Physics

Permittivity

Dipole

Calculus (dental)

Mathematics

Maxwell's equations

Optics

Dielectric

Mathematical analysis

Artificial intelligence

Diffraction

Integral equation

Dentistry

Computational electromagnetics

Class (philosophy)

Electromagnetic field

Computer science

Discrete dipole approximation

Quantum mechanics

Applied mathematics

Medicine

Classical mechanics

There are many methods for rigorously calculating electromagnetic diffraction by objects of arbitrary shape and permittivity. In this article, we will detail the discrete dipole approximation (DDA) which belongs to the class of volume integral methods. Starting from Maxwell’s equations, we will first present the principle of DDA as well as its theoretical and numerical aspects. Then, we will discuss the many developments that this method has undergone over time and the numerous applications that have been developed to transform DDA in a very versatile method. We conclude with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the DDA and a description of the freely available DDA-based electromagnetic diffraction codes.

The Discrete Dipole Approximation: A Review