New Features
Shared Features
Automation API
Lumerical’s powerful scripting language enables the end user to manipulate simulation objects, run simulations and analyze results, and the API extends the existing functionalities by allowing users to drive any Lumerical application from the scripting environment. This gives the designer complete freedom to define an arbitrary design process that is both repeatable and highly automated. The API can also be driven from MATLAB, allowing the user to utilize any MATLAB Toolbox capabilities when optimizing their designs.
Smith Charts and Polar Plots
The Visualizer now supports both Smith chart and polar plot options.
New script commands
add2visualizer, chebpol, chebpol1, lookupappend, Interoperability commands (API) 1
FDTD Solutions 8.16 and MODE Solutions 7.8
Thin 2D Sheets
New material models for 2D objects 3 allow users to efficiently simulate thin layers with arbitrary dispersive properties. This is very useful for simulating two-dimensional materials like graphene and phosphorene, as well as many applications in the THz and Microwave regime with extremely subwavelength layers.
Transmission Line Analysis Support
New PMC boundaries 2 and impedance calculation utility have been added to facilitate analysis of transmission lines in RF/Microwave frequencies.
Enhanced Mode Solving Engine
The eigenmode solving engine in both FDTD Solutions and MODE Solutions has been upgraded to reduce calculation time and memory.
Improved speed and functionality of near to far field projection calculations
The near to far field projection calculations are now able to analyze multiple frequency points simultaneously by multithreading. See details on the script commands at Near to far field projections 1.
The far field change index analysis group has been updated to take advantage of the updated script commands.
New script commands
add2dpoly 1
DEVICE Design Environment 5.1
Self-consistent Charge/Heat Transport
The charge transport solver 1 in DEVICE now supports both isothermal and non-isothermal temperature dependence. A new “coupled” mode has also been added to simulate the effect of self-heating in high current devices.
Small Signal AC Analysis
The new small signal AC analysis mode 1 allows users to effectively extract frequency domain response where small amplitude/linear approximation is valid.
New script commands
addimporttemperature
INTERCONNECT 6.0
VerilogA Direct Programming Interface (DPI)
The new INTERCONNECT VerilogA DPI enables co-simulation with the Cadence® Spectre® Circuit Simulator. The co-simulation provides designers a unified and reliable integrated photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design flow inside Cadence® Virtuoso® Analog Design Environment (ADE), allowing for design and simulation of electro-optical circuits. Electro-optical circuits having feedback can also be designed and simulated inside this environment.
Improved Simulation and Design Environment
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Improved frequency domain simulation engine, netlist parser and schematic editor allows for handling of complex PIC with thousands of elements. Additional log information provides details such as the number of elements and connections of the current circuit.
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Schematic editor now include a progress bar that is displayed when loading or parsing large circuits.
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Lookup tables now can be loaded directly into the script environment, giving users access to design and extracted parameters. It also includes new functions to read and write tables, and append parameters into existing tables.
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X and Y physical layout coordinates properties are now vectors, enabling users to provide multiple layout coordinates to define a single element. For example, a single waveguide can be defined as a vector of layout coordinates.
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The SPICE netlist parser now supports matrix and vectors as parameters, giving additional flexibility in passing parameter from and to INTERCONNECT.
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A default custom library path parameter was added to the element library, facilitating the navigation between different working folders when developing compact model libraries (CML). Users can also select a custom folder and export HTML information to facilitate the process of documenting a new CML.
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The property editor was greatly enhanced by including sorting of properties and categories, allowing for fine control on how the properties should be presented in the property view. Users can also enter the property range, enabling validation of property values.
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The Schematic editor now support vertical and horizontal flip.
Extended Element Library
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New EDA Cosimulation element allows for direct access of input and output electrical signals. While the simulation is running, users can push new signal values into the input ports and pull signal values from the output ports.
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The new Optical Isolator element complements the extensive library of INTERCONNECT passive elements.
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Lookup Table elements were added to the electrical receiver and optical modulator libraries, allowing for user defined mapping between input and output values.
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The new Tunable Bragg Grating allows for dynamic tuning of the grating operating point, enable the design of tunable lasers and filters.
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A new high-pass electrical RC filter blocks or impedes low-frequency and DC signals.
Enhanced Element Library
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Waveguide elements now include an option to enable a fractional delay filter, where time delays don’t have to be an integer multiple of the sampling period. It offers better accuracy when running transient simulations, where waveguides are typically represented as delay lines. Warning messages were also included to inform the user if the current sample rate is too small to provide enough accuracy for time domain simulations.
- Elements adopting this feature are: Straight Waveguide, MODE Waveguide, Multimode Waveguide, Waveguide Arc Bend, Waveguide Sine Bend, Optical Delay and Electrical Delay (Delay elements do not have filter options). For more information, please refer to the Fractional delay compensation page.
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In order to compensate for additional delays introduced by the circuit simulator, a delay compensation parameter was added to different elements, allowing for extraction of unwanted additional delays introduced by the simulator.
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The new Spectrum analyzer frequency range parameter limits the range and number of points required for frequency analysis.
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The time range parameter allows for defining start time and stop time for all of the analyzers, providing fine control over the exact time period for analysis.
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The Electrical Network Analyzer now include an option to remove the DC value from the analysis.
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The Waveguide Bragg grating element was extended to allow the definition of the effective index and frequency of operation when using the grating period option.
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Network Analyzers now support a minimum angle property, filtering phase noise from scattering and impulse response analysis.
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The responsivity of the photodetectors can now be defined as a constant value, or as a table containing frequency dependent values.
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The responsivity of the photodetectors can now be defined as a constant value, or as a table containing frequency dependent values. The new power saturation property limits the photocurrent output from the photodiode as the incident optical power increases.
New and Enhanced Script Commands
runinitialize, runstep, runfinalize, waituntildone, lookupread , lookupwrite, lookupappend, insert, getvalue,add2visualizer