11 - Chapter 2
11 - Chapter 2
11 - Chapter 2
COMSOL Multiphysics
Software: A review on its
applications
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2.1 Overview
This chapter presents a short introduction of the COMSOL Multiphysics
software and the basic methodology to work in COMSOL desktop. It presents a
literature survey on application of COMSOL Multiphysics software for nanoscale
modeling and simulation. The merits and demerits of COMSOL Multiphysics
software along with justification of its application in the present work are also
presented in this chapter.
2.2 Introduction
Computer simulation has become an essential part of science and
engineering. When developing new products or optimizing designs, digital analysis
of components is very important. Today a broad spectrum of options for simulation
is available and the researchers are using everything from basic programming
languages to various high-level packages implementing advanced methods for
investigation of different structures to explore its application in various fields.
Though each of these techniques has its own unique attributes, they all share a
common concern whether the obtained results by these simulation techniques are
reliable or not. A computer simulation environment is simply a translation of real-
world physical laws into their virtual form [1]. A software is said to be reliable when
a model accurately depicts what happens in the real world.
engineers the confidence to build different models with real-world precision [3].
Certain characteristics of COMSOL become apparent with use and compatibility is
one such. COMSOL strictly requires that every type of simulation included in the
package has the ability to be combined with any other which actually mirrors what
happens in the real world. For instance, in nature electricity is always accompanied
by some thermal effect; the two are fully compatible [1]. Another noticeable feature
of COMSOL is adaptability. During the modeling when inclusion of another physical
effect is needed, user can just add it or when any of the model input requires a
formula, it can just be entered using tools like parameterized geometry, interactive
meshing, and custom solver sequences. The ability of coupled multiphysics modeling
depicting the real world problems guarantees the reliability of COMSOL
Multiphysics software which has made it one of the most valuable software tools for
engineers and scientists for solving all kinds of scientific and engineering problems.
The ability to test out various geometrical and physical characteristics of a model
using COMSOL Multiphysics software helps to minimize the design challenges and
optimized model can be taken to the production level.
The Model Builder and the Application Builder are the two main components
of COMSOL Desktop environment. In the Model Builder window, every step of the
modeling process, from defining components, global variables & solving steps to the
generation of final report of results, is displayed and presented as a model tree which
act as the flowchart of a model. The model tree reflects the underlying data structure,
the model object, which stores the state of the model including settings for:
geometry, mesh, physics, boundary conditions, studies, solvers, post processing, and
visualizations. A model tree always has a root node (initially labelled Untitled.mph
{model1}), a Global Definitions node, and a Results node. A specialized user
interface is used to quickly create an application in the Application Builder. An
application is based on a model created with the Model Builder.
To create a new model the basic steps to be followed are given below.
1. In the model wizard, by opening a blank model and right clicking the root
node, model component of a certain space dimension (3D, 2D, 2D axis
symmetric, 1D, 1D axis symmetric & 0D) is added first.
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The equations that COMSOL solves are displayed in the Equation section of
the Settings windows of the respective physics nodes. A model can contain multiple
Components & Study nodes and all nodes can be renamed to be descriptive of their
individual purposes. During the solution process, Convergence plots are generated
and are available from tabs next to the Graphics window. These plots show the
convergence progress of the different solver algorithms engaged in the Study. At any
time, users can save their model using any file name as an .mph file and later it can
be opened in exactly the same state in which it was saved.
The MATLAB model files, which have the extension .m, contain a sequence
of COMSOL commands as a MATLAB® M-file. Users can run the model files in
MATLAB® like any other M-file scripts. It is also possible to edit the files in a text
editor to include additional COMSOL commands or general MATLAB® commands.
Running model files in the M-file format requires the COMSOL LiveLink™ for
MATLAB®. Just like MATLAB LiveLink, COMSOL model files can be run in
COMSOL LiveLink™ for SOLIDWORKS which allow users to build simulation
apps based on SOLIDWORKS geometry enabling import of geometry and
synchronize changes back to the CAD software. In fact, users will be able to control
the CAD design parameters within the simulation apps themselves and alternatively,
SOLIDWORKS users will also be able to interface with COMSOL within the CAD
design environment. In addition to these softwares, COMSOL interfaces with many
other softwares like Inventor, Revit, PTC Pro/Engineer, Excel and Solid Edge.
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ߔܮൌ ݂ (2.1)
together with the boundary conditions on the boundary Γ that enclose the domain.
ܮis a differential operator, ݂ is the excitation or forcing function & ߔ is the
unknown quantity.
The boundary conditions range from the simplest Dirichlet and Neumann
conditions, to complicated impedance and radiation conditions, to even more
complicated higher-order conditions [4]. Robin boundary condition which is a
mixture of both Dirichlet and Neumann conditions is the third type boundary
condition. Robin boundary conditions are also called impedance boundary
conditions, from the point of view of their application in electromagnetic problems,
or convective boundary conditions, from their application in heat transfer problems
[5].
