JCMsuite is a finite element analysis software package for the simulation and analysis of electromagnetic waves, elasticity and heat conduction. It also allows a mutual coupling between its optical, heat conduction and continuum mechanics solvers. The software is mainly applied for the analysis and optimization of nanooptical and microoptical systems. Its applications in research and development projects include dimensional metrology systems, photolithographic systems, photonic crystal fibers, VCSELs, Quantum-Dot emitters, light trapping in solar cells, and plasmonic systems. The design tasks can be embedded into the high-level scripting languages MATLAB and Python, enabling a scripting of design setups in order to define parameter dependent problems or to run parameter scans.

JCMsuite allows to treat various physical models (problem classes).

Scattering problems are problems, where the refractive index geometry of the objects is given, incident waves as well as (possibly) interior sources are known and the response of the structure in terms of reflected, refracted and diffracted waves has to be computed. The system is described by time-harmonic Maxwell's Equation

for given sources ${\displaystyle \mathbf {J} }$ (current densities, e.g. electric dipoles) and incident fields. In scattering problems one considers the field exterior to the scattering object as superposition of source and scattered fields. Since the scattered fields move away from the object they have to satisfy a radiation condition at the boundary of the computational domain. In order to avoid reflections at the boundaries, they are modelled by the mathematical rigorous method of a perfectly matched layer (PML).

Waveguides are structures which are invariant in one spatial dimension (e. g. in z-direction) and arbitrarily structured in the other two dimensions. To compute waveguide modes, the Maxwell's curl-curl Equation is solved in the following form

Due to the symmetry of the problem, the electrical field ${\displaystyle \mathbf {E} }$ can be expressed as product of a field ${\displaystyle \mathbf {E} (x,y)}$ depending just on the position in the transverse plane and a phase factor. Given the permeability, permittivity and frequency, JCMsuite finds pairs of the electric field ${\displaystyle \mathbf {E} (x,y)}$ and the corresponding propagation constant (wavenumber) ${\displaystyle k_{z}}$. JCMsuite also solves the corresponding formulation for the magnetic field ${\displaystyle \mathbf {H} (x,y)}$. A mode computation in cylindrical and twisted coordinate systems allows to compute the effect of fiber bending.

Resonance problems are problems in 1D, 2D, or 3D where the refractive index geometry of resonating objects is given, and the angular frequencies ${\displaystyle \omega }$ and corresponding resonating fields have to be computed. No incident waves or interior sources are present. JCMsuite determines pairs of ${\displaystyle \mathbf {E} }$ and ${\displaystyle \omega }$ or ${\displaystyle \mathbf {H} }$ and ${\displaystyle \omega }$ fulfilling the time-harmonic Maxwell's curl-curl equation, e.g.,

for a pair of ${\displaystyle \mathbf {E} }$ and ${\displaystyle \omega }$.