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OmniSim

Omni-directional photonic simulations

Light Harvester

FDTD, FETD and FEFD plasmonic simulations with OmniSim software

Plasmonics can be used to capture light from a large area and concentrate it into a very small area - so called "light harvester" structure. This can be used for example to improve the sensitivity of a photodiode without having to use a lens. A typical harvester geometry consists of a line grating on a thin metal plate with a slot in the middle. The grating is designed to couple incident light into a "spoof plasmon" that is directed to the slot and then through the plate.

OmniSim offers you many ways to model plasmonic structures:

  • the FETD Engine: 2D and 3D finite element time domain

  • the FDTD Engine: 2D and 3D finite difference time domain, featuring a unique subgridding tool

  • the FEFD Engine: fast 2D finite element frequency domain, great for quick optimisation.

We have used all three FETD, FEFD and FDTD Engines to model and optimise light harvesters. You can see below a few examples of designs of field profiles incident on patterned metal surfaces.

Light harvester

Light harvester modelled with the FDTD Engine (left) and the FETD Engine (right)