Assuming that all sources and objects are immersed in free space and
located within a finite distance from the origin of a coordinate system, the electric
and magnetic fields are required to satisfy [4]
ሬԦ ሬԦ
՜ஶ ݎ ൈ ൬ ܧ൰ ݆݇ ݎ
ෝ ൈ ൬ ܧ൰൨ ൌ0 (2.2)
ܪሬԦ ܪሬԦ
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where ݎൌ ඥ ݔଶ ݕଶ ݖଶ . Equation (2.2) is usually referred to as the Sommerfield
radiation condition for general three-dimensional fields and is one of the first
transparent boundary conditions formulated for wave-type problems. This
boundary condition is more formally called the first-order scattering boundary
condition (SBC) and is trivial to implement within COMSOL Multiphysics
software. A significant limitation to this condition is that it is only non-reflecting if
the incident radiation is exactly normally incident to the boundary. Any wave
incident upon the SBC at a non-normal incidence will be partially reflected. To
simulate an antenna accurately, a more transparent boundary condition is required.
and the Sommerfield radiation condition at infinity. According to Wilcox [6], such
a field can be represented by a convergent infinite series
షೕೖೝ ሺఏǡఝሻ
ܧሬԦ ሺݎሻ ൌ σఈୀ (2.4)
Figure 2.2: Node placement and geometry for 1D, 2D and 3D linear elements [4].
This can be continued for as many iterations as desired with triangular elements in
2D and tetrahedrals in 3D. Customization of the meshing sequence can help to
reduce memory requirements by controlling the number, type, and quality of
elements, thereby creating an efficient and accurate simulation [4].
A basic requirement of the discretization is that there should be no
overlapping or gaps between elements. The second order tetrahedral element used
for three dimensional problems in the COMSOL software give accurate results
[11]. Modifying meshing sequences is a powerful tool for greatly reducing mesh
elements and thus minimizing computational time. Swept meshing is a powerful
technique for minimizing the computational complexity of many classes of
COMSOL Multiphysics models.
parallel wires, cross-wires, and many other complex structures using COMSOL
Multiphysics software.
A. Nojeh et al.[15] in 2008 explored the possibility of having an on-chip
wireless communication infrastructure using carbon nanotube antennas operating in
optical frequencies, and the effect of variations in nanotube properties on the
communication behavior adopting COMSOL multiphysics software.
In 2009, Changyao Chen et al. [16] investigated the performance of
monolayer graphene nanomechanical resonators with electrical readout using
COMSOL Multiphysics software.
D. Carrier and J. J. Dubowski [17] in 2009 presented a new model for
nanobiosensor using COMSOL Multiphysics software.
In 2010, F Landolsi and F H Ghorbel [18] proposed a new AFM probe design
suitable for nanomanipulation and simulations using COMSOL Multiphysics and
showed that the largest displacements of the proposed cantilever are experienced by
the tip and tip holder.
Zyad Hassan et al. [19] in 2010 designed ThermalScope for full-chip thermal
analysis of billion-transistor nanometer scale IC designs, with accuracy at the scale
of individual devices and adopted COMSOL Multiphysics software to evaluate the
chip–package- and functional-unit-level modeling accuracy of ThermalScope.
Silvan Schmid et al. [20] in 2010, adopting COMSOL Multiphysics software
presented an analytical model for a transduction scheme based on the Kelvin
polarization force and the presented model facilitates the design of microresonators
and nanoresonators with dielectric actuation, which offers a great freedom in the
choice of structural material.
Mikhail Erdmanis et al. [21] in 2011 presented a surface-plasmon resonance
sensor based on an H-shaped optical fibre adopting COMSOL Multiphysics software
and showed that a refractive-index resolution of up to 5·103 nm/RIU can be
obtained.
S. A. Selvin et al. [22] in 2011 adopting COMSOL Multiphysics software
designed a carbon nanotube (CNT) based piezoresistive pressure sensor with
optimization of design parameters such as diaphragm, nanotube dimensions and
sensitivity.
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red end plasmonic mode was associated with surface of core-shell and was strongly
influenced by its surrounding dielectric medium.
In 2016, Xin Huang et al. [31] presented a numerical simulation for guiding
future 2D piezotronic nanodevice design.
Leiming Wang et al. [32] in 2016 studied the plasmon coupling effect at the
metal cathode adopting COMSOL Multiphysics software and the results suggest
that ~50% reduction of plasmon energy loss over a broadband emission is possible
by optimized metal cathode structures.
Han Wang et al. in 2016 [33] proposed a quantum well (QW) – embedded
nanomembrane in a rolled-up geometry faciliting a 3D QW infrared photodetector
(QWIP) device with enhanced responsivity and detectivity adopting COMSOL
Multiphysics software.
