Investigation of Light Wave Propagation in One-Dimensional Photonic Crystals Using FDTD Simulation

In this investigation, we utilize the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulation approach to examine light wave propagation through one-dimensional photonic crystals. The implementation involves discretizing Maxwell's equations using central-difference approximations in both time and space domains, with perfectly matched layer (PML) boundary conditions to minimize numerical reflections. Through computational analysis employing a custom FDTD algorithm that tracks E-field and H-field components alternately on staggered grids, we determined the spatial distributions of electric and magnetic fields within the photonic crystal structure. The simulation code incorporates Fourier transform techniques to calculate transmission spectra from time-domain data, while also analyzing optical properties such as dispersion relations through phase accumulation methods and group velocity via numerical differentiation of the dispersion curve. This research provides significant insights into photonic crystal characteristics and their applications in optical communications and energy harvesting technologies, with the FDTD implementation offering a robust framework for modeling complex photonic bandgap structures.