Solution of the vector wave equation by the separable effective adiabatic basis set method

A novel separable effective adiabatic basis (SEAB) for the solution of the transverse vector wave equation by the variational method is presented. The basis is constructed by a suitably modified adiabatic approximation. The method of SEAB construction is applicable to the waveguides of a general cross section. By calculating scalar modes in rectangular and rib waveguides, we show that the use of SEAB entails computational effort several orders of magnitude less than the use of the more conventional Fourier basis. As an illustrative example, the polarized modes of a rib waveguide are calculated. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America.