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Surface plasmons are waves that propagate along the surface of metallic and certain dielectric materials. The electric field of a plasmon wave reaches its maximum at the surface and decays evanescently away from the surface. The wave properties are highly sensitive to any changes in the refractive index of the material as well as the device’s geometry. As a full wave modeling method, Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) is the most effective algorithm to model these types of devices. Surface plasmons are increasing in popularity due to the interaction between light and matter, which is controlled by patterned structures...read more
Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) is a powerful numerical method for simulating diffraction gratings, where the grating element and working wavelength are close in size. With OptiFDTD, the incident wave can be versatile and best matched with the real application; the CAD tools enable us to design different types of grating layouts; the simulated near field pattern gives us an in-depth understanding of the light wave properties inside the geometry; and the transmission/reflection function and far field transform allow us to analyse the diffraction efficiency at various diffraction angles...read more
Photonic Crystal
Nanoparticle
Silicon Nanowire for Photovoltaic Applications
(PVs) are arrays of cells containing a Solar photovoltaic material that converts solar radiation into direct current electricity. Materials presently used for photovoltaics include monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, microcrystalline silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium selenide/sulfide.
Nano-Lens and Micro-Lens Simulations
When optical lens size is compatible with the working wavelength, the traditional lens analysis tools such as ray-tracing method will lose their accuracy. The FDTD method can be used to advantage in the nano-lens simulation. OptiFDTD software also provides tools so that beam focus size, focus distance, and far-field transform can be obtained directly. The following two samples illustrate nano-lens simulations.
Light Scattering from Single Biological Cells
Biological cells can be considered as dielectric objects with a given refractive index distribution. Light scattering simulations provide us with an efficient tool for studying cell morphology as well as the nature of scattering and its sources.
The analysis of this information is the basis for a better understanding and development of new optical methods for non-invasive biomedical diagnostics. Here we demonstrate the potential of Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method based software tools for the simulation of light scattering from single cells in situations where other approaches simply do not work or the approximations inherited in them begin to be questionable.
Optical Grating simulations using OptiFDTD
Optical gratings are basically periodic layouts that may contain chirp or apodization. The wave inside the grating may be complex: Scattered field, transmitted field, diffracted field are all exist, which demand more advanced simulation tools for highly accurate results.
Photonic Bandgap Micro-cavity in Optical Waveguide
This example illustrates a high contrast ridge waveguide with PBG air holes drilled in the waveguide. The PBG has a defect in the center which will lead to resonance in the wave propagation.
Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) is a powerful, highly integrated and user-friendly software application that enables the computer-aided design and simulation of advanced passive and non-linear photonic components. FDTD enables you to design, analyze, and test modern passive and nonlinear photonic components for wave propagation and the nonlinear phenomenon. FDTD uses an advanced boundary condition - Uniaxial Perfectly Matched Layer (UPML). The algorithm solves both electric and magnetic fields in temporal and spatial domain using the full-vector differential form of Maxwell's coupled curl equations...read more
