewed as propagating in an associated isotropic medium. The main advantage s of this approach are the inherent simplicity of the resulting BI-FDTD sch eme, and the ability to easily extend it to include dispersive bi-isotropic as well as bi-anisotropic materials. For purposes of illustration, the new BI-FDTD formulation will be validated for a one-dimensional chiral slab bo unded by free space. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.