Self-Consistent Simulation of Opto-Electronic Circuits Using a Modified Nodal Analysis Formulation

This paper addresses the need for self-consistent simulation of mixed electrical and optical circuits and systems. Drawing on the use of modified nodal analysis (MNA) techniques ubiquitous in circuit simulation, an optical node is formulated which includes the magnitude and phase of the optical signal being simulated. This node consists of two propagating complex envelopes one for the forward direction and the other for the reverse direction. Using this formulation models are developed for a variety of devices including: lasers, photodiodes, multimode fiber, and optical connectors. The formulation allows for definition of multiple optical channels at different carrier frequencies, enables quick simulation of systems with large optical delays and optical interference effects. Several numerical examples are presented in this paper to illustrate the capability of the proposed framework and where practicable the results were compared to commercial simulators. These examples include a multimode fiber optical link, an integrated array of laser sources and a feedback controlled laser source used in a optical link with modulation achieved by the use of an electro-absorption device.