Author

Tyler Hughes

Works on photonics, simulation software, and product direction, and writes practical explanations of computational methods.

Browse this author's article archive

Tyler works where photonics, product direction, and simulation software meet. He helps turn advanced simulation and design methods into tools, workflows, and explanations that practicing engineers can actually use.

Recent posts

Essay Apr 13, 2026

Can AI Agents Autonomously Design Components on Photonic Chips?

We gave AI agents a photonic simulator, a DRC engine, and four design challenges. They autonomously designed waveguide bends, crossings, splitters, and demultiplexers — some reaching near-perfect performance.

Tyler Hughes

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Tutorial Mar 5, 2026

Designing a Photonic Chip Component with ~45 Lines of Python

A compact introduction to photonic inverse design with Tidy3D, using a pre-built simulation and a ~45-line optimization loop.

Tyler Hughes

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