Applications

Case studies of simulations with Photon Design software


You can click on each theme below to display some case studies.

                   


Please note that this list is far from exhaustive. If you do not find what you are looking for please do not hesitate to give us a call to discuss your requirements!

Planar Waveguides

FIMMPROP
Passive silicon photonics (or high-index contrast) components

FIMMPROP is probably the most widely used propagation tool for the modelling of silicon photonics: rigorous (no slowly varying approximation), fully vectorial, offering wide angle capability and very high design flexibility. The examples below are a selection of applications focusing on silicon photonics.

Modes of SOI Waveguides or High Index Contrast Waveguides

Fiber to Chip Silicon Vertical Grating Coupler

Inverted Taper for Fiber to Silicon Chip Coupling

Optical Ring Resonator Filter

Directional coupler with S-bends

SOI MMI Wavelength Demultiplexer

An SG-DBR cavity in SOI

Anti-Reflection coating for silicon waveguide facet

Tools:
FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Multi-mode interference (MMI) couplers

EME is the most efficient method to design and simulate Multi-Mode Interference (MMI) Couplers!

1x4 SOI MMI Coupler - Optimisation with Kallistos

1x8 AlGaAs MMI Coupler

1x2 SOI MMI Wavelength Demultiplexer

Tools:
FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Modelling tapers and other z-varying waveguides

FIMMPROP's 3D taper algorithm makes it the most versatile implementation of EME, whether it is to simulate a mode size-converting taper or the coupling region and spectral response of an SOI ring resonator.

Optical Ring Resonator Filter

Inverted Planar Taper for Fiber to Silicon Chip Coupling

Lensed Fiber for Chip Coupling

Tapered Fiber Filter

Tapered Metal-coated SNOM Fiber Probe

Planar Y-junction power splitter

Directional coupler with S-bends

Optimize Taper Designs (with Kallistos)

Create optimal S-Bends (with Kallistos)  

Tools:
FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Modelling curved waveguides (bends)

Find the modes of arbitrary bent waveguides and calculate associated bend losses with FIMMWAVE. Model non-circular bends and insertion losses with FIMMPROP.

Bend modes of a Planar SOI Waveguide

Whispering Cavity Modes of a Microdisk Resonator

Tools:
FIMMWAVE, FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Waveguide-based planar gratings

FIMMPROP offers two complementary approaches (RCMT and EME) for modelling optical gratings and periodic structures such as Bragg gratings or polarisation rotators.

Fiber to Chip Vertical Grating Coupler

An SG-DBR cavity in SOI

Wide Bandwidth Grating-Assisted Directional Coupler

Grating-Assisted Spot-Size Converter

Tools:
FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Mode solving for arbitrary planar waveguides

FIMMWAVE supports a large number of complementary mode solvers, which allows it to solve a large variety of waveguides which may be made of any material and of almost any geometry. FIMMWAVE allows you to find the modes, calculate mode size, dispersion, single mode conditions and perform arbitrary parameter scans.

Please see also Optical Fibers for mode solving and propagation in optical fibres.

Modes of SOI Waveguides or High Index Contrast Waveguides

Bend Modes

Microwave Modes of a Microstrip Line

Tools:
FIMMWAVE, FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Diffused waveguides, ARROW waveguides and other geometries

FIMMWAVE/FIMMPROP can be used to design any arbitrary waveguide geometry.

Modes of Diffused Waveguides

Modes of Slot Waveguides and Cross-Slot Waveguides

Modes of ARROW Waveguides

Modes of Surface Plasmon Waveguides

Tools:
FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Thermo-optic effects in waveguides

FIMMWAVE's Thermo-Optic Solver can be used to model thermal lensing, self heating and thermo-optic switches.

