OPTIWAVE
SPECTROPOL is the distributor of the Canadian company Optiwave, a company with 30 years of experience in creating groundbreaking software tools adapted to the design, simulation and optimization in the constantly developing areas of photonic nanotechnology, optoelectronics and optical networks.
Optiwave software is used by over 1000 scientific, research and industrial institutions in 80 countries around the world.
OptiBPM is an advanced software supporting the design of fiber optic waveguides.
In what areas is OptiBPM used?
This tool enables the design of complex waveguide structures that guide, couple, switch, split, multiplex, and demultiplex optical signals in photonic devices. OptiBPM is based on the beam propagation method (BPM), which simulates the flow of light through any waveguide medium, both isotropic and anisotropic.
With OptiBPM, it is possible to observe the near-field distribution and simultaneously analyze the radiation and guided field. This software helps to increase designers’ productivity, minimize risk, and reduce the total cost of designing waveguide devices.
- Software-based design of splitters, couplers, couplers, multiplexers and optical modulators.
- Advanced capabilities for designing large optical systems.
- Mature environment for designing AWG (Arrayed Waveguide Grating).
- Modeling of asymmetric waveguide structures.
- Design of channel, rib and ridge waveguides.
- Buried waveguides.
- Diffusion waveguides.
- Sensor structures
OptiBPM Characteristics OptiBPM
Integrated environment
OptiBPM enables the combination of channel, fiber, and diffused waveguides in a single array. Simple menu selections allow for 2D or 3D simulation of the array. Integration with OptiSystem provides simulation continuity from the waveguide level to the system or subsystem. Additionally, complex field data transfer between OptiFDTD and popular ray tracing tools allows OptiBPM designers to incorporate free-space optical elements.
Waveguide shapes
OptiBPM fiber design software provides a variety of waveguide shapes, including linear, arc, tapered (linear, parabolic, and exponential), and S-shapes (arc, sinusoidal, and cosine).
Waveguides are fully parameterizable, allowing their position and other properties to be easily controlled using simple expressions. Users can define their own waveguides, creating any shape that can be placed in the array. Custom waveguide shapes can be defined by path or by specifying the top and bottom of the waveguide arm. Any waveguide shape that can be described by standard single-variable functions can be entered.
Waveguides can be created and placed with a mouse click or commands in VB Script. They can be tapered in width and length in the X-Z plane and in height in the Y axis. Additionally, waveguides can be tapered in thickness, channel waveguides can be tapered linearly, and optical fibers can be tapered linearly or proportionally.
Advanced optimization algorithms
A good design can be achieved with physical insight and knowledge of basic design principles. However, finding the best design usually requires a tedious optimization phase. Our optical fiber design software has optimization algorithms that fully automate this crucial step. OptiBPM uses well-known algorithms such as the Golden Search for one variable and Simplex or Direction Set methods for multivariate searches.
Interface with popular design tools and measurement equipment
Vector and LP Mode Solver for Fiber Optics
Mode solvers based on gratings can have limitations that are unacceptable for optical fiber calculations. For example, the magnitude of the fields far from the fiber core can be orders of magnitude smaller than the error in simulations with gratings. However, these small fields can be significant at large propagation distances. OptiBPM, as a fiber design software, has a multilayer fiber mode solver that uses a transfer matrix technique for LP and vector fiber modes, instead of gratings. This enables precise field estimation over many orders of magnitude.
Analysis of large optical systems
BPM techniques operate at the microscopic level (typically the minimum distance is about 0.1 μm), while photonic systems can occupy the entire integrated circuit (scale: 10 cm). Successful analysis requires combining basic microscopic techniques with a more abstract or system-level approach. OptiBPM offers a scattering data function where the transfer matrix of any device can be obtained. Once characterized in this way, the device (part of the optical system) can be loaded into OptiSystem.
In addition to the optical fiber design function, the analysis of optical systems in OptiBPM as optical systems is very efficient, enabling the design of advanced photonic systems such as network filters, interleavers, ring-coupled resonators and AWGs, as well as advanced fiber waveguide designs.
Import from AutoCAD DXF and GDSII files
OptiBPM supports import and export to and from these standard mask layout formats. Once you have designed and simulated a fiber optic circuit in OptiBPM, you can export the optimized design as a mask for production.
Electro-optical simulation
OptiBPM enables simulation of the linear electro-optic effect (Pockels effect). The user can create electrodes of any shape and add them to the system. OptiBPM calculates the static (or high frequency) electric field in the transverse plane and simulates optical propagation modified by the electro-optic effect.
No additional modules to purchase
Fiber design software includes advanced 2D/3D solvers as standard
Support for GDSII and DXF mask output formats
Compatible with XP/Vista and Windows 7
Video – Discover OptiBPM
0:31 Material system
1:16 The Electro Optic Coefficient
1:26 Calculate the Electric Field
3:38 Slice Selector
OptiBPM Applications
Below is a list of selected scientific publications, technical journals, periodicals and conference proceedings that refer to the use of OptiBPM software. These references have been collected from internal sources, articles submitted by customers and scientific publications from Google Scholar. To the best of our knowledge, all of these works use the OptiBPM software package. If you notice any errors, please contact us immediately at info@spectropol.pl or info@optiwave.com.
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