OPTICS AND PHOTONICS ENGINEERING

End-to-end support for optics and photonics: from design and analysis to prototyping and manufacturing

From design and analysis through to design decisions, system verification, prototyping and manufacturing. We do more than supply simulation software: the same engineer selects the analysis method suited to your device, prepares the design data, and carries it through to InP and SiN MPW prototyping.

Request a technical consultation View all products

100+

Deployments and support at companies, universities and research institutes across Japan

2016

Began Lumerical sales and technical support in Japan

Ansys

Authorized Channel Partner
Sales and technical support for Ansys Optics products

MPW

Focused on SiN and InP
Access to European
foundries

WHAT WE DO

Analysis that carries through to design decisions and prototypes

We do more than supply software. We help you choose the analysis method for your device, establish the assumptions, standardise the evaluation criteria, and prepare data that respects manufacturing constraints. Software, analysis expertise and prototype manufacturing are handled end to end by the same engineer.

Simulation and design software

Ansys Lumerical, Zemax OpticStudio, Ansys Speos, and our own Photonica. A simulation environment covering device analysis, optical system design, and illumination and visibility evaluation, provided together with Japanese-language support.

Analysis and design technologies

FDTD, RCWA, mode analysis, ray tracing, tolerance analysis, stray light analysis. We select the method according to the structure and scale involved, then set the assumptions and evaluation criteria. You can also commission the design and analysis work itself.

Foundry and prototype manufacturing

We arrange MPW participation on the Smart Photonics InP and LIGENTEC SiN platforms: PDK setup, design rule checks, GDS creation and DRC, preparation of submission data, and Dedicated Run enquiries.

DEVELOPED AT LIGHTBRIDGE

Photonica | Design, analysis and tape-out preparation in one workflow

Photonica is the optics and photonics design workflow platform developed by LightBridge. It brings work that normally means moving between several specialist tools into a single workflow you can drive through a visual interface or with Python scripting.

Today it provides a workflow for metalens and metasurface design, covering phase profile handling, geometry mapping from a phase response library, large-scale layout generation and GDS export.

Library generation combines RCWA and FDTD, optical specifications are exchanged through Zemax OpticStudio, and the exported GDS carries straight into prototyping at a foundry.

Choose the method to match what you are analysing

Nanoscale electromagnetic analysis, circuit-level link analysis, imaging and illumination optics design: each calls for a different method. Tell us the application and we will propose the configuration.

All analysis technologies →

Ansys

Ansys Lumerical

Photonics, electromagnetic, waveguide and multiphysics analysis. Includes FDTD, RCWA, MODE, CHARGE, HEAT, DGTD, FEEM, MQW, STACK, INTERCONNECT and CML Compiler.

FDTDRCWAINTERCONNECT

Ansys

Zemax OpticStudio

Optical design, imaging, physical optics, optimisation and tolerance analysis. Supports sequential and non-sequential ray tracing, stray light analysis and physical optics propagation (POP).

POPTolerancingStray light

Ansys

Ansys Speos

Illumination, optical systems, human vision, stray light and optical performance evaluation. Handles light distribution analysis, visibility evaluation and sensor simulation, for AR / VR, lighting, imaging systems and optical sensors.

Light distributionVisibilitySensors

LightBridge

Photonica

The LightBridge workflow platform for optics and photonics design. It links simulation results to geometry mapping, layout generation and GDS export.

MetalensGDSPython

SOLUTIONS

Find it by application

All solutions →

PHOTONICS

Photonic integrated circuits (PIC)

From component design to link analysis across the whole PIC

Silicon photonics

Design and MPW prototyping on the Si platform

Silicon nitride (SiN) photonics

Designing low-loss waveguides and broadband operation

InP photonics

Design and prototyping of PICs with active components

Optical communications and transceivers

From modulator and photodetector characteristics to link budget

Metalenses and metasurfaces

Phase distribution design, meta-atom libraries, GDS export

OPTICAL SYSTEMS

AR / VR

Waveguide and diffractive optics design, and evaluating how it looks to the eye

LiDAR

Whole-system evaluation including FMCW, OPA and the receiver

Illumination and lighting

Light distribution design, and performance against standards and in real conditions

Imaging systems

Designing and evaluating imaging performance, MTF and tolerances

Optical sensors

Waveguide sensors, receiver optics and scattering analysis

FROM DESIGN TO PROTOTYPE

Come in at any stage

There is no need to commission the whole process. Analysis only, or tape-out preparation only, is equally welcome. Start from whichever entry point is closest to where you are now.

I want to start from the application or problem

Narrow down the analysis and product configuration you need, starting from the application

I want to decide on an analysis method

Choose the method suited to your structure and scale, from the underlying principles and where each applies

I want to choose software

We will propose a configuration from Lumerical, Zemax OpticStudio, Speos and Photonica

I want to discuss design and analysis

Support from framing the problem to building the model and judging whether the results hold

I want to move to prototyping and manufacturing

PDK setup, GDS creation and DRC, prototyping via MPW or a Dedicated Run

I need support after deployment

Licensing, system requirements, analysis setup advice and training

WHERE WE ARE USED

Semiconductors, communications, automotive, medical, and research institutes

Semiconductors and photonic devicesCommunications and datacomAutomotive and electronicsSensors and medicalUniversities and national research institutesStartups

Our users include optical engineers, photonics engineers, PIC designers, device physics researchers, analysis engineers, development managers, equipment administrators, technical buyers, founders and CTOs. The analysis methods and product configurations each field needs differ considerably.

See solutions for your field →

Japanese-language support and training

The real work begins after deployment

From licence configuration, installation and system requirement checks through to advice on analysis setup, our technical support team handles it. Past enquiries and their answers are collected in the customer knowledge base.

Checking licence configuration and system requirements
One-to-one advice on analysis setup, convergence and boundary conditions
Hands-on training for each solver
Briefings on what changes in every release

View support Training

TECHNICAL RESOURCES

Analysis notes you can use in practice

All technical resources →

TECHNICAL NOTE

Lumerical FDTD GPU solver: requirements and limitations

3D FDTD only, enabling express mode, and how licences are counted by SM.

DESIGN AND ANALYSIS GUIDE

How to move between Lumerical and Zemax OpticStudio

Exchanging ZBF files, FDE mode analysis, and fibre coupling efficiency from the overlap integral.

DESIGN AND ANALYSIS GUIDE

Ray propagation analysis for large-scale metalenses

A procedure for evaluating the response across a full metalens without solving all of it in FDTD.

Start by telling us the problem you need to solve

It does not matter if you have not chosen a product yet. Tell us the device and what you want to evaluate, and we will tell you which analysis method suits it and how far analysis can take you.

Request a technical consultation View support

What helps us before we talk

Target wavelength and materials
Device structure and approximate dimensions
The characteristics you want to evaluate, and target values
Whether you have existing simulation data or measurements
The schedule you have in mind

It is fine if you cannot share all of it. Whatever you are comfortable with is enough.