Thermal Profiler: thermal lensing, self-heating

Tools:
FIMMWAVE, FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Electro-optic effects in waveguides

FIMMWAVE's Electro-Optic Solver can be used to model electro-optic effects in waveguides and electro-optic switches.
Tools:
FIMMWAVE, FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Thermally-induced stress in waveguides

FIMMWAVE's Stress Solver can be used to model the effect of thermally induced stress in waveguides, for instance in PANDA fibres.
Tools:
FIMMWAVE, FIMMPROP

Photonic Integrated Circuits

FIMMPROP
Active Photonic Circuits

A selection of photonic circuits with active components (SOAs or lasers) simulated with PICWave. Its time-domain engine will allow you to simulate all the dynamics of the circuit!

Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (DQPSK)

An active 2R optical regenerator

A 4x4 switch

A balanced photo-detector

A travelling wave modulator

Interface between PICWave and Harold (hetero-structure model)

Tools:
PICWave, Harold, FIMMPROP
PICWave
Passive Photonic Circuits

PICWave can also model passive photonic circuits, including by importing component models from rigorous Maxwell solvers such as FIMMPROP.

Nonlinear processes in Periodically-Poled Lithium Niobate

Large ring resonators (with FIMMPROP)

Dispersion-compensating Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG)

Interface between PICWave and FIMMPROP (component model)

Tools:
PICWave, FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Building Blocks and PDKs

A PICWave building block is a sub-circuit (a laser or MZI, for example) which can be used and re-used as an element in any other circuit. PICWave allows you to create your own libraries of building blocks, which can include parameterised FIMMPROP component models.

We currently supply various design kit libraries for different fabs.

Building Block System

Design Kits

Interface between PICWave and FIMMPROP (component model)

Tools:
PICWave, FIMMPROP

Silicon Photonics

FIMMPROP
Passive silicon photonics components with FIMMPROP

FIMMWAVE/FIMMPROP is probably the most widely used propagation tool for the modelling of silicon photonics: rigorous (no slowly varying approximation), fully vectorial, offering wide angle capability and very high design flexibility. The examples below are a selection of applications focusing on silicon photonics.

Modes of SOI Waveguides or High Index Contrast Waveguides

Fiber to Chip Silicon Vertical Grating Coupler

Inverted Taper for Fiber to Silicon Chip Coupling

Optical Ring Resonator Filter

SOI MMI Wavelength Demultiplexer

An SG-DBR cavity in SOI

Anti-Reflection coating for silicon waveguide facet

Tools:
FIMMWAVE, FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Passive silicon nano-photonics with FDTD and FETD


Although FIMMPROP is generally the best method for modelling passive silicon photonics components, FDTD and FETD can also be useful.
 

Optimisation of 90-degree crossing and 90-degree bend

Tools:
OmniSim
FIMMPROP
Silicon photonic circuits and hybrid III-V/SOI lasers

PICWave and Harold can be used to model a variety of active silicon devices, from hybrid silicon/III-V lasers to QCSE modulators. PICWave can also be used to model active and passive PICs based on silicon or other platforms.

Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) hybrid tapered laser

A SOI/III-V Hybrid Laser

SiGe Electro-Absorption Modulators (QCSE)

Large ring resonators (link with FIMMPROP)

Tools:
PICWave, Harold
FIMMPROP
D/WDM for silicon photonics


EPIPPROP can model AWGs and echelle gratings in silicon photonics and other high-index platforms.

AWGs

Echelle Gratings

Tools:
Epipprop

Laser Diodes and SOAs

Harold
Modelling laser diodes and and SOAs

PICWave and Harold offer a highly effective combination for modelling active devices: Harold allows you to simulate the physics of the hetero-structure, and PICWave can include this model into a larger circuit, allowing you to model any type of laser geometry.

High Power Fabry-Perot laser (Harold only)

Mode hopping in a Fabry-Perot laser

SOI/III-V Hybrid Laser

Tapered hybrid laser

SOA modelling (combination of Harold and PICWave models)

Full 3D VCSEL Model

Mode-locked laser

Quarter-wavelength shifted DFB laser + modulator

SG-DBR tuneable laser

Tools:
Harold, PICWave
FIMMPROP
Optical cavity modes of VCSELs

FIMMPROP is an ideal tool for modelling the passive optical properties of VCSELs e.g. detecting the resonant wavelengths, the field and mode distribution of the cavity modes and the losses. The VCSELs can be cylindrically symmetric or arbitrary in shape and FIMMPROP can model optical external feedback e.g. VCSELs laterally coupled to slow light waveguides.

