MPB (MIT Photonic Bands) is a free and open-source[1] software package for electromagnetic analysis of periodic structures with an emphasis on photonic crystals. It was developed by Steven G. Johnson and collaborators at ab initio research group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999.[2] Operating under Unix-like systems and being scriptable in Python, it uses the frequency domain plane wave expansion method with block-iterative algorithms and Fast Fourier transform for modal analysis.[3] The solver is able to analyze lossless and dispersionless anisotropic materials, including birefringent and gyrotropic media.[4]
| MPB | |
|---|---|
| Developers | ab initio research group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Initial release | 1999 |
| Stable release | 1.12.0
/ April 3, 2025 |
| Repository | github |
| Written in | C |
| Operating system | Linux, macOS |
| Type | Simulation software |
| License | GNU General Public License |
| Website | mpb |
MPB is widely used by band diagram analysis of photonic crystals by the photonics community,[5][6] with uses in the studies on optical waveguides,[7][8][9] photonic-crystal fibers,[10] negative refraction[11] and photonic topological insulators.[12][13] The software also serves as a complimentary module to the general-purpose electromagnetic simulation software Meep, also developed by the ab initio research group.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Meep: License and Copyright". mpb.readthedocs.io. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
- ^ "MIT Photonic-Bands". ab-initio.mit.edu. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
- ^ Johnson, Steven G.; Joannopoulos, J. D. (2001). "Block-iterative frequency-domain methods for Maxwell's equations in a planewave basis". Optics Express. 8 (3): 173–190. doi:10.1364/OE.8.000173.
- ^ a b "MPB". mpb.readthedocs.io. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
- ^ Cersonsky, Rose K.; Antonaglia, James; Dice, Bradley D.; Glotzer, Sharon C. (2021). "The diversity of three-dimensional photonic crystals". Nature Communications: 2543. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-22809-6.
- ^ John D. Joannopoulos; S. G. Johnson; J. N. Winn; R. D. Meade (2008), Photonic Crystals: Molding the Flow of Light (PDF) (2nd ed.), Princeton University Press, p. 264, Bibcode:2008pcmf.book.....J, ISBN 978-0-691-12456-8
- ^ Kuchinsky, S.; Golyatin, V. Y.; Kutikov, A. Y.; Pearsall, T. R.; Nedelikovic, D. (2002). "Coupling between photonic crystal waveguides". IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics. 38 (10): 1349–1352.
- ^ Safavi-Naeini, Amir H.; Hill, Jeff T.; Meenehan, Seán; Chan, Jasper; Gröblacher, Simon; Painter, Oskar (2014). "Two-dimensional phononic-photonic band gap optomechanical crystal cavity". Physical Review Letters. 112: 153603. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.153603.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link) - ^ Tiecke, T. G.; Nayak, K. P.; Thompson, J. D.; Peyronel, T.; de Leon, N. P.; Vuletić, V.; Lukin, M. D. (2015). "Efficient fiber-optical interface for nanophotonic devices". Optica. 2 (2). doi:10.1364/OPTICA.2.000070.
- ^ Limpert, J.; Schreiber, T.; Nolte, S.; Zellmer, H.; Tünnermann, A.; Iliew, R.; Lederer, F.; Broeng, J.; Vienne, G.; Petersson, A.; Jakobsen, C. (2003). "High-power air-clad large-mode-area photonic crystal fiber laser". Optics Express. 11 (7): 818–823. doi:10.1364/OE.11.000818.
- ^ Luo, Chiyan; Johnson, Steven G.; Joannopoulos, J. D.; Pendry, J. B. (2002). "All-angle negative refraction without negative effective index". Physical Review B. 65: 201104. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.65.201104.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link) - ^ Wu, Long-Hua; Hu, Xiao (2015). "Scheme for achieving a topological photonic crystal by using dielectric material". Physical Review Letters. 114: 223901. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.223901.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link) - ^ Christensen, Thomas; Po, Hoi Chun; Joannopoulos, John D.; Soljačić, Marin (2022). "Location and topology of the fundamental gap in photonic crystals". Physical Review X. 12: 021066. doi:10.1103/PhysRevX.12.021066.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
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