Photon Management with VirtualLab TM

Photon management stands for the generation of tailored electromagnetic radiation. It demands optical systems which perform general light transformations. Consequently, optical engineering for photon management requires a generalization of established optical engineering which mainly addresses imaging problems. It turns out that the consequent inclusion of wave optics becomes fundamental in this context. Optics simulation and design software must take this development into account. Of special concern is the thorough use of an electromagnetic field model in all simulation techniques. Moreover, various propagation techniques must be available. Each of them must allow its assignment to any part of the optical system. Furthermore, a generalization of the ideal lens concept is needed to offer a efficient design technique. The wave-optical engineering software package VirtualLab TM implements these generalized optical engineering concepts.