COMSOL Day: Optics & Photonics

Optics and photonics serve as enabling technologies in various industries, including communication, medical technology, sensor development, quantum computing, and manufacturing. In these fields, simulation helps accelerate and reduce the cost of R&D of optical components, which can range in size from the subwavelength scale to optically large. Utilizing multiphysics analysis is an important aspect of R&D in this area, as it involves accounting for electro-optical, stress-optical, and plasmonic effects, in addition to ubiquitous thermal effects in optical systems.

COMSOL Multiphysics^® is widely used in the optics industry due to its unique modeling capabilities. It enables users to predict and optimize photonic and optical components effectively, understanding and harnessing multiphysics couplings to develop superior products. Additionally, COMSOL Multiphysics^® includes the Application Builder, the Model Manager, and COMSOL Compiler™, providing a robust ecosystem for collaborative work across departments and structured, efficient management of simulation projects.

This session gives an overview of using COMSOL Multiphysics^® for effective model development and highlights the creation of standalone simulation apps, which extend access to simulation technology to a broader range of users and applications.

Andrea Barbiero, Toshiba Europe Ltd

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are among the most promising candidates for generating quantum light, but optimizing their performance requires careful engineering of the surrounding photonic environment. Integrating QDs into semiconductor nanocavities, such as bullseye resonators, is key to achieving efficient photon extraction from the high-refractive-index semiconductor matrix. In this talk, Andrea Barbiero will present a methodology for designing bullseye resonators. He will demonstrate how the COMSOL Multiphysics^® software and its Wave Optics Module add-on product are used to optimize key figures of merit, including Purcell enhancement and photon collection efficiency. Additionally, he will show how simulations can help in evaluating the impact of fabrication imperfections.

The design and optimization of optical waveguides is essential within the telecommunications industry as well as in foundational research. The growing demand for higher bandwidth has resulted in copper-based signal transmission increasingly being replaced by fiber optical technologies with either single-mode or multimode transmission. Nowadays, optical experiments turn to fiber-based sensors and nanostructured waveguides to enable integrated optical devices on mm-sized chips. Careful design is required, and using simulation has become crucial.

The Wave Optics Module, an add-on to COMSOL Multiphysics^®, enables the optimization of step-index fibers, microstructured fibers, photonic crystal fibers, and optical waveguides for minimizing losses and mode mixing. Models can be formulated in the frequency domain as well as in the time domain. Furthermore, the software provides unique multiphysics capabilities to account for stress-optical effects, thermal expansion, and more.

Join us in this session to learn about modeling and optimization of waveguides in COMSOL Multiphysics^®, the Wave Optics Module, and the Optimization Module.

Optical systems are often required to operate in harsh environments, such as at high altitudes, in space, and underwater, where they are subjected to structural loads and extreme temperatures. In a similar way, optical devices in high-powered laser and nuclear applications are subjected to extreme conditions.

The most accurate way to fully capture these environmental effects is through numerical simulation using structural-thermal-optical performance (STOP) analysis — a quintessential multiphysics problem. COMSOL Multiphysics^® features unique STOP analysis capabilities where thermal expansion and refractive index distribution can be fully coupled with changes to the ray optics trajectories, which is essential for laser-based manufacturing and the like.

In this session, we will show how to use the Ray Optics Module to combine ray-tracing simulations with structural and thermal analyses to form fully self-consistent STOP models.

The emerging technology of plasmonics uses the collective oscillation of charges in metals or along metal–dielectric interfaces. It has tremendous innovation potential within optical technologies like biophotonic sensing, microscopy, communications, and color filters.

With the Wave Optics Module, users can study optical effects in nanoparticles, wire gratings, surface plasmon polaritons, metamaterials, and even 2D materials like graphene. Additionally, exotic phenomena can be modeled when plasmonic effects are combined with periodic structures to form metamaterials.

Join us in this session to learn how to analyze plasmonic designs and explore effects like cloaking and extraordinary optical transmission.

The Semiconductor Module, an add-on to COMSOL Multiphysics^®, can be used for understanding, designing, and refining semiconductor devices and materials through modeling and simulation. The module is based on drift–diffusion equations and can include density-gradient contributions for quantum confinement effects. The Semiconductor Module enables the modeling and simulation of a large variety of semiconductor devices, such as metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), solar cells, photodiodes, and LEDs, among others. In addition, by being customizable, it enables the analysis of novel semiconductor designs, including organic semiconductor devices.

The module also contains Schrödinger Equation and Schrödinger-Poisson interfaces, which are particularly useful for modeling quantum-confined systems, such as quantum wells, quantum wires, and quantum dots. Additionally, the Semiconductor Module offers functionality for modeling the interplay between drift diffusion, electromagnetic wave propagation, and thermal effects in semiconductors. This unique multiphysics capability enables self-consistent simulation of optoelectronic devices.

This session will provide you with a chance to learn more about the capabilities of the Semiconductor Module for semiconductor physics and multiphysics modeling. We will also demonstrate the ease of use of the software for these types of modeling.