Optical Cavity Modes of VCSEL and DFB Lasers

Tools:
FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Modelling nano-lasers with Active FDTD

You can use our Active FDTD tool for modelling laser structures with unusual laser geometries, for instance laser nano-rods or photonic crystal lasers.

Photonic Crystal Lasers

Tools:
OmniSim, CrystalWave

Optical Fibres

Fibres
Cylindrical fibres

FIMMWAVE and FIMMPROP can design a large variety of fiber components, allowing you to calculate the modes of the fibres and their dispersion, or modelling propagation through complex fibre-based devices.

Modes of Cylindrical Optical Fibres

Tapered Optical Fibers

Fiber-to-Chip End Coupling

Lensed Fibers (Fiber-to-Chip Coupling)

Fiber Bragg Gratings

Multicore Photonic-Crystal Fiber 1x4 Power Splitter

Tapered Metal-coated SNOM Fiber Probe

OAM modes and vortex beams

Tools:
FIMMWAVE, FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Fibre Bragg Gratings

PICWave is a powerful tool for modelling Fibre Bragg Gratings, which will allow you to model the effect of dispersion, apodisation and chirp. You can also model periodic FBGs with FIMMPROP.

Dispersion-compensating Fiber Bragg Grating (PICWave)

Fiber Bragg Gratings (FIMMPROP)

Tools:
FIMMPROP, PICWave
FIMMPROP
Multi-core fibres

You can use can use FIMMWAVE and FIMMPROP to model multi-core fibres, including cross-talk modelling in straight and bent MCFs, or simulating their performance as power splitters.

Multicore Photonic-Crystal Fiber 1x4 Power Splitter

Tools:
FIMMWAVE, FIMMPROP
Fibres
Photonic crystal fibres and specialty fibres

You can design and simulate photonic crystal fibres very easily in FIMMWAVE, and study propagation through z-varying PCF structures with FIMMPROP.

Modes of Photonic Crystal Fibres

Modes of an Anti-Guiding Fiber (e.g. Hollow Core)

Tools:
FIMMWAVE, FIMMPROP

Fiber-to-chip coupling

FIMMPROP
Fibre-to-chip grating couplers

OmniSim's Surface Grating Coupler Design Utility allows you to design and optimise surface grating couplers (chip to fiber couplers) automatically, in both 2D and 3D. You can also use FIMMPROP to model design and simulate surface grating couplers in 2D.

2D/3D Surface Grating Coupler Design Utility (OmniSim)

2D Surface Grating Coupler (FIMMPROP)

Tools:
FIMMPROP, OmniSim
FIMMPROP
Fibre-to-chip end coupling

Modelling light coupling from a fibre facet to a waveguide facet across a gap or via a lensed waveguide can be done within a few minutes with FIMMPROP.

Fiber-to-Chip End Coupling

Lensed Fibers (Fiber-to-Chip Coupling)

Tools:
FIMMPROP

Plasmonics & Metamaterials

FIMMPROP
Propagation in plasmonic waveguides

FIMMWAVE and FIMMPROP can model propagation in plasmonic waveguides with great accuracy.

Surface Plasmon Modes

Microwave Modes of a Microstrip Line

A Tapered Metal-coated SNOM Fiber Probe

Tools:
FIMMWAVE, FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Nano-Plasmonics and Nano-Antennae, and Nano-Particles

OmniSim is the ultimate tool for modelling nano-plasmonic, thanks to its combination of FDTD for fast simulations and FETD for high precision.

All of OmniSim's engines can be used to model plasmonic structures: FETD, FDTD, RCWA and FEFD.

