FemSIM Aids The Design Of Photonic Crystal Fibers

Ossining, NY - RSoft Design Group, Inc. announced the release of FemSIM, a new general mode solver for transverse and cavity modes. The software is based on the well known Finite Element Method (FEM), and addresses a variety of applications including high index contrast, lossy, and highly hybrid structures such as polarization rotators, air or solid core photonic crystal fibers, laser and PBG cavities, silicon photonic devices, and structures with small feature sizes.

FemSIM provides a powerful and efficient method to calculate any number of transverse or cavity modes of an arbitrary structure on a non-uniform hybrid mesh of triangles and rectangles. The new mode solver is fully-vectoral, can use either Cartesian or cylindrical coordinate systems, employs PML at boundaries, and can have performance benefits over other software algorithms. As the latest addition to RSoft's Photonic Component Design Suite, FemSIM is conveniently integrated into the RSoft CAD Environment which allows the accurate definition of arbitrary structures. The new tool is complimentary to the other RSoft mode solvers and products including BeamPROP, FullWAVE, BandSOLVE, GratingMOD, DiffractMOD, LaserMOD, and MOST.

FemSIM's unique set of capabilities provides a comprehensive method for finding any number of guided and/or leaky transverse modes of a structure. This includes modes for high index contrast structures such as SOIs, leaky structures such as air core fibers, and other structures such as photonic crystal fibers and highly hybrid structures. Modes found for these structures can be used in propagation analysis in other RSoft tools, including the award-winning BeamPROP and FullWAVE packages. Dispersion characteristics can be readily generated using FemSIM in conjunction with the built-in scanning capability of MOST, RSoft's scanning and optimization tool. Higher order modes can be found at minimal additional expense.

Cavity modes for arbitrary 2D structures such as defects in planar photonic crystal layers and 3D structures with cylindrical symmetry such as VCSEL cavities with thin quantum well layers can be found. VCSEL modes found with FemSIM can then be used with LaserMOD, RSoft's design package for active components.

SOURCE: RSoft Design Group, Inc.