Passivity enforcement via perturbation of Hamiltonian matrices

This paper presents a new technique for the passivity enforcement of linear time-invariant multiport systems in state-space form. This technique is based on a study of the spectral properties of related Hamiltonian matrices. The formulation is applicable in case the system input-output transfer function is in admittance, impedance, hybrid, or scattering form. A standard test for passivity is first performed by checking the existence of imaginary eigenvalues of the associated Hamiltonian matrix. In the presence of imaginary eigenvalues the system is not passive. In such a case, a new result based on first-order perturbation theory is presented for the precise characterization of the frequency bands where passivity violations occur. This characterization is then used for the design of an iterative perturbation scheme of the state matrices, aimed at the displacement of the imaginary eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian matrix. The result is an effective algorithm leading to the compensation of the passivity violations. This procedure is very efficient when the passivity violations are small, so that first-order perturbation is applicable. Several examples illustrate and validate the procedure.