VPIphotonics Design Suite Version 11.3 provides access to professional application-specific simulation tools and pluggable toolkits. They offer flexible usability, design process, and data analysis capabilities.
Version 11.3 advances the simulation and design flow for many applications: data-aided DSP, FEC, FSO
communications, Raman pump optimization, grating couplers, SOAs, multimode coupling, and more.
Our software solutions have been proven by commercial companies and educational institutions who have
utilized them to win and successfully execute many research an design projects. With the improved capabilities
provided in Version 11.3, our design suite is set to deliver the same outstanding results in the future.
Photonic Design Environment (PDE) of Version 11.3
Sorting of DSP algorithms – Improved sorting order of built-in DSP algorithms, with updated categories for easy access and implementation
Pilot Symbols for DSP – New modules add/remove arbitrary sequences of pilot symbols for pilot-aided DSP algorithms
Data-aided DSP algorithms – Fully data-aided DSP algorithms for CPR, MIMO, and normalization can account for the presence of pilot symbols
Pilot-aided DSP algorithms – New FOC and ML-based CPR algorithms that exploit pilot symbols for single- and multicarrier signals
IQ-Constellation – Display of IQ constellations with an adjustable number of samples per symbol for any optical signal
RS-based FEC – Enhanced FEC encoder/decoder to support Reed-Solomon codes of user-definable codeword lengths
PAM4 analysis – Direct calculation and display of signal metrics for PAM4 signals in the Analyzer
Thresholds for BER estimation – New method for calculating optimum decision thresholds for BER calculation of multilevel signals
SNR Meter – Calculates the electrical signal-to-noise ratio for any low- and band-pass signals
FSO channel – Enhanced model to simulate Gaussian beam propagation through a turbulent atmospheric channel in a satellite uplink and downlink
PPM encoding – New M-ary pulse position modulator with any number of bits per symbol using Gaussian-shaped pulses and corresponding demodulator
Raman pump optimizer – Enhanced module to support multiple optimization wavelength ranges and pumps within them
Interface to ZOS – New module interfacing to Zemax OpticStudio to calculate the light coupling between two multimode waveguides via an optical imaging system
Coupling visualization – Enhanced visualization options in multimode beam and free space coupler modules
S-Matrix without phase – Extended PIC Elements modules to support passive device modeling with absent or wrapped phase information in device S-Matrix files
Grating Coupler – New passive grating coupler with a measured and behavioral model supporting various spectral transfer functions
SOA – Measured SOA with length independent model definition and support of a chain of subsections to accurately calculate device properties
Parameter browser – New dialog to overview parameter usage, search for a parameter, change parameter values in multiple schematics at once
Analyzers in port context menu – Extended context menu to include commands for adding analyzer modules at ports, even at already connected ones
Copy traces in Analyzers – Enhanced support to copy signals between different Analyzer frames and Analyzer windows using different axis units
Module connections – Thick lines indicate bus connections; link delay values are directly shown on the schematic
Automatic save before simulation – The Application Preferences menu provides an option to save modified resources in the executed setup before the simulation is run
Restricted mode – Simulation setups can be opened in a restricted mode (no save, no run), even without a needed product license
Python Debugging – New approach to debugging Python cosimulation, simulation scripts, or initialization scripts based on Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Resource Replacement – Greatly simplified update of obsolete module versions with redesigned Resource Replacement Wizard
Version 11.3 provides access to more than 900 ready-to-run simulation setups. We added new and improved demo examples to illustrate the application of the new features and modules.
This simulation setup demonstrates the transmission of 4*200G FR-4 WDM channels with 112.5 Gbaud as specified by the 800G Pluggable MSA technical specification [1]. Four
wavelength-separated transmitters in the O-band emit a PAM4 signal each. The outer encoder for error correction (FEC) utilizes Reed-Solomon RS(544,514) coding. The combined CWDM signal travels over 2 km of SSMF.
The setup shows the impact of the bandwidth limitations on the system performance and the capability of the RS-based FEC. BER pre-FEC and post-FEC are used to evaluate the system performance.
References
[1] 800G Pluggable MSA 4x200G-FR4 Technical Specification Draft 1.0.
4x200G PAM4-based transmission over 2km utilizing RS(544, 514) FEC