Nano-antennae (bow-tie and nut geometries)

Mie Scattering from a gold cylinder

Light Harvesters

Nonlinear Plasmonics

OmniSim brochure for nano-photonics and nano-plasmonics

Tools:
OmniSim
FIMMPROP
Metamaterials

You can model metamaterials using a combination of OmniSim's RCWA and FETD engines, both of which allow you to inject light into an infinitely periodic structure using arbitrary orientation.

Modelling the properties of 2D/3D metamaterials with FETD

Modelling an infinitely periodic structure using RCWA

More about FETD and Bloch boundaries

Tools:
OmniSim

Graphene

FIMMPROP
Modelling graphene and 2D materials

OmniSim's FETD engine features a true 2D surface material model, ideal for modelling graphene-based devices.

Modelling resonances in graphene ribbons

Tools:
OmniSim

D/WDM

FIMMPROP
Design, simulate and optimise AWGs with EPIPPROP 

EPIPPROP will allow you to design and simulate AWGs very easily.

AWGs

Tools:
Epipprop
FIMMPROP
Design, simulate and optimise Echelle gratings with EPIPPROP 

EPIPPROP features multiple flexible echelle grating templates.

Echelle Gratings

Tools:
Epipprop

Micro-cavities and Micro-resonators

FIMMPROP
Micro-cavities

Micro-cavities can be modelled in various ways depending on their geometry. Short cavities can be modelled with OmniSim and CrystalWave's FDTD and FETD, whilst very long waveguide cavities can be modelled in FIMMPROP.

For laser cavities please see Laser Diodes & SOAs.

Q-Factor Calculator: a Photonic Crystal Cavity

An SG-DBR cavity in SOI

Optical Cavity Modes of VCSEL and DFB Lasers

Tools:
OmniSim, CrystalWave, FIMMPROP
OmniSim
Micro-ring and micro-disk resonators

There are many different ways of modelling micro-ring or micro-disk resonators: small resonators can be modelled with OmniSim's FDTD and FETD engines, whilst large resonators are best modelled using a combination of FIMMPROP's EME tool and PICWave's circuit model.

Small ring resonator modelled with OmniSim's FDTD and FETD

Large ring resonator modelled with FIMMPROP

Ring resonator circuit modelled with FIMMPROP and PICWave

Tools:
OmniSim, CrystalWave, FIMMPROP, PICWave

Optical Gratings

FIMMPROP
Waveguide-based gratings

FIMMPROP offers two complementary approaches (RCMT and EME) for modelling optical gratings and periodic structures such as Bragg gratings, polarisation rotators or even twisted fibre couplers.

FIMMPROP's approach is particularly powerful when modelling long gratings, where FDTD or finite-element methods would be highly inefficient.

Fiber to Chip Vertical Grating Coupler

An SG-DBR cavity in SOI

Fiber Bragg Gratings

Wide Bandwidth Grating-Assisted Directional Coupler

Grating-Assisted Spot-Size Converter

Optical Modes of a Laser Cavity (VCSEL, DFB)

Tools:
FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Modelling arbitrary gratings with OmniSim

OmniSim can be used to model a variety of optical grating structures thanks to its various Maxwell solvers: FETD, FDTD, RCWA and FEFD.

Wide Bandwidth Grating-Assisted Directional Coupler

Diffraction Grating (RCWA)

Diffraction Grating (FDTD, FETD)

Surface Grating Coupler

Tools:
OmniSim
FIMMPROP
Fibre-to-chip grating couplers

OmniSim's Surface Grating Coupler Design Utility allows you to design and optimise surface grating couplers (chip to fiber couplers) automatically, in both 2D and 3D. You can also use FIMMPROP to model design and simulate surface grating couplers in 2D.

2D/3D Surface Grating Coupler Design Utility (OmniSim)

2D Surface Grating Coupler (FIMMPROP)

Tools:
FIMMPROP, OmniSim
FIMMPROP
Gratings in circuit or laser models

Provide PICWave with the Kappa coefficients for your grating to include complex apodised and chirped gratings (including DBRs and FBGs) into your circuit or laser diode model.

