Nanophotonics software from Lumerical improves fiber-optic and silicon-photonic component design

Vancouver, BC, Canada--Nanophotonics software company Lumerical Solutions introduced its MODE Solutions 5.0, an upgrade to its MODE Solutions waveguide design product. The upgrade extends the flexible eigensolver technology of MODE to include an electromagnetic propagator able to address optical components measuring up to hundreds of microns in extent, including silicon photonics components, optical interconnects, photonic crystal devices, and resonators. In addition, MODE Solutions 5.0 incorporates prior advances in distributed and concurrent computing and optimization developed for finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) Solutions to provide photonics software optimization capabilities within MODE Solutions that will streamline the design of complex integrated optical devices.

"The new propagator feature in MODE Solutions 5.0 is based on a fully vectorial approach that provides 2.5D accuracy with only the computational expense of a 2D algorithm," said Lumerical CTO James Pond. "With the ability to model dispersive materials over wide bandwidths in a single calculation, and without the limitation of many propagation methods that only work along a single optical axis, MODE Solutions will address a broad set of guided-wave applications with Lumerical’s proven expertise at solving tough design problems of interest to our customers world-wide."

"The waveguide mode solver in MODE Solutions provides fast and precise optical mode calculation of large mode area fibers for high power, high pulse energy fiber amplifiers," said Xiang Peng, senior research scientist at Raydiance. "MODE Solutions can analyze the impact of bend radius on effective mode area and the onset of self-phase modulation in fiber amplifiers and lasers, and optimize fiber tapers for application to fiber mode field adaptors."

According to Mark Webster of Lightwire, "We use MODE Solutions extensively for developing silicon photonic devices. Its accuracy and scripting environment enables us to design and characterize devices with speed and confidence, and the new built-in optimizer and concurrent computing capabilities will make this even better. The new propagator feature is a unique and exciting development that we look forward to using with more challenging designs. Combined with FDTD Solutions, we believe this is the industry’s leading waveguide design and simulation suite for silicon photonics."

SOURCE: Lumerical; www.lumerical.com/company/news/releases/mode_broadband_omnidirectional_waveguide_design.html