Topology optimization method for microstrips using boundary condition representation and adjoint analysis

This paper presents a structural optimization method for microstrip components based on topology optimization method. Topology optimization method optimizes structures via characteristic function that indicates the presence of materials at any point. In the proposed method, microstrips are modeled using an appropriate boundary condition of the utilized numerical methods. By controlling the parameter of the boundary condition locally, it is possible to represent any configuration in the given design domain. The optimization utilizes sensitivity information obtained through adjoint analysis. Thanks to the efficiency of the adjoint sensitivity method, the proposed method finds design solution within reasonable computational cost as compared to a variety of meta-heuristic methods. Numerical and experiment results are provided to illustrate our design approach. © 2013 European Microwave Association.