Satoshi Ishii et al. [34] in 2017 presented the numerical studies adopting
COMSOL Multiphysics software to understand the optical and thermal properties of
the wavelength-selective spin current generation by combining plasmonic absorbers
with Pt/yttrium-iron-garnet spintronic devices.
Nicolas Abadia et al. [37] in 2018 analyzed the optical and thermal behavior
of an antenna-based near-field transducer (NFT) using a tapered, hybrid plasmonic
waveguide for heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) adopting COMSOL
Multiphysics Software.
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a problem at a fundamental level and deep access to the physics involved, COMSOL
is far better than ANSYS. Mesh generation in COMSOL is smoother compared to
ANSYS. It provides more tools in easier way to use compared to ANSYS.
ANSOFT’s High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) [43], a full wave 3D
electromagnetic simulator basically designed for passive device modeling, has been
used by a variety of researchers for three dimensional structures. However, the
introduction of dispersion into the HFSS models is very problematic because of the
required number of simulations as well as the requisite fineness of the frequency
steps [44]. The axisymmetric ability of COMSOL Multiphysics software has
advantages for dispersion studies associated with the electrically small antenna
systems.
Method of Moment (MOM) [4] is another powerful numerical technique for
solving boundary-value problems in electromagnetics. The method is more efficient
when the object to be dealt with it is perfect electric conductor (PEC), impenetrable
or homogeneous. This method is not well suited for the analysis of complex
inhomogeneous geometries.
When the radiation from antennas is considered, the problem of truncating
infinite space is especially important to know about the far field pattern. The sources
of electromagnetic waves are located on the antennas and in MOM, the sources are
considered as the primary field and only the areas where charges & current present
are discretized. But when lossy materials i.e. non-perfect conductors or non-perfect
dielectrics are considered, MOM codes must discretize the entire domains where
current flow. But software designed for an RF antenna may not be appropriate for
plasmonic antenna because RF antenna exhibits so small material loss which is not
the case for higher frequency antenna. Plasmonic antenna resonates when the
structure is small compared with the wavelength leading to quasi-static effects which
is not the case in the standard RF antenna design. Therefore MOM codes are not well
prepared for the plasmonic analysis. Since mesh refinement is highly desirable, FEM
based COMSOL is the most suited software.
The Wave Optics module of COMSOL is used for nanoantenna design and
ACDC & RF module is used for nanofilter design in the present work.
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*
PML, PEC and PMC stands for Perfectly Mathced Layer, Perfect Electric
Conductor and Perfect Magnetic Conductor, respectively.
Figure 2.3: Flow chart of the optical nanoantenna simulation process in the present
work.
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*
PEC stands for Perfect Electric Conductor
Figure 2.4: Flow chart of the nanoscale electronic filter simulation process in the
present work.
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Figure 2.5: Flow chart of the mem - devices simulation process in the present work.
References
[1] Introduction to COMSOL Multiphysics4.2,www.comsol.com
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COMSOL_Multiphysics
[3] Introduction to COMSOL Multiphysics4.4,www.comsol.com
[4] J. Jin, The Finite Element Method in Electromagnetics, Second
Edition, (John Wiley & Sons, Interscience, 2002).
[5] H. W. David and M. N. Ozisk, Heat Conduction, Third Edition,
(Wiley,2012). ISBN 978-0-470-90293 - 6.
[6] C. H. Wilcox, Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 14, 427(1961).
[7] J. P. Berenger, J. Comput. Phys. 114, 185(1994).
[8] F. L. Teixeria and W.C. Chew, Advances in the theory of perfectly
matched layers, in Fast and Efficient Algorithms in Computational
Electromagnetics, (Artech House, 2001).
[9] J. M. Jin, X. Q. Sheng and W. C. Chew, Microwave Opt. Tech. Lett.
14, 284 (1997).
[10] https://www.comsol.co.in/multiphysics/mesh-refinement
[11] A.Ghahremani and A. E. Fathy, Energy Science and Engineering, 3,
520 (2015).
[12] J. Liu et al., Applied Physics Letters 89, 063125 (2006).
[13] X. Xugang et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 063101 (2007).
[14] X. Xugang and B. Ahmed, J Nanopart Res 10, 947 (2008).
[15] A. Nojeh et al., in Proceedings of the IEEE 14th International Mixed -
Signals, Sensors, and Systems Test Workshop (2008).
DOI: 10.1109/IMS3TW.2008.4581628.
[16] D. Carrier and J. J. Dubowski, in Proceedings of the Annual
COMSOL Conference (2009).
https://www.comsol.jp/paper/download/44808/Carrier.pdf
[17] C.Chen et al., Nature Nanotechnology 4, 861(2009).
[18] F Landolsi and F H Ghorbel, Smart Mater. Struct. 19, 065028(2010).
[19] Z. Hassan et al., IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of
Integrated Circuits and Systems 28, 6(2009).
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