Sensitivity analysis of waveguide eigenvalue problems

Abstract. We analyze the sensitivity of dielectric waveguides with respect to design parameters such as permittivity values or simple geometric dependencies. Based on a discretization using the Finite Integration Technique the eigenvalue problem for the wave number is shown to be non-Hermitian with possibly complex solutions even in the lossless case. Nevertheless, the sensitivity can be obtained with negligible numerical effort. Numerical examples demonstrate the validity of the approach.