An Optical-Waveguide Mode-Solver Based on the Source-Model Technique

Prof. Yehuda Leviatan

Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Abstract:

We present a mode-solver based on the Source-Model Technique (SMT) for the analysis of the modal fields of optical waveguides. The formulation is for a general cylindrical waveguide, made of a piecewise homogeneous dielectric or plasmonic material. The mode solver also includes a friendly graphical user interface.

The advantages of the SMT, as well as its limitations, compared to other methods that have been applied to the analysis of optical waveguides are discussed. A modified singularity measure, used to circumvent the problem of spurious solutions, is explained. An adaptive search algorithm, capable of handling degenerate and nearly-degenerate modes, which was implemented in the proposed mode-solver, is described. The capability of this adaptive search algorithm to handle degenerate and nearly-degenerate modes is demonstrated.

A few examples of the application of the SMT are presented. These include various solid and hollow-core photonic crystal fibers, suspended core fibers, nearly touching fibers, and plasmonic nanowire waveguides.

Biography:

Prof. Leviatan received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, in 1977 and 1979, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, in 1982.  He spent the 1982/83 academic year as an Assistant Professor at Syracuse University and subsequently joined the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Technion, where at present he is a Professor and the incumbent of the Joseph and Sadie Riesman Chair in Electrical Engineering. During his tenure at the Technion he held short-term visiting positions of various terms at Cornell University, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, the George Washington University, the Catholic University of America, the University d'Aix-Marseilles III, the University of Washington, Bell Laboratories, the University of Michigan, Purdue University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and UC Davis.  Professor Leviatan's research interests include computational methods applied to antennas, electromagnetic wave scattering, and microwave as well as optical guiding structures. He has published more than 115 journal papers and is listed among ISI's Highly Cited Researchers. He also presented numerous papers at international symposia He is a recipient of the 2001 Henry Taub Prize for Excellence in Research. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and a member of Commission B of the International Union of Radio Science, and of the management committees of the European COST Actions MP0702, MP0803, and IC0603.