Real-Time Physics Simulation
See light propagate as you design - like a debugger for photonics
The Holy Grail of Photonic Design
For decades, photonic engineers have designed in the dark - make changes, wait hours for simulation, repeat. FluxCore's real-time simulation engine changes everything. See electromagnetic fields update live as you drag components, adjust parameters, and modify routing. It's like having X-ray vision for your photonic circuits.
60 FPS Simulation
Real-time feedback at 60 frames per second
GPU Accelerated
50x faster than CPU-based simulation
Full FDTD Physics
Accurate Maxwell's equations solver
Core Capabilities
Live Field Visualization
Watch electromagnetic fields propagate through your circuit in real-time. Multiple visualization modes show different aspects of light behavior.
- E-field intensity heatmaps
- H-field vector overlays
- Poynting vector flow lines
- Mode profile visualization
Live Performance Metrics
Key performance indicators update in real-time as you modify your design. See the impact of every change immediately.
- Insertion loss (dB)
- Coupling efficiency (%)
- Group delay and dispersion
- Modal crosstalk
3D Light Propagation
WebGL-powered 3D visualization shows light paths with ray tracing effects for intuitive understanding of circuit behavior.
- Photorealistic rendering
- Animated light beams
- Cross-section views
- VR headset support
Interactive Controls
Full control over simulation parameters with instant feedback. Pause, step through, or slow down to analyze specific behaviors.
- Play/Pause/Step controls
- Playback speed adjustment
- Wavelength sweep animation
- Source excitation control
Technical Architecture
FDTD Simulation Engine
FluxCore uses a custom Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) solver optimized for real-time execution on consumer GPUs. The engine runs entirely in WebGPU compute shaders, enabling simulation performance previously only possible on high-end workstations.
// Simulation Configuration
const config = {
// Grid resolution
dx: 10e-9, // 10 nm grid spacing
dy: 10e-9,
dz: 10e-9,
// Time step (Courant stability)
dt: 1.67e-17, // ~16.7 attoseconds
// Simulation region
nx: 512, // Grid points in X
ny: 512, // Grid points in Y
nz: 64, // Grid points in Z
// Performance settings
gpuAcceleration: true,
targetFPS: 60,
adaptiveQuality: true,
// Boundary conditions
boundaryType: 'PML', // Perfectly Matched Layer
pmlLayers: 16,
// Visualization
updateInterval: 16.67, // 60 FPS
fieldComponent: 'Ez', // Field to display
colormap: 'viridis'
};GPU Compute Pipeline
- WebGPU compute shaders
- WGSL shader language
- Async command buffers
- Multi-pass rendering
Performance Optimizations
- Shared memory tiling
- Workgroup optimization
- Adaptive mesh refinement
- Level-of-detail rendering
Integration Examples
React Hook Usage
import { useRealTimeSimulation } from '@fluxcore/simulation';
function PhotonicEditor() {
const {
// Simulation state
isRunning,
currentStep,
fieldData,
metrics,
// Controls
start,
stop,
pause,
resume,
step,
reset,
// Configuration
setWavelength,
setSourcePower,
setFieldComponent,
setVisualizationMode,
// Performance
fps,
gpuUtilization,
} = useRealTimeSimulation({
circuit: currentCircuit,
wavelength: 1550e-9,
autoStart: true,
});
return (
<div className="simulation-panel">
{/* Control buttons */}
<div className="controls">
{isRunning ? (
<button onClick={pause}>Pause</button>
) : (
<button onClick={resume}>Resume</button>
)}
<button onClick={step}>Step</button>
<button onClick={reset}>Reset</button>
</div>
{/* Real-time metrics */}
<div className="metrics">
<span>Insertion Loss: {metrics.insertionLoss.toFixed(2)} dB</span>
<span>Coupling: {(metrics.couplingEfficiency * 100).toFixed(1)}%</span>
<span>FPS: {fps}</span>
</div>
{/* Field visualization */}
<FieldVisualization
data={fieldData}
mode="intensity"
colormap="plasma"
/>
</div>
);
}WebSocket Real-Time Updates
// Server-side simulation with WebSocket streaming
import { io } from 'socket.io-client';
const socket = io('wss://api.fluxcore.io/simulation', {
auth: { token: 'YOUR_API_KEY' }
});
// Start real-time simulation
socket.emit('simulation:start', {
circuitId: 'cir_abc123',
config: {
wavelength: 1550e-9,
resolution: 'high',
targetFPS: 30
}
});
// Receive live field updates
socket.on('simulation:field', (data) => {
console.log('Step:', data.step);
console.log('Field shape:', data.field.shape);
updateVisualization(data.field);
});
// Receive live metrics
socket.on('simulation:metrics', (metrics) => {
console.log('Loss:', metrics.insertionLoss, 'dB');
console.log('Coupling:', metrics.couplingEfficiency * 100, '%');
updateMetricsDisplay(metrics);
});
// Handle completion
socket.on('simulation:complete', (result) => {
console.log('Simulation complete');
console.log('Final S-parameters:', result.sParameters);
});
// Control simulation
socket.emit('simulation:pause');
socket.emit('simulation:resume');
socket.emit('simulation:step');
socket.emit('simulation:stop');Performance Optimization Guide
GPU Requirements
Minimum
WebGPU capable GPU
GTX 1060 / RX 580
Recommended
Modern discrete GPU
RTX 3060 / RX 6700
Optimal
High-end GPU
RTX 4080+ / RX 7900
Optimization Tips
- Enable adaptive quality for automatic performance scaling
- Use 2D mode for initial design exploration (10x faster)
- Limit simulation region to area of interest
- Lower FPS target for complex circuits (30 FPS is sufficient)
Experience Real-Time Simulation
See light propagate through a photonic circuit in real-time. Drag components, adjust parameters, and watch the electromagnetic fields update instantly.
Next Steps
Learn More
- Photonic Editor Guide- Master the design interface
- AI Performance Prediction- Combine with AI analysis
- Export Formats- Export simulation results
API Integration
- WebSocket API- Real-time simulation streaming
- Python SDK- Automate simulations
- REST API- Batch simulation jobs