Performance of convolutional PML absorbing boundary conditions in finite-difference time-domain SAR calculations

The performance of perfectly matched layer (PML) absorbing boundary conditions is studied for finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) specific absorption rate (SAR) assessment, using convolutional PML (CPML) implementation of PML. This is done by investigating the variation of SAR values when the amount of free-space layers between the studied object and PML boundary is varied. Plane-wave exposures of spherical and rectangular objects and a realistic human body model are considered for testing the performance. Also, some results for dipole excitation are included. Results show that no additional free-space layers are needed between the numerical phantom and properly implemented CPML absorbing boundary, and that the numerical uncertainties due to CPML can be made negligibly small.