Simulation in Photonics

How to Get Started with Laser Simulation?

Many people understand well that laser simulation (or more generally, simulation models in photonics) could be extremely valuable for their industrial laser development or for their scientific research, for example. However, they may hesitate to get started because of the concern that it would be too hard to get into this field. Here, we show that it may actually not be that hard; there are some routes which make it fairly easy to profit from laser simulations.

Essentially, you can proceed as follows:

Formulate the Relevant Questions

It is a good idea to first formulate a number of concrete questions which you would like to address – for example:

What would be the performance of my laser, if all components would work perfectly according to the specifications?
How relevant are gain guiding effects (or unavoidable misalignment, inhomogeneities of pump profiles, etc.) in my bulk laser or amplifier for the performance?
Why can I not obtain shorter pulses from my mode-locked laser? What are the principal limitations? Would it help to change certain details of my system?

Of course, more and more such questions will come up as you get started with simulations. It is important, though, to move on in the right direction.

Get Suitable Simulation Software

To get your job done, you need suitable simulation software – but what does that mean?

It must be able to simulate the relevant processes.
In case of doubt, contact RP Photonics to discuss what is needed to get answers to your essential questions.
It must be powerful and flexible.
It is not enough to just simulate a simple situation. The software should also enable you to address more complex cases as you might encounter soon.
It must be easy to handle.
It won't help you if a cumbersome user interface occupies your attention, rather than allowing you to focus on the actual issues.
It must produce reliable results.
Wrong simulation results can be very misleading. So you need a carefully validated software.
It must come with competent and helpful technical support.
You may encounter some difficult questions, and then it is vital to get competent help.
RP Photonics can even offer tailored training courses if you need a thorough understanding of the physical basis. (For handling the RP Photonics software, you won't need training.)

RP Photonics is an excellent partner for simulations in photonics, combining deep expertise in laser physics (and related areas) with competences in other vital areas such as numerical programming and user interface design.

In principle, you might develop your own simulation software. This gives you full control, and you will learn a lot. However, the huge effort of developing a really good and reliable simulation software can often not be justified with the application by a single user. Keep in mind that some quick-and-dirty solution (with a poor user interface, without proper validation and no documentation) can hardly be recommended; it may give misleading results, may be too inconvenient to use and cannot be maintained or even used anymore if its creator leaves the group. Also keep in mind that your actual task as an engineer or scientist is probably not developing tools, but delivering results. You are more productive when working with a good simulation and design software, rather than developing such software yourself.

Just Ask!

Maybe you are not sure whether or not modeling would be sensible in a concrete case. It can be very helpful to discuss this with an experienced expert. Simply contact RP Photonics; you will get honest answers e.g. about which type of model would be suitable and whether simulation is a realistic approach in your case. (There are cases where it is not, e.g. because the situation is too complex, or because you could not get the required input data.)