New Features

Shared Features

Bundled license manager on Windows

The installation process has been simplified on Windows OS by bundling and automatically installing the license manager together with the main products. It is no longer necessary to download and separately install the license manager application on Windows.

3D CAD geometry improvements

The new bezier waveguide primitive 2 object makes creating ridge waveguides with sidewall angles easier. The planar solid object provides new functionality for creating complex 3D planar objects. The new Standard Tessellation Language (.STL) file import makes it easy to import complex geometry data from other CAD tools.

FDTD Solutions and MODE Solutions

Stretched coordinate PML

The new stretched coordinate PML (SCPML) uses a state of the art formulation [1] that incorporates many recent advances and delivers a number of advantages including better absorption and greater numerical stability when compared to the uniaxial anisotropic PML (UPML) provided in earlier versions of the software. The new PML is available in the FDTD, varFDTD, FDE and EME solvers.

More flexible PML settings

A more flexible PML configuration utility makes it possible to independently adjust the PML parameters on each boundary. While not typically required, this level of flexibility can be important in some advanced applications.

Improved import source

The Import source 1 in the FDTD solver now supports an easier to use .mat file format for importing field data from an analytic equation, from a different Lumerical simulation or a 3rd party simulation tool. The importdataset command makes it possible to import the data into the source with a script command.

EME can now use an arbitrary field profile as an input source

An arbitrary file profile can be used as an input source in a EME port.

EME solver error estimates

New error diagnostic tools in the EME solver make convergence testing much faster and easier.

EME solver multi-threading

Multi-threading in the EME solver makes the simulations significantly faster than the prior version (often several times faster).

More EME improvements

A new monitor field profile smoothing feature provides much smoother field profiles when using the CVCS method. The mode solver properties (such as the number of trial modes) can now be adjusted independently in each cell group. Monitors can now be added while in Analysis mode. Field profile monitors can now be oriented in the X normal direction. Field profile monitors can now export field data to a .mat file, which can be used as a source in later FDTD or EME simulations.

DEVICE Solvers

Spatially varying alloy compositions

Expanded list of materials in material database

A large number of new materials, including many alloy materials, have been added to the default DEVICE material database.

Major update to material database framework

The DEVICE material database has undergone a major update to enhance its usability and add support for more advanced material systems including spatially varying alloys.

Green’s Function IQE Method

Calculation of the Internal Quantum Efficiency (IQE) 1 is now possible with the introduction of a variety of new new features including point (delta) generation source.

INTERCONNECT 4.5

Traveling Wave Electrode

• The fundamental idea underlying traveling wave electrodes in contrast to lumped electrodes is that the distributed capacitance does not limit the modulator speed. Proper design enables identical propagation speed of the optical and the modulating electrical signal, permitting the phase modulation to accumulate monotonically and independent of frequency. The new INTERCONNECT traveling wave electrode allows for simulation of the propagation speed mismatch, microwave loss and impedance mismatch.

• Please see the application example Traveling Wave Modulators for more information.

Dynamic Ring Modulator

• In order to improve large scale photonic integrated circuit design, the INTERCONNECT ring modulator primitive element model was extended to support full dynamic behavior.

• The new ring modulator compact model now allows for static, quasi-static and full time dependent analysis of microring resonators, enabling fast and accurate simulation of integrated circuits.

• Please see the whitepapar on INTERCONNECT Ring Modulator Model and the element Optical Ring Modulator for more information. There is also an application example about the Ring Modulator Circuits available online.

SDL and LDS with PhoeniX OptoDesigner®

INTERCONNECT supports schematic driven layout (SDL) and layout driven schematic (LDS) photonic integrated circuit design flows in combination with PhoeniX OptoDesigner.

Improved Simulation and Design Environment

• The new design kits folder in the element library facilitates the process of installing, loading and removing design kits. File dependencies among different design kit elements and files is resolved using environmental variables.

• The new sample mode frequency band property allows for selecting between automatic and single frequency simulation bands, offering more control over the global simulation settings.

• The new diagnostic feature offers a comparison between ideal and fitted frequency transmission of different elements during time-domain simulations, simplifying the process of defining the number of digital filter taps for a given simulation bandwidth.

• The random number generator seed settings were extended to include a random seed option, allowing a different seed for different runs. In combination with the existing automatic and user defined seed, users now have more control over the random number generator behavior.

Extended Element Library

• New jitter source allows for simulation of random and deterministic jitter for electrical signals.

• Microwave loss element supports frequency dependent loss, including linear and squared root frequency dependency.

• Electrode transmission line addresses traveling wave modulator designs, where impedance mismatch, microwave losses and optical and microwave index mismatch are relevant design parameters.

Enhanced Element Library

• RZ and NRZ Pulse Generators: new pre-emphasis option to set overshoot and undershoot factor and period to the generated pulse.

• Optical Phase Shift: frequency dependent phase shift can now be entered as an input parameter.

• Waveguide Coupler: frequency dependent coupling coefficients can now be entered as an input parameter.

• Optical Ring Modulator: new ring modulator compact model allows for static, quasi-static and dynamic analysis of ring modulators.

• Optical N Port S-Parameter: extended file format now allows for user defined port names and position.

• Analyzers: New startup time parameter allows for removal of initial signal transients.

• Optical Modulator Measured: new electrode type parameter allows selection between lumped and traveling wave electrode modulators.

• Impulse and Step sources: new delay and bias parameter permits adding a time and amplitude shift to the generated output signal.

• Symbol Mapper: new bias parameter permits adding an amplitude shift to the generated output signal.

• Compound Element: new parameter allows for disabling the expansion of compound elements.

• Electrical Network Analyzer: new parameters to generate an output signal with user defined amplitude, bias and delay for characterization of electrical and microwave circuits.

New elements
Electrode Transmission Line, Microwave Loss, Jitter Source

New and Enhanced Script Commands
addproperty, seticon, exportschematic 1, importschematic, loaddesignkit, removedesignkit, reloaddesignkit, loadcustom,fileexpand, autosaveon, autosaveoff