MoM-based topology optimization method for planar metallic antenna design

The metallic antenna design problem can be treated as a problem to find the optimal distribution of conductive material in a certain domain. Although this problem is well suited for topology optimization method, the volumetric distribution of conductive material based on 3D finite element method (FEM) has been known to cause numerical bottlenecks such as the skin depth issue, meshed "air regions" and other numerical problems. In this paper a topology optimization method based on the method of moments (MoM) for configuration design of planar metallic antenna was proposed. The candidate structure of the planar metallic antenna was approximately considered as a resistance sheet with position-dependent impedance. In this way, the electromagnetic property of the antenna can be analyzed easily by using the MoM to solve the radiation problem of the resistance sheet in a finite domain. The topology of the antenna was depicted with the distribution of the impedance related to the design parameters or relative densities. The conductive material (metal) was assumed to have zero impedance, whereas the non-conductive material was simulated as a material with a finite but large enough impedance. The interpolation function of the impedance between conductive material and non-conductive material was taken as a tangential function. The design of planar metallic antenna was optimized for maximizing the efficiency at the target frequency. The results illustrated the effectiveness of the method.