Shared Features
Application Gallery
The Application Gallery is available from within Lumerical tools and includes proven design and optimization examples for applications such as grating couplers, ring modulators, photonic resonators, CMOS image sensors, and many more. Photonic component designers can now take advantage of validated examples, delivered in-product, providing a significant head start in their design work. Designers uniquely benefit from in-product discovery and download of examples that are created, improved and enhanced on a continuous basis. Check out the Application Gallery here: Applications Gallery.
Upgraded New-Project Options
All products feature an upgraded new-project dialog, showcasing the Application Gallery examples with full-text search, and quick links to open recent projects or examples. Use your Lumerical.com login to quickly download and open the examples in-product.
Optical Material Import from refractiveindex.info (Optical Solvers)
Sampled data optical material properties can now be directly imported from files in the YAML (.yml) format, which is the format used in the refractiveindex.info database. The import utility will automatically select the appropriate units and display reference information when it is available. For more information, please visit the Knowledge Base: Creating Sampled Data Materials (under the “Adding a new material from a .yml data file” section).
Improvements to GDSII Export Commands
When exporting shapes to a GDSII file, the layer specification can now be augmented with datatype information Check out the script commands for GDS export (and import) on this KB page: GDSII.
Integration with External Script File Editors
The script editor in all products now watches your file for changes on disk, with warnings and single click to reload. This will help users that prefer their own editor, or who are working with a script in multiple windows. Check out this new feature by downloading the latest versions of your Lumerical products from here: Product Downloads.
Intel MPI
For photonic component designers utilizing HPC resources to accelerate simulations, Lumerical’s physical component solvers can now target execution through Intel’s MPI commands. This feature is available in Lumerical FDTD Solutions, MODE solutions and DEVICE, and enables distributed computing on advanced processors with high numbers of cores. The Intel MPI can be set up in the Resource Configuration of all component solvers.
Improved Python API
New capabilities have been added to the python API:
Constructors – When adding an object, the object’s properties can now be set through constructor parameters.
Constructors – When adding an object, the add___ command now returns a sim object that be used to manipulate that object.
Dict access – Sim object properties can now be accessed using dict-style notation.
Deep access – Nested sim object properties can now be accessed using dot or dict-style notation.
Hierarchical access – Parents and children of sim objects can now be accessed using a sim object method.
Improved Performance for Locating Resonances in High-Q Cavities
The new script command findresonances allows users to extrapolate limited time-domain signals to determine resonance frequencies and Q-factor. This feature can substantially reduce simulation time when studying structures with resonant modes, including ring resonators, photonic crystal cavities, Bragg microcavities, and others. The following examples demonstrate the use of this new command: whispering gallery modes in a GaN rod and plasmonic resonator.
FDTD Solutions - Version S2019A-R1 (8.21.1781)
Enhancements for S-Parameter Simulation and Analysis
Multiple improvements were made to increase the performance and usability of features for S-parameter simulation and analysis in FDTD Solutions. Mode port placement has been simplified with support for locating ports at PML interfaces. The new auto-symmetry option in the S-parameter sweep utility automatically determines the mapping between symmetric ports, minimizing the number of simulations required to calculate the full S-matrix. Additionally, simulation files for an S-parameter sweep can now be generated without running simulations, enabling users to distribute the sweep across several computational nodes in a cluster and collect the results to generate the full S-parameter matrix.
MODE Solutions - Version S2019A-R1 (7.13.1781)
Automation Improvements for EME Simulations
Custom cell group settings for the EME solver (such as number of trial modes, bent waveguide settings, etc.) can now be modified using the scripting language. With this capability users now have full access to EME solver settings through script, enabling completely automated simulation workflows. To see an example of how to use this feature check out this KB page: seteigensolver.
DEVICE - Version S2019A-R1 (7.3.1781)
Workflow Utility
New in DEVICE, Workflows allow you to easily build a multi-step simulation sequence within your project. This new utility can automate the execution of multiple solvers, parameter sweeps, data transfer and result analysis. Workflows support custom parameter and result definitions and can store solver configurations for documented repeatability of simulations. Multiple Workflows can be added to a project to capture different aspects of application-specific analysis. Learn more about Workflow Management with our example characterization of an electro-optic modulator.
Global Excitation (DGTD)
The global excitation feature introduces a background source with a random divergence-free spatial profile spanning the simulation domain. This enables the simultaneous excitation of all modes in a specified frequency range, simplifying resonance and Q-factor analysis. See this new feature in action by exploring our Plasmonic Resonator example.
Image Sensor Efficiency and Cross-Talk (CHARGE)
For photodetector and image sensor design, this new feature calculates the current collection probability at the contact(s) with a single steady-state CHARGE simulation. The resulting spatially varying collection probability gives an intuitive picture of the photodetector’s sensitivity to optical absorption, enabling tailored electrostatic design to maximize internal quantum efficiency and minimize cross-talk. With a single simulation, the signal in the direct and cross-talk channels can be calculated for arbitrary optical generation rate profiles, e.g. representing angular variation or micro-lens shift. For more information and a detailed example please see CMOS Image Sensor – Angular Response.
