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The development and optimization of transient antennas for ground penetrating radar would be difficult without numerical simulations of their performance. To this end the FDTD algorithm should be considered as a useful and powerful tool for transient antenna analysis. As an example of such analysis we describe simulations of the dielectric wedge antenna. Good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results was observed. Some of the antenna characteristics (like the radial component of the electric field in the near zone, the radiated waveform and the antenna footprint in different grounds) cannot be measured easily, so the correct theoretical (numerical) model is essential for their determination. The numerical model of the antenna can also be used for optimization of the antenna. As an example of such optimization we present a design of the shield for the dielectrically embedded dipole antenna.

transient antennas; finite difference time-domain analysis; GPR; ground penetrating radar