Lasers

Lumerical offers an integrated set of tools to model many common edge-emitting laser topologies. Our hybrid modeling approach combines the accuracy of physical simulation with the performance and scale of photonic integrated circuit simulation. With our tools, you can design and model everything from SOAs and standalone FP and DFB lasers to complex external cavity DBR and ring or sampled grating Vernier lasers. These laser models can then be incorporated into complete photonic circuit models, providing insight into the complex behaviours that arise from integration, e.g. mode hopping from external parasitic feedback. This combination makes Lumerical’s laser simulation tools a perfect choice for demanding integrated laser designs in InP and silicon-hybrid systems for integrated photonics.

The core building block is the traveling wave laser model (TWLM) element in INTERCONNECT, which captures the interaction between propagating light and an active gain layer in a waveguide. The material gain material can be characterized by physical simulation using the MQW solver, which is well-suited for calculating stimulated and spontaneous emission spectra in common III-V semiconductors and their alloys. In concert with the FDE or FEEM eigenmode calculation, the combination of the TWLM and MQW gain solver help you build a complete physical picture of your laser. Time-domain simulation under arbitrary isothermal conditions enables the calculation of steady-state and dynamic characteristics including LI response, device gain spectra, SMSR, RIN, turn-on, direct modulation bandwidth and more. As a spatially distributed 1D traveling wave model, the TWLM self-consistently accounts for local carrier density effects, including longitudinal spatial hole burning that are critical for accurately modeling fundamental SOA and saturable absorber behavior. As part of an integrated laser solution, other Lumerical tools can be used to model passive optical components such as gratings, tapers and power splitters (FDTD and EME) and active optical components such as electrical and thermal phase tuning elements and photodetectors (CHARGE and HEAT).