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This section describes settings for mode sources.
Select Mode source in the solver tab and create a mode source in Composite viewer, then set further parameters in the Edit properties interface that automatically pops up.
Injection tab can be used to set incident axis and incident direction of a source.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Incident axis | Select desired incident axis for a mode source from the drop-down list. |
| Direction | Propagation direction of a mode source, specifically selected as Forward (forward propagation) or Backward (backward propagation). |
For rotation settings, see general settings in Source.
General tab can be used to set amplitude and phase shift of a source. See general settings in Source.
By default, mode source calculates mode at central wavelength of the specified frequency range and then injects this mode at all frequencies. Thus, mode-mismatch errors at central wavelength are lowest. This method is particularly effective for single-frequency and narrowband simulations. However, in broadband simulations, mode-mismatch errors increase as frequency range expands. Therefore, it is recommended to check Multi-frequency field option for broadband simulations to minimize mode-mismatch errors.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Multi-frequency field | Solve mode distribution at various frequencies. |
| Frequency points | Specify number of frequencies to be calculated for mode distribution. Increasing frequencies results in increased simulation time. So, it is recommended to use fewer frequencies for checking at beginning of the simulation. |
By default, the mode source will inject the Fundamental mode (the mode with the largest effective index). You can also select Fundamental TE Mode or Fundamental TM Mode in the Mode Selection to control the polarization of the automatically selected mode. The mode selected with these settings will automatically update when the structure is modified. You can click Update Modes to view the changes. This is particularly useful for tasks such as parameter sweeps, where the waveguide geometry is changed.
Selecting user select in Mode Selection allows you to choose any mode. In this case, clicking the Select mode button in the mode source editing window will launch the mode solver.
The Mode list tab displays mode information obtained from mode solving.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Mode# | Serial number of a mode. |
| Effective index | Effective refractive index of a mode. |
| TE/TM fraction | Ratio between TE and TM energy distribution in a mode. |
| Loss | Transmission loss of a mode, i.e., energy attenuation of optical signals in waveguide devices due to factors such as absorption and scattering. |
| Wavelength | Wavelength corresponding to a mode. |
| Mode name | Name of a mode. |
Beam profile tab can be used to plot data of the selected mode.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Results | Allows users to specify desired type of data to be plotted by selecting either Mode fields or Index from the drop-down list. |
| Components | When selecting Mode fields under Results, available components are as follows: E Magnitude, Ex, Ey, Ez, H Magnitude, Hx, Hy, and Hz. If Index is selected under Results, available components are Index_x, Index_y, and Index_z. |
| Scalar | Abs: modulus of selected component; Re: real part of selected component; Im: imaginary part of selected component; Phase: argument of selected component. |
| Refresh | Update images. |
| Show/Hide 3D plot | Show/hide 3D images. |
| Visualize data | Open Data visualizer window. |
| Plot in new window | Plot image in a new window. |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Incident axis | Incident axis of a mode source (normal to incident plane); a read-only parameter. |
| Incident mode# | Series number of selected mode. |
| Total modes | Set number of modes to be solved. |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Frequency for solving modes; a read-only parameter. |
| Wavelength | Wavelength for solving modes; a read-only parameter. |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Use max refractive index | Use maximum refractive index of structure for mode calculation. |
| Guess value | Specify refractive index for mode calculation, which is used to calculate mode that closely matches user-defined effective refractive index. You need to enable this option when Use max refractive index is unchecked. |
You need to enable this option when solving modes for bent waveguides.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Bend radius | Curvature radius of a bent waveguide. |
| Bend waveguide width | Width of a bent waveguide. |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Quasi-TE | Quasi-transverse electric field mode. Electric field in Quasi-TE mode is mainly perpendicular to propagation direction (transverse), while there may be some non-zero electric field components along propagation direction (longitudinal). In contrast, electric field in TE mode is completely perpendicular to propagation direction (transverse), i.e., there are no electric field components along propagation direction (longitudinal). |
| Quasi-TM | Quasi-transverse magnetic field mode. Magnetic field in Quasi-TM mode is mainly perpendicular to propagation direction (transverse), while there may be some non-zero magnetic field components along propagation direction (longitudinal). In contrast, magnetic field in TM mode is completely perpendicular to propagation direction (transverse), i.e., there are no magnetic field components along propagation direction (longitudinal). |
| All | All modes. |
When Override default boundary tab is checked, this option is enabled to override default boundary conditions.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| X/Y axis min | Select desired type of boundary conditions: PML, Periodic, PEC,, PMC. |
| X/Y axis max | Select desired type of boundary conditions: PML, Periodic, PEC, PMC. |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Sampled material sampling type | Select desired type of material sampling from drop-down list: Linear interpolation: use Linear interpolation to acquire material data which may have discontinuities in frequency; Fit model: use a polynomial material model to fit Sampled material data. |
| Analytic material sampling type | Select desired material sampling type from drop-down list: Analytic model: use model data of Analytic material; Fit model: use a polynomial material model to fit Analytic material data. |
| Automatically remove PML modes | Remove PML modes automatically. |
| Threshold for PML mode removal | Threshold required to remove PML modes. |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Solve modes | By clicking this button, mode solver will solve modes based on user-defined parameters. |
Click Mode Analysis to enter Mode Analysis page, which allows user to select desired type of mode analysis.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Frequency analysis | Perform a frequency sweep. It can be used to calculate dispersion, loss, etc. that occurs when light propagates through a waveguide. |
| Bent analysis | Perform a curvature radius sweep of a bent waveguide. It can be used to calculate problems such as the effective index and loss when light propagates in waveguides with different bending radii. |
In addition, Mode analysis supports custom analysis.
Geometry tab can be used to set geometric dimensions of a source. See geometry settings in Source.
Wavelength/Frequency tab can be used to set the wavelength/frequency of a source. See wavelength/frequency settings in Source.
In this case, Mode source is used to solve optical mode injected into waveguide, and TE polarization mode is selected to excite resonant microcavity. For details, see Bragg Microcavity.
