News: Suppliers
16 March 2026
Photon Design releases HAROLD QD quantum dot laser simulator tool for launch at OFC
Photonic simulation CAD software developer Photon Design Ltd of Oxford, UK has officially released its quantum dot laser simulation tool HAROLD QD. The early release allows the tool’s formal launch at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC 2026) in Los Angeles, CA, USA (15–19 March), where the firm is exhibiting in booth #1155.
HAROLD QD enables engineers to model a quantum dot (QD) laser’s multi-layer, graded epitaxy structure, including dot size and distribution. It has an eight-band, K.P.-based modeller to calculate the energy levels of the quantum dots, where previously it was six-band. As an evolution of the company’s HAROLD hetero-structure semiconductor and laser simulator, developed over many years, HAROLD QD enables engineers to produce 3D stress and strain models for each quantum dot shape. From this, HAROLD QD also allows engineers to calculate QD laser gain and absorption spectra, which reliably match the results of quantum dot lasers in field tests.
“Quantum dot lasers are critical to next-generation data centers, AI and HPC [high-performance computing] applications, and HAROLD QD puts Photon Design at the forefront of their design,” says CEO Dr Dominic Gallagher. “QD lasers offer unparalleled, high-temperature operation, when compared to existing lasers, along with superior modulation, data transmission performance and power efficiency. They also bring practical, silicon-based manufacturing benefits, where quantum dots can be grown directly on silicon waveguides,” he adds.
“HAROLD QD enables engineers to work in a single, integrated environment for gain materials, including InP [indium phosphide] and silicon. Seamless integration into Photon Design’s PICWAVE, to give engineers three-dimensional, time-evolving quantum dot laser models, will follow.”
Photon Design showcasing new HAROLD QD laser simulator and silicon modulator design tool at OFC
