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Stanford Stratified Structure Solver

S4 is a frequency domain code to solve layered periodic structures. Internally, it uses Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis (RCWA; also called the Fourier Modal Method (FMM)) and the S-matrix algorithm. S4 was developed by Victor Liu of the Fan Group in the Stanford Electrical Engineering Department.

Contents

• Download
• Lua API (main documentation)
• FAQ
• Developer information
• Known issues
• Changelog
• Recommended settings
• Calculation utilities
• License, Copyright, and Referencing

Program usage

The program may be run with a Lua script as an argument, in which case the script is run and then the program terminates, or without an argument, in which case it enters interactive mode with a Lua shell.

The basic flow of a script is listed below.

1. Obtain a new simulation object: S = S4.NewSimulation() S now contains a simulation object with a blank specification, and no solutions.
2. Define all materials: S:AddMaterial(‘name’, {eps_real, eps_imag})
3. Add all layers: S:AddLayer(‘name’, thickness, ‘material_name’)
4. Add patterning to layers: S:SetLayerPatternCircle(‘layer_name’, ‘inside_material’, {center_x, center_y}, radius)
5. Specify the excitation mechanism: S:SetExcitationPlanewave( {angle_phi, angle_theta}, – phi in [0,180), theta in [0,360) {s_pol_amp, s_pol_phase}, – phase in degrees {p_pol_amp, p_pol_phase})
6. Specify the operating frequency: S:SetFrequency(0.4)
7. Obtain desired output: forward_power, backward_power = S:GetPoyntingFlux(‘layer_name’, z_offset) print(forward_power, backward_power)

Feedback and contact

For support of the S4 package, contact the author Victor Liu (vkl@stanford.edu).