A photonic simulation suite, for Mac.
Mode Lab
ModeLab: Photonic Simulation Tools for Mac
At Lightbound, we believe the user experience should always come first, and we've put that idea into ModeLab, a professional-grade photonic simulation tool for mac, featuring both Eigenmode Expansion (EME) and Finite Difference Eigenmode (FDE) solvers—ideal for researchers and engineers working in nanophotonics, RF design, telecom, datacom, TFLN modulators, quantum optics, and integrated photonics. ModeLab is built to deliver accurate results with minimal setup—ideal for nanophotonic devices, quantum photonics, metamaterial design and complex RF structures alike.
Core Capabilities:
2D Full-Vector Finite Difference Eigenmode (FDE) Solver – Resolve X, Y, and Z components of both electric and magnetic fields in complex, anisotropic, and lossy media.
3D Bidirectional Eigenmode Expansion (EME) Solver – Efficiently simulate long, multi-section photonic devices using stable scattering matrix methods.
Wide Application Scope – Simulate 3D optical and RF components including waveguides, MMIs, fiber couplers, modulators, CPWs, and plasmonic devices.
Advanced Material Modeling – Supports high-index contrast materials, dispersive metals, anisotropic dielectrics, and lossy media.
Bend & Transition Support – Accurately model bent waveguides and tapered interfaces using both FDE and EME techniques.
Extremely Accurate – Handle challenging designs with fine geometric detail, such as photonic crystals and metal-dielectric nanostructures.
Native macOS Experience – Designed specifically for Apple Silicon, with native performance on M-series Macs and a native macOS interface.
Streamlined Component Creation
ModeLab puts every parameter at your fingertips—geometry, mesh, ports, monitors, and material properties are all simple to define and adjust. Components can be built and refined in seconds, with full control over every detail without needing to dive into code. This makes it easy to explore design variations, fine-tune performance, and rapidly move from concept to simulation with minimal effort.
3D Eigenmode Expansion (EME)
Full-Vector FDE Solver – Resolve both electric and magnetic fields with high precision in complex, anisotropic, and lossy media.
Bidirectional EME Solver – Efficiently simulate long, multi-section photonic devices using stable scattering matrix methods, ideal for waveguides, couplers, multimode devices, splitters, and polarization control.
Built-In Cell Length Sweeps
Cell length sweeps are lightning-fast. The eigenmode solver calculates each slice’s modes just once, and changing the length simply updates the real and imaginary phase accumulation—no need to rerun full simulations. This lets you explore hundreds of variations in seconds, making design optimization dramatically faster.
Built-In Wavelength Sweeps
Wavelength sweeps are incredibly efficient. The eigenmode solver computes the group index for each mode in every cell, allowing the wavelength response to be predicted without re-solving the modes at each point. This means you can map out broad spectral behavior in a fraction of the time required by conventional solvers.
2D Finite Difference Frequency Domain Solver
FDFD is a full-vector electromagnetic method that solves Maxwell’s equations directly in the frequency domain. The geometry is discretized on a grid, with material properties assigned to each cell, and a sparse matrix system is solved to find steady-state fields at a given wavelength. By focusing on one frequency at a time, FDFD excels for high-Q structures, narrowband devices, and designs with strong dispersion or loss, accurately handling complex boundaries, anisotropic media, and perfectly matched layers (PML).