Three-Dimensional Vectorial Beam Propagation Method for Anisotropic Medium

There has been a strong effort recently to develop so-called vectorial beam propagation methods (VBPM) [1-7]. The aim of this effort is to overcome the scalar limitation of the classical beam propagation method (BPM) [8-10]. We present here a new approach to the VBPM that can handle three-dimensional anisotropic media. This new method allows the study of the vectorial properties of the electromagnetic fields, such as polarization effects and coupling between the field components.

© 1993 Optical Society of America