Lumerical's 2018a Release Introduces New Finite Element Optical Solver

Latest DEVICE version incorporates discontinuous Galerkin time-domain optical simulator to enhance multiphysics design capabilities for complex photonic devices.

Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) - Lumerical Inc., (http://www.lumerical.com) a leading developer of photonic simulation tools, announced today the 2018a release of its software suite: FDTD Solutions, MODE Solutions, DEVICE, and INTERCONNECT. The new release introduces a finite element optical solver, DEVICE DGTD, to Lumerical’s portfolio of simulation engines, along with significant enhancements to DEVICE’s 3D CAD framework. The company also maintains its commitment to best-in-class workflow integration with the addition of powerful electronic/photonic co-simulation improvements to its INTERCONNECT photonic integrated circuit simulation package. Together, these advancements provide designers with a complete suite of tools to tackle the design challenges posed by increasingly complex photonic components and higher levels of circuit integration.

DEVICE DGTD, a high-performance time-domain optical solver based on the discontinuous Galerkin time-domain (DGTD) method, delivers high accuracy and simulation efficiency for challenging applications, including plasmonics and metamaterials where curved metallic interfaces are often involved. As part of DEVICE, Lumerical’s multiphysics design and simulation environment, the DGTD solver brings optical modeling capabilities to complex multi-solver workflows associated with components employing optoelectronic and optothermal effects.

“We are excited to introduce our first finite element optical solver, which addresses current and next-generation photonic devices that often require simulating and analyzing multiple physical effects,” said James Pond, CTO of Lumerical. “Understanding the interplay between electrical, thermal, and optical phenomena is essential for our users to deliver reliable, manufacturable and cost-effective products to a demanding market. DEVICE DGTD is integral to achieving our vision of providing a comprehensive suite of high-performance physical solvers, circuit simulators and third-party integrations for next-generation photonic design.”

Lumerical will present the DEVICE DGTD solution in two webinars on December 5th and 6th. The webinars will introduce the DGTD method of solving Maxwell’s equations, and highlight the latest updates to the DEVICE design environment using select application examples. Learn more and register at http://www.lumerical.com/dgtd.

The latest enhancements to Lumerical’s INTERCONNECT photonic integrated circuit simulator improve electronic and photonic integrations and co-simulation, making it possible for more complex optoelectronic devices and chip scale effects to be prototyped and optimized within established design workflows. This capability is essential to simulate integrated photonic systems with electronic drivers, controllers and receivers and is the subject of ongoing development by Lumerical. Other features of note in INTERCONNECT include forward error correction (FEC) coding and decoding elements that support different hard- and soft-decision algorithms.

The 2018a release also improves multi-threading support in FDTD Solutions, reducing computational times for many applications on modern workstations. Lumerical continues to engineer its high-performance simulators to leverage increased memory bandwidth and additional cores available in the latest processor technologies, including the Xeon Phi and Skylake-SP.

The 2018a release is available for download at: http://www.lumerical.com

About Lumerical
Lumerical develops photonic simulation software – tools which enable product designers to understand light, and predict how it behaves within complex structures, circuits, and systems. Since being founded in 2003, Lumerical has grown to license its design tools in over 50 countries and its customers include 10 of the top 15 companies in the S&P 1200 Global IT index, and 46 of the top 50 research universities as rated by the Times Higher Education rankings. Lumerical’s substantial impact on the photonic design and simulation community means its tools are among the most widely cited in the scientific press, with references in more than 6500 academic publications and patents. Lumerical enables its customers to achieve more with light, and establish a leading position in the development of transformative technologies employing photonics.