A variety of simulation tools,such as ZEMAX and Matlab,have been used to assist the teaching of the Michelson interferometer.Matlab is not a special optical simulation software and lacks intuitionism.The main simulation method of ZEMAX is the tracing of geometric light,ignoring the optical effects of diffraction and vector wave.The physical optical simulation software is used to simulate the Michelson interferometer,analyze the fringe characteristics,and study vortex beam interferometry. The effectiveness of VirtualLab Fusion for physical optics teaching aid is verified.