
10.6 Eigenwave Expansions of Electromagnetic Fields 665
Figure 10.23: Coordinate system for the eigenmode expansion of plane wave
in uniaxial crystal.
caused by it is much less than 2π can it be omitted. In other word, only when
∆z is very small can k be replaced with k
s
. For example, in a single-mode
fiber, |δk/k
s
| < 0.005 and (k
2
x
+ k
2
y
)/k
s
< 0.01k
s
. Substituting these into
the second term on the right of (10.201), we obtain ∆zδk(k
2
x
+ k
2
y
)/(2k
2
s
) <
5 × 10
−5
π∆z/λ. If ∆z < 100λ, the value of this term is less than 0.016 and
can be omitted. In fact, to assure high accuracy, we often make ∆z much
less than this value.
From the distribution at the plane z = z
0
, we can derive the distribution at
the plane z = z
0
+∆z. Continuing this process, we can obtain the distribution
in the whole space. This approach is also applied to calculations of the
distribution of the eigenmode in a single-mode waveguide. First, arbitrarily
assign the field distribution at a cross plane. Then repeat the above process
until the field distribution does not change. The final unchanged distribution
is that of the guiding eigenmode in the waveguide.
10.6.4 Eigenmode Expansion in Anisotropic Media
In this subsection we discuss the eigenmode expansion of an extraordinary
plane wave in a uniaxial crystal. In Figure 10.23, the field distribution is
known at the plane where z = 0, and from it we are able to derive the field
everywhere. We take ξηζ as the principal coordinate system, and the optical
axis is along the ζ axis. The angle between the ζ axis and the z axis is α.
For an arbitrary field distribution at the plane where z = 0, we do not
know and do not need to know the propagation direction of the wave in
advance. The formulas involved are still (10.164)–(10.169), but the relation
between k
z
and k
x
, k
y
needs to be determined. The transforming relations
for the wave vector components between the two coordinate system are
k
ξ
= k
x
cos α − k
z
sin α, k
η
= k
y
, k
ζ
= k
x
sin α + k
z
cos α. (10.202)