Abstract

For the analysis and optimization of guided-wave optoelectronic devices, efficient modeling techniques are essential. For this purpose the Beam Propagation Method (BPM) is widely used [1]. However, BPM has certain limitations, one of which is its applicability only to forward beam propagation. As a result, the BPM cannot handle structures with multiple discontinuities with strong reflections along the direction of propagation. To eliminate this difficulty a bidirectional BPM was introduced [2]. This is essentially an iterative scheme, in which multiple reflections are kept track of until a self consistent steady state is reached. Although this approach can analyze structures with limited number of discontinuities, it is not very suitable to analyze structures with multiple discontinuities, such as gratings both due to difficulty of implementation as well as large computational effort. The most commonly used method that can naturally include the reflection from discontinuities is the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method [3].

© 1992 Optical Society of America