A finite-Difference Time-Domain Simulation of Power Density Distribution in a Dieletric Loaded Microwave Cavity

Microwave cavity heating, drying and cooking is finding use in a variety of industrial and domestic applications. In order to gain insight into the phenomena that occur inside the microwave cavity, a detailed knowledge of electric and magnetic fields together with a prediction of the power distribution in the dielectric material is necessary. In this paper, a three-dimensional finite difference time domain method is employed to analyze the field in a partially loaded rectangular cavity excited from a rectangular waveguide operating in the dominant TE jo mode. Based on this method a computer algorithm for calculating the power distribution inside a lossy material in the cavity is developed. This algorithm is tested against a Field Matching Method algorithm for the case of a simply (slab) loaded cavity.