CHARGE Product Reference Manual

The CHARGE reference manual provides detailed descriptions of product features.

Related Resources

• CHARGE course: A self-paced course intended for beginner to intermediate users with a focus on providing an understanding of the solver physics, simulation workflow, and data analysis. The "My first simulation" section is a great getting started tutorial.
• Ansys Learning Forum (Photonics category): A large repository of Q&A content from the Ansys Lumerical community.
• Application Gallery: Find example files, simulation methodologies, and tips to help you get started quickly and easily. You can also browse the application gallery directly from within our products.

Solvers

Learn about the CHARGE solver and related topics

• CHARGE solver introduction
• Units and normalization

Workflow and Layout Editor

• Simulation Workflow
• View Ports

Material Properties

Learn how to define the material properties that will be used in your simulations.

• Electrical and thermal materials
  • Electrical/Thermal Material Database
  • Electrical/Thermal Material Models
  • Semiconductors
  • Semiconductor Material Model Properties
  • Creating a New Semiconductor Material
  • Alloys
  • Creating a New Alloy Material
  • Alloy Mole Fraction
  • Scripting Electrical Materials
  • Scripting Thermal Materials
• Understanding band offsets in heterostructures
• Understanding mesh order for overlapping objects

Simulation Objects

These objects are used to model the physical structure, define the solver region, any sources of light or doping/generation regions as well as monitors to collect data. The pages provide detailed descriptions of each simulation object. Simulation objects can be added by clicking on the corresponding icon in the GUI.

Reference Geometries and Geometric Features

Structures

• Primitives: Triangle, Rectangle, Polygon, Circle, Ring, Waveguide, Sphere, Pyramid, Planar solid, 2D rectangle, 2D polygon
• Layer builder
• Dataset builder
• Equation interpreter

Groups

• Structure Groups

Simulation

• Simulation Region
• Partitioned volume
• CHARGE solver
• Mesh constraint
• Quality mesh constraint

Doping

• Constant
• Diffusion
• Implant
• Import

Sources

• Bulk
• Optical
• Delta (Point source)
• Import Temperature
• Import Heat

Monitors

• Charge
• Electrical field
• Bandstructure
• Current flux
• Temperature

Boundary conditions

• Electrical
• Thermal

Import

• GDSII files
• STL import
• STEP import

Optimizations and Sweeps

Learn how to run parameter sweep, optimization, yield analysis, and s-parameter analysis tasks.

• Parameter sweeps
  • Sweep scripting commands
  • Nested Sweeps
  • Running parameter sweeps without the CAD
• Optimization
  • Optimization scripting commands
• Monte Carlo analysis
  • Monte Carlo scripting commands
  • Monte Carlo analysis with spatial correlations
• S-parameter matrix sweep
• Workflow management

Result Analysis

Learn how to access and analyze simulation data.

• Visualizer and figure settings
• Troubleshooting convergence errors in CHARGE