摘要

This paper arises from an invited plenary talk by the author at the 2006 Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Symposium in Miami, FL (The 71 original slides can be downloaded at http://www.ece.northwestern.edu/ecefaculty/taflove/ACES-talk.pdf). This paper summarizes the author's perspectives on the history and future prospects of finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) computational electrodynamics on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the publication of Kane Yee's seminal Paper #1. During these four decades, advances in basic theory, software realizations, and computing technology have elevated FDTD techniques to the top rank of computational tools for engineers and scientists studying electrodynamic phenomena and systems.