Fast and efficient analysis of light propagation in photonic crystal fibers

Abstract

We propose a fast and efficient method for analyzing the propagation of light in photonic crystal fibers. Recent developments in optical waveguides allow guiding of light via the photonic bandgap principle rather than total internal reflection. Hence, analyzing light propagation via the photonic bandgap principle requires the use of the rigorous solution to Maxwell's equations as implemented in the finite difference time domain algorithm. Here, we show that boundary processes described in Snell's law allows for efficient analysis of the optical throughput for index guided photonic crystal fibers. The method is computationally simple but limited only for analyzing propagation of single-mode TEM₀₀ beam.