Abstract

Three-dimensional, animated electric field simulations of the transverse electric (TE) modes of a planar dielectric waveguide are presented. These waveguides guide light by total internal reflection and consist of a slab (the core) of dielectric material of refractive index n₁ and width d surrounded by the cladding, a dielectric material with a lower refractive index n₂. The waveguide is symmetric in the x-direction (-d/2 ≤ x ≤ d/2) and the light propagates in the y-direction (see the figure below). In the configuration considered, the electric field has only a z-component, which is plotted as a function of x and y. The user chooses the mode number, m, of the mode that is displayed.

© 2003 Optical Society of America