Exposure of biological material to ultra-wideband electromagnetic pulses: dosimetric implications

Interest in ultra-wideband (UWB) electromagnetic pulses in the communications industry and various applications in biotechnology and medicine is constantly increasing. While more and more scientific research of bioelectromagnetic phenomena is focusing on bioeffects of exposure to non-ionizing UWB pulses, characterization of those effects is far from complete. In this paper, a synthesis of experimental studies from the point of computational modeling is presented. The complexity of the experiments requires a numerical rather than an analytical approach. Solving Maxwell's equations using a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is a necessary step in visualizing and understanding broadband response. The advantages of this method include having almost no limits in the description of geometrical and dispersive properties of the simulated material, numerical robustness, and appropriateness for the computer technology of today. Some of the results of the computation and their importance in future experimental design are discussed. Improvements in the computational modeling and dielectric material description are suggested. This paper aims at justifying a scientific basis for UWB exposure safety standards relevant for setting the non-ionizing UWB radiation exposure guidelines. The results of this research will be of interest to people who work with electronic devices involving UWB radiation.