Adaptive Simulation of Optical ASICs

Design of a class of optical ASICs based upon multiple scattering centres in planar epitaxial geometries is being undertaken using genetic algorithms. Each trial design must be assessed for its performance and this demands an electromagnetic simulation, which in the context of a GA that considers a very large range of designs, must be performed as efficiently as possible. In this paper we present the techniques that have been used to provide rapid simulations and more critically, how the simulation parameters are dynamically changed in response to the accuracy actually needed at different stages in the GA cycle.