Numerical Simulation of Nanopulse Penetration of Biological Matter Using the

Short duration, fast rise time ultra-wideband (UWB) electromagnetic pulses (“nanopulses”) are generated by numerous electronic devices in use today. Moreover, many new technologies involving nanopulses are under development and expected to become widely available soon. Study of nanopulse bioeffects is needed to probe their useful range in possible biomedical and biotechnological applications, and to ensure human safety. In this work we develop a computational approach to investigate electromagnetic fields in biological cells exposed to nanopulses. The simulation is based on a z-transformation of the electric displacement and a second-order Taylor approximation of a Cole–Cole expression for the frequency dependence of the dielectric properties of tissues, useful for converting from the frequency domain to the time domain. Maxwell’s equations are then calculated using the finite difference time domain method (FDTD), coupled with a perfectly matched layer to eliminate reflections from the boundary. Numerical results for a biological cell model are presented and discussed.