Truncation of finite-element mesh for modal analysis of dielectric waveguides

A new approach for mesh truncation in the finite-element vectorial modal analysis of dielectric waveguides is presented. It is based on layers with real anisotropic permittivity and permeability tensors. The approach does not require any iterative procedure, can directly calculate many modes at the same time, and is very accurate in providing both the vectorial field distribution and the propagation constant. The resulting matrices for the eigenvalue problem are still sparse and real, thus limiting the computational effort. Mode cutoff conditions can be easily studied with high precision. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 32: 178–182, 2002.