Self‐adjoint S‐parameter sensitivities for lossless homogeneous TLM problems

We present a novel efficient algorithm for the estimation of S‐parameter sensitivities in homogeneous and lossless transmission line modelling (TLM) problems. Our approach estimates S‐parameter adjoint‐based sensitivities without actually carrying out any adjoint simulation. By applying a transformation to the original TLM simulation we establish an isomorphism between the original and the adjoint problem. The unique properties of the TLM node in a lossless and homogeneous problem are also exploited in establishing the isomorphism. For an electromagnetic structure with Np ports, only the Np original simulations utilized in evaluating the S‐parameters are required to estimate their sensitivities as well. Our novel approach is illustrated through estimating S‐parameter sensitivities with respect to waveguide discontinuities. Good match is obtained between our sensitivity estimates and those calculated using finite differences at the response level. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.