Electromagnetic Sensitivity Analysis and Shape Optimization Using Method of Moments and Automatic Differentiation

Sensitivity analysis is an important part of gradient-based optimization of electromagnetic devices. We demonstrate how sensitivity analysis can be incorporated into an existing in-house method of moments solver with a relatively small amount of labor by using a technique called automatic differentiation (AD). This approach enables us to obtain (geometrical) sensitivities of the discrete solution with accuracy up to numerical precision. We compare the assembly time and memory usage of the modified and original solvers. Moreover, we optimize the shape of a dipole antenna and the dimensions of a Yagi-Uda array using the presented AD technique, traditional response level finite difference sensitivities, and so-called feasible adjoint sensitivity technique.