Automated IV Sweep (CHARGE)
New features in the electrical contacts make steady-state voltage sweeps easier for highly nonlinear devices, including avalanche photodiodes. In addition to voltage sweeps by range and by value, the new auto sweep enables fully automatic generation of IV curves based on a minimal input about the voltage grid, taking care of desired smoothness and managing successful convergence. To learn more about this new feature, please explore our 10-V Ge-on-Si APD with Si Multiplication application example.
Simplified Extraction and Modeling of Ion Implant Parameters (CHARGE)
New Scripts commands (implantrange, implantstraggle, implantskewness, implantkurtosis, and implantlateralscatter) calculate the necessary parameters for the implant doping objects based on the dopant species and implant energy. Additional commands (fitnormpdf, fitpearson4pdf) have also been added to fit measured doping profiles and extract the parameters for the implant doping model, enabling accurate parameterization of the implant model.
INTERCONNECT - Version S2019A-R1 (8.5.1781)
Lumerical and Cadence Integrated Design Flow
New features were included to enhance the electronics/photonics schematic driven design, co-simulation, and schematic driven layout work flow:
A new PDK verification feature offers PDK consistency checking (e.g., parameter names, model names, port names).
A new frequency response analysis is provided for electro-optical co-simulation.
Streamline electro-optical co-simulation is now supported by Virtuoso® ADE Explorer.
INTERCONNECT is automatically shut down by the end of electro-optical co-simulation.
INTERCONNECT simulation time window setup supports design variable.
INTERCONNECT netlister can netlist components having parent parameters (pPar).
For more information, please visit the following page: Integrated electronics/photonics design automation environment.
Lumerical and Mentor Integrated Design Flow
The Lumerical and Mentor layout-driven flow now enables users to design and layout production level photonic integrated circuits, using the new INTERCONNECT-Tanner interoperability option. It features:
Integrated tool flow:
Circuit layout in Tanner L-Edit Photonics complemented by Mentor’s new LightSuite™ Photonic Compiler
Physical verification with Calibre eqDRC
Netlist exchange from Tanner L-Edit Photonics circuit layout to INTERCONNECT
Circuit simulation and analysis with INTERCONNECT
PDK-centric circuit design: The tool flow is built around a Process Design Kit (PDK) comprised of:
Validated Mentor OA-based layouts for each foundry circuit component
Lumerical INTERCONNECT compact model library (CML) calibrated to the foundry process
The TowerJazz PH Mentor PDK complete with the TowerJazz Ph Lumerical INTERCONNECT based CML is available today. For more information and a demonstration of the flow, please visit the following page: Mentor and Lumerical Partner with TowerJazz to advance photonic IC design. Lumerical also offers the GPIC CML to support integrated flow demonstration with Mentor’s GPIC iPDK which serves as a template for PDK designers.
Protected Properties
When a property is protected in a published compact model, end-users cannot see, list or read the property through GUI or script environment, but this property can still be accessed and varied by the simulator in the Monte Carlo analysis tool. This is an additional functionality for building compact model libraries.
Improvements to the Traveling Wave Laser Element
New feature in the Traveling Wave Laser Model element (TWLM) allows for time-resolved longitudinal carrier profile data to be output to a text file in matrix format.
Bug Fixes
Shared features
- Waveguide object (Bezier curve) can accept poles in any order.
- Program does not crash when providing wrong input to a planar solid.
- stackrt does not give an incorrect error message when the number of layers and the number of frequency points is the same.
- Improved concatenation of nested sweep results.
- Vector plot gets updated with vector or scalar operation.
FDTD Solutions - Version S2019A-R1 (8.21.1781)
- Fixed “FDTD version mismatch” test in resource configuration test reports.
fdtd-run-local.sh & fdtd-run-local.bat includes -t flag to improve CPU usage. - The script command workspace shows all data types.
- Updated "fdtd-pbs-template.sh" script.
- Overlap function unfolds data from monitors when using symmetric boundary conditions.
MODE Solutions - Version S2019A-R1 (7.13.1781)
- Improved validation of parameter sweeps.
- Improved GUI behavior in the EME setup tab inside the EME solver edit window.
- Multiple reminders for new version of software are not shown.
- Multi-coefficient material fitting works properly when plotting option "Show material data" is unchecked.
- Consistent labeling of farfield dataset.
- Calculation in "model" passes correct value to EME span setting.
- Properties that cannot be accessed in parameter sweep are hidden in lists.
DEVICE - Version S2019A-R1 (7.3.1781)
- Installation issues with newer versions of Visual C++ 2015 has been fixed.
- Fixed slow calculation of partitioned volume for reported cases.
INTERCONNECT - Version S2019A-R1 (8.5.1781)
- Standard file browser is used when looking for a file from the Property View editor.
- INTERCONNECT session can be opened from any product using command opensession("interconnect").
- Project files with relative path can be loaded using the script command load.
- Optimization in the S parameter element reduces time to find filter coefficients in time-domain simulations.
- Fixed broken link to Compound element help file.