On-Site VirtualLab Fusion Training

20 – 24 November 2023
09:00 – 16:30 (CET)
Registration Deadline is 15 November 2023 | Limited to 12 participants

Navigating the delicate compromise between the accuracy of the results and the speed with which those results can be generated is an unavoidable part of simulation technology. The optical modeling and design software VirtualLab Fusion provides its users with the necessary flexibility and control to strike the right balance between accuracy and speed every time, through its interoperability of modeling techniques on a single platform.

Two-Part Course in Jena

Join this two-part on-site course at the LightTrans International headquarters in the German town of Jena to learn how to work with VirtualLab Fusion software so that you can get the most out of its cutting-edge technology, regardless of your field of application.

The course consists of an

Introduction part (3 days, Monday–Wednesday), where we will start from complete beginner level and cover the most important aspects of the software from a general point of view, using use cases from different fields of application to illustrate the features and tools of the software; and an
Gratings part (2 days, Thursday & Friday), where we will build on the concepts explored during the introductory section and apply the techniques to the modeling and design of systems containing gratings and meta-structures.

It is possible to register for either of the two parts of the course, as well as for both of them together.

Speakers

The course will be taught by experts of the Optical Engineering team at LightTrans. Their daily work in direct contact with users of VirtualLab Fusion from all over the world means that not only do they have in-depth knowledge of the software and how it works, but also, crucially, of how best to put it to use in order to satisfy the requirements of a wide range of (currently in-demand) fields of application.

Agenda

Below you can find a detailed agenda of the topics we plan to cover during the course. During the course we will work with the latest release, 2023.2, and we will of course present the most exciting new features of this version!

Introduction

20 – 22 November

Introduction Day 1

Striking the correct accuracy-speed balance through interoperability of modeling techniques on a single software platform.
Building your first system with VirtualLab Fusion.
System building blocks. Simulation settings. Key aspects of VirtualLab Fusion technology.
Light as an electromagnetic field. Our flexible detector modeling. Detector add-ons.

The role of the Fourier transform in the simulation of diffraction. The catalog of algorithms for the calculation of the Fourier transform.
Diffraction integrals. Analyzing what the selection of Fourier transform algorithms looks like in some typical configurations.
The Poisson spot.

Controlling the selection of Fourier transform algorithms. Automatic selection or tailored configuration. Switching diffraction on and off in your simulation.
Modeling of pinhole in system with low Fresnel number.
The importance of positioning.
Non-sequential simulations. The Light Path Finder. The channel concept. Master channels.
Modeling of etalon.

Introduction Day 2

Examination of sodium D lines with Fabry-Perot etalon.
Investigation of ghost image effects in collimation systems.
Grating order channels.
Lateral channels – augmented-reality waveguides and micro-lens arrays.
Simulation of light propagation behind micro-lens array.
Simulation of a Shack-Hartmann sensor.
Advanced positioning. Interferometry.
Experiments with a Mach-Zehnder – complementary interference pattern caused by prism beam splitter, observation of the Gouy phase shift, generation of spatially varying polarization.
Connecting field solvers as the only way to tackle complex optical systems.
Overview of the current catalog of electromagnetic field solvers in VirtualLab Fusion.
Abbe’s image resolution experiment.
Optical system for investigation of microstructured wafer.
Birefringence in calcite block. Complex polarization effects in uniaxial crystals. Conical refraction in biaxial crystals.
Selecting your solver. Simulation of tunnelling effect through air gap in prism beam splitter.

Introduction Day 3

Advanced source modeling – the source mode concept.
White light Michelson interferometer.
Demonstration of optical tomography scanning with Michelson. Partial temporal coherence.
Young’s double-slit experiment with an extended source.
Propagation of ultra-short pulse through high-NA lens.
Simulation of Talbot effect with unpolarized light.
Modeling of VCSELs and VCSEL arrays.
Convenience tools. Parametric optimization.
Analysis and optimization of fiber-coupling set-up.
Distributed computing for parallelized calculations (new in version 2023.2). Demonstration with a white-light interferometer.
Parameter Variation Analyzer (new in version 2023.2).
Absorption in a CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) solar cell
Q & A

Gratings

23 – 24 November

Gratings Day 1

Grating configuration and modeling.
Grating structure specification.
Electromagnetic field solvers for gratings in VirtualLab Fusion (Thin Element Approximation, TEA, and Fourier Modal Method/Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis, FMM/RCWA).
Convenience tools for grating analysis.
Rigorous modeling examples.
Blazed grating for spectral separation.
Ultrasparse dielectric nano-wire grid polarizers.
Parameter sweeping tool.
More examples of rigorous modeling.
Simulation and analysis of slanted gratings with varying parameters.
Volume holographic gratings and their sensitivity.
Gratings within optical systems.
Angular-filter volume grating for higher diffraction order suppression.
Resonant waveguide grating and its angular/spectral properties.
Using gratings as test objects in imaging systems. Optical system for investigation of microstructured wafer.

Gratings Day 2

Grating design/optimization.
Optimization of slanted gratings for waveguide coupling.
Parametric optimization tool.
Robustness optimization of slanted grating with the new Parameter Variation Analyzer.
More grating design and optimization.
Design of polarization-independent high-efficiency gratings.
Design of antireflection moth-eye structures.
Metagratings.
Rigorous analysis of nanopillars as metasurface building blocks.
Design of a blazed metagrating.
Beam-splitting metagrating design.
IFTA for phase profile generation

Please note that this agenda remains subject to change. The topics discussed as well as the order in which they are presented can be adjusted on the spot before or during the course, according to the dynamics of the group.