Synthesis of single- and multi-mode planar optical waveguides by a direct numerical solution of the Gel'fand-Levitan-Marchenko integral equation

The leapfrogging technique solving the Gel'fand-Levitan-Marchenko integral equation is a viable numerical tool for the refractive index profile associated with the design of single-mode graded index planar optical waveguides. This method is seen here to work also for the design of multi-mode waveguides of the same type, a case not examined previously in the literature. Truncated potentials are employed for modeling the behavior of guided and unguided modes of the waveguide. The accuracy of the method is checked against analytical expressions and new designs are produced for different waveguide material structures and optical frequencies. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.