Teaching optics with LightFlow: an intuitive framework for light propagation simulations

We introduce LightFlow, an open-source software package for simulating light wave propagation through custom optical components and systems. Built upon TensorFlow and Keras, it benefits from GPU acceleration and offers a user-friendly and modular architecture. Optical components are represented as layers, simplifying the design and modification of simulation m odels. Our approach also streamlines the addition of new custom components. LightFlow's automatic gradient calculation is valuable for computational imaging applications involving optimization algorithms and inverse problems. With its intuitive interface, tested building blocks, and expandable design, LightFlow is well-suited for education and research, from undergraduate to advanced graduate levels. The GPU-accelerated processing enables efficient, re al-time vi sualization of op tical simulations, ma king LightFlow valuable across a broad range of user expertise and applications.