Photonic Verilog-A Models with Synopsys OptoCompiler™:
You can now select the QA engine as PrimeSim SPICE or PrimeSim HSPICE through the GUI in CML Compiler. Previously, this was only available through editing the Master Library File.
Shared Lumerical Enhancements
Support for mixed Enterprise and Business license: It is now possible to define a license per Lumerical product in the corresponding <productname> .ini preference file. The update is beneficial for customers who need to use the VCSEL Design Tool, which requires Enterprise license, alongside other Lumerical products that use Business license.
lmapexport for Metalens plugin and Lumerical Sub-Wavelength Model (LSWM) plugin: The lmapexport script command has been introduced to generate .lmap files, which contain mapping information for metalenses or gratings with spatial variation. This new command works in conjunction with the metalens plugin in Zemax OpticStudio for defining the meta-atom distribution, and the static-link LSWM plugin to define the 2D spatial variation for a diffraction grating in Zemax OpticStudio and Speos. The metalens plugin meta-atom map input file transitions from .h5 to .lmap.
Support for polarization in the Metalens plugin: The metalens plugin to model metalenses or metasurfaces now includes polarization (S, P) during ray tracing in Zemax OpticStudio. The meta-atoms are characterized by Lumerical FDTD with RCWA simulations and exported to a .lswm input file. The 2D distribution of the meta-atoms can be set with lmapexport script command that generates a .lmap input file. The large scale metalens workflow now provides more accurate simulations for applications like AR-VR, eye-tracking, smartphones, and endoscopes.
LSWM Dynamic Link:
Spatial variation capacity: The LSWM Dynamic Link plugin between Ansys Lumerical FDTD and Ansys Zemax OpticStudio used for grating optimization, now supports spatial variation of diffraction gratings. This new feature allows users to optimize parameters of gratings that vary spatially for AR glasses design. Users can define equations with variables to describe how parameters vary spatially, such as 'p1 = v3 * x^2 * y^3'. The feature supports defining spacing of sampling points in x and y directions, specifying interpolation between spatial sampling points, and exposing variables in equations as DLL parameters for optimization. This feature also allows to define a grating region with spatial variation without the need to break it down into numerous separate zones.
Speed improvement: In the previous release, we achieved a 2x speed‑up specifically in the part where the plugin calls Lumerical RCWA, enabled by an improved multi‑threading strategy. In this release, we focused on a different part: the pure ray‑tracing stage, which occurs after cache data has been retrieved from Lumerical RCWA. We improved the efficiency of this ray‑tracing process, and in internal tests using knowledge‑based examples, we observed an additional ~2x speed‑up solely in the ray‑tracing portion (excluding Lumerical calls).
Ansys Lumerical FDTD™
GPU Improvements:
Multi-node multi-GPU support with any MPI: You can now run multi-node multi-GPU simulations on FDTD with all MPI supported by Lumerical, on both Windows and Linux.
Monitor Performance Improvement: Improvements have been made for small frequency-domain monitors.
3D CAD Modern Viewport:
Planar solid object performance: The performance of the Modern view when adding a planar solid object has been improved to be comparable to Classic view. This enhancement addresses issues with slow Parasolid sewing operations on large STL files and reduce processing times for STL imports and deletions.
redrawon and redrawoff: The redrawon and redrawoff script commands are now supported in Modern View. This addition allows users to optimize scripted workflows for generating and updating geometries, resulting in improved performance and efficiency.
Design environment automatic thread count: A defect was corrected that previously set the number of threads used in the design environment to 4 when auto detect is turned on. The auto detect feature now correctly attempts to use all cores in the computer up to the amount allowed by your license.
Ansys Lumerical Multiphysics™
VCSEL Design Tool: The VCSEL Design Tool is a new beta feature released in 2026 R1, integrated into Lumerical Multiphysics for the design of Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers. It requires an Enterprise license and activation. To get access to this feature, please contact us via the contact form, or via the Ansys Innovation Space.
Effective material for CHARGE transport calculation: You can use this feature to replace multi-layer Distributed Bragg Reflectors (DBRs) optical mirrors with an effective material to significantly accelerate the simulations with CHARGE solver with a minimal impact on the accuracy of results. Users can select a group of structures in the object model representing DBR layers and override them with a specified effective material. This enhancement merges geometric structures when computing the mesh for charge transport, while still allowing for optical simulations to capture the geometric details of the layers.
Ansys Lumerical INTERCONNECT™
INTERCONNECT Memory Improvement: Lumerical INTERCONNECT has gone through a large code review to enhance the memory performance for simulations with a large number of samples. This update addresses the high time and memory requirements that previously limited many simulations to tens of nanoseconds, particularly for simulations involving rings that require very high sample rates. The improvement aims to enable longer simulation times, which is crucial for various types of simulations including those involving transient thermal effects, TDECQ calculations, and accurate bit error rate (BER) estimations.