Ansys Lumerical varFDTD - Introduction

In this course, we will discuss the effective index method used by the Ansys Lumerical varFDTD solver to collapse a 3D geometry into a 2D simulation. The course starts by describing the simulation workflow, which highlights some of the differences between varFDTD and a traditional FDTD simulation. After the workflow is introduced, more information will be provided on the algorithm used to compress the simulation into an effective 2D simulation.

In this course, we will discuss the solver region, materials, sources and monitors used in varFDTD. Most of the features are similar to those in FDTD, so we will only focus on the aspects of the features that are unique to varFDTD.

The Ansys Lumerical varFDTD solver can be used to simulate a range of planar integrated optics components. In this course, we will show several example devices and results that can be obtained from the varFDTD solver.