Efficient optimal design of mosaic-like PPDW devices for THz application using the adjoint variable method.

In the development of THz-wave circuits, parallel plate dielectric waveguide (PPDW) is a promising platform and recently some fundamental devices have been reported. In order to realize high performance PPDW devices, optimal design methods are crucial and as out-of-plane radiation does not occur in PPDW, mosaic-like optimal design appears to be appropriate for PPDW platform. In this paper, we present a novel and efficient mosaic-like design approach based on gradient method with adjoint variable method (AVM) to realize high performance PPDW devices for THz circuit applications. The design variables in the design of PPDW devices are efficiently optimized by utilizing the gradient method. The mosaic structure in the design region is expressed by using density method with an appropriate initial solution. In the optimization process, AVM is employed for an efficient sensitivity analysis. The usefulness of our mosaic-like design approach is confirmed by designing several PPDW devices, T-branch, three branch, mode splitting device, and THz bandpass filter. The proposed mosaic-like PPDW devices except bandpass filter achieved high transmission efficiencies at single frequency operation as well as at broadband operation. Furthermore, the designed THz bandpass filter achieved the desired flat top transmission property at the targeted frequency band.