Optical fiber waveguide structure design simulation software SeeNano
summary
Designing high-performance fibers is an important part of increasing the power of high-power fiber lasers. In order to solve the problem of digital design of complex optical fiber structures, SeeNano, a simulation software for the design of optical fiber waveguide structures, was preliminarily developed on the basis of the theory of fiber optics. In this paper, some theoretical models of multilayer refractive index fibers, the basic functions of the software and two typical cases are introduced, and important parameters such as mode field distribution, effective refractive index, effective mode field area, and dispersion are calculated by using the software, and the calculation results are compared with the calculation results of commercial software. The software can reduce the research and design difficulty of multilayer refractive index fibers to a certain extent, and is expected to promote the development of domestic optical fiber design software.
abstract
Objective The aim of this study is to increase the power of high-power fiber lasers by designing high-performance fibers and to overcome the challenges associated with the digital design of complex fiber structures. At present, the optical characteristics of optical fibers are mainly obtained by experimental measurement or numerical calculation, which is expensive and difficult to achieve. Therefore, it is particularly urgent to develop fiber modeling and simulation software for design aids. The existing commercial fiber photonics simulation software often has problems such as complexity and non-specialization. In this research, SeeNano was developed, a fiber-optic waveguide structure design software. We analyze the cross-sectional structure of multilayer refractive index fibers from the side dimension, establish various material library models, and optimize the characteristic parameters of fibers by analyzing the modal, loss and dispersion characteristics of fibers, so as to provide new solutions for enhancing the power of high-performance fibers and high-power fiber lasers. Methods Firstly, the optical scale of the optical waveguide was considered through mathematical modeling and software development. Initially, the numerical model of the transmission matrix of the optical fiber characteristic equation and other special algorithm models were established to provide a theoretical basis for calculating the mode field, loss and dispersion characteristics of the optical fiber. Subsequently, based on software engineering, a fiber optic waveguide design and simulation software called SeeNano was developed, which features a simple and intuitive graphical user interface and guided workflow. It is designed to help users stay up-to-date on the use of the software and make it easier to learn. Subsequently, the design process of step and gradient refractive index trench assistance is introduced, and the key characteristic parameters such as effective mode field area, effective mode field diameter, material dispersion and waveguide dispersion are calculated, and the results obtained by the commercial software OptiFiber are compared to verify the results. However, the functionality of the software is not yet complete, and the functions developed are mainly for concentric multilayer refractive index fibers. Therefore, the software functions must be constantly supplemented and gradually enhanced. Results and Discussion When designing new stepped or graded refractive index multilayer refractive index fibers, the design of different layers, such as ring (higher refractive index) or groove (lower refractive index), has been increasingly applied to various scenarios to meet specific application requirements. In this paper, the design case of stepped and graded refractive index groove auxiliary fibers is introduced. The simulation results were compared with those obtained using the commercial software OptiFiber under different evaluation parameters. In this paper, the mode field strength distributions of different fiber structures are compared (Figures 4 and 7). The effective refractive index matches for the various modes with 8 significant figures (Tables 2 and 4), and the mode field diameter and effective mode area show consistent results as a function of wavelength (Figure 5). In most cases, the dispersion curves for material dispersion, waveguide dispersion, and total dispersion as a function of wavelength are similar.
conclusion
In this paper, the basic functions and case demonstrations of SeeNano, a preliminarily developed optical waveguide structure design and simulation software, are introduced. The software provides help and guidance for the optimal design of fibers and the selection of fiber parameters, so as to improve the efficiency of fiber design. The accuracy of the software calculations was verified by comparing the simulation results with those obtained using the commercial software OptiFiber. This reduces the difficulty of survey and design of multilayer refractive index fibers, reduces the dependence on foreign software, and promotes the development of domestic optical fiber design software. Notably, our R&D team has developed a fiber laser simulation software called SeeFiberLaser, which takes into account the process of various nonlinear effects, the evolution of models, and the coupling of various physical effects in different time domain states from the fiber structure scale. The software analyzes the influence of fiber optic device parameters on laser power, spectral and pulse evolution in the longitudinal dimension. The next step is to model and analyze the performance of laser fibers at full parametric dimensions and multiphysics scales. The relevant application requirements should be met through continuous improvement of the basic theory and cooperation in the development of fiber and fiber laser software.