FDTD (Meep) Workshop

Speaker: Ardavan Oskooi, Sc.D
Affiliation: Founder and CEO, Simpetus

Hosted by The Optical Society (OSA) and SPIE Student Chapter Seminar

Abstract: The UCLA OSA/SPIE student chapter is hosting a half-day workshop on open-source computational electromagnetics. Interactive, hands-on sessions will introduce participants to setting up and launching electromagnetic simulations using the state-of-the-art finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) software package Meep, originally developed at MIT. Meep supports a wide range of electromagnetic design and modeling. No prior experience is required. Participants are required to bring their laptops and will be guided through several tutorial examples involving: (1) preparing simulation models; (2) deploying them using cluster computing via Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2); and (3) post-processing the results using Python and Matlab/Octave. The examples will be based on topics relevant to current photonics research. Also, the instructor will be available after the workshop to further assist participants with the simulation tools. This event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided.

Biography: Ardavan Oskooi is the Founder and CEO of Simpetus, a San Francisco-based startup with a mission to propel simulations to the forefront of research and development in electromagnetics. Simpetus is a reference to our vision for simulations being an impetus for new discoveries and technologies. Ardavan received his Sc.D. from MIT where he worked with Professors Steven G. Johnson and John D. Joannopoulos (thesis: Computation & Design for Nanophotonics) to develop Meep. Ardavan has published 13 first-author articles in peer-reviewed journals and a book Advances in FDTD Computational Electrodynamics: Photonics and Nanotechnology. Ardavan has a master in Computation for Design and Optimization from MIT and completed his undergraduate studies, with honors, in Engineering Science at the University of Toronto. Prior to launching Simpetus, Ardavan worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Professors Susumu Noda at Kyoto University and Stephen R. Forrest at the University of Michigan on leveraging Meep to push the frontier of optoelectronic device design.

Click the link to see the schedule and RSVP for the event.

Schedule
9:00 – 9:30am
Overview of the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method and introduction to Meep. Summary of steps involved in setting up and running Meep simulations.9:30 – 10:15am
Tutorial #1: Solar Light Trapping in Nanostructured Thin Films
topics to be covered:
– importing arbitrary, complex refractive index profile
– planewave source at oblique incidence

10:15 – 10:30am
Coffee Break

10:30 – 11:15am
Tutorial #2: Far-Field Diffraction Spectra of Metasurfaces
topics to be covered:
– near to far field transformation
– visualizing field propagation using animations

11:15am – 12:00pm
Tutorial #3: Spontaneous-Emission Rate and Light-Extraction Efficiency of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs)
topics to be covered:
– Monte-Carlo method for modeling incoherent emission from dipole excitons
– surface-plasmon polaritons

12:00 – 1:00pm
Lunch + Informal Discussion on Commercializing Academic Research

Date/Time:
Date(s) - Jun 15, 2017
9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Location:
E-IV Tesla Room #53-125
420 Westwood Plaza - 5th Flr., Los Angeles CA 90095