Dispersion-compensating Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG)

A SG-DBR tuneable laser

Tools:
PICWave
FIMMPROP
Anti-reflection (AR) coatings and Thin Film Filters

FIMMPROP's unique combination of EME and PWE algorithms can be used to model the effect of AR coatings and thin film filters on the actual modes of the adjacent waveguides.

Anti-Reflection coating for silicon waveguide facet

Tools:
FIMMPROP
FIMMPROP
Design, simulate and optimise AWGs and Echelle gratings with EPIPPROP 

EPIPPROP is the ultimate tool for all of your W/DWM needs.

AWGs

Echelle Gratings

Tools:
Epipprop

Diffractive Optics

Diffractive Optics
Modelling diffraction gratings with OmniSim

OmniSim can be used to model diffractive optics thanks to its various Maxwell solvers: FETD, FDTD, RCWA and FEFD. RCWA and FETD can be used to model infinitely periodic gratings in 2D and 3D with oblique incidence, and the combination of FDTD and FETD is ideal for modelling aperiodic structures.  

Diffraction Grating (RCWA)

Diffraction Grating (FDTD, FETD)

Tools:
OmniSim

Modulators

FIMMPROP
QCSE electro-absorption and electro-refractive modulators

Simulation of AlGaAs and SiGe electro-absorption modulators relying on QCSE with Harold EAM.

Electro-Absorption Modulators (QCSE)

Tools:
Harold
FIMMPROP
Travelling-wave modulators

PICWave’s travelling wave electrode model allows the simulation of electrical signal propagation along electrodes and the resulting effects on electrical-optical interaction in active components.

A travelling wave modulator

Tools:
PICWave

Photonic Crystals

CrystalWave
Modelling 2D and 3D photonic crystals

CrystalWave is the ultimate design and simulation tool for photonic crystals.

Band Diagrams, Bloch Modes and Band Surfaces

Guided Bloch Modes of a Photonic Crystal Waveguide

A Photonic Crystal Y-junction

Q-Factor Calculator: a Photonic Crystal Cavity

Photonic Crystal Lasers

Nonlinear FDTD: A Photonic Crystal Cavity

Photonic Crystal Optimisation: a Y-Junction (with Kallistos)

Tools:
CrystalWave

Nonlinear Optics

FIMMPROP
Passive nonlinear structures

OmniSim and CrystalWave's FDTD and FETD engines can be used to model propagation through arbitrary nonlinear structures.

Nonlinear FETD: temporal soliton (chi3)

Nonlinear FDTD: a photonic crystal cavity

Tools:
OmniSim, CrystalWave
FIMMPROP
Nonlinear effects in SOAs and active circuits

PICWave can be used to model nonlinear effects in active devices within large optical circuits, allowing you for instance to characterise the effect of four-wave mixing on the response.

Four-wave mixing in an SOA

Tools:
PICWave
FIMMPROP
Modelling PPLN sections

PICWave can be used for the design and simulation of periodically-poled nonlinear sections (e.g. periodically-poled lithium niobate - PPLN) for second harmonic generation, phase sensitive amplification and wavelength conversion.

Nonlinear processes in Periodically-Poled Lithium Niobate

Tools:
PICWave

Microwave Optics

FIMMPROP
Model waveguides and devices in the microwave domain

Microwave Modes of a Microstrip Line

Tools:
FIMMWAVE, FIMMPROP

Optimisation

Kallistos
Optimise your structures with Kallistos

Combine Kallistos's advanced optimisation routines with other Photon Design tools to optimise your devices automatically.

Optimisation of a taper profile (with FIMMPROP)

Optimisation of an S-Bend (with FIMMPROP)  

Optimisation of an MMI coupler (with FIMMPROP)

Optimisation of a photonic crystal Y-junction (with CrystalWave)

Optimisation of silicon nanophotonics devices (with OmniSim)

Tools:
Kallistos, FIMMPROP, OmniSim, CrystalWave