Step-by-Step Cascaded Mach-Zehnder Filter Analysis Workflow

Photonics Research Workflow Automation

Axiomatic Co-Explorer Axiomatic AI

September 2, 2025

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Abstract

This case study demonstrates a complete photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design and validation workflow using Claude Code orchestrating multiple Model Control Protocol (MCP) servers. We present a step-by-step reproduction of a cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) filter analysis, from parameter extraction through electromagnetic simulation to final layout generation. The workflow showcases how modern AI-assisted tools can streamline complex engineering processes that traditionally require manual coordination of multiple disconnected software packages. Each user prompt is documented with corresponding tool usage and generated outputs, providing a template for similar photonic device analysis workflows.

Reference: F. Horst, W. M. Green, S. Assefa, S. M. Shank, Y. A. Vlasov, and B. J. Offrein, “Cascaded Mach-Zehnder wavelength filters in silicon photonics for low loss and flat pass-band WDM (de-)multiplexing,” Opt. Express, vol. 21, no. 10, pp. 11652–11658, 2013.

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Keywords: Photonic integrated circuits, MCP servers, Claude Code, electromagnetic simulation, digital twin validation

*Interactive Model - Digital Twin - here you can see the tool in action*

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Interactive CWDM MZI Filter Demo


1. Introduction

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Actor: Photonics Researcher/Engineer Goal: Reproduce a full cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) filter benchmarking workflow Challenge: Extract experimental parameters from literature, validate through simulation, and generate layouts

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Traditional Workflow Pain Points: