direction, i.e.,ε= ε(x), μ and for 2-D fields dy≡0.

The
domain 2) is now taken to have unit length in the y direction
and to cover —∞< x <∞(Fig. 2). On the assumption that ε
and μ are bounded at infinity and that the field quantities
show a sufficiently strong decay as |x|→∞,Eq. (5) leads
to

For such a waveguide the well-known separation into TE and

TM modes can be performed; for TE modes, ex,hy,ez = 0 and
for TM modes, hx,ey,hz = 0. With the aid of frequency-
domain relation (6), restrictions can be found on the location
of the eigenvalues kz leading to. surface wave modes in the
complex kz plane.
Since for a dielectric waveguide μ =μ0everywhere, Eq. (4)
Limits on the propagation constants of yields for TE modes
planar optical waveguide modes
H. M. de Ruiter Substituting (7) in (6), writing ε =ε´- jε", and separating the
Technische Hogeschool Eindhoven, Department of Elec­ resulting equation into real and imaginary parts, we arrive at
trical Engineering, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, the equations
The Netherlands.
Received 9 October 1980.
0003-6935/81/050731-02$00.50/0.
© 1981 Optical Society of America.
For any source-free domain υ, bounded by a closed sur­
face s with outward unit normal n, the following frequency-
domain power equation holds [the complex time factor
exp(jωt) is understood]1:

This expression is applied to a section of a straight dielectric

waveguide (Fig. 1), the field being taken to be a single surface
wave mode. When the z axis is taken along the direction of
the cylinder axis, each mode of the electromagnetic field can
be written as

and similar expressions for H, D, and B. In Eq. (2), r is the

position vector in a right-handed Cartesian reference frame
Oxyz, and rT = xix + yiy. For propagation in the direction Fig. 1. Section of a straight dielectric waveguide bounded by two
of increasing z in passive or lossless media, Re(k2) > 0 and planes perpendicular to its axis.
lm(kz) < 0. From Maxwell's equations we then obtain the
relations

where V = ixdx + iydy — jkziz and where the constitutive

relations d = εe and b = μh have been used.
By applying Eq. (1) to the section z1 < z < z2 rT ε D), the
integration with respect to z can be carried out. It leads to
a factor [exp(-2αz2) - exp(-2αz 1 )], where kz=β- jα, with
α≥0,β≥0,multiplied by an integral in the transverse plane
in both sides of Eq. (1). Since this result must hold for any
value of z1 and z2 when z1 < z2 it follows that

where Q is the boundary curve of D with outward normal v.

The configuration of the slab waveguide to which Eq. (5)
will be applied next is shown in Fig. 2. It is uniform in the y Fig. 2. Dielectric slab waveguide and location of the domain 2).

1 March 1981 / Vol. 20, No. 5 / APPLIED OPTICS 731


Fig. 3. Admissible region for the location of the complex propaga­
tion coefficient K2 = B - jA of a TE mode in a dielectric slab
waveguide.
where k20 = ω20ε0μ0. In the following, we shall use the nor­
malized quantities Kz = kz/k0, A = α/k 0 , B = β/k 0 , and εr =
ε/ ε 0 . Since
Eq. (8) imposes the restriction thatmin(e') < 1AB < max(e"r).
Since
Eq. (9) can only be satisfied when A2 - B2 + max(ε'r) > 0. So
the region in the complex kz plane in which the normalized
propagation coefficient kz of the TE modes of a slab wave­
guide can be located is subject to the restrictions,
Figure 3 illustrates this. In Fig. 4, an example of the root
loci of some T E modes in a symmetrical step-index slab
waveguide surrounded by vacuum is given. Note that the
simplicity of relations (10) and (11) is due to the fact that fi
is real everywhere in the waveguide; when a similar analysis
is performed for a slab waveguide with an x -dependent,
though real, permeability, the factors m a x ( 0 in (10) and
max(ε'r) in (11) should be multiplied by max(μ r ) while the
factormin(ε"r)in (10) should be multiplied by min(μ r ). When
732 APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 20, No. 5 / 1 March 1981
Fig. 4. Admissible region and root loci of the propagation coefficient
of the TE0, TE 1 , and TE 2 modes of a step-index symmetrical slab
waveguide embedded in vacuum, for which εr = 2.25 — 2.25; inside
the slab. The arrows along the curves indicate the directions of
change of increasing frequency; in this case, min(ε"r) = 0.
μ is complex, similar remarks as in the case of TM modes
(discussed below) apply.
For TM modes, the analysis runs in principle along the same
lines. However, due to the fact that ε is complex, the bounds
resulting from the counterparts of (10) and (11) are of less
practical value and are not as smooth as those for T E
modes.
Whereas for lossless media the propagation coefficients of
surface wave modes are located on a restricted part of the real
axis, for lossy media they are located in the complex plane and
must be determined with the aid of numerical search proce­
dures for complex root location. As these procedures are
rather time-consuming, any exclusion of certain domains in
the complex plane may result in a reduction of the computing
time needed. In particular this applies to the Cauchy-integral
technique, in which the derivative of a function divided by the
function itself is integrated numerically along a closed contour
in the complex plane, yielding 2ΠJ (number of zeros - number
of poles) inside the contour. A first choice of the contour then
yields the number of roots; the location of each separate root
is found by subdivision of the area within the initial contour.
The bounds on the positions of the roots enable us to restrict
the location of the initial contour to a relatively small part of
the complex plane only.
Reference
1. R. F. Harrington, Time-Harmonic Electromagnetic Fields
(McGraw-Hill, New York, 1961), Chap. 1.10, p. 21.