Subject Area
Computer Science
Abstract
Traditionally, optical circuit design is tested and validated using software which implement numerical modeling techniques such as Beam Propagation, Finite Element Analysis and the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method. FDTD simulations require significant computational power. Existing installations may distribute the computational requirements across large clusters of high-powered servers. This approach entails significant expense in terms of hardware, staffing and software support which may be prohibitive for some research facilities and private-sector engineering firms. The application of modern programmable GPUs to problems in scientific visualization and computation has facilitated faster development cycles for a variety of industry segments including large dataset visualization, aerospace and optical circuit design. GPU-based supercomputers such as National Labs' Summit, co-designed by NVIDIA and IBM, provide dramatically increased compute capability while using less power than CPU-based solutions. The FDTD algorithm maps well to the massively-multithreaded data-parallel nature of GPUs. This thesis explores a GPU-based FDTD implementation and details performance gains, limitations of the GPU approach, optimization techniques and potential future enhancements.
Degree Date
Summer 8-3-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.E.E.
Department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Advisor
Marc Christensen
Second Advisor
Nathan Huntoon
Third Advisor
Ira Greenberg
Number of Pages
52
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Lively, S. David, "GoLightly : A GPU Implementation of the Finite-Difference Time-Domain Method" (2022). Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations. 54.
https://scholar.smu.edu/engineering_electrical_etds/54
Recommendation and Certification of Appointment of Supervisory Committee
