Polarizing beam splitters are optical devices used to split a single light beam into two beams of varying linear polarizations. These devices are useful for splitting high-intensity light beams like lasers as, unlike absorptive polarizers, they do not absorb or dissipate the energy of the rejected polarization state. See why creating a numerical modeling app offers a more efficient approach to analyzing and optimizing the design of these devices.

It is always important to choose the correct tool for the job, and choosing the correct interface for high-frequency electromagnetic simulations is no different. In this blog post, we take a simple example of a plane wave incident upon a dielectric slab in air and solve it in two different ways to highlight the practical differences and relative advantages of the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain interface and the Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes interface.

When it comes to creating the next generation of flat panel displays and solid-state area lighting, organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs, may be used to help. While recognized for its various advantages, this emerging technology suffers from some weaknesses that reduce its overall efficiency. One such example is light loss, which is partially caused by the plasmon coupling effect. Looking to reduce the effect’s prominence in OLED devices, researchers from Konica Minolta Laboratory turned to the COMSOL Multiphysics® software.

Today, guest blogger and Certified Consultant Nagi Elabbasi of Veryst Engineering shares simulation research designed to optimize band gaps for phononic crystals. Phononic crystals are rather unique materials that can be engineered with a particular band gap. As the demand for these materials continues to grow, so does the interest in simulating them, specifically to optimize their band gaps. COMSOL Multiphysics, as we’ll show you here, can be used to perform such studies.

Locating and removing landmines and other improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is an important yet challenging task, especially with new advancements in cloaking technology. Using COMSOL Multiphysics® software, one team of researchers studied electromagnetic detection for subsurface objects to better understand the technique and improve its accuracy.

In a previous blog post, we discussed simulating focused laser beams for holographic data storage. In a more specific example, an electromagnetic wave focused by a Fourier lens is given by Fourier transforming the electromagnetic field amplitude at the lens entrance. Let’s see how to perform this integral type of preprocessing and postprocessing in COMSOL Multiphysics with a Fraunhofer diffraction example.

We’ve learned how to simulate a simple bit-by-bit holographic data storage model in COMSOL Multiphysics by choosing an appropriate beam size and implementing the recording and retrieval process. Today, we step forward and demonstrate how to simulate a more difficult and complex, yet more realistic and interesting model of a holographic page data storage system.

Physicist and electrical engineer Dennis Gabor invented holography about 70 years ago. Ever since then, the form of optical technology has developed in many different ways. In this blog post, part one in a series, we talk about a specific industrial application of holograms in consumer electronics and demonstrate how to use COMSOL Multiphysics to simulate holograms in a wide spectrum of optical and numerical techniques.

Electrical cables are classified by parameters such as impedance and power attenuation. In this blog post, we consider a case for which analytic solutions exist: a coaxial cable. We will show you how to compute the cable parameters from a COMSOL Multiphysics simulation of the electromagnetic fields. Once we understand how this is done for a coaxial cable, we can then compute these parameters for an arbitrary type of transmission line or cable.

Diffraction gratings are often used as a tool for bending and spreading light in optical instruments. Analyzing the diffraction efficiency of such optical components is important, as this can affect the instrument’s performance. Simulation offers an efficient way for testing various grating designs to achieve an optimal configuration. By creating a simulation app, you can further expedite this process, extending simulation capabilities to a wider audience. Our Plasmonic Wire Grating Analyzer demo app highlights this approach.